Book Decor

Hey everyone! I have been out of the blog world for a little while, but I am back! One of the main reasons I haven’t been reviewing and blogging lately is school. I am a sophomore music student at a university in Pennsylvania, and like many students, one of my greatest struggles is my dorm room. Decorating it and keeping a small space organized is actually much more time consuming then I anticipated before going to school. And to top it all off, I like to take a lot of books with me because, if you guys haven’t figured this out yet, I like to read.  So I have come up some ways, to keep all your books nice and organized at school, and also some ways that your books can inspire your dorm room décor.

Storage

Bed and chair caddies are great for keeping your late night read right where you want it before bed. Also I have really been fond of using lots of crates, fiiling them with my books and hiding them under my bed. This way everything is organized, it doesn’t take up the space of a shelf and I can just tuck them away when I’m not using them.

Décor

So I am really big on quotes. I love putting them up all around my room, and see if any of my friends pick them out when they come over.

It says read on it. Enough said.

I consider comic books to be books too. Sorry I my nerd is showing.

Okay that’s all I have for this week. Happy decorating!

--Marissa

Exciting News for With A Book

Today I have some insanely exciting news about With A Book! Well it might not be as exciting for all of you but it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for the 5+ years that I have been running With A Book.

I FINALLY purchased a domain name! It’s band new, shinny, and perfect!
www.withabookreviews.com
^go ahead and visit it. (It’s just my tumblr site, but it’s MY BRAND NEW domain name)



That’s my other announcement. I am slowly going to be moving completely over to tumblr. Blogger has been great these past few years (not really actually, I had way to many problems) but I have a love for tumblr that I had to leave for. Plus some stats for my blog also factored in to the move, but that’s all boring information.

My site might be a bit messy for awhile as I make the move but I was too excited not to tell all of you about it. I’ll let you know when it’s completely up and ready for all of you to fawn over but until then I’m going to keep starring at my beautiful new domain name.

--Danielle

Review: Talon by Julie Kagawa

Title: Talon
By: Julie Kagawa
Source: ARC from publisher
Release Date: October 28th, 2014

Summary: In Julie Kagawa's groundbreaking modern fantasy series, dragons walk among us in human form.

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey—and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him—and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

Review:

I grabbed this book at BookCon back in May. It was at the top of my list of books to find while I was there. When I read the overview (provided above) online, I felt an intense need to own this book. I was even more enthralled when I finally picked it up, because the cover is, in my opinion, very eye-catching with its bright red background.

But this book isn’t only nice to look at. I’ve always wanted to read a book about dragons, and here it is. I’m sure many of you have readEragon, and while I haven’t gotten around to finishing that one, I was more than happy enough to have Talon.

Ember Hill. What can I say about this wonderfully rebellious girl? She constantly questions authority and basically does whatever she wants. And I love her for it. She’s independent and makes her own decisions and while sometimes it might harm other people, she is truly a survivor. I can’t wait to see what she does in the series’ next installment, because this girl is a badass with a capital B. Even when she’s making horrible choices, I still love her.

Then there’s Garrett. Stone cold, perfect soldier, kind and caring Garrett. I never knew what to expect from him, but in the end, I was satisfied. That’s all I’m going to tell you! 

I definitely laughed out loud a few times while reading this book. I think that was my favorite thing about it. It was just so… human. For a story about dragons, anyway ;)

Thanks for reading!

-Alyssa

The Struggles of Recreational Reading in College

I'm sure many of you reading this blog are in college or have went to college at some point in your life. Maybe you're a middle school or high school student preparing for college; this post might be helpful for you too. 

Currently I'm in my second year at a state University. I've loved everything about college so far. There's always something to do, people to meet or new places to go. It's great to be apart of a large university with so many options. You even get to pick the classes that seem interesting to you. There are just so many upsides to college. 

Yet, the free time that I would use to read in high school or on breaks disappears. I never seem to be picking up new novels because my time goes to studying or hanging out with friends. Not only that, if you need a quite place to read most likely you have to travel to the library. Most college dorms are very loud and energetic. 

If you like to read then maybe you are an English Major like me. I'm sure you know how much reading you are required to do for those classes. My freshman year wasn't too bad. I only took one English class a semester yet now they're piling up. When you're reading a couple novels or plays at a time for different classes it's hard to start another book. Right now I'm in the middle of a novel, reading a play a week for class, and multiple short stories a week for my other class (not to mention that I just joined a book club on campus). Any free time I have I would much rather watch Netflix then start another book. 

But, I still love to read and when I finally make myself start a new book I get lost in the world. When a book captures your attention and allows you to get attached to the characters is wonderful feeling. Reading is something I'll always love and will always find time for.