Anyone who knows me, I mean really knows me, knows that I love to read. I read all the time. I actually got a kindle this past Christmas and I love it! I was originally torn between the Nook (Barnes and Noble) and the Kindle (Amazon) but in the end the Kindle won out because it offers a larger selection of books available to read. Don't get me wrong the Nook probably offers most of the books that I like to read but the prices were a little better on the Kindle and even though the Nook is a little prettier to look at I really love the e-ink technology that the Kindle offers. So aside from the fact that I can get nearly any book I want on the Kindle and it has e-ink you may wonder why else I like it. Let's just say Amazon has amazing customer service for the Kindle. I mistreated it and it stopped working and they replaced it for me when I called free of charge. How cool is that!? I got my Kindle replacement in less than a week from that phone call. The whole reason I got the Kindle in the first place is that while I love to read I found that I had a hard time getting my hands on the books I wanted to read while in college. I didn't find much in the school library except reference books and stories with young Amish girls in bonnets, well really just a ton of Beverly Lewis books. I don't know who she is but she dominated the library's "fun reading shelf". Not really my style (although I did read one of these "bonnet girl" books and it was OK. Nothing all that great, I guess it's not really my thing). There also seemed to be a lot of Ted Dekker and Francine Rivers. Typical of a Christian university and I don't really have a problem with it but I like to read outside of that box. Hence my asking for an e-reader for Christmas. Now I can download books wirelessly and read thing's that are more my style. You may be asking yourself what my style is then, here are a few examples of what I like to read:
Young Adult Fiction Books-
And within that category these sub-categories:
Fantasy
Romance
Historical
Contemporary
Ya. I will admit I am 19 and probably a little to old to be reading young adult books but I often find that books that are actually interesting and written for adults are either full of graphic sex scenes or are about adults with adult lives that I don't much relate to. Sorry but I don't have a husband nor do I have children so I can't really relate to many books where that is the main plot line. Some of my favorite young adult books would be considered paranormal/fantasy books, romance, historical fiction, and the occasional contemporary style book. My favorites of this genre are:
Harry Potter Books (who wouldn't love these books? Maybe they are particularly for kids but they are so well written, I love the characters and the world that Ms. Rowling wrote)
The Fairewalker Series (Just started these and the next book comes out in 3 days, eeek! Well, yes they are about faeries but they are actually pretty cool and they are more like regular teenagers with some magic powers. Can I be team Keane? Are there teams yet? There is a little bit of a love triangle but this one is worth it although Ethan would be OK, but only just.)
Anahita's Woven Riddle ( I liked this one, it takes place in the 1800's and is about a nomadic Muslim girl who tries to find a way to control her fate when her father tries to marry her off. She loves riddles and she holds a competition for her suitors to answer a riddle that she sews into her rug to win her in marriage. This was a nice easy read to look through between classes)
Hanging on to Max (It was interesting since the story was about a young guy trying to choose between raising his son and giving him up for adoption. I thought the story was touching, although not something I would normally read),
Both of the Series that Cassandra Clare is writing (Although I really favor the newer series set in London during the Industrial Revolution, uhmm this time I am team Jem. Will is much to much like Jace and I don't dislike Jace but I don't want more of the same. Plus I just really like how sweet Jem is to Tessa. I am tired of the bad boys always winning.)
Twilight (although the past couple months I am starting to not care for Twilight at all. My inner Twi-hard is fading. So sorry. It was good while it lasted I guess.)
Those are only a couple of the books I have read. I could go on and on and on and on about the books I have read and liked but I won't. If there are any books you like to read in those categories let me know, I am always looking for new books. I am a sucker for happy endings though so don't recommend books that end to sad unless they are really really good. Which brings me to the last point of this long and rambling blog. I have recently found and fallen in love with other bloggers who review books and I am starting to think about doing the same thing. I always love knowing a little bit about what to expect before I open a book. So what do you think? Should I review some books too? I might also do the same with movies and music. Whatever strikes me, I guess.
In the future I was thinking about posting a list of things that are nice to have in college because I always felt those lists were helpful when I was looking forward to going and not knowing what to pack. Hopefully someone will find that helpful!
Peace.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
A whole lot of nothing...
That is what summer is all about. It's summer break and finding a job in this economy has proven to be impossible when you are only residing in a place for a couple months of the year. So what to do with summer? Well for starters I have tried to be more helpful around the house. Picking up odd ball chores has filled up some of the empty time spaces and given me something purposeful to do. I also volunteer with the middle school youth group at my church. It gives me something to do yet again and helps me learn more about a career that interests me. Then of course there is always all the time I get to spend hanging out with my friends.
But what is the best thing about summer you ask? I will tell you. Come a little closer. A little more, come in real close. There. The best thing about summer is that they give you the perfect opportunity to get lost in all the books you could possible hope to read in one summer. I personally am a reader and I plan to read some new books and reread some old favorites. I particularly like fantasy books and books with happy endings. A little escape from reality can be a wonderful thing every now and then. I love to explore new places and not get hurt. Anyways my main project for this summer is going to be to reread the entire Harry Potter series again from start to finish. I have read the books countless times, however I haven't read them in order all at once in years. Well really I haven't ever sat down and read them all at once. I just read them and reread certain ones as they were still coming out. I can never get tired of the fifth and fourth books. What am I reading aside from Harry Potter? Well I found a blog that 2 women have that they call booksmugglers and I found a bunch of suggestions from their blog. Thank goodness for the internet!
I have been thinking a lot lately about the plans God has for me and what I want for myself. Sometimes I worry that God may not want for me what I want. I am trying to focus though on the fact that whatever I want for myself that I can be certain that God has something even better in store if he has a different plan than mine. Also I can pray to him and ask for guidance and tell him the desires or my heart. Here are two verses that I have been thinking of lately.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God Philippians 4:6
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
Such hope these verses can give me!
So this summer it seems that exciting trips are out of the question. Such is the life of a college student who has tuition to pay for. In the mean time though I have four long months to fill. I already have one and a half months over though. What a relief. What can I say other than that I live for school. <3
But what is the best thing about summer you ask? I will tell you. Come a little closer. A little more, come in real close. There. The best thing about summer is that they give you the perfect opportunity to get lost in all the books you could possible hope to read in one summer. I personally am a reader and I plan to read some new books and reread some old favorites. I particularly like fantasy books and books with happy endings. A little escape from reality can be a wonderful thing every now and then. I love to explore new places and not get hurt. Anyways my main project for this summer is going to be to reread the entire Harry Potter series again from start to finish. I have read the books countless times, however I haven't read them in order all at once in years. Well really I haven't ever sat down and read them all at once. I just read them and reread certain ones as they were still coming out. I can never get tired of the fifth and fourth books. What am I reading aside from Harry Potter? Well I found a blog that 2 women have that they call booksmugglers and I found a bunch of suggestions from their blog. Thank goodness for the internet!
I have been thinking a lot lately about the plans God has for me and what I want for myself. Sometimes I worry that God may not want for me what I want. I am trying to focus though on the fact that whatever I want for myself that I can be certain that God has something even better in store if he has a different plan than mine. Also I can pray to him and ask for guidance and tell him the desires or my heart. Here are two verses that I have been thinking of lately.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God Philippians 4:6
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
Such hope these verses can give me!
So this summer it seems that exciting trips are out of the question. Such is the life of a college student who has tuition to pay for. In the mean time though I have four long months to fill. I already have one and a half months over though. What a relief. What can I say other than that I live for school. <3
Monday, June 13, 2011
This Was A Long Time Coming...
So as you can see I only made one post and then didn't blog again for months. I really hope to change that.
Freshman year is over and I can hardly believe it! It went well in case your wondering, I continued to have lots of fun and made even more wonderful friends. I came to love Evensong and it was the start of every week (Sunday night worship). The year tested my beliefs and I came out stronger than before. I know what I believe. I know that Christ is who makes me who I am. I switched from intercultural studies to Art of Ministry and Bible but I still see myself as going into missions, just a slightly different path. So here is a totally late and undetailed replay of freshman year-
Dorm Life- Was great, hard, absolutely the funnest thing. My roommate was Lanie and we continued to have fun together and she is my best friend at CU. The biggest struggle of living in the dorm for me was keeping my side of the room tidy. Mounds of clothes and books and shoes were my companions it would seem during the year. My suitemates Annelyse and Vanessa were also fantastic and some of my other best friends at CU. We had many fun "suite-y dates" to spend quality time together and check in and have fun. Dorm life included a girls powder puff football game with my dorm against Pickett, a dancing competition, section outings, a bunch of open dorms (certain hours for guys and girls to go into each others dorms), and random meetings.
Classes- Classes were lot's of fun and I enjoyed the work. My favorite classes were Bib Herm, New Testament, and Intercultural Mandate. For Intercultural Mandate we took a field trip to Canada and it was my first time out of the country. So much fun! We got to volunteer at a missions convention, learn about homelessness, Toronto ministries, and I got to know some of my classmates even better. I loved that trip more than those people could possibly know. The profs are awesome and so helpful. In college you do a ton of writing for every class. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. I also learned shoot for the A but if your swamped pick a class you won't mind getting a B in and do the work for that. It's the only way to maintain some sense of sanity.
Friends- I made lots. I learned to be a little less shy this year. It was rough sometimes being far away from home and feeling like I didn't really fit in. It was all so great though in the end. I had fun times going bowling, shopping, out to meijer, IHOP really late, to the beach, and one of the people in my terra firma group invited a few people over to his parents house a couple times and that was fun.
When it comes down to relationships...ya I am going there. It's something people think about. And who couldn't with all the rush people had at the beginning of the year to find someone to date. Nope, I wasn't one of them. However some of my best friends did end up dating this year and it's been so much fun to watch them and see the happiness and fun they have together. You go into freshman year telling yourself your not there to do anything but learn and grow in faith. I went in with this mindset but inevitably you notice people who seem to swim into your view. I met some great guys and while I didn't date anyone I know CU has some really big sweethearts. It can be hard not to kinda like a guy when there are so many sweet, kind, smart, godly men who wouldn't notice. The best thing I learned though is that being friends can still be soooo rewarding.
Looking Back- Well as positive and wonderful as the year clearly was it was also filled with trials and even some temptations. There were times when I wanted nothing more than to sit down and have a good cry I felt so lonely, but someone would always end up coming along and brightening my day.
Looking Ahead - In September I will be going back and starting my Sophomore year. I hope I continue to learn, make friends, make discoveries, and to grow more passionate each day about knowing God. Who knows what next year will hold? But I am thinking whatever it is, God will work it all out for the good. I will try and be more frequent with my posts. For this summer I am hoping to take the Amtrak to MI, have my friend from MI come visit me here, volunteer with my churches youth group, and spend time with friends.
Freshman year is over and I can hardly believe it! It went well in case your wondering, I continued to have lots of fun and made even more wonderful friends. I came to love Evensong and it was the start of every week (Sunday night worship). The year tested my beliefs and I came out stronger than before. I know what I believe. I know that Christ is who makes me who I am. I switched from intercultural studies to Art of Ministry and Bible but I still see myself as going into missions, just a slightly different path. So here is a totally late and undetailed replay of freshman year-
 |
| Lanie and I at some sporting event in the fall |
Classes- Classes were lot's of fun and I enjoyed the work. My favorite classes were Bib Herm, New Testament, and Intercultural Mandate. For Intercultural Mandate we took a field trip to Canada and it was my first time out of the country. So much fun! We got to volunteer at a missions convention, learn about homelessness, Toronto ministries, and I got to know some of my classmates even better. I loved that trip more than those people could possibly know. The profs are awesome and so helpful. In college you do a ton of writing for every class. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. I also learned shoot for the A but if your swamped pick a class you won't mind getting a B in and do the work for that. It's the only way to maintain some sense of sanity.
Friends- I made lots. I learned to be a little less shy this year. It was rough sometimes being far away from home and feeling like I didn't really fit in. It was all so great though in the end. I had fun times going bowling, shopping, out to meijer, IHOP really late, to the beach, and one of the people in my terra firma group invited a few people over to his parents house a couple times and that was fun.
When it comes down to relationships...ya I am going there. It's something people think about. And who couldn't with all the rush people had at the beginning of the year to find someone to date. Nope, I wasn't one of them. However some of my best friends did end up dating this year and it's been so much fun to watch them and see the happiness and fun they have together. You go into freshman year telling yourself your not there to do anything but learn and grow in faith. I went in with this mindset but inevitably you notice people who seem to swim into your view. I met some great guys and while I didn't date anyone I know CU has some really big sweethearts. It can be hard not to kinda like a guy when there are so many sweet, kind, smart, godly men who wouldn't notice. The best thing I learned though is that being friends can still be soooo rewarding.
Looking Back- Well as positive and wonderful as the year clearly was it was also filled with trials and even some temptations. There were times when I wanted nothing more than to sit down and have a good cry I felt so lonely, but someone would always end up coming along and brightening my day.
Looking Ahead - In September I will be going back and starting my Sophomore year. I hope I continue to learn, make friends, make discoveries, and to grow more passionate each day about knowing God. Who knows what next year will hold? But I am thinking whatever it is, God will work it all out for the good. I will try and be more frequent with my posts. For this summer I am hoping to take the Amtrak to MI, have my friend from MI come visit me here, volunteer with my churches youth group, and spend time with friends.
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