takingfriday

041. I’m Back!!!…well, sort of.

Britney — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:00:03 +0000

It’s been a while since you all have heard from me. I’ve been busy with other life-related things and was unable to keep up with this blog like I thought I would be able to. And since I didn’t have as much free time, I focused more on my writing rather than attacking my to be read stack. However, this all will be changing soon. Watch this space, I promise I’ll be officially back within the next few days.

-Britney

040. HalloReads {1}

Britney — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:12:56 +0000

Today is October 1st which means HalloReads has officially begun! HalloReads is a book challenge I decided to do during the month of October. The goal is to read as many horror/thriller/suspense/psychological thriller/generally creepy books as I can. You can find out more here. Here’s a list of the books I plan to read:

Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Sitter by R. L. Stine
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark by Alvin Schwartz
Scary Stories 3 : More Tales To Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz
2 Volumes of Collected Short Stories by H.P. Lovecraft
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (I hear it’s creepy so that counts, right?)
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
The House of Vampires by Samantha Rendle

I’ll probably going to read more than what’s listed. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. I’m really looking forward to this. It should be fun!

039. Writer Leopard

Britney — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:27:27 +0000

Writer Leopard says it all.

For more of ~~my life~~ Writer Leopard, check out the FYeahWriterLeopard tumblr!

038. Halloween Spooky Swap

Britney — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:36:40 +0000

I signed up to participate in the Halloween Spooky Swap hosted by A Tale of Many Reviews.This is my first time participating and it should be awesome.

037. HalloReads: Halloween Book Challenge

Britney — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:34:10 +0000

It’s nearly October and you know what that means? It’s almost Halloween! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love any and everything creepy, spooky and terrifying. I am a horror buff and for the last couple of years I’ve undertaken the challenge of watching as many horror movies I can during the month. This year I decided I’d do the same for books. And that’s how HalloReads was born.

The goal of HalloReads is to read as many horror/thriller/psychological thriller/suspense books as I can during the month of October. Since I was going to do this challenge, I wondered if anyone else would be interested in participating as well. If you’d like to participate in HalloReads with me, there is only one rule: the books you select for Halloreads must fall under the genres listed above (they don’t have to be YA). Simple, right?

If you’re interested in participating, feel free to snag the button and send me a link to your blog at takingfriday@gmail.com. I’ll list participants in my first official HalloReads post which will also feature a list of books I’m going to attempt to read. I’ll also be giving away sweet prizes throughout the month so stay tuned for that.

036. Young Adult Vault {2}

Britney — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 15:56:02 +0000

Young Adult Vault is a meme hosted by the ladies at Short and Sweet. YA Vault posts will be posted here on Taking Friday every Saturday. There are a few rules to go along with the meme. Each book must be a YA title and each must be older than one year old.

Today’s feature is The Battle of Jericho by Sharon M. Draper.

Release: 2004
Page Count: 352

“Are you willing to do anything to help your slimy pledge brothers become Distinguished Gentlemen?” Sharp demanded.

“Anything, sir,” Jericho said. He just wanted it to be over.

“Then suck my big toe.”

“Sir?” Jericho wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly….

When Jericho is invited to pledge for the Warriors of Distinction, he thinks his life can’t get any better. As the most exclusive club in school, the Warriors give the best parties, go out with the hottest girls, and sail through their classes. And when Arielle, one of the finest girls in his class, starts coming on to him once the pledge announcements are made, Jericho is determined to do anything to become a member….

But as the initiation week becomes progressively harrowing, Jericho is forced to make choices he’s not entirely comfortable with. And one member seems to have it in for the sole female pledge in the group…a pledge who will stop at nothing to show she can handle the pressure. But when is she being pushed too far, and when should Jericho and his friends step in and risk losing their places in the pledging process? As Jericho becomes increasingly uneasy, his cousin Joshua breezes through the initiation, never thinking of the consequences, even when the fine line between fun and games, and life and death is crossed.

I read The Battle of Jericho in high school. Once again, I borrowed it from my cousin (She was much more of an avid reader than me) and read it fairly quickly. From what I remember, I enjoyed it and recommended it to everyone.

035. Follow Friday {1}

Britney — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 21:38:48 +0000

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. This week’s question:

Q. It’s that pesky magic book fairy again! She has another wish: What imaginary book world would you like to make a reality?

I think I’m going to go with the standard answer here, the magical world of Harry Potter. It seems like it’d be pretty awesome to hangout in Hogsmeade and you know, be a witch. #slytherinpride

034. Modelland

Britney — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:58:10 +0000

Modelland by Tyra Banks was released this week. With all of the hype surrounding it, I decided to check out the official website. There wasn’t much to it but there was an excerpt from the book. After reading the excerpt, I decided I had to read this book. I picked up a copy from Target on Tuesday and–driven by the urge that makes me see movies starring Nicolas Cage–started reading it immediately.

Modelland is the best worst book ever. In my opinion, it is the literary equivalent of The Room by Tommy Wisseau. The Room holds a special place in my heart and I’m pretty sure Modelland will too.

As of today, I’m only on chapter 7. It’s taking me longer to get through it because a) it’s 563 pages (what?) and b) I keep stopping to laugh hysterically and send quotes from the book to my friends. It’s a lot for my brain to process. The book seems to be a mash-up of Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with just a pinch of Twilight sprinkled on top. Tyra Banks and her ghostwriter take elements from each (magical school, dystopian society, golden tickets, and a dude with golden eyes) and poorly constructs the story of fifteen-year-old Tookie De La Creme. Yes, you heard me, Tookie De La Creme. Daughter of Creamy De La Creme and Christopher “Chris-Creme-Crobat” De La Creme. Sister of Myrracle De La Creme. Friend of Lizzie, whom dwells in a tree. Predictable love interest of the rich and popular Theophilius Lovelaces. Probable foe of the rich and snobbish Zarpressa Zarrionneaux. Yes, all of this was to highlight the ridiculousness of the character names.

If I’m able to finish this book, I will be posting a review. It will contain spoilers and quotes. Tons and tons of quotes. But in the words of rapper and poet, Gucci Mane, “I might don’t make it.”

033. Speed Reading Techniques

Britney — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:32:41 +0000

I guess I’m considered to be a “book blogger” since most of the content of this blog are book reviews. Reading is something I really enjoy doing. I’ve been having an awesome time keeping up with this blog and sharing my two cents on different books with the world. However, it takes me forever to read a book (forever in my opinion is a couple of hours). As a “book blogger” I feel like I should be powering through 2-3 books per week. I know people who can read as many as 12 books a week and can finish off one in an hour (lol Hi, Angel). That puts my measly one-book-per-week thing to shame.

But that isn’t the reason why I started looking into speed reading.

I’ve heard many times over that the only way to become a good writer is to read, read, read–and that’s what I try to do. I try to read as much as possible but I’m always defeated by my ever-growing to-read stack. Every week there are new books that pique my interest and it seems like I never have the chance read them all. Here’s where speed reading comes in. I found a few techniques online that may be helpful and I’m going to share them here since I know I’m not the only person who wishes there were more hours in a day to read.

The Hand
The first method is to simply place your right hand on the page and slowly move it straight down the page, drawing your eyes down as you read. Keep an even, slow motion, as if your right hand has its own mind. Your eyes may not be exactly where your hand is, but this simple motion will help you go faster. Don’t start, read a little, stop, read a little, start, read a little. Keep the movement slow and easy. Only do it once per page. If you are “left-handed” use your left hand as the dominant pacing hand.

The Card

The next technique is to use a card or a folded-up piece of paper above the line of print to block the words after you read them. Draw it down the page slowly and evenly and try to read the passage before you cover the words up. This helps break you of the habit of reading and reading a passage over and over again. It makes you pay more attention the first time. Be sure to push the card down faster than you think you can go. Slide the card down once per page.

The Sweep

Another method is to use your hand to help draw your eyes across the page. Slightly cup your right hand. Keep your fingers together. With a very light and smooth motion, sweep your fingers from left to right, underlining the line with the tip of your tallest finger from about an inch in and an inch out on each line. Use your whole arm to move, balancing on your arm muscle. Imagine that you are dusting off salt from the page.

The Hop

Similar to the “sweep” method is the “hop”, but in the “hop” you actually lift your fingers and make two even bounces on each line. Each time you bounce, you are making a fixation which hopefully catches sets of three or four words. Moving to a “hop” method also makes it easier to keep a steady pace as it is a lot like tapping our fingers on a desk. Balance on your arm muscle, don’t just wiggle your wrist.

The Zig-Zag

The last method is a type of modified scanning technique. In this one you take your hand and cut across the text diagonally about three lines and then slide back to the next line. Now the idea here is not necessarily to see each word, but to scan the entire area, letting your mind pick out the main ideas. I wouldn’t recommend this for material that requires very careful reading, but it is a way to help you get the general ideas of easy material.

Speed Reading Techniques Source- http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/

In order for these methods to be effective, they will require practice. If you decide to attempt them, let me know how it goes.

032. Weekly Goals: Week of 9/12/11

Britney — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 23:44:42 +0000

I haven’t forgotten about my weekly goal post that I attempted to implement a few weeks ago. I’ve been surprisingly busy lately but I have managed to squeeze in updating this blog and writing. I’m going to work on keeping this up.

My goals for the week are:

Continue working on my just-for-fun wip, adding 5k
Continue reading Choker by Elizabeth Woods
Continue reading The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab