Oh, Monday

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There's so much negativity out in the world. It's hard to remain positive when everyone either brings your down or has ceased having hope. When getting rejection after rejection for job applications,  I just have to get back up and keep at it! So, stay positive, folks! 

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Now, I'm not so sure that I would recommend doing this out loud unless surrounded by a group of friends as I'm sure you'd get several strange looks, but it does makes you think. Anyone who reads knows that at any moment the plot can change. So, why not apply that to your life? Your life is obviously going to randomly change, and I think it's genius to relate it to a plot twist! If it didn't change, life {and books} would be very boring. Enjoy your plot twists this week!

Book Hangover

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It seems to be a common trend for chick lit to take a direction towards Mr. Darcy, and I seem to be convinced I have to read them all. Of all the Austen-themed books out there that I've read, this has been my favorite. 

Katherine Roberts is a prestigious professor and keeps hidden from her colleagues her obsession for Jane Austen and a racy romance novels. One set of "trashy" chick lit novels she loves are written by an author Lorna Warwick, whom she has been exchanging fan mail with. Lorna has a secret, she's really a he, Warwick Lawton, and he has fallen in love with Katherine. Katherine is attending a Jane Austen event at Hampshire and hopes to meet Lorna, but instead keeps coming across the frustrating Warwick. 

There is also another love story line in this book. Robyn has been with the same unappreciative and unadventurous man since high school. She has been saving up for so long for her Jane Austen getaway. Once she gets to Hampshire, her boyfriend, Jace is a pest and keeps popping up and ruining her weekend. Robyn meets Dan at the at Hampshire, and she just can't seem to stop herself from thinking about him and how to get rid of Jace.

This book was funny, sweet, and flowed seamlessly while doing justice to the Jane Austen theme. I highly recommend it, especially if you Jane Austen.  

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I read this book in a little under 48 hours. I was looking for a quick read that I could just breeze through because sometimes you just need that in a book, and this one fit the bill! I loved that it mostly occurred through twitter convos too.

Abby Donovan - the heroine of this story - is a writer who has been praised for writing the great american novel. Some years later...she's still working on novel number two, and she just can't seem to get past chapter five. Unknowingly, her agent sets up a twitter account for her, which is how Abby meets Mark Baynard. He is off on his own adventure to inspire himself to write his own great american novel...supposedly.

The two interact through direct messages only and connect almost immediately. Your heart leaps into your throat when he sends her a message and they banter back and forth. Oh, but the end...the end, the end, the end. I re-read three times I loved it so. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that it brought tears to my eyes each time I read it.

Reading this book is time well spent.

This Book Club Reads Wine Labels Too

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I'm running out of ideas for books to review on here! I need to read some new ones!!! However, I do remember how much more wonderful I thought the book The Lovely Bones was over the movie. I am an advocate for reading a book before you see the movie. While this always proves to make me dislike the movie in comparison to the book, nothing can do justice to the details and plot lines a book holds that a movie usually cuts short. 

While this plot line reads horrible and sad, there really is some beauty and innocence in the story. Fourteen year old Susie Salmon is brutally raped and murdered by a serial killer in her neighborhood. The story follows Susie watching over her grieving family and following the police efforts to catch her killer. Susie reflects over all the things on earth she'll miss out on, and it covers how she moves on to accept the next part of her story. This is a sad but very wonderful story.

I'm all about reading a good series. In fact, I prefer to read them over stand alone books. I can't stand to lose my characters. I fall in love with them and their stories & then I just want to read more and more about them!

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So, for this week, I'm picking a trilogy that is heart wrenching but full of love and hope.

It's written by Lauren Oliver and called the Delirium series.

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This series is set in a dystopian world where love is a disease. Can you imagine living in a world where love is considered evil and you have a procedure on your 18th birthday as a cure for it? It's an interesting world that will make you feel more than you ever thought you could from reading a simple book. If you don't believe me, watch this video.

Now, go read the books and thank me later. Also, a good theme song for these books is "Both of Us" by B.O.B. featuring Taylor Swift. Grab some tissues though because it'll make you cry at the end of book one if you're listening to it!

So Many Books; So Little Time

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Crazy Little Thing by Tracy Brogan was a book that I did not have the highest expectations for. I was immediately drawn in to the humor the characters possessed. The writing made the characters very relatable and very lovable. This book is about a mother of two, Sadie Turner, who's normally perfectly organized life has been tossed into disarray with an upcoming divorce due to her husbands infidelity. She and her two children escape to her aunt's lake house for the summer in hopes to regain a fresh outlook on her future. 

Her aunt and her two cousins are all trying to set Sadie up with the hot neighbor. Men are the last thing Sadie has in mind for getting her life in order, but even she can't resist the good looks and good nature of Desmond. 

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This week, I chose a dance mystery series that I had an absolute blast reading! It's about a dance teacher named Jenny T. Partridge who owns a dance school. She barely makes ends meet and constantly has to deal with psycho dance moms. And, then of course, there's the super hot detective who she just can't seem to stay away from. Think Stephanie Plum from the Janet Evanovich series but as a dance teacher. This is a series you don't want to miss! It is filled with laughter and mayhem at every turn.

Happies and Crappies

Happies

It's Friday!

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This happened two weekends ago! :)

Cassie has all weekend off to read and clean and do crafts!

Mary applied for a few jobs and signed up for volunteering.

We are on day 26 of our new healthy lifestyle.
Not that anyone's counting though...

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Crappies

It has rained for Mary for the past 3 days

It has also been chilly; Mary hates the cold!

Cassie has had an emotional and long week at work. She is glad it's the weekend!

Somebody Sat On Me Again

Today's chick flick is brought to you by The Princess Diaries.

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We have no words to describe the love we have for this movie. It is epic and humorous and just down right perfect for a day with the girls. We'll let the moments speak for themselves.

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Our favorite scene! Because we've definitely all had moments like it.

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"You broke my glasses!" - Mia
"You broke my brush." - Paolo

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And, if you're interested, you can read the books. They're different from the movie so prepare yourself, but they are still wonderful. The author Meg Cabot also writes adult fiction too, and we love those books!!!

Baby Got Books

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The Five people You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom will forever remain one of my favorite books. It was brought to my attention my freshman year of college. Our First Year Symposium teacher put it as part of our reading list. This was the same class where Cassie and I came to be friends in (one of the many ways we were brought together). This book is a story of an older man, Eddie, on his 83rd birthday. He works at an amusement park, and on his birthday this year he is going to die in his attempt to save a little girls life. When he dies, he goes through a process of meeting five different people. Each person shed light on different events or aspects in his life. 

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I can't stress enough how wonderful this book is. All of his books are very insightful, but this one is my favorite. 

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Without a doubt, I love princesses. Like, love them.
So, in the wake of reading The Hunger Games, I found this book, which combines the mentality of competition through districts with royalty. What more could a girl ask for?

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This book is lovely and has a compelling story line of a girl named America who dutifully, although a bit hatefully, enters The Selection but wants nothing to do with being selected as the future queen. Of course, the fact that she's secretly in a loving relationship with a boy in a class below her doesn't help the situation either when she is selected as a "contestant."

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The Selection is book one in the series. You can read the novella before this called The Prince and book two called The Elite.

All We Need Is Coffee & A Good Book

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This book is a great book for anyone who is considering changing to a healthier lifestyle. This book has a witty writing style, a Cinderella Pact weight loss plan between friends, and a main character with a second false identity for work. 

Nola Devlin creates a secret identity to apply for her dream job, which she was declined for. Her fake identity was a picture of her when she was thin in college, and basically the same qualifications she has and which should have qualified her for the position. Sarah Strohmeyer managed to relay a very strong central message about self-worth and body image, while still maintaining a witty and light hearted read. 

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So, I know Mary already talked about how awesome Sophie Kinsella is, but I just wanted to say it again! I love this author. Like, I want to read all her stuff!!

Okay, but anyway, this book is ridiculously awesome. It starts funny and ends sappy. It's perfect in every way, and I cannot even begin to count how many times I had to put down the book because I couldn't take the awkwardness. I laughed out loud and cheered on the heroine.

If you want a quick and fun read, pick this!