Off The Shelf

Skiing is a silent sport. There are no cheering fans, no plays to shout. But when the snow guns are shut off and the wind subdued to a faint whisper, you notice just how tranquil the mountains are; how unscathed.  And as you glide down the slope, spraying white tail feathers behind, you believe there is no place better on the Earth.   I spent the weekend at Sugarbush Mountain Resort in Warren, Vermont, with my family. And each day spent there seemed to improve on the previous. The skies got bluer, the air warmer, and my skiing better. It all really lived up to the mountain's slogan of "Be Better Here.". Although the thermometer at the base never reached past 15 degrees, and the words "Frost bite warning" were scrawled on the chair lift chalkboards, it was a fantastic trip.  I have never been farther south than the Outer Banks (unless you count Disney World, but I don't) so I have never encountered the fabled Southern Hospitality firsthand. Supposedly...

This afternoon I leave for Sugarbush, VT. But, before we make the trek up north, several things have to be done, and they go like this: 1. Pack 2. And pack 3. And pack some more And then... 4. Check to make sure you have everything. 5. Check again. 6. And again. ...And even after all of that, I still manage to forget something. Usually it's nothing too important, or something you can easily buy at that general store around the corner, but still, you forgot something. To be completely honest, I hate packing. I love the feeling of it, because I know I'm headed someplace great. But I never know how much of something to bring, I can never fit stuff in the bag properly, and, a common failing I believe, is that I can't make desicions. The red shirt or the black one? Small purse or big purse? Jeans or sweatpants? It's terrible. It has been way too long since I have posted any sort of book review (since Let It Snow I believe). I am currently reading Safe...

  Most recently, I have been suffering from an overdose of the teenage-tragedy entitled "high school." In order to relieve the stress that Honors classes so heavily pour on, I've been retreating to John Green's The Fault in Our Stars every night. I read this novel of 313 pages for the first time in one day in the midst of last August, but upon receiving the book for Christmas, I decided to re-read my Best Fiction Novel of 2012  in more depth and understanding.     I don't plan on reviewing this book again, as I've already done that here , but this will be more of an analysis, more of a thought-provoking post. I will try to make this post as spoiler free as possible, for readers who have not yet read the book. Introduction Sixteen year-old Hazel, a girl diagnosed with Stage IV Thyroid in her lungs, has always felt like she was a grenade ready to blow up, hurting everyone around her; a side-effect of death. When she attends the Cancer K...

I've done some browsing over the last week or so, and you wouldn't believe how many blog-hosted reading challenges there are out there. I considered running one of my own, but being still new to the whole book-blog thing, I thought I frankly would not have enough participants. So, for 2013, I've decided to participate instead of host. I kind of failed at the Historical Fiction challenge for last year, so picked a few that I think are a bit more attainable. Here we go. YA Contemporary Challenge 2013 This tends to be the genre I read the most, so I have signed myself up as a Level 2 contender (10+ books). All books read for this challenge must be YA books published at some point during 2013. This challenge, hosted by Katie's Book Blog, also has a group on Goodreads , which lists dozens of titles that fit this category. A Few I Plan on Reading: 1. The Sky is Everywhere, Jandy Nelson 2. Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets,   Evan Roskos 3. Fifteenth Summer , M...