[Upbeat intro music] Alright, so I thought
I would give this whole reading vlog thing
a try.
Mostly because on Friday I'm going to be at
harry Potter world!
[Excited giggle] I've never been before, and
I'm super excited, and.
Buy yeah—yeah.
I'm looking forward to it.
And also I'm bringing like a whole stack of
books on my trip because ya know how you do
that thing where you like bring a whole bunch
of books on vacation, and you're like 'I'm
gunna have so much to read!'
And then you don't read hardly at all?
That'll probably happen.
But I'm still bringing them.
First, I want to talk about a book I read
last night.
[sigh] I read The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.
And I hadn't been that interested, but there
was a lot of hype around it, and the second
book just came out—The Wicked King.
And everybody's really excited about that.
So I went and I like reread the plot synopsis
for the Cruel Prince.
And I was like—I mean it sounds like something
I would enjoy.
So I bought it.
and spent $10 on the ebook version.
And let me tell you friends, I regret that
decision [laughs].
It was not a good time.
Um, I have read the Darkest Part of the Forest,
one of her earlier books, um, a few months
back and didn't enjoy it.
So, I don't know why I thought—well, I do
know why.
I read the synopsis and I was like it has
all the ingredients for something that I would
really enjoy.
So really quick summary: It's about a human
girl, um.
She and her twin sister and her older half
fairey sister get kidnapped and taken to faireyland
and they grow up as humans in the fairey world
and have to navigate the politics of the High Court
Um, Jude, the protagonist, is [sigh] she just...
I don't know what it was.
I just couldn't connect to her.
And I couldn't connect to our male protagonist
either, Cardon.
He had all those like qualities of like a
bad boy who like a bully until you —is like
awful to our girl until you discover his soft
marshmallow inside and fall in love [sarcasm noted].
I don't know if she just didn't give us enough
marshmallow until the very end or what, but
I just was not a fan of Cardon.
And a lot of people said 'oh, the beginning
is slow, but just wait 'til you get to the
end, 'til you get to the plot twist, and it
just changes everything.'
And so then I got to the plot twist, and I
was like I don't really care!
Like, at this point I don't care about these
characters.
I don't care what happens to them.
I'm just not enjoying myself.
And—I mean there were some good things about
the book: it was well written; the world building
was really fun because you're just thrust
into this strange place where she, Holly Black,
is throwing all these like new types of creatures
at you and rituals and things that—with
like no explanation, and you feel like Jude
must have felt like growing up in this strange
place with no guide book.
I gave it two starts, which I haven't done
in a while, but honestly, no.
Like, it was just not—it was dark without
any redeeming qualities to make me enjoy it.
The relationship was just eeeeeugh.
I don't know. I don't know guys.
Just that was a total miss for me.
And I'm honestly not entirely sure why still.
I am bringing White Trash: The 400-Year Untold
History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg
And I'm gunna read this for the Reading Women 2019 Challenge:
Um, a book in or about Appalachia.
Which, I'm not entirely sure this qualifies,
but Elizabeth read it and really enjoyed it
Um, so I'm looking forward to it.
That's my nonfiction read.
And then, of course I've got some YA because
when I'm travelling I am—it's really tough
on my anxiety and getting sucked into a good
YA book is always super helpful and I found
those are the books that really like help
me like shut out all the things that are making me anxious
I have Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson.
I've seen a lot of good reviews about this.
I think the second one is coming out this
year.
So, thought I'd give that a try.
And what a fun cover!
I really like the cover on this one.
I also have Aristotle and Dante Discover the
Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin [Saymis?]
Um, I've been really looking forward to this
one.
It's been on my TBR for a while, and this—I'll
save this for when I'm at like my most anxious
probably.
Um, and this one.
Wild Rover No More by Ellen Meyer.
So, the Bloody Jack series—there's like
12 of these, and I started them when they
first came out.
I really enjoyed them when they first came
out.
Um, she's this, ya know, plucky little heroine
traipsing around like popping in and out of
historical events [how cute is that description?]
Really fun.
Um, but [sigh] they became really formulaic
really quickly.
Maybe like the last three or four I haven't
read, but this was the last one in the series,
and I saw it on the shelf, and I was like
I'm not expecting much from this, but it's
always nice to put an end to the series.
So, yeah.
Oh!
And I have this little super cool um
booklet/pamphlet
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie We Should All Be Feminists
I'll probably read her Americanah book for
again the Reading Women 2019 Challenge:
an author from Nigeria.
But, I'm super excited to—I'll probably
read this
like later today—go through this.
Um, yeah, how cool is that cover?
I love it.
Um, so yeah.
Hopefully I'll be checking in next from the
car.
But then from Harry Potter world!!!!
And then the beach! [giggle] Okay!
BEACH!
Um, We should all be feminists and we should
all read this essay because it's wonderful
and it's insightful and honestly it's a really
good summary of feminism today.
I think especially for someone who's maybe
not as familiar with some of the issues, um,
that we might be talking about in like more
in depth um with more nuance in other places—this
could be just a good like introductory little
text
And honestly, no excuses, like this took me
like maybe 20 minutes to read.
So pick it up, read it, and share it.
[sound of car noise and rain pelting the windscreen]
We are on the way to Harry Potter World! And I'm ready with my Freg and George Weasley sweater socks!
[voice over and music] Are you guys
ready for Harry Potter World voice over montage?
I know you are.
So, Harry Potter World was magical and wonderful and just an all around
fun time.
The rest of Universal was actually also a
lot of fun.
I enjoyed the Mummy ride.
Oooh, this is my first butterbeer, and it
was soooo good!
And so sugary, also.
But, anyway, yeah, the rest of Universal was
a lot of fun—The Mummy rollercoaster was
fun.
But, yeah, I spent the majority of my time
in Harry Potter World.
I had a lot of fun wandering around the little
shops and just looking and exploring.
I didn't actually buy anything.
I only bought one tshirt because (a) everything
was really overpriced, and (b) I reeeally
needed that tshirt!
It was a Hogwarts alumni tshirt, and I just
feel like that's where I am in my life.
I've graduated, I've moved on a little bit,
but still very happy memories.
We ate at the Three Broomsticks, and it was
delicious.
Like for theme park food, it was legit.
It was not overly salty or anything.
The ride The Forbidden Journey was so fun.
It was definitely like a combination of like
a roller coaster and then more digital effects.
I could see a lot of rides heading in that
direction eventually because it felt very
innovative and fun.
Harry Potter World at night was the most magical.
Actually if I had the choice, I think I would
have just visited at night.
The lines for the rides were super short,
like 5 minute wait.
And it just looked so wonderful and snowy
and just uuugh, it was just so very, very
magical.
I keep saying magical, but honestly it was.
One of my favourite things was watching the
little kids experience all this.
You could just tell it was the highlight of
their little lives, and definitely one of
my favourite parts of the whole thing.
As you leave, you know the Hollywood version—you
go out this citywalk area.
Lots of shops.
It's like their version of Downtown Disney.
Again, a really fun area, and just an overall
wonderful, magical kind of day.
The day after Harry Potter World,
we decided to go to the beach.
We were gonna try to surf, but it had been
raining in LA for like a week beforehand,
so the water was really junky and probably
would have made us sick.
So, everyone else went off on those scooters
and had fun exciting adventures, but I honestly
just wanted to stay on the beach and read.
So they left me behind, and I did—Oh, this
is me trying to vlog not realising that it
was super windy and loud, and you wouldn't
be able to hear anything.
But anyway, I tried to read Aristotle and
Dante, but honestly I got like three chapters
in and passed out.
I was so tired!
I was exhausted after the super intense day
before.
And it's rare for me to fall asleep in public.
I don't think I've ever done it like when
I was on my own.
But I was just so relaxed with the sun and
all the dogs around.
It was just the perfect, chill kind of day—exactly
what I needed after all the people and crowds
and noise of the day before.
Obviously one dog beach wasn't enough.
So on Sunday, we went back to another dog
beach that was even more full of dogs!
So, enjoy!
So we are driving home, and we gave the audiobook
The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines—the
couple from the Fixer Upper.
We gave that a try, and we're not so into
it.
My mom really wanted me to read it, but sorry
mom, not my thing [giggles]!
Um we also tried to listen to Gulp by Mary
Roach where she's talking
about food and eating, and it was interesting,
but it was pretty gross.
[laughs] And we're about to eat dinner.
So I didn't want to keep listening to things
about gross food.
She was talking about like how they make dog
food edible, and she was talking about eating
organ meats and how it's really common in
a lot of other cultures, but not in America
and how our food choices are very
like culturally dictated.
Yeah, I didn't really want to hear about organ
meat right before we eat dinner, so...
So while we were in the citywalk area of Universal,
we stopped in this place where all of their—they
just had bath products—but all of them were
shaped to look like sweets, and I couldn't
resist grabbing some bath bombs.
So, we got home Monday, and I was like all
I have energy for is a bubble bath in my ratchet
bathtub [laughs].
However, I did not think through the aesthetic
impacts of a yellow bathbomb [giggles].
It's smelled lovely.
It had this great grapefruit fruity nice scent
to it, but oh, my god, looked so gross! [giggles]
You guys, I SWEAR I did not pee in my bathtub,
I just had the ickiest looking bathbomb of  all time.
Quick update before bed.
Um, I finished Truly Devious, and I really
enjoyed it.
It ended on such a cliffhanger, oh my gosh.
So I'm really excited for the second one now,
too.
But, um, I really enjoyed the heroine.
She was—she was this great blend of like
anxious and insecure, but yet really comfortable
with the person that she was.
And I feel like um Marie Johnson just wrote
a really complex character without making
her too difficult.
Um, the pairing with the couple—I don't
know.
It's a little...And I'm not 100% on board
with David, but I feel like there's room to
explore that in the second book.
And of course the murder mystery element of
it was really good, and definitely kept me
guessing, which um does not always happen
[chuckle] with murder mysteries.
So, yeah, it was fun!
And I'm looking forward to the second one.
I'll probably read some more of White Trash
before I go to bed.
It'll probably put me to sleep because it's
pretty dry so far
I have to work a lot of hours tomorrow.
Um, so I'm not sure if I'll get much reading
done, but I'll try to get some clips from
from the library.
Okay, bye.
[cheerful, upbeat music playing]
[can't film the kids, so it looks like there's no one there]
So it's Wednesday again!
And I'm back home.
I had a really long day at work yesterday
at the library.
I didn't get a lot of reading done yesterday.
I like passed out as soon as I got home from
work, but I did pick up um Evermore, the second
book um in the Everless series.
Everless is the first one.
I think I'm going to have to reread the first
one, but I remember liking it.
So, I got like a chapter into that reread
last night and then fell asleep.
So I'm probably going to read those this weekend.
And I want to finish White Trash this weekend
because I want to get two books done a month
for the Reading Women Challenge, and I've
only gotten one done for January so far.
And I got into this a little bit on the beach,
but I didn't even really get much past the
preface and the first chapter.
Um, but it does seem like it will be a really
interesting book.
So that's for this weekend.
I picked up [chuckles] I picked up this book
yesterday at work. Dear Farenheit 451: Love
and Heartbreak in the Stacks, A Librarian's
Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books
of Her Life by Annie Spence.
And I've already gone through and read a few
of them because they're just amazing and,
yeah.
It's like it's written with these little like
[something?] at the top.
And I wanted to read you a couple because
they're just amazing.
Um, [giggles] the first one that I wanted
to read you was Dear Frog and Toad Storybook Treasures.
She says "your main character Toad is my spirit
animal.
For starters, we're both pear-shaped.
But it's so much more than body types.
Toad's very character aligns so closely with
my own that I find myself going to your stories
for advice.
What would Toad do, I ask myself when faced
with a challenge.
Would he go home and sleep or make some food?
Either way, it's excellent council.
Here are a few ways your character really
spoke to me: Bleh, a voice said from inside
the house.
After putting on my bathing suit, you must
not look at me until I get in the water.
Toad tripped over a rock.
He bumped into a tree.
He fell in a hole.
Frog, said Toad, let us eat one very last
cookie, and then we will stop.
Frog and Toad ate one very last cookie.
We must stop eating!, cried Toad, as he ate
another.
Toad ran home.
He made sandwiches.
I am worried, said Toad.
I will do it tomorrow, said Toad.
Then Toad fell asleep."
[giggles] She continues.
She says: "It's almost like you're writing
about me.
I know you're usually into younger readers,
but I really think you and I are soul mates.
You bring such joy into my life."
[giggles] And then I wanted to read this one
because this is where I spend my life, and
I just found this letter so touching.
She says, "Dear Public Library Children's
Section: You make it look easy.
Like fun, even.
But what you do is hard work, important work.
And you're the only one that can do it.
Kids come to you for lots of different reasons.
Because they need a biography for a book report;
a super hero comic; or the next Dork Diaries;
because it's too hot outside; because they
can be loud; because they need quiet; because
their parents dragged them; because no one
is taking care of them; because you're a joyful
space; because you're a safe space.
Hard work.
These kids have got to fall in love with you.
They need to learn to read so they can love
to read so they can understand how many different
lives they are capable of.
It's very important.
More than the philosophy section and the college
test prep books and the Nobel Prize winning
novels upstairs.
Because no one's going to be there to read
and write other books if you don't pull your
weight.
So show off your Marie Sendack, your Jack
Lynwoodson and Louis Lowry.
The kids will see themselves in you.
Amazing Grace and Stuart Little will tell
them how brave they can be.
Your nonfiction section can provide advice
without judging.
And your chapter books can be counted on to
deliver the whimsy.
Be at the ready from morning to night, and
on weekends, too.
Be a place of peaceful comfort and rowdy imagination.
And encourage lots of plan making for the
future.
Don't ask anything in return.
You have to give it all away.
You're not getting much help from the rest
of the world.
I don't know if you've been talking with the
current event books, but it's pretty disheartening
out there, so you've really got to rally.
Stand up straighter on the shelves.
Try to make your titles visible through all
that book tape.
Hold it together.
Take care, like really good care, Annie."
Uuugh!
That just sums up my job, honestly.
Um, and as a bookmark, I'm using this little
colouring that a little girl came up to the
desk yesterday and just slipped it under the
computer onto my keyboard, and then smiled
and walked away, and it was the sweetest thing
ever
I don't know that that much reading happened
in this reading vlog, and I don't know how
successful the whole vlogging thing was, but it was a fun first attempt.
And we'll see what pans out of it.
I don't know if I'll do it in the future or
not.
But it was just a really fun time.
Also, there was a moment where I was really
proud of myself because all weekend I just
like kicked anxiety in the teeth!!!
Like I did so well anxiety wise.
But there was a moment in the line for Harry
Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
It was the longest line we had to wait in.
I think it was like a 50 minute wait.
Um, which by the end of the day, it was down
to like a 5 minute wait, so definitely wait
until the end of the day to go if you're at
the Hollywood one.
But anyway, we were like half way through
and I started to have a panic attack, and
um usually—I got the point where usually
I can't walk it back and I'm about to have
to like leave, walk through all those people
to get back to the entrance.
Um, but I started vlogging and taking pictures
and that actually helped to distract me, and
kind of like pull me out of myself and my
own head.
So, that was an interesting side effect of
the vlogging that I didn't see coming, and
I don't know if it will happen in the future
or not.
Like if it will always have that effect.
But it was really cool that it did, and I
got to stay in line and go on the ride.
So, yeah!
Um, I need to film with Elizabeth, so thanks for hanging out with me on
this vlog, I will see you again.
BEACH!
