PrincessSM's Book Blog

Hello there!

My name is Nata and I'm new around here. I've always wanted to have a book blog and this seems like the place to do it.

I thought I'd share some fun literary facts about me for my first post. You know, just so we could get a little bit more acquainted. Here we go...

25 Bookish Things About Me! (Originally a tag from Kate's Book Club)

1) I have not read any of the Harry Potter books. I know, I know. I plan to fix that soon.

2) In middle school, I was obsessed with V.C. Andrews. I read her books religiously and still have all them.

3) Some of my favorite authors are Flannery O'Connor, John Green, and Oscar Wilde. 

4) If I could be any female character in a book, I'd be Eloise. She's rawther fantastic.

5) I enjoy non-fiction - "The truth is rarely plain and never simple." :c)

6) I love it when I end up liking a book I thought I would hate. "Home" by Julie Andrews is great example.

7) I would like to read a James Patterson or Nora Roberts novel just to see why they are so popular.

8) I'm crazy for memoirs! I simply cannot get enough of them.

9) I learned to read using the "Little House" books. Naturally, I still have a soft spot for Laura Ingalls Wilder.

10) I did not care for "Life of Pi". I found it a little bit on the pretentious side. I was able to finish it, though...

11) Unlike "Eat, Pray, Love". I tried really hard to get through it, but I had to put it down after the first third.

12) My guilty pleasure read is "Where the Heart Is" by Billie Letts.

13) I'm a sucker for retellings of Shakespeare's plays.

14) My two favorite chapter books growing up were "The Doll in the Garden" by Mary Downing Hall and "Belle Prater's Boy" by Ruth White.

15) I thought "Looking for Alaska" was better than "The Fault in Our Stars".

16) Eventually, I'd love to open my own bookstore - complete with bookstore cat and tea bar.

17) One of my favorite English projects was making a scrapbook/picture book of Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles". I earned an A+.

18) As I have gotten older, my relationship with several novels has changed. I'm looking at you "Lolita"...

19) In middle school I went through a "dog-ear" bookmark phase. I grew out of it. Thank goodness.

20) Some of my favorite topics to read about are ghosts, early Hollywood, vaudeville, the Northern Renaissance, and criticism on Shakespeare.

21) While I'm not a big fan of poetry, I'm kind of in love with Percy Bysshe Shelley.

22) In addition to novels, I read a lot of plays. A. Lot.

23) I have three books signed by their author on my bookshelf. One of them is even made out to "Rachel". :c)

24) One of my favorite memories of growing up was spending Saturday afternoons reading entire "Great Illustrated Classics" novels.

25) My Kryptonite is the library book sale. I loose my freaking mind every single time I walk into one. 

That's about it for the moment. I hope we'll be the best of friends and have many fantastic literary discussions. :c)

This piece is one hundred percent dark, twisted, and wonderful. I did, however, feel that after reading it I wanted to give Mr. Shepard a hug and a plate of tiny tacos to feel better.

I enjoyed this book. I pretty much knew that I would as soon as I picked this one up. I’ve been a Penn Jillette fan for almost ten years thanks to P&T: Bullsh*t! Like other reviewers have stated before, this book isn’t totally about atheism. It’s mentioned throughout, but it isn’t what the title would have you believe. It’s more like a collection of stories from Penn’s life. Some of them are funny, some of them are sad, some of them are touching, and some of them leave you scratching your head. Like the random Bruce Springsteen chapter….Penn writes like he speaks – loud, unapologetic, and a bit rant-y at times. I could totally see how this would put some people off. (Especially those who only have not seen our hero in Bullsh*t or Penn Point.) He doesn’t use flowery language to talk about the moment he realized he was an atheist or the time he ate a bacon cheeseburger with a Hassidic Jew. He’s honest in his telling – using special four letter words and detailed accounts of sexy times. He also manages to sneak a few other little nuggets of surprise in, which will surely offend some.What I really and truly liked about this book wasn’t the stories (although some of them are pretty freakin’ awesome). It was that as I read the words off the page, I could hear Penn’s voice saying those words. Loud and clear. Now, this could be because that I’ve heard him discuss a majority of these topics in great length several times over the past ten years. But, I’d like to think it’s because of the way he writes.All in all, I enjoyed this one.

When I picked up “Finding Thalhimers”, I was expecting a collection of fond memories and a healthy helping of nostalgia. While that aspect was present, it didn’t take over the whole book. I actually got a really good look into what was one of the biggest department stores on the East Coast and a Richmond legend.I loved that Thalhimer-Smartt simply didn’t tell us that her great-great-great grandfather built a store that was passed down through the generations and then it shut down because of the changing times. She painted a very vivid picture of a family that genuinely cared for their business through glimpses into the personalities that ran “The Store”, stories from past employees, and wonderful photographs. I also really appreciated that she was able to weave in what was going around in Richmond as the book progressed. All of these elements helped craft a really good story that fueled my imagination. The only reason this didn’t get five stars is because it made me terribly miss a store/Richmond landmark that had closed down just a few years before I was born.

I picked this up after reading "Looking for Alaska", eager to get another John Green fix. Unfortunately, I could not get past the first 128 pages. I really wanted to like this book. Hell, I wanted to be able to finish it. I want to say I'll try it again, but I'm not too sure that I will...

I went into this swearing I wouldn't like it... but I ended up really enjoying it. I was expecting name drops, a haughty attitude, and a sense of self-importance. I was proven wrong. Mrs. Andrews Edwards comes across as nothing but gracious and endearing. It was neat to get an inside view of her early life and career. I've heard rumors that there is a "Home, Pt 2" coming out and I'm pretty sure that will end up on my "to-read" list.

I really did want to like this book. I really and truly did, but it was not in the cards. Reading this book felt like sitting in one of those group circles guidance teachers held in elementary school for the kids with low self-esteem. I can see how other people would really like this story and feel inspired, but I couldn't buy into it...

Honestly, I find it a dry read. I think it's one of those pieces that need to been seen in order to appreciate how good it really is.