My Favorite Books: Part 2 | HelloShiloh

So, almost a year ago I wrote a post about my favorite books. Obviously, I've read quite a few books since then, so I figured I should update that list. (I bet you all know where this is going.) If you'd like to read my original post before you read this one, you can find it here. 

First of all, I wanted to let you all know that Saving Elliot has been finished! The ending was as amazing as the rest of the book. If you were holding off on reading it because it wasn't finished, you should wait no more. You can find this amazing book right here. (Also, I wrote a short one-shot for a contest that Rose was hosting based on SE. If you'd like to read that, you can do so here. (It would mean a ton to me :)))

Now, on to the books that I've fallen in love with this year:

• So, obviously the first book I have to talk about is Fangirl. This book is my absolute favorite book that I've ever read (sorry, TFIOS.) Rainbow Rowell just writes her characters in a way that makes you fall so in love with all of them. I also wrote a Booking It review of Fangirl, if you'd like to read it. 
• The next book that was added to my favorites this year was Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I'm not usually the type of gal that goes for books that are more adventure than romance, but I loved this one. I think it was because it sort of reminded me of The Series of Unfortunate Events. Whatever the reason was, I loved it and you should go check it out if you haven't yet. 
• Next up: Paper Towns by the wonderful John Green. I loved this books so much. It was actually the first book I read in 2014, and it was an excellent start to the year. If you haven't picked up this book yet, you need to. (The movie comes out in June–in case you were wondering.)
• The Beginning of Everything by Robin Schneider is another one that I really loved this year. It had a Looking for Alaska feel to it, and it was brilliant. This one is definitely in my top 10 favorites, ever. I wrote a review of it also. 
• To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han definitely made the list. I absolutely loved this book. You can read my review of it here. It was absolutely hilarious and one of the more unique books that I've read recently. I recommend it!

So there you have it. Five more books to add to my favorites list. I hope to find many more books that I love in this new year. 

P.S. Some really exciting news that I haven't mentioned on this blog yet is that Coffee Colored paperbacks are available for purchase! If you'd like to support me in my writing endeavors (which would basically mean that I love you forever) you can buy a book here. I'm also trying to come up with a contest maybe to win my new book (that I'm editing right now) for free. Let me know if that is something that you'd be interested in. 

Have a happy Sunday!

-Shi

10 Things I Learned from Fangirl | HelloShiloh

So it's 8:36 p.m right now and I have two essays due in the morning, but instead of finishing them I decided I need to make a blog post. (#collegelife).

So, anyway. I've been having a bit of trouble coming up with blog ideas lately, because apparently college is zapping away my creativity. (Who would've guessed having to write 5 essays a week could drain all the words out of your brain. Not me, that's for sure.)("A reverse black hole of words." "So the world is sucking you dry," he said, "of language." "Not dry. Not yet. But the words are flying out of me so fast, I don't know where they're coming from." "And maybe you've run through your surplus," he said gravely, "and now they're made of bone and blood." "Now they're made of breath," she said. [i still love fangirl too much, obviously]).

Anyway: 

Since I mentioned Fangirl, I thought that I might make a list of things this book (and being in college) has taught me. (Or really just why I love it so much.) Here we go.

1. It's okay to be quiet / not fit in right away. With being a first year freshman this year, I'm realizing that it's not as easy to make friends in college as they make it seem. I've made one real friend so far, and that's sort of pushing it. It's always been hard for me to make friends since I'm so quiet, but college is like a totally different game. I'm trying to be patient and give it time. Eventually my Reagan, and more importantly my Levi, will find me.
2. Words will somehow find their way out. (See above quote). It's been an aggressively painful task to write so many essays a week. I'm trying to make the words appear on paper, but it's a lot harder than it may seem. I'm tired and I feel like the words have all been sucked right out of me. But I know that they'll eventually come. It may take some time (and a whole lot of procrastination) but it'll be alright. 
3. Professors are generally understanding. Professor Piper didn't have to let Cath have another semester to finish her final project--professors don't have to do anything--but they're generally pretty cool. And they understand when things come up as long as you talk to them.
4. Sometimes your relationships with people have to change to help to move forward. Cath has to deal with a lot of things that her world used to revolve around changing--particularly Wren--and that's okay. People change and grow apart. The world will still go on. 
5. Sometimes the people you least expect to will mean the most to you. Who would've thought Cath and Reagan would become friends?
6. College isn't all that easy to adapt to; it takes time. You can't really expect to go to college on the first day and be adapted. It's different than anything you've ever done before, and it will take time to get used to. That's okay. Embrace it.
7. It's not healthy to stay locked up in your room writing all the time. As much as this one bums me out, it's true. If you lock yourself away you don't have time to build relationships with people. I would love to spend all of my time hiding away while I write, but honestly, if you do that you have nothing to write about. Relationships with people are the best muses. (They are also really beneficial mentally. Make friends, they're cool sometimes).
8. A little manic is okay. A little manic can inspire creativity. It's okay to be a little bit crazy. Embrace it.
9. It taught me that I want a Levi. That's all I've got to say about that one.
10. Rainbow Rowell is, without a doubt, my favorite author. For awhile I just couldn't seem to pick between her and John Green, but as I've reread Fangirl I realized that there is no competition. She won.

Okay, so those are just a few things that Fangirl has taught me. I guess I'm going to go try to bleed out a few more words for those essays now. Wish me luck. 

I'll write again soon,

xx Shi

Booking It: Fangirl

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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Description

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...But for Cath, being a fan is her life--and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; It's what got them through their mother leaving. 

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from the fandom, but Cath can't let it go. She doesn't want to.

Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words...and she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone. 

For Cath, the question is: Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

My Thoughts:

This. Book. I have no words. I just loved it so freaking much that I just...

I want to read it and reread it and reread it again. Like, seriously, I loved it. It's not too often that I find a book like this one, that I just love so much that I want to cry just because I finished it. I don't even know what I should do with myself now that it's over. (I have three other books picked out to read, but all I want to do is swoon over this one some more). Seriously. Just read it. 

It's absolutely flawless.

Cath was a really relatable character. She was quirky and funny and really shy. And the changes that we see in her throughout the book were phenomenal. And Levi...oh my gosh, Levi. Just. I want one. Okay, bye. 

My Rating:

{Can I give it like 100/5 stars? Is that I thing?--probably not).

Okay. Definitely, without a doubt, 5/5 stars. It's amazing. 

Read it. 

Okay, so you all know that I loved Eleanor & Park as well, and even though it's hard...Rainbow Rowell has just become one of my favorite authors of all time. She's tied with John Green. And that's saying something. Okay.

Read on.