Leap Day Shenanigans

Leap Day has extended the pleasures of February while also prolonging high school seniors' sickening anticipation in regard to college acceptances that come with March. I'll be ignoring my own unease (I got into two of my dream schools this month though!!) in favor of recapping the month.

I've only read one book since my last post: Nine Stories by JD Salinger. Salinger has yet again reaffirmed my love for him and his writing style. His short stories are all unique but in that same tone that is undeniably Salinger-y. His characters are some of the most realistic ones in literature, the stories are raw, and his dialogue flows so smoothly. I admire him, so much so that I purchased his other collection of short stories, Franny and Zooey, today.

Talking about my book splurge, here are the reads I snatched today (when I ditched school lol)

1. Franny and Zooey
2. The Sirens of Titan
3. Tao Te Ching

Funny enough, I was borrowing the Tao from my friend but decided to buy my own, Barnes and Noble Classics copy. It has some really good life advice, and the excerpts relate to some bits of my current WIP. 

Reviews of each of these books will come one day, but I'm currently back on the Captive Prince series with it's sequel, which FINALLY came in the mail. Have to admit, I'm kind of irritated that the dialogue uses ' rather than the classic " but we'll see if I adjust to it later in the book.

While my reading hasn't been the most productive, my writing has! From January 31st-February 28th, I wrote 20,778 words with my WIP's total word count being 48,931 currently. Hopefully the trend will continue into March and I can wrap up this novel before senior year is over! And shout out to Fran, the best beta-reader-editor ever. 

Ratings--

Nine Stories: 5/5 stars

Currently reading: Prince's Gambit by CS Pacat

Currently listening to: The Clone Wars Score

Currently watching: The Clone Wars, The 100

Reading and Writing

Hello!
While February is a month defined by love (thanks Hallmark), for me, it's been filled with reading and writing. On the last day of January, I started tracking how much I write a day and honestly I've been doing pretty well. From the 31st-12th, I wrote a total of 12,921 words, which averages close to 1000 words a day so woo! Hopefully I can wrap up the first draft of my current work in a few more months.
With the writing aspect out of the way, we get to the main part: reading. I finished two books this past week, and while neither were blow-outs/five stars, they were better than anything I read in January. My books of choice were Lost Stars by Claudia Gray and Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat. Both earned a 4 star rating but for entirely different reasons.


Lost Stars is a part of the new canon Star Wars universe. It covers everything from A New Hope to the Battle of Jakku that followed the end of Return of the Jedi. But instead of through the eyes of the main cast, we're given protagonists Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree. Through the story, the pair goes from best friends to lovers to enemies (based on their status, not on their hearts). While the story was a better take of the Star Wars universe compared to episode VII's novelization, it still wasn't amazing. The characters were just okay, though the romance was real. There were some moments I loved, some lines I loved, but nothing made it extraordinary.

Captive Prince is the first book of a trilogy I've seen all of my favorite authors rant about. I decided to pick it up for their sake and wow. This book is sensual and enrapturing. It has a very unique and diverse setting, and the manipulation and deceit of Vere's court is compelling. This book was in no way intended for young readers. It has some very graphic scenes, including mentions of rape. That said, I found it a captivating read and finished it in only a couple days. It wasn't given a full 5/5 due to overflow of information thrown into your face that could become hard to take apart. Also it's anti-climatic end. Still a great read and can't wait to read the sequel, Prince's Gambit (which I can't find ANYWHERE)

Other notes to my life in February--
Currently reading: Nine Stories by JD Salinger and Hamlet by Shakespeare (school)
Currently listening to: Jupiter Ascending score by Michael Giacchino (especially the First and Fourth Movement)
Currently watching: trying to catch up with season 3 of The 100 and Boys Over Flowers, marathoning Lord of the Rings trilogy, and American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson

Happy Valentine's Day!