Book Blogger Love-a-Thon 2015: Book Valentines

Book Blogger Love-a-Thon is hosted by Alexa Loves Books! 

This is my first post like this, so let me know if I'm doing this wrong! 

Here's my valentine to Liam from The Darkest Minds <3

Not that I'd ever take him away from Ruby...(;

Lovely Lines

Hey guys! First, I would like to apologize for my absence these past few weeks. I can't believe I haven't posted since the beginning of this month! These past few weeks/months have been so hectic! School started back up again, and I have definitely been feeling lazy. Also, last week I had some sort of virus where I felt like my throat was rebelling against me and my teeth were going to fall out. Not the most fun week of my life, but it's over now! So, I'll quit with the excuses and get on with the post!

I have to admit, I've been in a bit of a slump lately. Not just with reading, but everything. I've been watching way too much Netflix, and not much of anything else. But alas! I am back and ready to write!

For some reason, I picked up a paper the other day, and creativity struck! More like procrastination. I'd heard of the poems made by blanking words out of other work. I think people call them blackout poems. I don't know if that makes exact sense, but we did it as an exercise in my creative writing class last year. If you've read Vicious by V. E. Schwab, I'm pretty sure one of the characters does this. Don't quote me on that though!

I took a whack at it with an article from The New York Times. It's not remotely good or anything, but it was still a fun little thing to do.

If you'v ever tried to do something like this, let me know!

                       

     *Last two are not mine

Goodbye Parenthood.

I know that this is a book blog, but I'm thinking about expanding it to just a little bit of everything. It will still be focused on books for the most part, but sometimes I just want to write something different. Today, I happen to feel like discussing Parenthood!

If you happen to be unfamiliar with the show, Parenthood follows the comically huge Braverman family. There are four siblings that the show centers around- Adam, Sarah, Crosby, and Julia. We follow their daily struggles right along with them as they grow up.

I have so many feelings for this show that I don't know how to organize them into coherent thoughts. I will definitely give it my best go!

Starting off Parenthood, I will admit, I was skeptical. I had just slipped out of a depression from finally finishing Grey's Anatomy, so I needed something to distract myself. I'm a sucker for the dramas. I will also admit that is was quite difficult for me to adjust to seeing Lauren Graham play anyone but Lorelei Gilmore. It did take me a few episodes to become fully invested in the characters, but once I did I was done. My one complete and overall favorite thing about the show is its honesty. The characters and their situations don't seem scripted or rehearsed, but completely real and at times, heart wrenching. 

I will go ahead and give a warning now. If you do not enjoy things that will squash your heart into a tiny ball and never let go (in a good way), do not watch this show. Starting around season three or four, every episode brought me to tears. Though I will say that there were some happy tears, the majority were ugly sobbing tears. I mean lip-quivering, body shaking sobs.

I became so invested in the characters that I felt like they were real people. If something happened in their storyline, I felt as if it was truly happening. Cheesy maybe, but still true.

Okay, another thing that truly moved me about this show was the music. And filming and everything else. But for now I will focus on the music. Much too late in my Netflix binge watching, I discovered a Spotify playlist collection of every single song played on Parenthood, organized by episode. I only wish I would have made this discovery sooner! Parenthood has been a huge avenue for me in discovering new music. There is a wide variety, so there is bound to be something for everyone. The production team definitely has a talent for matching the music to the moment. Sometimes I think the main reason I end up crying is because of the great music that can just make a scene twenty times more sad.

I won't ramble for too much longer, and I will leave you with this. After six completely wonderful seasons, Parenthood has come to a close. As of right now, it has taken the spot of my all time favorite show, taking the place of Grey's Anatomy and Gilmore Girls. That's a difficult thing to do, people! While Parenthood may not be for everyone, I think everyone should at least give it a try. 

The whole team involved in the show is brilliant, whether it be the writing or the camera crews. 

The last episode was everything I could have asked for. It had me on an emotional roller coaster ride, not wanting it to end. I have matured along with some of the characters, and I have grown to love every single one of them. I just want to thank everyone involved for providing us with this wonderful television series. It is truly beautiful.