Historical Fiction v. Historical Fantasty

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone says, "Read this historical fiction books, it's super good!"  Then when I *attempt* to pick it up and it's fantasy, I get so mad.  Historical fiction is a realistic novel that is set in the past.  Historical fantasy is a fantasy novel that is set in the past.  Some examples of historical fiction would be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.  Some examples of historical fantasy would be Clockwork Angel (and the rest of the Infernal Devices trilogy) by Cassandra Clare and A Great and Terrible Beauty (and the rest of the Gemma Doyle trilogy) by Libba Bray.

So this was basically just a rant but oh well.
-Catherine

Summer Reads

They're many definitions of 'summer reads' so I'll give mine:

Summer Reads: Contemporary/YA/Fictional books set around or in summer.  The book should have romance and maybe some fluff.  Summer reads should be fluffy, not death and blood like seen in many Dystopian and Fantasy books.  Fluff, romance, joy, happiness, and love should be in a summer read.  Appropriate for reading by the pool and at the beach, but also good for 2am after you're done crying over a non-fluff death book.  

That is an award winning definition, I shall accept my awards later on.  Anyways, I'm going to go about this in the format as shown in Catherine's Top 3 Most Anticipated June Book Releases and in our combined May Book Haul. This format has a picture of the book, title, author, and the link to its Goodreads page. 

   1. Great by Sara Benincasa 

   2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 

3. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira  

4. Exile  by Kevin Emerson  

5. The Truth About You and Me by Amanda Grace

6. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green 

7. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

8. Everything Leads to You by Nina Lacour 

9. Shine by Lauren Myracle 

10. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver 

11. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz 

12. This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith 

These are some summer reads that are on my shelf, and I will be reading this summer.  I've already read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Love Letters to the Dead, To all the Boys I've Loved Before, An Abundance of Katherines, Shine, and a different book by Jennifer E. Smith and Lauren Oliver and I loved them both.  Happy reading!

~Kate

10 Things to do this Summer

Here's a list of some things you should try to make your summer unforgettable! 

1.) Go stargazing by yourself or with some friends. It's a beautiful thing to do on a clear night. You can drive out of town and sit in the back of a truck, or just put a beach towel out in your front yard! Either way, it's a lovely thing to do. The stars are so very beautiful!

2.) Read a good book. It can be you starting a new series, or revisiting an old favorite. Books are a wonderful way to spend a rainy or too hot summer day! Plus, when you're home a alone and board, you're never truly alone if you have the characters and adventures in the pages of a book in your hands! I love to read until the early hours of the morning.....

3.) Have a picnic. Pack some sandwiches and lemonade and meet your friends at the park! Bring a picnic blanket or even a beach towel and chat with your friends in the shade of a tree! It's a wonderful way to feel refreshed and a wonderful way to hang out with your friends! (You might also get a nice tan!!)

4.) Go to the pool. This is very cliché but still very fun! It's a good way to cool down in the summer heat, and extremely fun and relaxing with friends!

5.) A summer shopping spree! Who doesn't love new summer clothes? Buy new battening suits, dresses, shorts and all the pretty summer clothes! I personally recommend Urban Outfitters and Charlotte Ruse for stylish and comfy summer clothes.

6.) Have a lemonade stand. I seem to have a thing for cliché things, but they can be very fun. Lemonade stands can get you some extra cash and gives you something to do when you're home this summer.

7.) Start a new TV series. This can possibly ruin your life and will make you want to go in tumblr and reblog everything about the show. Some good recommendations are: Gossip Girl, Awkward, Merlin, Sherlock, Dr. Who, Once Upon a Time, Revolution, Pretty Little Liars and Teen Wolf! I'm going to start watching some of these shows this summer!

8.) Go on a road trip.  This can be a family road trip to the beach, or a road trip to a water park with some friends! It doesn't even have to be a big road trip, it can be an hour ride in the car to go to the nearest lake, park or beach... which leads me to my next suggestion...:

9.) Go to the beach! Tacky, I know, but a very fun thing to do during the summer. It can be a couple of days, or just a day trip to the beach depending on where you live. The beach is a fun yet relaxing way to spend some time. Plus CUTE SHIRTLESS BOYS!! (I'm a little boy crazy...) Also, it is great to sit on your beach towel, read a good book while listening to the waves, and get a nice tan!

10.) My final suggestion is try something new and have fun! Maybe pick up a new hobby such as drawing or baking.  Maybe even do something very different like getting your hair dyed (I like to dye my hair, it's very fun to try different colors.) Meet someone new, try the new coffee place in town or maybe a new restaurant that you wouldn't normally go to.  Try and experience new things so maybe you can find out who you are.  Summers are for change, right?

Sorry for the very late post, my grandma has been in town for the past few days.  This Saturday I'm going to try to upload a post but it might not happen because I will be spending a few days at my friends house because my family has to go somewhere because of family sickness.  I'm going to try to write a post tonight and have Catherine post it on Saturday if she would be so kind as to do so.

~Kate

Photo credit: The lovely land of somewhere on Tumblr