because not much else is happening and I need to de-stress; a spring-inspired book tag

So this started circulating on booktube, and I kinda really liked the questions so here we go:

1. What books are you most excited to read over the next few months?
        Finishing The Luzhin Defense by Nabokov
        Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
        Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson
        The Good People by Hannah Kent
        Possibly rereading Peter Pan after watching Jen Campbell's analysis
   
   
2. What book most makes you think of spring, for whatever reason?
        I'm not really sure how to answer this one; to be honest, most books either heavily remind me of winter or summer, rarely do they remind me of the transitory months. But if I had to pick one, I'd probably say Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, simply because it is young and childlike and fresh (and I also read it during the spring semester of junior year in high school so..).
   
   
3. The days are getting longer --what's the longest book you've read?
        War and Peace. Although I'm still super happy about reading 1Q84 this year, too, even if that one is about 250, 300 pages shorter than W&P.
   
   
4. What books would you recommend to brighten someone's day?
        I'd probably suggest The Little Prince, even if it does have some tones of sadness in it, I still find it really sweet and endearing (and it can also be read in one sitting, which may be what someone needs when they need something bright).
   
   
5. Spring brings new life in nature --think up a book that doesn't exist but you wish it did (eg. by a favorite author, on a certain theme or issue, etc.)
        I'm sure this exists somewhere, I just have yet to find it (although I haven't been really looking too much). But I'm very, very fascinated with and particular about guardian characters. Like, I don't know what I'd expect from another author, I just love platonic, guardian-protector-like characters, who defend in ways that don't hinder or cut down the person they love at their growing points. To take Plath's imagery, I don't want "guardians" who put their loved ones in bell jars.
         Also, anything platonic/asexual/aromantic is a go.
   
   
6. Spring is also a time of growth --how has your reading changed over the years?
         Well, it's shifted from fantasy-esque (although I still do like fantasy in other formats, like video games, graphic novels, anime, etc.), but in the form of written novels, I tend to lean towards the poetically weird. It's done a shift from fantasy to magical realism. Oh, and dystopia.
   
   
7. We're a couple months into the year --how's your reading going?
         So far I'm super proud of myself! I mean, compared to last year and the year before where I read next to nothing, I'm really happy I've read 6 books so far (and one of those books was 1157 pages!). And I'm a little shy of halfway through Luzhin, so I'm really looking forward to the rest of my reading year c:
   
   
8. Any plans you're looking forward to over the next few months?
        Yes! Even though they're mostly geared towards summer, they'll probably get touched on in May when it's still technically spring :) One; I want to write my children's novel, so I'm aiming to having the first draft done by the end of summer, so hopefully 'round the end of August! And two; I'm going to start up a little gardening project this late spring/summer with some coworkers (and maybe my family) to help save the honeybees! I'm really hoping, even if it's really small, it'll kick start at least some food for the baby bees.

Okay, well that's it! I'm off to adult some now, and maybe get some reading done. Until next time,

Love, Lizzie. x

springtime tbr

So I guess here I am with another tbr! I read half of the books on my winter one, but to be honest I'm too much of a mood reader to follow these things religiously anyway... 

But regardless, here's what I'm hoping to read for the springtime (moods permitting):

Currently Reading:

My mother picked up Good Omens for me for my birthday --and it's been pretty fun so far. I feel like if I was one of those people who had a basket of books in my bathroom for guests, this would definitely be in the selection, because it's quite enjoyable (although, let's be honest, I'm not going to be that person with the basket of books --no, I'm going to be that aunt with the leopard bra hanging on the back of the door for all the world to witness--these are my life aspirations).

Hoping to Read:

The first one I ordered this past weekend, and it's called The Good People. It's by the same author who wrote Burial Rites, which is the novel that broke me out of my depressive-two-year-no-reading spree. I'm really excited about this one, though! It takes place in Ireland I believe, and has some accusatory witchcraft in it, and I'm just really intrigued by it (I don't quite remember all the details of the synopsis). But I thoroughly enjoyed Hannah Kent's writing style, and I've recently discovered (er, more like realized), I really like Irish literature, or those that take place in Ireland, or anything with a touch of Irish to it. Who knew I'd love the Russians & Irish that much, I'm really just a content mess with my taste in books, haha.

The second one I'm hoping to get to is Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson. A girl on youtube I watch often (her name is Sophie C.) talks about J.W. a lot, and this was her top favorite book of 2016, I think. The summary seemed really interesting (and it had a cup of magical realism thrown in, too), and I found it on AbeBooks with such a pretty cover and such a pretty price that I couldn't not get it for my birthday month. And it's kind of on the short side (I forget how many pages), so it won't stress me out or intimidate me much.

The third is some Nabokov --the Luzhin Defense --, although I'm not entirely sure if I'll get to it this spring. Anything Russian-related seems to work up my anxiety, but hopefully I'll be able to push through it and enjoy it. I'll just have to breathe. (And the book's about chess, and it begins with a little boy becoming upset over the fact that he is old enough to be called Luzhin like his father --but that's his father's name and he is not his father so he couldn't be Luzhin and the boy puts up a fuss in his blankets on the train and oh I'm rambling but I liked the intro so much I don't know why I can't pick it up and read without stressing myself out).

And the fourth and final one (I think I'll work my tbr's in four's) might be one of the many books on my kindle. I have a habit of downloading the first pages of books just to take them for a test drive before I really commit, and I've got quite a collection going. So I might just choose one of the intros and take the leap. The possibilities include but are never limited to: The North Water by Ian McGuire, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins, or The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto, just to throw a few names out in the water.

Well there we have it, some ideas for the springtime; I've very recently come up with a writing project that I can hopefully start working on (Meggie even agreed to doing illustrations for it). So I think I should be pretty busy this season. c:
Well that's all for now!
Love, Lizzie. x

life update: Sunday

Today's been very good --which is usually unusual for a Sunday, but I'm very glad it happened. I got to knock some things off my bucket list today, too, but I'll get to that in a bit.

I don't know if this is even from March, but we're going to say it was. I also don't know if webcam photos are even a thing anymore, but that's fine fine fine with me.

It was my birthday month, and it's had some ups and downs and loop-de-loops, but as a whole I'd say it's been nice. Wore some girly outfits, did my eyes all nice, and I feel like I've been occupying me a little more than I used to, although there have still been some days where it hasn't been all daisies, which is okay.
This month has also had a lot of Snapple iced tea.

For my birthday (well, the Sunday after my birthday) Momma, Bill, & Hunter all came up and we had dinner at Old Chicago --went for a walk & stopped in the kitty cat bookshop (which is closing soon I'm so sad about it) where Momma couldn't really help herself, haha --and then we went on a quick walk through some bits of Durham, where we got ice creams and stuff. It was just a really good day. It's been awhile since I've had a birthday that I've really liked, or even got to properly celebrate.

I've also accumulated some books (figured I could treat myself during the whole month, not just that one day), and hopefully I'll be in the mood to read them soon. I've been feeling a lil' slumpish lately, but the weather's turning so I think I can kick back into it. I even ordered a book late this afternoon, too (whoops). I read The Little Prince in one day (the day I got it), and it was so sweet & I loved it so much & there's a new Netflix original movie based on it --it was cute, but not as cute as I was hoping it'd be. But it was still sweet, especially since I was sick in bed with a cold that Monday.

 Now for today! I planned a little meet up with some coworkers, and we ate at a food truck rodeo!

 There are food trucks parked all the time around the city and the nearby town, and I've been telling myself for a couple years that I wanted to eat at one --particularly Chirba Chirba. 

It usually sits on one of the corners on the way home; I even remember sitting in Tim's car, telling him how I wanted to try some of their dumplings, and we'd have to make a date out of it sometime.

Well, it wasn't a date, but 3+ years later, I've finally had some of their dumplings! The local food trucks parked all in a row and it was the first truck I tried --and it was just as wonderful as I thought it'd be! I ordered some dumplings called juicy buns, and they had some sort of savory-sweet pork soup inside, and I dipped them in some garlic sesame sauce that had orange and some Chinese wine in it. It was super delicious, and I think I'll try to stop by the corner on my days off so I can have them again. It was really fun.

Well I think that's it for now, until next time. x

Love, Lizzie.