Must Read Poetry!

Here is a list of what I consider to be Must Read Poetry! Poetry is one of my absolute favorite genres (as I'm sure you know)! I absolutely LOVE it!! So, here is the list:

1. Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson is my absolute FAVORITE POET EVER!! Her poetry is so enigmatically beautiful! And it is so mysterious! I love it so much!

2. Collected Poems of Robert Frost
I'm reading this one now. Robert Frost wrote my favorite poem that was included in The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. "Nothing Gold Can Stay". Robert Frost is a wonderful poet.

3. Howl by Allen Ginsberg
This book has a lot of profanity in it, but I think the poetry is wonderful. If you are 18 or over I think you should definitely read this book.

4. territories of folding by T. C. Tolbert
T. C. Tolbert came to read at a VOX event. They were selling these books. The poetry in it is wonderful. I have a review of this book posted as well.

 

5. All of Mattie J. T. Stepanak's books

These aren't all of his books. These are the ones I have. The poetry is so simple and so beautiful. 

6. Collected Poems of Maya Angelou 
Maya Angelou is someone you simply must have on your shelf! I've read some of the poetry and the image is wonderful and beautiful!

<3 Amanda Leigh

Must Read Plays!

Here is a list of what I consider Must Read Plays! Most of which are by Shakespeare. :) Because I LOVE Shakespeare!!

1. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Hamlet is an extraordinary play! It is my favorite play of all time and certainly my favorite Shakespeare play! It has so many complexities (even a bit of psychology thrown in there) and the language, of course, is beautiful! The Globe Theatre put on a production of Hamlet on the lawn at Pace! It was incredible! I wrote a review of it for the English Department newsletter. I should post that here. As well as the pictures we took!

2. MacBeth by William Shakespeare
MacBeth is a wonderful play! I loved this play! It is difficult to describe why. Again with the complexities. But yes, it was absolutely wonderful! 

3. All My Sons by Arthur Miller
We read All My Sons in my Introduction to Literature class sophomore year of college. The family dynamics and family secrets in this play were so well done. I really enjoyed this play very much!

4. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
This is one of Shakespeare's comedies. We read and acted out this play in eighth grade.. I played the fairy queen. And one of the people whose mind gets messed with. The comedy in this play was very funny and very well done!

5. Othello by William Shakespeare
"There's cute jealous and then there's Othello." That's a quote from Gilmore Girls. It clearly gives you the idea that this play is about jealousy  As well as about deception and lies. It really makes one think. It was a great and tragic story!

6. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Another one of Shakespeare's comedies. This one is partially about the follies of falling in love and why one should avoid it at all costs. Now, I am all for falling in love, but the behaviors that take place within the characters are often spot on!

7. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 
Ah, the last story was about how one should avoid falling in love and this one is ALL about love! A forbidden love between two teenagers, Romeo and Juliet. Their romance is forbidden by their families because they have been feuding and don't want their children interacting with each other. But the children meet. It is love at first sight and soon they are madly in love. They will do anything to be together! This is certainly an extremely tragic love story!

These plays are absolutely wonderful and you should definitely give them a read! If you pick just one though, the one I would recommend the most is Hamlet!! It is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE EVER!!!!! 

What are your favorite plays? Are you reading any now? I would LOVE to know!

<3 Amanda Leigh

Must Read Classics!

I have been brainstorming ideas for blog posts. One of the ideas I got from a video that one of my favorite BookTube Channels put up. The BookTube was Chapter Chicks! So this blog post will be about what I think are Must Read Classics. 

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Wuthering Heights is one of my all time favorite books! It is absolutely incredible! I heard it described as a tale of "love, madness and obsession." I consider this a completely accurate description. It is the ultimate tragic love story, in my opinion.

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
I stayed up reading this book until my father came into my room and took it out of my hands. In response to which I said "No." and grabbed it back from him. The story of the four very different sisters coming of age is beautiful. I always related to Jo the most, because she loves to write and is very hard-headed. 

3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This book provides a great portrait of the rich in America in the 1920s. From the time of the roarin' 20's to when the Great Depression began to take hold of the country. It also has a tragic love story. And the story takes a direction one would never expect.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This is a wonderful story about the complexities of America at the present time period. Some important lessons are learned by the children of Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch is also a great character. As is Boo Radley.

5. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
This book started the revolution of the meat packing industry in America. It revealed what really went on in the factories. And what made it's way into the meat. As well as the awful treatment of the people who worked there. There are some extremely gruesome scenes in this novel. So if you do not have a strong stomach, this may not be the classic for you. Although I believe it is a very important one.

6. A Thousand and One Nights by Anonymous
I very much enjoyed the story of A Thousand and One Nights. Sherizhad was very clever in the story. The stories she told throughout the story were also very good. (I hope that sentence makes sense...) This is definitely the oldest classic on this list. It is also definitely recommended.

Three Classics I Can't Wait To Read:
1. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
3. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

What about you? What are your some of your favorite classics? Which classics are you going to read next? I'd love to know!

<3 Amanda Leigh

Book Review: Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel (Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel #1)

Title: Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel (Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel #1)
Author: story by: Melissa De La Cruz adapted by: Robert Venditti art by: Alina Urosuv
Release Date: January 15th 2013
Published By: Hyperion
Page Amount: 112 pages, paperback

Goodreads Blurb:

For this group of gorgeous teens, New York is all about parties, fashion...and blood. 

Schuyler Van Alen is a loner and happy that way. But when she turns fifteen, her life dramatically changes. A mosaic of blue veins appears on her arms, and she begins to have memories of another time and place. When a classmate is found dead at a nightclub, the mystery deepens. Most surprising of all, Jack Force, the hottest boy in school, starts showing a sudden interest in her. 

Schuyler wants answers, but is she prepared to learn the truth...especially when she discovers her part in it?

The sexy and secretive world of the Blue Bloods comes to life in this stunning graphic novel adaptation of Book One of Melissa de la Cruz's best-selling series.

Review:

I love graphic novels! They are a great way to combine my love of reading and my love of art into one neat package!

I have been a fan and a follower of Melissa de La Cruz's Blue Bloods series since my freshman year of college about 4 years ago. I like the spin she puts on the world of vampires. My favorite character in the series is Dylan Ward. So when I saw that there was a graphic novel I knew I HAD to get it!
(If you would like me to, I can do a series review when I finish this series.)

I thought the artwork in this graphic novel was absolutely beautiful! The artwork was in full color. Most of the characters were how I pictured them. Schuyler Van Allen the most so. I pictured Bliss a bit differently. I thought she was just a bit too thin. And I remember in the description of her little sister, Jordan, it said that she was a bit heavy. The girl in the graphic novel did not show any sign of chubbiness or baby fat. Jack Force is pretty much how I pictured him. 

The story was fairly well adapted. You get the overall gist of it. If you are someone who hasn't read the novels and only chooses to read the graphic novels you may be slightly wanting for more answers.  If you have read the novels though then this is a great companion to go along with them! And as I said, the artwork really is beautiful. I do recommend this one. I give this 3.75 stars!

<3 Amanda Leigh

Blog Post Round-Up For This Month (So Far)

This is a round-up of the blog posts I have done so far this month. I need more ideas! Let me know any suggestions you may have! Thanks! :) Here they are!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

http://girlwithapenandadream.blogspot.com/2013/04/its-monday-what-are-you-reading.html

Cover Reveal ~ Salvation by Skyla Madi

http://girlwithapenandadream.blogspot.com/2013/04/cover-reveal-salvation-by-skyla-madi.html

Late Promo Post for the Exemus by Folami Morris and Abeni Morris

http://girlwithapenandadream.blogspot.com/2013/04/late-promo-post-for-exemus-by-folami.html

<3 Amanda Leigh 

Late Promo Post for The Exemus by Folami Morris and Abeni Morris

"Playlists

The greatest writers make the art of writing look easy. Their stories come together seamlessly, as though Rumplestiltskin or little fairies were working behind the scenes. You can always expect their characters to be three-dimensional and well developed.  A novel from these individuals is always worth its weight in gold, because without any aid these artists weave a web of magic that speaks to the spirit and elevates the soul.

I however don’t have access to that fairy dust, so in order for our book to come together we had to use mortal magic: music. Music was such an integral part of our writing, because good music has the ability to transport you anywhere, to make the loneliest person feel loved, and to inspire the least creative people.

We used music to help us feel the depression Dephon feels growing up in a dystopian society.  Music helped us to create the love between Hyalee and Singleton. Our favorite songs when we wrote about them was Stand By Me and When a Man Loves a Woman, oldies but goodies that seemed really appropriate when writing about those two.

Below is our playlist for when we wrote the book. And yes there is a lot of Micheal Jackson, he died during that time and we spent a lot of time reminiscing over his career.



             Blame It on the Boogie by Michael Jackson

            Obsessed by Mariah Carey

            Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood

            Halo by Beyonce

            Billy Jean by Michael Jackson

            Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson

            Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson

            The Climb by Miley Cyrus

            The Potential Breakup Song by AJ and Ally

            He Could Be the One by Miley Cyrus

            Stand by Me by Ben E. King

            Run this Town by Rihanna and Jay Z

            Russian Roulettte by Rihanna

            Disturbia by Rihanna

            Do You by Ne-Yo

            When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge

            Supermassive Blackhole by Muse

            Full Moon by the BlackGhosts

            Knock You Down by Keri Hilson

            Sweet Dreams by Beyonce

            Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down

            She Wolf by Shakira

            Waiting on The World to Change by John Mayer

            Stranger in Moscow by Michael Jackson

            Will You Be There by Michael Jackson"

<3 Amanda Leigh

Cover Reveal ~ Salvation by Skyla Madi

Salvation (Guardian Angel #3)

by Skyla Madi 

Release Date: April 2013

From Limitless Publishing

Cover Reveal Organized by: YA Bound

Summary from Goodreads:

In the aftermath of a battle that forced Ruby to flee the safety of the guardian angels, she settles into a small town, hoping to blend in and forget about the ones she loved. It isn’t until Hunter stumbles across her working in a bar and a well-timed email from Ivan Aleksandrov that she realised she could go back to Sage Sanctum—for a few days, at least.

Out for revenge, Lucian will stop at nothing until he has Ruby for himself, but he isn’t the only one that needs her. The council, a group of gods/goddesses have a mysterious hand in Ruby’s return to Sage Sanctum and Mr Aleksandrov is eager to find out what it is.

Destroying Lucian is the least of her worries when Ruby comes face to face with Eli De Luca, the love of her life. It seems her departure has affected him more than she thought it would, but his frustration with her isn’t strong enough to hide the electricity that crackles relentlessly between them.

Determined to end her very real nightmare once and for all, Ruby fights the biggest battle of her life, one that affects not only her, but everyone involved.

Check out books 1 & 2 in Guardian Angel series:

About the Author

Skyla Madi was born in the small town of Port Maquarie, New South Wales in 1993. She spent half her life growing up in Wauchope, a thriving rural town at the heart of the Hastings River Valley before making the leap to the busy city of Brisbane.

Whenever this young Australian writer isn't changing diapers, watching cartoons, cooking for her husband or doing other motherly-wife things she is actively working on her writing and improving her writing skills.

Skyla loves to read just as much as she loves to write and since discovering that YA/paranormal romance/urban fantasy/ are her favourite genres, she has embarked on her own writing journey and is currently working on a YA series titled 'The Guardian Angel series' which is being published by Limitless Publishing.

Website |Twitter|Goodreads|Facebook

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. 

Reading Now:

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Up Next:

Most likely, this:

The Collector by Victoria Scott

What about you guys?

<3 Amanda Leigh