day 9 | when school reading gives you jewels

I'm feeling better today, but still not completely in shape. Ugh. Should I have gone to work today? I rather would have not, but c'est la vie -- a penniless creature such as myself needs to go to work for the monies.

Ugh.

Anyway, let's discuss the book for day 9! Honestly, I am finding it hard to answer this question because I don't really pick up books without at least being intrigued by the summary. Will you seriously pick up a book with the initial thought of "this sucks"? So I decided to talk about a book that I had to read for school. Because seriously, no student thinks "fun!" when they're assigned to read a book.

Day 09 - A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

Crime and Punishment by Fyodr Dostoyevsky

We had to read this book for my world literature class, and of course I wasn't that thrilled about it. I mean, the blurb was OK, but it didn't reel me in (especially since I was a science fiction, swashbuckling action fan!). But what the hey, it's not like I could protest and refuse to read the book. I could, in theory, but the most probable end result would have been my expulsion from that class. So I grudgingly read the book, armed with Spark Notes.

To be honest I was surprised that I actually liked it! I found myself really excited and nervous when Raskolnikov was plotting to kill the money-lender. And even though I knew what he did was wrong, for some reason I wanted him to be saved. But as such, justice must be served and the moral lesson is "two wrongs don't make a right."

I've been meaning to read this book again for sometime now, since I was reading it in a certain time constraint. I think I'll read "The Brothers Karamazov" first.

This entry has been really short! What a record! Well, until the next book!

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Day 10 - Favorite classic book
Day 11 - A book you hated
Day 12 - A book you used to love but don’t anymore
Day 13 - Your favorite writer
Day 14 - Favorite book of your favorite writer
Day 15 - Favorite male character
Day 16 - Favorite female character
Day 17 - Favorite quote from your favorite book
Day 18 - A book that disappointed you
Day 19 - Favorite book turned into a movie
Day 20 - Favorite romance book
Day 21 - Favorite book from your childhood
Day 22 - Favorite book you own
Day 23 - A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t
Day 24 - A book that you wish more people would’ve read
Day 25 - A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 - A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 - The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 - Favorite title
Day 29 - A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 - Your favorite book of all time

day 8 | the fault in this book

I feel horrible.

My stomach is aching and my kneecap is hurting. Earlier, I was breaking into a fever. What in the world did I do to deserve this? I feel like dying. Hopefully writing will ease my mind a bit.]

Let's talk about the most overrated book! I know that people are going to be mad at me for writing about this, because it's a book that a lot of people really enjoyed. So I'll just disclaim beforehand that this is all my opinion and I am not judging you for liking this particular book, it just didn't do it for me and did not live up to my expectations.

Without further ado, let us discuss...

Day 08 - Most Overrated Book

days 5, 6, and 7 | hodge-podge!

WELL SNAP.

I failed to update for two whole days! But I have an actual excuse! The Internet connection at home is still a nightmare, and I was out for the whole Monday. By the time I got home I was dying from exhaustion. I seriously wanted to write something, but I was soooooo tired. Ugh.

Anyhoo! Now I am here and I shall write, write, write! Last week I said something stupid about doing illustrations, and I think that'll take a backseat for a while. Obviously I can't do it with this entry. So let's just say by the tenth entry, I'll probably do it, to commemorate me sticking to something for once.

Onwards we go!

Day 5 - A book that makes you happy.

book challenge day 3 | until the next episode

Welcome to Day 3 and 4 of my book challenge!

I actually had half of my Day 3 entry written up yesterday, but as luck would have it, my home Internet connection was being wonky as heck. Sigh. So I'm going to combine the entries for Day 3 and 4. It's a good thing the two questions are connected!

Also, I've been thinking of doing something different with this challenge. Since my entries are looking so blah and imageless, I think I wanna try illustrating my answers. I know this idea is probably going to crash and burn, given my history of brilliant ideas that never seem to reach resolution, but what the heck! It's not a sin to make and break promises, haha! I might try it with my entries for next week.

That said, let's get on to our next entry...

Day 03 - Your favorite series and 

Day 04 - Your favorite book from your favorite series

By now, I think you know that I'm going to cheat again and name more books than is required. Why? Because I'm indecisive like that!

To be honest, I'm not really a fan of trilogies and books that come in a series. I just hate having to wait! I have a tendency to pick up completed series or stand-alone novels, simply because I am consumed with such giddiness and impatience when waiting for the next book. I also have a tendency to obsessively marathon-read books when I want to find out what happens next, to the point of staying up all night just reading or buying the next book (and does not happen to be in my budget). But I still read a lot of series books 'cause I never learn my lesson.

That said, I am going to name (once again) three series!

book challenge day 2 | reading and reading and reading

I am bored (shh), so to prevent myself from falling face-first on top of my desk, I will write day 2 of this book challenge!

Day 02 - A book that you’ve read more than 3 times

Man, I got stumped again! The truth is, I was a big re-reader when I was younger for the very simple reason that I didn't have enough books! Books were a luxury to me. I had tons of hand-me-down books from my uncle, but once I finished all of them, I had to wait for special occasions before I could buy a new book. Of course, when I got older I blew all my savings in books, no occasion needed. So I had a bit of a hard time coming up with just one book. 

Which is why I'm writing down three! Mwahahaha!

Another Apology + A Book Challenge!

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I AM AN IDIOT.

Remember almost a month ago how I made an apology about not writing in this blog? Well, I AM APOLOGIZING AGAIN. Because I am an inexcusable idiot!

See, this time I don't even have a reason for not writing. I'm just an idiot who has random bouts of depression and general discontent with life. And I hate it! I think it's because I'm getting really burnt out at work, causing me to go home and temporarily convert to an amoeba. I'm not even reading as much, which is definitely a surprise!

I've also been having a lot of bouts of just general reflection and thinking, "what's the fucking point?" So what if I have a blog and I don't update it? So what if I'm unproductive -- not everybody can be the next Steve Jobs.

And then I finally kicked myself in the proverbial arse and said, "YOU should care about your life."

So yeah, here's me caring and trying to get back in the writing groove again.

I actually had my March books lined up AGES ago, but I never got around to finishing it. I swear, I'll put it up sometime this week. My April reads will be easier because I only read two books :(

AND! As a way to kick in the month of May, I am doing a 30 Day Book Challenge! This month, I am challenging myself to write about books that I've read and all that jazz, one entry per day! I really hope I accomplish this, I think it pressures me more when I have to go through a timed challenge.

Onto the first challenge:

Day 01 - Best book you read last year 

A Visit to the Owl Burrow

*cricket chirping, tumbleweed rolling*

Uh, hello.

I posted here almost a month ago. That has got to be a personal record! In retrospect, I've never really meant to abandon this blog, but here's why I never got around to writing anything.

First, I was dealing with a bit of sickness that made breathing a bit difficult and delicate, so I didn't want to spend time making a blog post because that requires sitting up. Kill me, I know. I'm doing better now and I hope it keeps up, but given my track record with luck nowadays, I'm not looking at the bright side of things. On the bright side, being sick made me take better care of myself and my diet, so it's not entirely a downer.

And secondly, I've been having thoughts about reconstructing this blog. I know I said before that this blog was going to be more art-oriented, but I'm having a difficult time producing art (I will talk about this further in another entry). Meanwhile, I'm really getting into finishing my giant pile of books and my to-read list is ever expanding. Also, my last two entries have been about my monthly reads (March's entry is coming up!) and I think I quite like writing about books. I have a lot of themes and issues that I also want to explore through writing.

So here's what's going on: I'm making The Patchwork Owl a more book-centered blog. I'm going to try and produce art with a theme (book characters and quotes) so I get more motivated. I might also sneak in some photodiaries, but most of this blog is going to be about books.

Someone poke me if I start being an idiot and not posting again!