Wednesday, May 28, 2014

What's Up Wednesday!


I can’t believe it’s Wednesday again already! I feel like I just wrote last week’s post. I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. :) Here we go!

 
What I’m Reading
Pretty sure all I did during my long weekend was read. I finished THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas and LOVED it! I was skeptical because (apart from Harry Potter) I rarely read fantasy, but I was so into this world and the main character. I've already ordered the sequel and the bind-up of the novellas that go along with it. Also I finally read THE DARKEST MINDS by Alexandra Bracken (SO GOOD!) after months and months of saying, “I really need to read that book!” SO worth the wait! I read it in one day, I couldn’t put it down! I followed that up with the novella, IN TIME, which is sandwiched between THE DARKEST MINDS and the sequel, NEVER FADE. I own the sequel but haven’t started it yet.

Right now my Mortal Instruments reread is taking priority because CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE, the sixth and final book in the series, just came out yesterday. I’m avoiding Tumblr and Twitter as much as possible because I’m terrified of spoilers. I reread CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS and am currently working my way through CITY OF LOST SOULS. Then it’s onto COHF’s 700+ pages…SO READY to see how this series ends!

What I’m Writing
Yesterday I finished my Belize/Guatemala travel essays and sent them off to my professor. It feels so great to just be done with them, and I was proud about finishing three days before their due date.

I’m going to attempt to keep a notebook/journal/whatever you want to call it and write something in it every day. Small snippets of fiction or travel pieces, writing exercises, whatever. I keep saying I want to get into the habit of writing every day, and maybe this time I’ll actually do it! I established a nice routine right when I got home from Belize of waking up at 8:30-9AM and (after a quick breakfast) making a cup of coffee and sitting on the deck with my laptop. My parents are usually out of the house for part of the morning and my brother sleeps in, so it’s nice to have that time to myself to focus on writing.

What Inspires Me Right Now
Partial drafts of old projects. I reread pieces of the manuscript I worked on for most of last summer and realized I’m still excited about it (I thought I’d gotten bored with the story). Maybe I’ll pick it back up!

What Else Is New
My mom took me out for delicious French toast and hash browns (yay carbs!) at a restaurant called the Ice House. I’m not sure how to describe it (it’s like a diner that serves alcohol…they have fridges against one wall filled with cases of beer. They also make their own donuts and syrup. All in all, I was pretty pleased) but the food was YUM!

I’ve been hanging out in the building of the community college where my brother is taking a summer class. My mom and I drop him off (it’s an hour or so from our house) and then we read (or in my case, write my travel essays on my laptop) for four hours until his class is done. I’ve always known I’m much more productive in an academic environment (plus it’s nice getting out of the house two afternoons a week), so I’ve loved spending time there and tearing through my homework. And as a bonus, we always stop at Dunkin for coffee on the way there!

Also, I’ve finally started seeing TV spots for this gorgeous thing and scaring my whole family by shrieking and flapping my arms at the television. JUNE 6TH NEEDS TO GET HERE NOW!

14 comments:

  1. The Darkest Minds is another one of those books I keep meaning to get around to and still haven't! Then again I know the trilogy is finished later this year, so I might wait until its release and then marathon the series. :)

    Good luck keeping that journal! :) I could really do with getting into the habit of writing every day, too.

    Have a great week!

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    1. I highly recommend it! In a way, I'm kind of glad I waited until close to the final book's release...waiting a year between these books would've been TORTURE! :)

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  2. I'm really excited to see TFiOS. I'm sure I'm going to bawl a ton.
    That food looks yum!

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    1. I'm contemplating stuffing an entire box of tissues in my purse when I go to the theater. I'm prepared for the tears!!! Have fun seeing the movie this weekend!

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  3. Hi, Kaitlin! That picture of you with the DD coffee is adorable. You look very happy to have that in your hands! And that food...YUM! Now I want breakfast again even though dinnertime is in about three hours, haha. There's a place around me called Ice House, but it's a sandwich shop and deli.

    I get a lot done in an academic environment too. Enjoy those afternoons!

    Happy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

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    1. DD is definitely my happy place! :)

      And there's something about an academic setting that makes me super productive...guess it's natural after so many years in school!

      Have a great week!

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  4. I haven't read THE DARKEST MINDS yet, but I've had my eye on it for a while! :) I loved THRONE OF GLASS.

    My copy of COHF doesn't arrive until next week, so I'm going to have to work hard to avoid spoilers!

    It's always nice when you rediscover an old project! :)

    Have a great week!

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    1. Go for it! I absolutely loved THE DARKEST MINDS. THRONE OF GLASS is another new favorite of mine...my copies of the other books just arrived, and I'm already jealous of the people at BEA who got advanced copies of HEIR OF FIRE!

      I'm avoiding COHF spoilers like the plague, scrolling past all Cassandra Clare's tweets and being extra careful with the book blogs I follow on Tumblr. I hope your copy gets there soon, and best of luck dodging spoilers!

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  5. That food looks delicious! Uuuuugh, so hungry :D

    Congratulations finishing the essays. Hope you get some amazing grades!

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    1. Haha thanks, the food was yummy! Trying to find an excuse to go back again!

      And my fingers are crossed for decent grades on the essays. My professor is traveling right now, so she won't be grading them for a while...so I just have to sit around and wait! AHH!!

      Have a great week!

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  6. I had no idea TFiOS was out so soon. Yay! Can't wait to see it. Though, I don't look forward to crying in a public place. Ugh. I'm so glad you liked THRONE OF GLASS. I think you'll love CROWN OF MIDNIGHT even more. Such a fantastic series! I really need to read my copy of THE DARKEST MINDS. It's been on my shelf for way too long now.

    That's awesome that you still love your story from last summer. Isn't that the best feeling? You should totally pick it back up! Have a wonderful week, Kaitlin!

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    1. I'd love to hear what you think of THE DARKEST MINDS when you read it. It's such a cool adventure! So was THRONE OF GLASS. I didn't expect to love Celaena as much as I did! My copies of CROWN OF MIDNIGHT and THE ASSASSIN'S BLADE got here on Thursday, can't wait to dive into them soon!

      Happy reading and writing, Jaime!

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  7. I've been waiting for the final Mortal Instruments book for years, mostly because I didn't want to start them until the whole series was out. But then again, I also had the same approach for GoT, and that hasn't turned out great so far...

    Best of luck with your writing journal, I hope it inspires you with all kinds of new ideas, along with your partial drafts - sometimes our own work can be the most inspiring, I think ;) Have a wonderful week, Kaitlin!

    - Caitie

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    1. Oh wow, that's some amazing restraint to wait until the last book was out to marathon them! I don't think I could do it! I hope you love them when you read them -- reading them back to back will definitely keep the details fresh in your mind. I always have to reread the previous few books before I start the newest!

      Happy reading!

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