Wednesday, December 18, 2013

What's Up Wednesday!

It's been way too long since I participated in What's Up Wednesday, so here we go!

What I’m Reading
After reading an INSANE number of books for grad school, I’m finally able to read for fun! *happy dance* I just reread the first two Divergent books in preparation for ALLEGIANT (I was silly and put it on my Christmas list so I’m STILL WAITING to read it) and reread LOOKING FOR ALASKA, my favorite John Green book. Now I’m reading BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA by Dorothy Allison, a book Tom (my favorite Susquehanna professor) recommended about a 10 year old girl growing up in a clan-like South Carolina family. It’s rich with a sense of place, voice and sharp dialogue.  

I’m almost at my goal of 50 books in 2013. J Maybe at the end of the year I’ll post my book list!


What I’m Writing
I’m not really writing anything at the moment…I’m kind of formulating story ideas in my head and saving them for next semester. I’m reading back through the 135 pages of THE NEW WORLD that I wrote over the summer and might add a little onto it while I’m home. I’m considering adapting it into a novella for my thesis (Oh GOD the “T” word! One semester into grad school and it already fills me with fear!). I need 120 total pages for my thesis, so I’m thinking about doing a collection of short stories plus a novella, maybe 60 pages of each.  


What’s Inspiring Me Now
Being around my family and just being able to relax at home! It’s been so nice to just decompress and not have to worry about deadlines and required readings.

What Else I’ve Been Up To
Not pictured: another bag full of yarn!
Crocheting! I’m attempting my first ever wave-stitch afghan and bought a TON of yarn yesterday. It’s still a little early in the process to tell, but I’m hoping it’ll turn out well. I’ve finally mastered the stitch pattern, but it takes more concentration (and counting) than my other projects.

TV! It's so nice to be able to watch mind-numbing amounts of TV again. Although all my shows seem to be going on INSANELY long hiatuses (Once Upon a Time AND its Wonderland counterpart won't be back until March!), which is a little lousy. But my brother and I watch our Supernatural DVDs whenever we have a chance. Gotta love brother/sister bonding where we cower in fear in front of the TV!

Movies! Literally three hours after I got home from Pittsburgh, we were sitting in the movie theater, watching Frozen. I LOVE DISNEY MOVIES! Frozen was adorable and had me tearing up in the first 10 minutes. There are a ton of other movies I’m hoping to see while I’m home: Saving Mr. Banks, The Book Thief, and American Hustle with my girl crush, Jennifer Lawrence! (I also wouldn’t object to a third go-round with Catching Fire.)


What have you been up to lately?

12 comments:

  1. Oooh, I love the idea of TNW as a novella (though, really, I'll love anything with those characters, because they are awesome!)!

    Glad you're enjoying this break. You so deserve it! :)

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    1. Thanks Shari! I'm playing around with the novella idea right now and am getting excited about it! :)

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  2. So excited for you to read Allegiant!

    Just saw Catching Fire for a second time and loved it even more! I am dying to see Frozen!

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    1. I CANNOT WAIT to read it!! I've been dodging spoilers as much as possible. And I think my mom and I are seeing Catching Fire again soon. This'll be my third time and I don't think it'll ever get old!!!!

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  3. Have fun with all your reading, writing, crocheting and marathoning adventures!

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    1. Thanks so much! It's been a super relaxing vacation so far. :)

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  4. Hello, Kaitlin! I love Disney movies, too! Frozen looks so cute. I also want to see The Book Thief. It's one of my favorite books, and I'm really interested to see how it was adapted on film. Enjoy your break and have a wonderful Christmas and happy new year!! :)

    Happy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

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    1. Thanks Laura! I just saw The Book Thief yesterday and really liked it. :) It's been two years or so since I read the book, so I can't speak much to how faithfully the script stuck to the book, but all the major events I remembered were in the movie. I hope you like it!

      And Frozen was PRECIOUS! :) Happy holidays to you too!!

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  5. Good luck with writing a thesis novella! That sounds like a really fun thesis.

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    1. Thanks Carrie-Anne! :) I'm definitely going to need some luck, the planning stage starts this upcoming semester, and the second year MFA students have filled me with fear!! ;) haha they insist it's fun, too, just a lot of work.

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  6. Yay for reaching your reading goal! I'm up to 57 for 2013, counting audio-books and graphic novels.

    I really need to catch up on Once Upon a Time. Maybe I'll have some more TV time over the holidays.

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    1. Congrats on your book total, too! That's a great number! :)

      Hope you have a chance to catch up on Once Upon a Time...I really love season 3 so far!

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