Confessions of a bookworm.

A couple months ago, my aunt asked me for a list of my favorite books...and being me, I got distracted and completely forgot about it. BUT. I remembered. 

I'm an English major. I've loved books since I was little. Books are on my dresser, in my purse, on my windowsill, stuffed under my bed, in my car, literally everywhere in my life. 

What are my favorites? 

 [ps. these are in no particular order. I'm just looking through my collection and making a stack as I write.]

1. I have a strange fascination with biographies and historical accounts. I got my dad Killing Lincoln  and Killing Kennedy for Christmas last year, and loved Killing Kennedy. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried through the last couple chapters--and then spent a few hours researching Jackie Kennedy's life after her husband's death. The detail in this book is fantastic and maybe it's cliche to say it, but you feel like you're right beside JFK the whole time. 

2. It's all due to my AP English teacher that I love Hamlet. Now I wouldn't go out and read it for leisure necessarily, but the story is one of my favorites and if you haven't read it already, I would. 

3. Along with a fascination with history, I'm also intrigued with non-fiction anything. I liked Outliers, Unbroken, The Lone Survivor, and the Omnivore's Dilemma. But there isn't a non-fiction work that I love more than The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It will change your life--and if it doesn't do that, it will make you look at life a little differently at the very least. I laughed until I cried and then cried until I laughed, and sobbed some more. It's incredible. [once you read that, read his wife's book, Dream New Dreams too.]

4. The entire Harry Potter series. I have a Pinterest board called "The Chosen Board." These books were my childhood. That's all. 

5. Utopian or dystopian societies are all over in literature lately [ex. Divergent] but my favorite will always be The Giver by Lois Lowry. I think I first read it in 4th grade or something...and I reread it all the time. I don't even know why I love it so much, I just do. 

6. My favorite book in the history of writing is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. If I'm ever bored of what I'm currently reading, I resort to this. I have the unabridged version on my bookshelf, a copy of it on my iPad, and the abridged version in my backpack. I'm in love with Edward, I want to be Mercedes, and I can quote a solid portion of the Count's lines. It's almost pathetic...but not quite. 

7. Like every good English major, I've read my share of the classics. I'm not a huge fan of the Bronte sisters, but I did enjoy Wuthering Heights. I love Jane Austen, just like basically every other teenage girl in the world. I love anything that qualifies as "Early American Literature" particularly The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible. And I'm just going to say I LOVE F. SCOTT FITZGERALD & C.S. LEWIS and leave it at that. If you haven't read The Great Gatsby or Mere Christianity or The Chronicles of Narnia series, you haven't lived. Do it. I'm also in love with The Princess Bride and Frankenstein and Dracula. But make sure you get the unabridged/unedited versions or you miss the details that make the story worth reading [1818 for Frankenstein and 1897 for Dracula].

8. Random favorites: When You Reach Me. The Book Thief. The Wednesday Letters. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Why We Broke Up. 

9. If you're looking for a good series [and by good I mean I read it when I was in high school and loved it] read A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. I also just barely started Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and as weird as it is, I'm absolutely loving it! My mom and I are also obsessed with The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flemel series too. 

10. And because I've got a pile of books to read at least seven high, I obviously need to be looking at what I want to read next. I'm looking at Perfect Ruin, Fangirl, and the Divergent series. 

What are your favorite books? 

More than words.

I had a freshman student email me last week and ask me a couple of questions about my major. 

Now, as a Literary Studies major, I've become pretty used to the same basic questions. 

...and what exactly does a literary studies major study? 

...are you using that as a kind of "pre-law" degree or something? 

...what exactly are you going to do with a degree in literature? 

And I always answer the same way. 

I get to study books. I read dozens of books each semester, and then talk about those books. Then I read books about the books I'm studying and analyze the books that are analyzing the books we're reading. 

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to law school anytime soon. I don't like school that much!

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that question, I wouldn't have to find a job with my degree--but honestly, I don't know. Teach? Write? Who knows. 

But this student didn't ask those questions. He gave me two new questions to answer, because he was interested in the program and wanted to know what I thought. 

1. Why are you studying it? What's in it for you?

2. Why do you love it? 

I tell everyone I love my classes, but I hadn't really ever thought about why. 

So I started thinking. 

Why am I studying it? What's in it for me? Why do I love it?

I love that there isn't any right or wrong answers. Everything is open to interpretation in a million different ways, and it doesn't matter what you think about what you're reading, as long as you're thinking about it. 

I love that you can learn so many different things about different aspects of the world by reading literature from different regions, authors, or time periods. 

I love that there are hundreds of thousands of words in the English language, and no two books tell the same story. 

I love that I can go from crying to laughing to fuming in a single night of homework. 

I love that there is absolutely no math involved. 

I love that I get a life lesson from each assignment: Frankenstein has taught me that monsters do exist, and most of them are human. The Count of Monte Cristo taught me that patience and hope are key to success. Harry Potter taught me that good will always win. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn taught me that doing the right thing is always the right choice, regardless of what society says. Alice in Wonderland taught me that all the best people are a little mad. The Great Gatsby taught me that money isn't everything--and you can't buy happiness. 

I love that words are powerful--and I love that you can get lost in them.

Sometimes, I try to pretend like I'm not the biggest nerd on the planet. But when it comes down to it, I'm more content with my nose in a book than I am anywhere else. 

I'm not studying English because it's going to give me a fabulously high paying job or because it's the most sought after career in the world. I'm studying English because I love it. 

So there you have it, Mr. Freshman boy who wants a new major. Whether you decide English is what you need to do--or even if you choose engineering, or computer science, or botany--find something you love. I did. 

Books are proof that humans can work magic. 

19 years young.

Maria from Sewn by Maria nominated me for a Liebster award! I've seen these around the blogs I follow, and never would have guessed I'd get one. Probably one of the coolest birthday surprises I've had today! 

Here's what the Liebster Award is:

The definition:
Liebster is German for sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. How nice is that?
Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers and blogs.

The rules:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.
2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself, and create 11 questions for your nominees.
3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 other blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have been chosen.
4. Copy/paste the blog award on your blog.

11 Questions from Maria:

1. Why do you blog? I'm an English Literature major, and writing has always been my happy place. I love words, and I love meeting and finding out about new people. Blogging is my favorite outlet to do just that. I was also a layout/graphic design manager for my high school, and blogging lets me do a little bit more of what I love. I miss working on layout and design more than any other part of high school, and this lets me experiment in my own way! 
2. Dogs or Cats? Honestly, I'm not much of an animal person. But I think I'd choose dogs. My family has a German Shepherd, and we...tolerate...each other. But I'm not huge on animals. 
3. What is your favorite color? Grey. Dumb as it sounds, it's true. Or purple. 
4. What is the strangest food you've ever eaten? I really don't think any food is that strange! My family loves sushi, so we eat a lot of that raw fish, caviar, seaweed. I love calimari as well. I'm not a picky eater by any stretch of the imagination! I just really don't like milk or bananas. That's it! 

5. What is your favorite movie? I really love all movies! Some of my favorites are 17 Again, Safe Haven, Taken, Get Smart, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Miracle, Mean Girls...
6. What's your favorite music genre? Anything but rap. I'm a huge country fan--it's on my bucket list to see Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood before I die--but I also love artists like Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, Mayday Parade, Go Radio, We Are the In Crowd, Bon Iver, Sara Bareilles, Regina Spektor, Ed Sheeran, Of Monsters and Men, and so many more. 
7. What do you want to be when you grow up? ;) A mom. That's really all. :) I'm an English Major, and I've wanted to be a broadcast journalist since I was little. But ultimately, I just want my own family to take care of. 

8. If you got to name your own planet, what would you name it? Pluto. He got gipped. 

9. Who is your hero? My grandma. She passed away when I was a sophomore, and I still consider that one of the hardest experiences of my life. I learned so much about family, grief, and myself...but I wouldn't want to go through that again for all the money in the world. My grandma was the perfect example of love, service, and selflessness. I just hope I can be half the person she was some day! 

10. What is your favorite holiday and why? I LOVE the Fourth of July. Fireworks, BBQs, friends, and it's in the middle of the summer. I just love America, I guess. 
11. What is your favorite family tradition? Not a very sentimental one, but I love it anyway: when I was in elementary school, a really good family friend fell off his roof putting Christmas lights up [he was OK, don't worry!]. In an attempt to make light of a scary situation, my family created a mannequin in honor of him, and placed him on our roof so that it looked like he was falling as well. Our neighbors loved it so much that we have continued to place Steve on our roof in various poses every year since! We recently moved to another house in our neighborhood, and people now drive INTO our culdesac just to see Steve. Inventing his pose and watching people's reactions as they see him is one of my favorite family traditions. 

11 Random facts about ME:

1. I'm currently a student at Utah State--and I'll be an Aggie til the day I die, but I want to go to cosmetology school someday and open my own salon.
2. I love Audrey Hepburn. 

3. I'm a natural blonde, and my hair is naturally curly. Hair-dye and my flat iron have become my best friends over the years. 

4. I was the Computer Technology Sterling Scholar for the Northwest Region of Utah [and I have absolutely no idea how computer coding or any of that stuff works. Thank heavens for layout and design].

5. I don't like dessert unless it's chocolate. Anything else is a waste of calories. 

6. I'd be completely satisfied if the only foods left on Earth were avocados and chocolate ice cream. 

7. I have an aunt that is two years younger than me, and an uncle that is two years older. 
8. I probably talk more than anybody else on the planet. The first time I came home from school, my parents looked at each other and said, "I finally figured out why it's so quiet now. You talk so much, Ashley!" Whoops. Like I said, I love words. 

9. I don't have a single athletic bone in my body, but I love to run. I've completed the Ragnar Wasatch Back four times! 

10. I can name just about any font in the Adobe Creative Suite and I'm a closet art history nerd. I took AP Art History my senior year and have never loved reading a textbook more in my life. 

11. I once spent an entire summer in Nauvoo performing in the Nauvoo pageant for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

My Blogger Nominees:
1. Bre from all about bre.  We went to high school together, and I'm in love with her and Dalton's relationship [Dalt also happens to be one of my best friend's cousins]!

2. Mckenzie from Makin' the Most of the Moments. One of my roommates and very best friends in the whole world. 

3. Jessica from Oh the Blissful Life.  Jess has the cutest style, some great tutorials, and I just adore her. 

4. Karli from After the Manner of Happiness. Cutest love story ever. Pretty sure she doesn't even know I exist, but I'm in love with her blog.  

11 Questions for my Nominees:

1. What is one food you couldn't live without? 

2. If you could go anywhere in the world by any means of transportation, where would it be and how? 

3. You've invented a candy. What's it called? What does it taste like?
4. Three celebrities you want to be best friends with? 

5. Most irrational fear that you have? 

6. What is your favorite line of song lyrics?
7. One movie you wish you had been cast in?
8. What item on your bucket list are you most excited to complete?
9. Least favorite TV show? 

10. What Disney princess are you most like? 

11. What is your pet peeve? 

Thank you again for the nomination, Maria! 

The way it looks.

November 12: I've always loved English, and I love to read. So it only makes sense that finally, I can call myself an English major. I love to read, love to write, and as Bronson put it, I say probably twice as many words as anyone else. I'm also kind of obsessed with quotes...and have a board with over 1,000 of them on my Pinterest. [Pathetic, I know. But I'm not a crafter. Or a cook. So my boards are mainly quotes and clothes. Deal with it.] Today, I'm thankful for my all the incredible books out there, the plays, the poems, and the people who created them all. Now for some of my favorite quotes, Pinterest style.

Not only do I love quotes, whether they're funny, cute, sad, inspiring, or mind boggling, I am an avid reader. I could read Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture" or Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo" seven millions times and never get sick of them--and I've probably come pretty close to that many readings. Which brings me to my very favorite quote in the whole world.
At the very very end of the Count of Monte Cristo, the Count is writing a letter to his friend before he leaves with Haidee, and leaves his old life for the last time.
The Count tells Morrel, "There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. It is necessary to have wished for death, Maximillien, in order to know how good it is to live. Live then, and be happy...and never forget that until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words--Wait, and Hope."

Words, words, words, people. They're a big deal.

November 13: I'm grateful for the standards that I keep. Last night, we had to go see the play "A Chorus Line" for my creative arts class...and it was one of the worst things I've ever watched. So many vulgar, crude, and nasty jokes. A whole lot of swearing. And nothing in it was even slightly redeeming.  It was so uncomfortable. But it did teach me something--there are things in this world deemed "high culture" that are just as low as the lowest culture out there. And I know my standards, and know what I think is okay. I'm glad that there are some things out there that are okay though, and that I know what's what. I'm grateful for the standards and ideals that my parents helped instill in me, and for the beliefs that I have being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That's all, really. :)