Desperately Seeking Bookworm

Yay Birchbox! If you're just not familiar with Birchbox, click here . For those of you who do know about Birchbox, I had high hopes for this box. It isn't a straight up bad box, but it could've been much better. From the picture it just looks very bare, but then again my samples are more than generous in size. Hell 1 is even full size! Really I shouldn't be complaining. Eyeko Fat Liquid Liner/Full Size $16 "This eyeliner delivers the same smudgeproof, rich color in a thicker, bolder line than the original skinny liner" This was my sample choice and I was so excited for it! I'm awful at liquid Liner, and this product is supposed to make it simple. I have the perfect shadow to try this with, so I'm excited to use this. Update : While it was easy to use, I was not into the thickness of the line. I'm more of a tightline type of gal, so while I wasn't in love with the final look. It will be nice to experiment with.  Final Grade: B IPK...

For me to do a year in review is difficult. I read no more than 5 books that were standouts. Alas I decided to make one anyways. It'll be short, because some of these books I've already written about and some I will never subject you to knowing they exist. Think of it as a readers digest version of my ramblings... 2015 Overall winner: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins I did not need to think long at all about what my favorite book of the year was. I read this book at the most perfect time. During the 3 hottest days of the year, while riding the train, and while working an assignment for Pokemon. I'm not going to lie this book gave me nightmares. I stayed at my cousin's house, just to really catch some sleep in-between shifts and freaked myself out so much that I closed all the windows in her living room and slept in the 90 degree stale air. I still don't want to ruin this for anyone, because it is just that fantastic, but its simple to figure out....

The good thing about doing a reading challenge is I was able to read books I never would in 1000 years. I'm not very receptive of graphic novels or manga. Mostly because I'm a huge fan of imagery and I have an overactive imagination, so I don't need pictures. When I had to read a graphic novel, I'll be honest I dreaded it. While searching Google for the best graphic novel for non-graphic novel readers I came across Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman and its sequel Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began. Maus written by the son of a Holocaust survivor, focuses on his parents harrowing journey through the Warsaw ghetto and out of Auschwitz. I'm a huge history buff. I really do devour books about American military history and ww2 in general, so this was up my alley. I'm very glad I read these and I highly recommend both Maus I & II. For some reason reading books about the holocaust never cease to amaze me. The horrors...

So for the Pulitzer Prize winner I had to read last year, I chose to read a book from the 20s. I was really just looking for a quick fix and to get it over with. None of the PP winners I was seeing seemed interesting enough to me. The only one that seemed interesting put me had me at number 700 in line at the library, so I knew there was no way I would be able to complete this Popsugar task. Which is why I chose to read Laughing Boy by Oliver La Farge . "Capturing the essence of the Southwest in 1915, Oliver La Farge's Pulitzer Prize-winning first novel is an enduring American classic. At a ceremonial dance, the young, earnest silversmith Laughing Boy falls in love with Slim Girl, a beautiful but elusive "American"-educated Navajo. As they experience all of the joys and uncertainties of first love, the couple must face a changing way of life and its tragic consequences." Let's start with the good shall we? He used authentic Navajo language, which I ...

We made it through 2015! What a trying year for me. I got my first real grownup job, made some great connections, and read a lot of good books! Late in the year I discovered the Popsugar Reading Challenge, so when we were a couple of days away from 2016, I knew I had to see if they were doing it again. This time I am committed to this challenge! I have even completed one challenge already (look for that post next week). I even turned a coworker onto this challenge, because it's so interesting. I never expected to read a graphic novel, or a Pulitzer prize winner that was so beautiful I cried (also more on those in future posts). I'll admit I got a little sidetracked last year and that's due to a few life changes (my job really sucking up all my time), but that is neither here nor there. I continue to try and remain committed to this, not that I think I have followers, but hey if you read this thank you! Maybe I'll add in a few other things, like continue to revi...