Out of Time
  • about
  • features
  • book reviews
  • music reviews
  • review policy
  • challenges

announcements!

Guess who's back, back again. Nova's back, tell a friend.


Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Messages from a Girl Who Writes Poetry

with 12 comments
*the way this is written is not meant to be grammatically correct. yes, i will forget capital letters but only because i prefer writing that way. tomorrow's post will continue with your regularly scheduled posts*

i bet you didn't know i write poetry. i bet you didn't know that i sit at the computer in an endless phase of write and delete, dissatisfied at the clay that refuses to be shaped. after all, how can a girl who uses words as knives write anything that sounds less than a crime scene? i don't know the difference between poetry and prose. when to use a comma and when to use a semi colon. ask me the definition of an limerick and i would ask you to spell it first. but most importantly, i can't make you feel anything. so what's the point? words only become poetry when they make us feel something and i can't even make myself feel anything more than disappointment.
"i said i write poetry. i never said it was any good." nova l.z.

This is how I feel about my life endeavors in a poem. It's a border of a self esteem issue and being critical. And yes, I don't think my poetry is any good but I want to write it anyway.
This poem actually won a contest. I wrote it based off the idea of insanity and all from a wattpad novel - The Monster Inside of My Bed. The last line is a direct quote from the book, which I give full credit to the author to.
Surprisingly, this one was so easy to write. I wonder what that says about me.


i wanted to love myself but was taught it was wrong,
that we should never be satisfied with what we've been blessed with all along,

"my brows are too thick"
"my eyes are too small"
"my voice is too deep"
"i think i'm too tall"

and there'll always be someone who wants what you don't,
when what they've been given is what you make your "goals."

do you wish for things that cost millions of dollars?
or find yourself yearning for hands you've never held?
perhaps the reason we want what we've never had,
is because we hope it'll bring the security we've never felt.
"famous artists considered the human body as a thing of beauty so why don't you love yours?" nova l.z.

this poem is honestly so important to me. quality-wise, it isn't my favorite but the meaning is there. it's one i've been playing with for a long time and the way it came out makes me feel pretty proud.



yes, this one i had to make a graphic. it was just too much to write. i actually worked with another poet to create this where the other poet wrote the same poem in the perspective of the male. unfortunately, the other half of this poem will never see the light of day since they didn't want to post it and it isn't in my place to do it for them.
i see it as a realistic version of the story of the good girl and the tortured artist. this is in the perspective of the girl, if that wasn't clear.


even though it was a fire that stole your mother away, you had a strange fascination with candles. at first, no one noticed. but you would religiously stock up on the same pine scented candle. i used to wonder why you chose that scent when it paled in comparison to others like banana nutmeg or watermelon lemonade. i'd always assumed that it had to do with the way your hands desperately clutched the same pen as if it was the only thing anchoring you to this life. or the way you wore an antique, rusty ring even though it turned your skin green. they called you an arsonist because when you looked at fire, you had this look in your eye -like you'd never seen anything more beautiful. no one believed you when you said that fire reminded you of your mom. but i did. she was a beautiful dancer - full of energy like every day was her last. and no matter how bright a candle burns, eventually, it'll run out of wax to burn. you didn't cry when your mom died. you cried when the smell slowly disappeared from her clothes which is why your candles have to be lit at all times. so the smell doesn't leave like she did.
"a flame dances when it comes in contact with thing that can put it out so why do we cry at funerals?" nova l.z.

this one, i wrote last night when all i had was a candle and the haunting music of Daughter playing. the title is very important to me and if you didn't get it, i'm talking about wind as "the thing that can put it out." i have a fascination with fire but only because i think it's really pretty and i feel like i really needed to write this.


Alright! So that's it for me. If you'd like to see the poems I have, you can check out my instagram account, here. I don't update the account too often as poetry hits me when it does. But if I do write something, you can bet that it's going to be up there!

I know this post is a lot different but I want to be spontaneous! Tell me what you think.

Do you write poetry? Read it? Who's your favorite poet? Fave poem?


Read More

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Get Rec'd: Fave Feminist Anthems

with 7 comments
Unfortunately, at this time, Get Rec'd doesn't have a banner and since it's nearly midnight, I can't be bothered to make one. Hopefully, next week's installment will feature some snazzy images! 

 
In most of these posts, I would give you all the song info but since I have less than 20 minutes to type all this [before it becomes midnight!], let's just focus on the words because I feel like this post is so important.

Feminism has a bad reputation as angry women who don't shave and curse all men. I'm quick to call myself a feminist because the description above is not what we are. Feminists want equality in rights, pay opportunities etc. If you believe in the equality of men and women then congratulations, you're pretty much already a feminist.

In my opinion and yes, it's an opinion, songs like "Break Free" and "All About That Bass" are barely feminist themes even though I've seen them classified as such. If anything is there, it's so generic and could pretty much be applied to anything. Also, I really cannot stand Meghan Trainor for a bunch of reasons and how All About That Bass contradicts itself in so many places [boys want a little more booty to hold at night]

I looked up a few feminist anthems but none of them really fit for me. Someone actually put Blank Space as a feminist anthem for Taylor mocking the industry and saying that the amount of boyfriends she has is none of their business but these two songs below are my personal faves.

First up, we have Sex Yeah by Marina and the Diamonds. I actually didn't want to listen to this song at first because of the title. I had no idea it was about gender equality and it's my fault for judging too quickly. There are amazing messages in it and an amazing tune. I personally love Marina and how many different messages she puts in her music. Sex, Yeah has a line where it's, "tired image of a star acting naughtier than they really are."
This song doesn't just say "yeah, women!" It's got more of a message, like how some people think women are sexual objects. I recommend reading this if you don't understand the song.



Secondly, we have Hard Out Here by Lily Allen. This song is vocally not very good which is a shame because Lily Allen CAN sing. Hard Out Here focuses on a dance beat with autotuned vocals but the message is very clear.
In many cases, people who have been called slurs often reclaim said word as something to be proud of. I can think of three examples off the top of my head [including the "n" word.] I don't actually agree with it in some way but I understand why people do it. In a perfect world, there wouldn't be any need for those words but this isn't a perfect world.
So my point is that this song is, "it's hard out here for a bitch" but bitch doesn't mean what we're taught it to mean. Hard Out Here is features self love, women having equal abilities [more than just the kitchen] and in Marianas Trench's Pop 101 style, parodies the things we see in hip hop videos [*cough twerking.]



Read More
Labels: Recommendation

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Monthly Recap [April 2015]: Swaggin' Collages and Sarcastic Conversations

with 16 comments
So this month is actually kind of a blur... Did anything even happen?

Some typical things: eating, sleeping, blogging, complaining about grades, crying over my "failed tests" [getting a 92] and using my phone for bad purposes. No, I do not play Plants Versus Zombies 2 during all my classes.

Yes, I totally had to scratch my head to think of the cool stuff I did this month. For one, I was inspired by Jessi @ Novel Heartbeat to make a collage out of swag. We went to Home Outfitters so I could buy a blank picture frame.


Also, I need to rant.All month, this kid in my science class makes really stupid comments at everything I do. I ask the teacher a question and he goes, "you aren't always right!" I talk to my friend and my teacher gets annoyed and he goes, "thank the f* lord, I thought she would never shut up." I wish people would just mind their own business and not make stupid comments when it's uncalled for.

And now, to end with Nova's funny story of the month because happy things. This time, I have two.

1) I was in the library yesterday with my friends and the librarian was like, "oh it's the hooligans again!" because we're always in the same spot at the same time. She's joking, of course. So I say, in my naturally sarcastic voice, "I love books. I read all the time." She calls me a liar and imagine her surprise when I start talking.

Her: what books do you read?
Me: can you give me examples because there are too many.
Her: Uglies by Dan Wells?
Me: You mean Scott Westerfeld? Uglies was okay but I picked up Afterworlds and that was a trainwreck.
Her: [surprised] What about that new one... The Red Queen?
Me: LOVED it! Plot twist at the end was amazing. I got to read it early too [explain about ARCs...]
Her: And there's one my kids are talking about. Snow Like...?
Me: Ashes? Snow like Ashes? That was is a definite recommendation and the author is such a sweetheart.
Her: How do you know the author?
Me: [smiling at this point] [Explain the whole blogger thing] I was really lucky to host her release day twitter party with a good friend [*cough* Nikki]

And now... she's guilt tripping me to go to the book club that meets once a month. I kind of don't want to go because I've never gone before but I think I will because why not?
Also, my friends during this conversation were like, "How does this girl know so much about books?"

2) The scene is after band practice in the music room. The band teacher is also my music teacher.

Me: But sir! I have a 93% in your class. Can't we bump it to a 95?
Him: Work hard for it.
Me: [someone is playing black widow on the xylophone] Do you know this song?
Him: [starts singing some old song]
Me: Is your age in triple digits?
Him: Your 93 just went to a 89.
Me: Your favorite book, The Chrysalids. Yeah, it sucks. [He was also my English teacher.]
Him: 85
Me: You dress badly. [walks out the door]
Him: 80.
Me: [comes back in] Really badly. [runs away]

And I don't know what happened after but I for one thought it was hilarious. And if you were wondering, yes, I do talk to my teachers like this. But only because I know them well enough to know that they aren't going to kill me.
I don't recommend trying this with just any teacher - you have to know their personality enough to know you won't get in trouble.


Review

I lost the shots of the other S&S books unfortunately.

Something insanely cool happened. I got my first unsolicited book. Well, I'm getting my first. It hasn't come yet but I got the email! I don't want to talk about it yet because it hasn't come but when it does - all the squeals.

This month, I was lucky to get Galgorithm, Last Year's Mistake and Most Likely to Succeed from Simon and Schuster. They have a list where you pick your top three and they send you one. Imagine my surprise when I received all three!

I also got The Revenge Playbook [which was fantastic!] so thank you Harper.

Lastly,  I was able to get a review copy of 5 to 1 so thank you so much Random House.




Library

I was able to get The Evolution of Mara Dyer ande The Kiss of Decption from the library. I'm doing my best with the whole juggling thing but I really should not be borrowing books.

Won/Bought

For those who might not know, before April, the last time I bought a book was in... September? So yes, I did break my ban for these two beauties! Here are the Goodreads pages to Hollow City and Blue Lily, Lily Blue.
I bought Hollow City because of the price [25% off] and Blue Lily... because it's signed by Maggie! It's the ONLY copy in the store that's signed so I had to!
Also, I won a giveaway from the k8chat and got a copy of The Kingdom Within so thank you so much for that.


Let's keep this closing short since my recap was insanely long. I hope you had an amazing April. If you didn't, let's hope May will be better. What did you do this month? Funny stories?

Read More
Labels: Monthly Recap

Thursday, April 23, 2015

ARC Review: The Secrets We Keep - Trisha Leaver

with 8 comments
Title: The Secrets We Keep
Author: Trisha Leaver
Pub Date: April 28th, 2015
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Page Count: 304

A girl takes over her twin sister's identity in this emotionally charged page-turner about the complicated bond between sisters.

Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy's shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy's world.

When—after a heated argument—Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. Soon, Ella realizes that Maddy's life was full of secrets. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options—confess her deception or live her sister's life.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21469095-the-secrets-we-keep?from_search=true&search_exp_group=group_b&search_version=service

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Chapters Indigo




This should've been perfect. There was an interesting premise to catch my attention, but the lack of plot tore down a lot of my expectations. - Nova @ Out of Time

Sometimes, when you read a book, you can't get enough of it until a certain point. Before the point, it's like "oh my gosh, this book is amazing!" You see no faults with it, convinced it's going to be a five star review even though you haven't read halfway yet. And then there's this revelation when you start to see the fault and they come in massive numbers. This is what happened to me with this novel. I started out loving everything about it and a bit after halfway, I saw it for what it truly was, plotless. And after that, I just couldn't ignore the major flaw.

Most of the time, I spend time talking about the main character but honestly, I didn't feel much for Ella. Rather, I was blown away by Josh's personality. This guy had flaws and he had quirks. He was real. I felt how real he was by the way he walked and how he spoke. Ella, to be, was nothing special. She was real enough, but like a lot of characters, didn't make me feel any sort of emotional attachment. Josh did. In real life, I'm pretty much Ella, only, I'm not overshadowed by my sister. I'm just overshadowed by everyone else. And someone like me needed someone like Josh, which is why my feelings for him are so strong.

And now that I've gotten something positive out in the open, I'm about to tackle the major problem. There is no real plot. This book is so character driven and for someone like me, it hurts. In the summary, it's said that there's this big thing that Maddy did that Ella didn't know about. It isn't that big. After I finished, I was like... over that? I know, it must be a lot more drastic in the "book world" but the way things were written, I was expecting secrets on a much grander scale. That completely ruined the ending of the plot for me.

What fixed it was the development in Ella. It's obvious Leaver can write. I saw a change in Ella that made me happy. Ella was very cynical in the beginning, which I really understood. Her situation was something insanely difficult to write and done well. Can you imagine everyone thinking you were your sister if both of you got into an accident and only one survived? I know it would make me question my worth and drive me to the point of insanity. I'd question if I even mattered and that's exactly what happened to Ella. That part of the novel was very important to her development and made me feel.

However, something that bothered me on a smaller scale was Jenna. There's this character who is stereotypical "mean girl" and everyone insists that she has home problems but we never see a different side to her. She's completely one dimensional with everyone making excuses for her. Ugh. I couldn't deal with someone like that, especially since there was never a side to her story. Plus, she was a walking stereotype with no original personality. Ella already had so much to deal with; in my opinion, Jenna was irrelevant.

Overall, I found this book to be enjoyable and there's such a strong message about sisters in it. Considering I have a sister, I was able to connect to it too. I don't regret reading it because there were aspects I liked, but I probably wouldn't read it again because I know I would be far more critical during the second time.


Trisha's Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website

Trisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather irreverent black lab.  She is a chronic daydreamer who prefers the cozy confines of her own imagination to the mundane routine of everyday life.  She writes Young Adult Contemporary fiction, Psychological Horror and Science Fiction and is published with FSG/ Macmillan, Flux/Llewellyn and Merit Press.

 
Read More
Labels: ARC, Book Review, Three and a Half Stars

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Mandatory Rules On: Creating the Perfect Bad Boy

with 25 comments
Welcome to my world, where bad boys are everywhere. No, seriously, they all sit together at one table in my high school, talking about their conquests and how they just won another street fighting championship. It's soooooooo hot!
So since I've got the entire group after me, [yes, all the boys are in love with me], I thought I would share some rules on creating the perfect bad boy.
Note: I am NOT saying that you should go out and chemically create the perfect bad boy. But if you do, hit me up.

  1. Dark past.
    Seriously, this is the biggest one. Abusive parents, drug history, street fighting because of poor background. Whatever you can think of. It doesn't have to be realistic or relevant. It just has to make it so your bad boy is even badder.

  2. Hotwheels Motorcycle and leather jacket.
    Purchase your bad boy today and we'll throw in a free motorcycle and leather jacket! Otherwise, the motorcycle is sold separately, along with the dream house and cruise. Accessories such as cigarettes and the leather jacket can be purchased online. Batteries not included.

  3. Family status matters... NOT!
    Your bad boy is going to be the most popular boy at school, or at least, the most known. It doesn't matter if he's secretly rich or poor as anything because he'll always find a way to make ends meet and face it, they don't care about money at all. Somehow, everything just works out.

  4. "Tousled hair"
    YA Bad Boys have redefined "sexy" by bringing a new trend... bed head. But don't worry, with their jawline and beautiful gemstone eyes, their "i don't give a sh**" hair only makes them sexier.

  5. Trying at school is overrated.
    Bad boys are naturally smart. Unlike the book worms who study daily to maintain their 4.0 GPAs, bad boys just raise a pinky and everything is done for them. They get straight A's and make their family proud.

  6. An unquenchable thirst for good girls.
    Opposites attract doesn't only apply in science class. The bad boy is looking for a good girl who gets paired up with him on a school project in which they end up spending their lives together afterwards. He finds good girls "cute" but don't worry, he's secretly a nice guy on the inside.

  7. Anger issues that are oh-so sexy [ex. defending the girl's honor]
    Because there's something attractive about the way your boyfriend beats another guy to a pulp when that other guy is being an asshole. ROOOOOOOOMANTIC.

  8. Overconfidence and arrogance.
    You can't deny, there's something attractive in an overflowing river of arrogance. When he cares about himself more than you, it's so cute to watch him fawn over himself. You love the way he talks about himself and how he carries his head high.

  9. Reputation built on lies.
    Oops, I must be going back on my first point a little, huh? So, your bad boy can't actually be addicted to drugs because it would be really gross to kiss him. He also has to be "rumored" to be a bully but really, spends his time reading Harlequin romances because no girl would fall for a guy who's actually bad. He can't be a murderer or rapist because there's a line of being "sexy bad" and "bad bad."
Bad boys have always puzzled me because I have a thing for them but I know in real life, it wouldn't be realistic. I don't want a guy who drinks and smokes and acts like a dick 23/7. I don't want someone who would cause trouble and hurt others for shits and giggles. Plus, I'm no good girl, so it automatically wouldn't work out.

I think what it is, is that authors take a good boy and give him some "bad" clothes, give him a bratty attitude but still have that nice guy underneath. Dress Augustus Waters in leather, give him a fouler mouth and a cocky attitude and mix it with the nice guy he is. Boom. That's a "YA bad boy."

What I feel we should be careful of is the fact that in real life, these are not what bad boys are. Bad boys are the guys who are actually bad. I've seen them. And to be honest, there is nothing attractive about them because they're uncaring, rude and probably don't want to talk to you anyway.

It's funny, because in contemporary fiction, things are set in modern day society but at the same time, so much of it is fantasy and authors have convinced us to them make our legit expectations. I'm sorry, but my school doesn't even have a cheerleading team, much less a head barbie witch who insists on making everyone hell. The "popular people" are the sweet and charitable, which is why they're popular.

What do you think about bad boys? Love them in books? Real life? Let me know!



Read More
Labels: Mandatory Rules On

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Get Rec'd: Phantom of the Opera Medley - Lindsey Stirling

with 11 comments
Title: Phantom of the Opera Medley
Artist: Lindsey Stirling
Album: Single
Release Date: July 2012
Record Label: Indie
iTunes








Did you notice the title change? Yes? Yes? Let's just say, I'm getting more creative with my Tuesdays. I will now be doing album reviews, musical discussions and "Get Rec'd" where I review/gush about a certain song that I want to push onto others! It makes no sense to do negative song reviews because unlike books, you listen to a song for like three minutes - and if you don't like it, it pretty much amounts to nothing.

Lindsey Stirling is a violinist and a really good one at that. This medley could've been a simple one with her and her violin, uptempo if we were lucky. But Lindsey thinks so far outside the box and besides the fact that the video is so visually appealing [seriously, it is. The costumes are so amazing and I have mad respect!]

The music starts of kind of typical for a lone violin. I actually have not watched Phantom so I don't know the songs [except Think of Me] but this video makes me want to. Anyway, it's slow and visually, black and white when all of a sudden, BAM. There's bright colors, electric guitar, drums and Linsey CRUSHING it on the violin. Seriously, how does someone play so fast?!

I can't even describe how beautiful this is, you would have to listen for yourself. My favorite part is right after the slow intro because it completely caught me off guard the first time listening and what really hooked me in!

I don't think this classifies as "writing music" because there's a lot going on and it could be distracting but despite the lack of any vocals, I've found myself jamming out to this song multiple times! Like totally play it at your next party or something.



Read More
Labels: Song Review
Newer Posts Older Posts Home
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

pageviews

Search This Blog

grab my button

Out of Time

Follow with Feedly

GFC Followers

I Review For...

HarperCollins
Macmillan
Penguin/Random House
Disney Book Group
Scholastic
Raincoast
Abrams
Simon & Schuster
HarlequinTEEN
Bloomsbury
Sourcebooks Fire
Little, Brown

Labels

Book Review ARC Giveaway Musing Four Stars Guest Post 3xA MA Five Stars Song Review Four and a Half Stars Blog Event Three and a Half Stars Blog Tour End of Year Monthly Recap 3xA MA 2015 One and a Half Stars Three Stars Book Tag Rant Waiting on Wednesday Infinity Stars Novel Melodies Random Two Stars Interview Mandatory Rules On Two and a Half Stars Twitter Party Album Review Half a Star One Star Original Work DNF Author Meeting and Signing Recommendation Advice Event Recap Excerpt Playlist Spoken Word

    Copyright © 2012 Out of Time | Powered by Blogger
    Layout by Web2feel | Blogger Template by NewBloggerThemes.com
    Lineal brushes by tutorialeslali
    Subscribe to Posts | Subscribe to Comments Light textures by Sarytah
    Music notes by Coby17
    Galaxy brushes by Sunira