MY BLOG IS A TODDLER!

Why am I posting on a Friday? you ask. Because Out of Coffee, Out of Mind turns two years old tomorrow! That’s why! *flings confetti* Instead of making a cake and letting my little toddler smash its face into it, I’m going to throw a small virtual party, since it’s much less messy. (Also, I was informed blogs don’t eat cake. I’m still not sure if that’s true, but okay. Whatever you say. *rolls eyes*)

Over the course of the year, my blog has garnered more followers and more pageviews than I had expected (in fact, my pageview count for this year is seven times what it was for my first year). Not that it’s about numbers. *shifty eyes* But it’s encouraging to know that at least some people continue to be interested in what I have to say. 

According to the stats, these were my top fifteen most popular posts of the year: 

That Really Deep Writing Post

Cinderella (2015) vs. Ever After (2002)

DOCTOR HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG: Which One’s the Villain?

The Get to Know Me Tag and Shenanigans 

I am Seven

Life Update #2 // Wherein I Admit to Having Fallen off the Face of the Earth

Your Blog is Your Blog 

Memento Mori 

SWEPT TO SEA and My Problem with Christian Romance

Discussion: A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS // Books 1-3

2016 // I Resolve

Beautiful People #14 // Writerly Resolutions and Goals

Discussion: A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS // Books 7-9

Further Gripes About Christian Romance

Why I Reread

Along the way, I have had some great encouragement and support from so many bloggers, and I feel bad for only listing a few, because I don’t want to leave anyone out. Also, there are so many nice things I want to say, and I’m feeling strangely speechless. But here goes: 

Aimee @ To the Barricade!: I love Aimee’s energy and her different perspectives on deep issues. Plus, she got me hooked on Twenty One Pilots. Need I say more? 

Alexa @ Summer Snowflakes: Alexa’s blog is great for reminding me how fun it is to be a fangirl. She’s also super sweet and thoughtful. 

Ashley @ [insert title here]: I love reading Ashley’s thoughts and seeing her get excited about books, fairytales, and Sherlock, among other things. She’s always been a bright spot. 

Cait @ Paper Fury: Cait is hilarious, and she's a blogging inspiration. But I have to watch my back because she’s always trying to use her dragons to steal my throne. 

Clara @ Lost in My Library: Clara is one of my newer followers. I haven't read nearly enough of her posts, but I really like what I've read so far, especially her thoughts on books. 

Grace @ Somewhat Reserved: Grace is also one of my newer followers, and again, I haven't read nearly enough of her posts. However, she reminded me how much I love BATTLE ROYALE and even got me more excited about it, so she deserves extra cake. 

Heather @ Sometimes I’m a Story: With her snarky, dry humor and her polite way of introducing negative opinions, Heather gets me to think even when I don’t want to think. Also, she was my first steady commenter. 

Imogen @ Gossiping with Dragons: Imogen always gives great writing advice, and she has a great singing voice. *nods* We also have very similar taste in stories, from what I can tell. 

Katie @ A Writer’s Faith: Not only do we share the same blogversary, but we also love pizza. Whenever I need to remember how writing and editing can be humorous, I hop on over to her blog. 

Opal @ Opal Swirls: Opal is deep and thoughtful and poetic, and she gave me lovely feedback on one of my manuscripts. 

RM Lutz @ The Book Hound: R.M. is understanding and supportive, and she is my main source for more obscure bookish recommendations. 

Tessa @ Books, Bubbles, and Arohanui: Tessa is kind and quirky, and I always find her posts inspirational and encouraging. 

Topaz @ Six Impossible Things: Topaz doesn't hesitate to share about her struggles, and she's always kind and understanding. 

TT @ introtoblurb: TT started blogging back in February, and I’ve really appreciated his support and involvement in the blogosphere. When I want to remember why I love blogging, it always helps to head on over to his blog. Also, he talks about food sometimes, so…

Victoria @The Endless Oceans of My Mind: Victoria has been invaluable, from her funny and thoughtful blog posts, to her supportive comments on my manuscript and blog, to her concern for my wellbeing. 

Victoria @ Wanderer’s Pen: Every time I drink tea, I think of this sweet, kind, wonderful person whose posts always make me smile and whose emails always make me feel valued. I’m glad I stumbled onto her blog, even though *whispers* I still think coffee is better than tea. 

This is by no means a conclusive list, and if I’ve missed you, please don’t be offended. I still like you! I just may not have read your blog enough to feel confident in giving an accurate description of you. 

Quick, look over there! A giveaway! *hides* 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open anywhere Book Depository ships. Please make sure you are either 18+ years old or have permission from your parents, as I will need your address if you win. Also, I am not responsible for any shipping failures. If you win but you either already own ILLUMINAE or don't want to own it, then I will be happy to substitute a book of equal or lesser value. In case you aren't familiar with ILLUMINAE, just click on the gorgeous cover photo below for the Goodreads description: 

Well, that's it for today, my little coffee beans. Thank you for coming to my blogversary party! *throws more confetti* *hands out coffee* 

Bookish Discussion #3 // Cover Love

Source

Last week, I spent a couple days discussing bookish aesthetics and why I don’t think it’s okay to judge people who are concerned with the way their books look. (You can find the links here and here.) But today, I’d like to talk a bit more about the importance of nice book covers. 

Let’s say you’re in a well-stocked bookstore, and you’re just browsing, hoping something wonderful will catch your eye. It stands to reason that it’s in the publisher’s best interest to provide books that do just that. Granted, an ugly book could be a thousand times deeper and more interesting than the gorgeous hardcover displayed next to it. But let’s face it, there are so many books out there, and you’re not going to be able to read them all (GASP). Which is why it’s nice to have a system that helps you choose which books are worth your time. 

So, without any further ado, let’s talk about some book covers and designs that do their jobs well. 

ILLUMINAE

ILLUMINAE is a prime example, not only because the cover is gorgeous, but because the insides are gorgeous as well. Just by flipping through a couple pages, you can tell the book took a great deal of time and effort to design. Of course, the insides could still be rubbish, and you wouldn't know that until you read it, but hopefully the design conveys that the publishers at least thought the story was something special. Had it looked like it had been thrown together at the last minute, you might come away feeling uneasy, and perhaps you’d be a little slower to buy it. As I've said before, a publisher that doesn’t seem to care about the outward product might also not care too much about the story itself. Hopefully you would love it anyway, regardless of its exterior, but you have to want to pick it up first. 

INSURGENT

I do intend to discuss the whole DIVERGENT trilogy at a later date, maybe in a month or two. For now, I just want to say that I vastly enjoyed INSURGENT the first time I read it, but found myself a little disappointed when I reread it. Even so, every time I see it on my shelves (which is every day), I get the urge to reread it because the cover is insanely beautiful and atmospheric. True, the cover doesn’t make the story any better. But it does improve my reading experience, and it ensures that I will give the book at least a third, or fourth, or fifth chance (I reread a lot). 

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD

Covers are always a matter of personal taste. What looks wonderful to me might not look so great to you, and vice versa. Some people love covers that feature girls in dresses, for instance, but as a general rule, I’m not a huge fan of that design format. To me—and this is just my opinion, so take it or leave it—those sorts of covers don’t convey much about the story they’re representing. In fact, they seem like the easy way out, like the cover artists didn’t have enough time, ideas, or money. Or maybe they just didn’t care enough. Either way, it looks like they chose something easy and generic—attractive, usually, but not special. However, ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD is a notable exception. 

Because Anna’s outfit plays such a huge role in the story (in case you hadn’t gathered that from the title), the dress is relevant to the plot. But there is also detail beyond just the girl and the dress, and that helps set the mood even further. For instance, we have the blood dripping off the hem of the dress and down her legs, and we have the whole vintage feel going on. We can see a thick ground fog in the foreground, and a haunted-looking house in the background. Bits of torn red ribbon (at least, I think it's ribbon) provide accent and visual interest. Even Anna’s posture communicates a great deal. Added together, all these elements set the tone of the story. We know we’re going to be reading something creepy, dark, and atmospheric, but also a touch whimsical, romantic, and sad. Ultimately, the cover is one of the reasons why I bumped ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD up on my book-buying priority list. 

Yes, book covers aren’t necessarily indicative of the story’s worth or the author’s skill, and it’s possible that focusing too much on lovely book covers can lead you to miss out on some wonderful literary gems. But with so many stories to read, and so little money to spend on them, I prefer to library the ugly books and buy only the books with covers that delight my heart. And that brings me to my next discussion topic, library vs. ownership, which I’ll be discussing on Wednesday. 

In the meantime, here are some random book covers for you to analyze (if you’d like to). I’d love to know what you think of them, what emotions/thoughts you think they convey, and whether they would have any impact on your book buying decisions. 

  

  

Well, that’s it for today, little coffee beans. What are some book covers that make you go all grabbyhands? What are some book covers that do the opposite? How do you decide which books to buy and which books to borrow? What are some of your favorite book covers, and why? 

ILLUMINAE // Hold Me, I'm in Love

Warning: As always, I try to stay relatively spoiler free. But it doesn’t hurt to proceed with caution. 

Rating: Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is)

Okay, okay, I think I’m in love. This book was AMAZING. And I don’t say that lightly. I know that, as far as book bloggers go, I am very easy to please and I probably give out way more five-star ratings than I should if I want people to take my judgment on bookish matters seriously. But I would give this book eleven stars if I could. 

In a nutshell, ILLUMINAE follows Kady and Ezra as they escape the destruction of an illegal mining colony by hitching a ride with the Alexander and her fleet. However, the company that attacked the mining colony, unwilling to let any witnesses survive, pursues the fleeing ships for months. Matters worsen when a strange illness breaks out on one of the ships and the malfunctioning Artificial Intelligence takes drastic measures to prevent its spread. 

But the story is much much more than that, so obviously I need to explain to you why I love this book so much I would pry it out of the hands of a crying baby if I had to (haha, ahem, just kidding—I would never be that mean to a baby…probably). 

AIDEN. I. Am. In. Love. With. AIDEN. Although he is a computer (AIDEN stands for Artificial Intelligence Defense Analytics Network), he is more than just an amalgamation of algorithms and code. Whether it is his programing or his damaged hardware, his thought processes transcend binary into poetry. There is something so tragic and pathetic about the way he falls for Kady. Actually, there’s something so tragic and pathetic about the way he processes the world in general. (And when I say pathetic, I’m speaking in terms of pathos rather than ridiculousness.) He may be one of the main antagonists, but he does not see himself as an aggressor. Always he tries to act in the best interests of the majority, and he constantly justifies and evaluates his decisions. His programing may be cold and sterile, supposedly devoid of human feeling, but there is still something so distinctly moving when he asks himself, “Am I not merciful?” 

His thoughts, both in wording and presentation, are works of art, and I daresay he is more human in the end than most of the humans on the Alexander. I think he is, hands down, one of my favorite characters of ever, and I will probably talk about him so much over the coming year that you will want to duct tape my mouth shut and throw me out the airlock before the end of it. Sorry, not sorry. 

Phobos. I actually felt a little misled here because one of the blurbs on the jacket mentioned zombies and I was like, “Ooh, yay, zombies.” Except they aren’t zombies, not really. Granted, the people effected by the virus behave a bit like the zombies in The Walking Dead in that they are attracted by sound. But Phobos victims are basically just uber psychotic people. Extremely terrifying, extremely violent, extremely psychotic people. And they are far scarier and far more dangerous than mere zombies. So I’m totally not disappointed. 

As Phobos progresses through their systems, they become increasingly unreasonable, paranoid, and violent. But they retain enough of their intelligence and enough of their humanity to make them far worse—more awful and more tragic. And if you've read the book, you’ll understand why I will always fight panic every time I hear someone say, “Don’t look at me.” There is probably something really deep and symbolic about the Phobos victims’ behavior, but I’m far too busy donning my hazmat suit and barricading myself in my closet to analyze this aspect of the book any further. 

Kady and Ezra. The story literally begins on the day Kady and Ezra break up. (Talk about poor timing.) And it’s fascinating to see where they go from there—how the tumultuous circumstances affect their strained relationship, and how the big, awful things around them help the two to see the small, awful things they have done to each other along the way. Normally I’m not a huge fan of romance, but when it comes to Kady and Ezra—yeah, I ship it. 

Also, Kady is a skilled hacker with more than her fair share of sass, and I want to be her when I grow up. 

Unique Format. As much as I was excited about the formatting of the novel, I was a little dubious for first the first two hundred pages or so. Maybe I was reading too quickly. Maybe it was that the narrative just felt a little different, like I was on the outside looking in. But I struggled to ground myself in the characters’ heads, and there were times I felt a little vague on the technicalities of the action, like maybe I had missed something important. (I sometimes feel this way when I’m reading books in French—I understand French, but it’s also not my mother tongue, so there’s a bit of a mental lag.) 

Despite my initial mild confusion, I did find myself getting more and more and MORE invested as the story progressed. Now, having finished the book, I can tell you I am entirely sold on this form of storytelling. It’s not something I would read all the time because I’m fairly certain most authors couldn’t pull it off. It’s also a style that doesn’t lend itself to every story idea out there. But in this case, I don’t think any other method would have fit ILLUMINAE quite so well—any other form of narration would have robbed the climax of its power. 

Woes and Whatnot. Nevertheless, I did have some qualms about ILLUMINAE. 

First of all, this book is censored. All the major swear words are blacked out as a part of the story. And I like what that says about the culture in ILLUMINAE, that awful things can happen and violence can be presented, but God forbid we cuss. On top of that, it’s also an excellent example of the way censorship backfires. Blacking out or not, there was never a moment where I was unclear what the intended swear word was. Blacking out the vulgar words only draws the eye and the mind to them, thus completely defeating the point. 

Or maybe that was the point. 

That being said, there was a good deal of swearing in ILLUMINAE, and while strong swearing doesn’t generally bother me enough to make me stop reading, it does make me a little more squeamish about recommending the book to just anyone and everyone. I would rather not sully the virgin minds of innocent younglings. ILLUMINAE also packs a significant amount of innuendo and general crassness. To be perfectly honest, I was planning to give this book a lower star rating for that very purpose because I think the story could have been told just as effectively with significantly less swearing and innuendo. When I give a book five stars, I see it as my giant stamp of approval—that I will shove this book in the face of anyone who listens. But I also want to be responsible about the books I shove into people’s faces. Which explains why I was initially hesitant. 

The Ending. "So, why did you give ILLUMINAE five stars if you're such a grandma about the language?" 

I’m glad you asked that question. 

I loved the ending. I loved the ending so much I almost cried because it was so beautiful. And I am not the type of person to get emotional over beauty, at all. I just don’t. But there are no words for how wonderful the ending was. I know that people often say something like, “This story took my breath away,” and they generally mean that as a figure of speech. So let me clarify. I literally had to keep reminding myself to breathe for the last two hundred pages or so. This book was so good I could have asphyxiated. It was perfect and intense and mind-boggling, and I haven’t felt so completely blown away by or invested in an ending since I read Ender’s Game. I cannot stress enough how well-written and unique ILLUMINAE is, how authentic it feels, how it carries such a big punch my poor little heart is still bruised. Both in formatting and in story, ILLUMINAE is a work of art. If I could, I would buy fifty million copies to line my walls as decoration. Obviously the sequel, GEMINA, cannot come out quickly enough. 

What about you, little coffee beans? Have you read ILLUMINAE? What are your thoughts? Have you ever read any books like it?