Books I Read in May and Books I Plan to Read in June 2021

 Hi! I don't always write on my blog, but I got a comment on one of my videos today of someone wanting to know about my blog, and I realized I hadn't written in it since March. I was going to make a video today, but I felt much more like writing in my blog. I feel more comfortable writing than talking on my videos. I am really a shy person, so I sort of fumble to think of words when I am speaking. I do better if I just write out what I would like to say. 

So these are the books I read this month! 

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

I give this a 5 star rating. It is very easy to read even though it was originally published in 1865. It read like a fairy tale to me. I love the Disney movie and there are some scenes I remember that were like the book, but there is also a lot in the two books that were not in the movie. I think if you like the movie, you will love these two books. It is very whimsical and actually pretty hilarious if you enjoy silly humor and puns. I thought it funny how each character Alice meets is on the verge of losing their temper it seems. She tries to be polite and not upset anyone, yet they get irritated at her just the same. I also enjoy the illustrations of John Tenniel. He was the original illustrator for both books, so if you get the books I encourage you to find them with the original illustrations.

2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I give this book 5/5 stars as well. It was written in 1907. I think this is my all time favorite book. I read it last year, and loved it. I bought all the books in the series. I plan on reading all of them this year. Actually, because I've seen videos of other books written by L.M. Montgomery where people recommended her other books it makes me feel like I probably would love all of them. I follow Darling Desi on Youtube, and I am one of her patrons on her Patreon page. She plans out "buddy reads" where we vote on what book we want to read for the month and then she makes a live video where we can talk about it. So for the month of May we voted for Anne of Green Gables to be the "buddy read". So I'm so excited for the video to come out. I think it will be out in July for the two books we read for May and June. 

This book is so sweet and special. I love the way the author describes things. From the story, to the characters, to the natural setting of Prince Edward Island. It is a beautiful story! I grew up watching the tv series with Megan Follows starring as Anne. I watched it over and over again. It's about an orphan girl that goes to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. They are expecting to adopt an 11 year old boy to help Matthew with his farming, but there is a mistake and Anne shows up! She is an imaginative, talkative, wonderful personality. I just love her! I wish she was real and that she was my friend. So the book shows her grow up to be 16 years old. And she has adventures and it follows her life. It is a sweet story. 

3. The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

I also give this book 5/5 stars. I really love Nicholas Sparks books. When I got this book I was wandering around Barnes and Noble looking for some books I had on my list, but I couldn't find them and I decided to go to somewhere familiar so I found where the Nicholas Sparks books were kept. I feel like if you have read his books than you would like this book. It is very dramatic actually. I was expecting it to be a love story that might end up sad or there may be some sad bits in it. So I was prepared to cry. I didn't mind if I did cry actually. There is also a bit of a supernatural element to the book. You don't know if the main character is seeing a ghost or if he is hallucinating. I know that happens sometimes in Nicholas Sparks books where there is an other worldly element to his stories. And I like that. There are also a couple of really evil characters in here that you just can't help but hate. Sparks is really good at creating characters. I just think his books are excellent. They are not difficult to read at all. They are sweet love stories. Sometimes bitter sweet. Because of the evil characters I felt worried for the safety of the other characters in the book, which created an element of suspense and made you want to keep turning the pages. There is also sad life moments in the story that keep it dramatic and you feel sad for the main characters. I think this was made into a movie actually. I am going to need to watch the movie now. 

These are the books I plan to read in June:

1. Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery

This is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series. In this book she is going off to college. I don't think I've ever read this one. I started reading it last year, but I didn't get into it so I put it down. I'm going to try to read it again because I have a renewed interest in books this season. In this book it says on the back that Anne's friends are all getting married. I wonder if she will have romance in this book.

2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I've read this book before, but I decided I wanted to reread it. It is one of the books that might be a "Buddy Read" for the month of June on Darling Desi's Patreon Page. I decided whether it will win or not, I want to reread this book. I really enjoyed it the first time I read it, and I also enjoyed the movies. It is the book that comes before the Lord of the Ring books. It is a classic fantasy book. It was written in 1932. There is magic, elves, hobbits, dwarves, wizards, and dragons in this book! It definitely appeals to the imagination. I think J.R.R. Tolkien was the one who started the whole different type of character like an elf, a man, a dwarf, a wizard, a hobbit, etc. from different races and they all come together and go on a quest. I think a lot of fantasy writers have copied him and video game writers. 

3. Pages and Co. The Bookwanderers by Anna James

This is a series of Middle Grade books where the characters wander out of the books they are in and meet the main character, Tilly! In this book she meets Anne of Green Gables and Alice of Wonderland! I heard about this book this month and I thought this is the perfect book for me to read since I just finished reading those two books! And then when I was looking at Darling Desi's Patreon page, I realized it was actually picked as a buddy read this year, and I missed it. I think I just saw they were reading a book for young readers and I wasn't interested to know more about it. Then I have been watching Alexandra Roselyn's youtube videos. She is a booktuber and reviews books on her channel. She talked about this book and it sounded perfect for me. I heard this whole series is really good, so I might have a new series I will want to read. It sounds fun and imaginative. 

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog! Feel free to leave a comment. I rarely get comments on my blog. My youtube channel is Dream Cat, and my instagram is Seaside653.

Beauty Empties and Candles I've Used Up

 These are mini reviews of beauty products plus candles I've used up. I also will say if I would repurchase them.

1. Bath and Body Works Linen & Lavender Candle. The notes are crisp linen, lavender sea salt, and fresh air breeze. If you like lavender, I think you would like this smell. It smells like a nice soap to me. It isn't a bad smell, but it isn't one of my favorites. My dad likes it.

2. Bath and Body Works Aloha Kiwi Passionfruit Candle. The notes are tropical passionfruit, radiant kiwi, and juicy pineapple. I like this one! It is a nice fresh scent. I recommend it!

3. Bath and Body Works Fall Farmhouse Candle. The notes are spiced pumpkin, forest pine branch, and fresh fall air. This is my favorite of these three candles. It smells like pumpkin to me. I like the spicy and tree scented candles that come out in the fall and wintertime. 

4. Bath and Body Works Bahamas Passionfruit & Banana Flower Shower Gel. It is a nice smelling shower gel, and it is good for your skin. It has aloe, shea butter, and vitamin E. The notes are passionfruit, pineapple leaves, and banana flower. It smells tropical to me. It is a good shower gel. I would wait to buy it when there is a sale going on. I like the smell, but I think I got tired of it. It isn't a bad smell though. 

5. Roux Shampoo for Dry, Damaged Hair. This has a lot of good ingredients in it. It says 8 precious oils: argan, olive, avocado, coconut, sunflower, castor, sweet almond, and jojoba oils plus vitamins. I got this in the How To Be A Redhead subscription box. It was a nice shampoo, but I don't think I will buy it. I normally get shampoo from the drugstore. I don't have anything bad to say about this shampoo. I think it is good. I am using the conditioner too. 

6. Dove Dry Spray Deodorant in Coconut. This is my favorite deodorant. I get it every time. It smells good and it doesn't leave any white residue on your clothes.

7. Radha Beauty Retinol Moisturizer. This has 2.5% active Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E and Green Tea. I got this from the How To Be A Redhead Box too. I liked it, but I don't think I will repurchase it. I use Cerave Moisturizing Cream normally. It is a good lotion. It doesn't smell bad or have anything in it that irritated my skin. 

8. Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer. I like this primer. You can get it at the drugstore. I would repurchase it. I don't remember what minerals are in this primer. It doesn't say on the jar or on the website. Right now I'm using Benefit Porefessional which is another really good face primer. It makes your foundation go on well and last longer. 

9. Lancome Monsieur Big Mascara: This was a little sample I got somewhere. I don't remember where I got it. It was really nice! I loved it, but I don't think I would buy it because it is too expensive. I normally use L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara. I really like that one.

10. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion. This is a really great black eye liner. I recommend it. It is more expensive than the eye liners you can get at the drugstore. It works well and it is easy to smudge it out. This time I got the Covergirl Black Eye Liner because I really like the Covergirl Liner in Espresso. 

So those are the products I've used up! I hope you guys are doing well. My video is still not working when I try to record. I like making blog posts though. 

February Favorites 2021

 

These were my favorite books and movies for the month of February. Usually I include beauty favorites, but I didn't use anything new. I just "shopped my stash", which is when you use the makeup you already have. 

1. Emma by Jane Austen: This is the third Jane Austen book I have read. I liked it better than Northanger Abbey, but I didn't think it was as good as Pride and Prejudice. Emma was written in 1815. It is about a young woman who is beautiful and rich living in a small town in England. She has been spoiled all her life, and most everyone loves her. She is not a perfect character, but I like her in spite of her flaws. Jane Austen is brilliant at writing characters. You feel like you have gone back to this time period and really have met these people when you read this book. I have been reading Jane Austen books because Darling Desi has a book club on Youtube called "Affectionately Austen Book Club." She and a group of other booktubers discuss the book. For Aug-Sep 2020 they read Pride and Prejudice. For Oct-Nov they read Northanger Abbey. For Dec-Jan they read Emma. The next book they are reading and discussing is Persuasion. As I was reading I read a summary and analysis which I found here: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/emma/. I also watched a made for tv movie of Emma that you can watch on Youtube. It has Kate Beckinsale in it.

This is the Darling Desi video discussion: 

2. My second favorite of the month is The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is the the first book in a trilogy called The Lord of the Rings. This is another great classic book! I have read it before. These are some of my favorite books. It has a great story and characters. I like the values the books have, like the value of friendship, loyalty, love, honor, etc. And the fight against good vs. evil. I studied this book just like I did with Emma by going to the Spark Notes website. I also watched the movie as I read. I think the movie is a good adaptation of the book. It isn't exactly like the book, the movie is more fast paced. 

I hope you are all doing well. I am looking forward to Spring.

January 2021 Favorites!

 Hi! I'm back to write on my blog! My camera on my computer is not working, so I can't make a Youtube video. Maybe I can make a short one to say I am back on my blog making posts.

These are my favorite beauty products and books of January. 

1. The top item is Too Faced Better Than Sex Black Liquid Liner. I wanted to try a new liner. I do like this one, but I think a cheaper alternative is the Physicians Formula Black Liquid Liner. 

2. The middle bag and brushes are a set of eye brushes by Morphe x Jaclyn Hill. I absolutely love these brushes! I use them every day. There is a big fluffy brush for blending, two crease brushes, a brush for under the eyebrow, one for the inner corner, an eyelid brush, and a liner brush. 

3. The bottom bottle is Bath and Body Works Body Spray in Vanilla Bean Noel. It smells like sugar cookies to me and a nice vanilla spray. I like it better than the Victoria Secret Vanilla Spray, but some might argue with me. I had been wanting a nice sweet vanilla spray to wear.

4. I am currently reading "Chasing Vines" by Beth Moore. There is a lot of talk in the Bible about grape vines! It is all very symbolic. God loves to garden, and he likes to use it as a metaphor. Beth Moore is a great Bible teacher, and I have done a couple of studies by her. I have not read a book by her though. She is a very beautiful writer. I am not finished with the book, but as I'm reading the book I'm watching the DVD that goes with it. She is a very great, passionate teacher. She gets so excited, and you can tell she loves God and His Word. I look forward to watching the DVD as I go through this book.

5. These are the Bibles I am reading from. The one on the left is A Woman After God's Own Heart Bible. The bible on the right is the She Reads Truth Bible. I am going through the "Read the Bible In a Year Plan" that is in the She Reads Truth Bible, and then reading the notes in both Bibles. Both Bibles are geared for women, and this is the first time I've had bibles specifically for a woman. The Bible plan I'm reading is I read a chapter in each of the following: Genesis, Ezra, Matthew, and Acts every day. 

6. I am doing this study with my Dad called "Revelation: All Things New." It is from the First 5 app. They have done studies on each of the books of the bible. And every day there is a little devotional you read, and if you want to dig deeper you can buy the book. On the weekends there is an audio teaching. My dad and I did the Advent study, and we did 40 days through the Bible. They have really great studies. I like this study on Revelation because it is not difficult. It explains some things, but it doesn't say it has all the answers because there is scholarly debate on the meaning of things in Revelation. I also like how it applies the book to your life.

7. Write the Word Cultivate Confidence. This is a journal with lines to write scripture. Each journal has a theme, and the theme for this one is Confidence. So the scripture goes along with that. You write the date, what you are grateful for, the scripture (they tell you which part), and then you write what is on your heart that day. You can write a prayer or just journal. I do both. And then you write the word of the day. You can choose what you want that to be. I did this last year and the journal was all about worship. I wanted to do it again. There are many different journals. I am thinking when I'm done with this one I might make my own journal instead of buying one because I am in a Facebook group that does scripture challenges.

This is a new song I've been loving: New Day by Danny Gokey

I hope 2021 is a great year for you! I feel hopeful that it will be better than 2020.