Inspirational Addict 3

Decor

Hair

Style

Other

((all found on pinterest. Check out my pinterest site to find original sources)

 

Beautiful Books :: Daughter of the Forest

Beautiful Books

Daughter of the Forest

Juliet Marillier

I spent a while longing for the kind of book I love to read. Epic, sweeping books that pick you up and wrap you in another world, with a strong female that sweeps you off your feet with adventure and romance. After getting through the best of the Kushiel Legacy, and waiting patiently for the next (even though I knew it would never be as good as the first three) I was in a void for a sweeping, epic fantasy. 

But then I started going through my bookshelf, reading books off of a stack of random ones I've owned forever and never really picked up.

Daughter of the Forest was one of these. 

I've owned the book for years. Picked it up at some point as a teenager and just never really felt like reading it.

And now finally I did, and I will never regret it. It is amazing.

"When was the beginning? When my father met my mother, and lost his heart, and chose to wed for love? Or was it when I was born? I should have been the seventh son of a seventh son, but the goddess was playing tricks, and I was a girl." {page 4}

If you've ever heard the fairy tale about the girl who's brothers are turned into swans (sometimes ravens) and she has to stay silent and weave clothing for them for a number of years to save them, this is the story. But amplified, intensified, romanticized, and epic-ized to the power of ten.
It's strong, beautiful, epic, thrilling, and heartbreaking.

The writing is lush and beautiful, and the books that follow are similar in their wonderful details, even if they don't come nearly as close to the amazingness that is this first one.

"I have spoken of the keep where my family lived, a stark stone tower set deep in the forests, its walls pierced here and there by narrow window slits. Its courtyard, its hedges, its kitchen garden did little to soften the grim profile. But there was more to Sevenwaters than this. Without our walled fields, our thatched barns to house herd and flock over winter, our gardens with their rows of carrots, parsnips, and beans, our mill and our straw-rope granaries, we could not have survived in such isolation." {page 45}

The story starts off following the character as a child, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but after a few chapters, things pick up quickly, and once they do, events unfold quite suddenly and the intensity spikes like crazy.
This book will make you cry and scream and also, very strangely, make you want to stay very, very quiet.

"'But remember, you must not make a sound, you must not tell your tale, even to them, or they will be swans forever. The task will be long, Sorcha.'" {page 154}

At every moment, my heart ached for Sorcha, the beautiful storyteller, sworn to desperate silence. I was so invested in her strong, silent struggle that when someone interuppted my reading, I'd just stare at them for long moments, trying to regain my bearings in the real world, and having to remind myself that I could speak.

"As for me, I could hardly imagine a life without my brothers, for they had always been there, sometimes kind, sometimes gruff, always ready to help when I was in trouble. They were a part of me, and I of them. Now I was alone, and I must manage without them, for to fail in this task was to lose them forever." {page 157}

Watching Sorcha navigate through her test, her pains (which are, several times, very intense- you have been warned), and the entire struggle of it all was epic and wonderful and I couldn't even describe how much I loved it. Though, obviously, I'm using the words epic and amazing a lot; so there's that.
Even the romance was unexpected. Unlike many female-driven adventures, there is not a set, obvious love interest, and that was a little more beautiful for me as well. It sweeps you off your feet and makes it all the more intense.

"There was a pause. Perhaps only I knew how he used it to marshal his thoughts, to force his breathing to be slow and steady, to draw deep on his will so his voice remained confident. For the others, it was still just a tale, like all the tales we told, night by night, tales comical and strange, tales heroic and awe-inspiring, the tales that formed the fabric of our spirits." {page 526}

This is, by far, on my list of favorite books in all of the books I've ever read. And next to Kushiel's Dart, it's the most amazing epic adventure I've fallen in love with.

Worth reading? Holy. Frack. Yes.

See Also: Beautiful Reading Label

Nothing So Difficult

A Lost Spot in Time

We're trudging through the snow when he stops me, turning my face to his. I'm blinded by the winter sun gleaming off of the snow. He smiles at me. Not goofy or fake or faux-photo-ready. Just a quiet smile. A loving smile. His hair is growing out and it looks better. The scarf around his neck makes him look older. Something like dignified. That smile and that scarf, and he looks like the person I want him to be. The man in him somewhere that I still love. The sun is wild beauty over the crystal landscape, and he moves his face to shade me.
I want to keep this moment.
Trap it.
I want to stay in this moment and never leave.
As he looks down at me I want to kiss him. I want to give back that love that's smiling down at me.
This strange, perfect look on a strange, perfect winter day.
But that inexplicable anger still writhes inside me. That empty, hollow sadness that has been drowning me for for days without reason.

I want to kiss him. I want to smile and love him and be happy in this beautiful moment. I want this moment.

But the rage boils, and I don't embrace him. I don't kiss him. I don't accept his silent, smiling offer. I turn away, just barely showing my annoyance at the childishness, even though it isn't, and toss away this moment, angry at myself.
I will regret this.
For days.
For weeks.
Longer.

Even now, I think of this moment.
I miss it. When he kisses me, even through the fog of my lingering unhappiness, I see that face. That smile. That dazzling, snow-shimmered sunlight. That moment.
The image comforts me. Softens my heart.
But the memory-- my purposeless, sad anger, the haughty turn away-- this hurts.

I miss this moment.
I want it back.

Beautiful Blogs :: Weetzie Lovers

Weetzie Lovers

a collection of weetzie pages

I suddenly had the urge to find other pages and posts about Weetzie Bat. When I first started this blog, these were few and far between, but a quick google search shows how the fandom has oh-so grown!

So here's a random smattering of posts that I've found in a quick search, highlighting Weetzie Bat, her style, and FLB's beautiful imagery.

Rookie :: Secret Style Icon Weetzie Bat -- a quick bio and info about WB, with fashion inspiration :)

Parfait Doll :: Style Diary: Shagri-L.A. -- an adorable little piece about Weetzie style and fashion, with quotes from the book. Very cute!

xoJANE :: How to Look Like a LA Wild Child! -- This is a neat post (with pictures!) about how the writer pulls off some Weetzie looks on a budget.

Tumblr :: Weetzie Bat tags -- I know; not a blog. But still. scroll through this and you'll find beautiful images related to Weetzie Bat, quotes to inspire you, or people's wonderful stories about their experiences with the book or characters.

Jezebel :: The Book For Girls Who Ended Up Taking A Gay Dude To Prom -- This is actually an older one (2008, the rest are 2012), and I remember reading it in the past. No pictures and about being Weetzie-like, but is a great description of the book, as well as its flaws and successes.

Pinterest :: Weetzie Bat tags -- again, not a blog. But more visual than tumblr, pinterest has a vast assortment of photos, art, fashion ideas, and just plain Weetzie-based inspiration! Great place to browse and be inspired.

 

 

 

Have a Weetzie post? Let me know and I'll add it to this list! 

Quiet Days Waiting for the Storm.

It's one of those days where I don't even want the tv on.
I think about love and loss and just sit in the quiet.

I watched Incendiary today, because it was on netflix and had a cast trio that could break my heart. And it kind of did.
The plot is mostly about a woman whose child dies, but with dramatic, romantic, sad side plots. I don't even want/like kids, but it was so emotional that I still fell into it, and it was the quiet loneliness of the movie that really got to me, plus the lovely heartache that is Ewan McGregor in love.
It has left me in a mood to sit outside and read and sip cinnamon tea and wait for the coming storms.

On a side, slightly related note; the fact that I don't want children is a silent, gaping hole in my relationship, because He does, so it probably wasn't tactful of me to, offhand, mention that I'd definitely have Ewan McGregor's babies.

Beautiful Books :: A Certain Slant of Light

Beautiful Books :: A Certain Slant of Light

by Laura Whitcomb

I'm going to be lazy, here, and use my GoodReads review from this, with some lovely quotes added in.

I was really surprised by this book. I came in with no expectations whatsoever. I knew (assumed) it was teen fiction and about ghosts...it seemed. But I'm a sucker for pretty covers and I'd seen some buzz about this one, so I snatched it up when I saw it at the library.

"I was too fascinated to be afraid now. Everything was astounding. Being touched. Smelling people, their sweat, and perfume, and even the soap they used to wash their clothes as they gave me hugs goodbye. The power of all those eyes, shining right into mine. The weight of things, like punch in the cup. The weight of me as I stood and moved. I was lightheaded with curiosity. I wanted to run and sing and walk down a street where people would turn a shoulder to pass without colliding into me." [120]

I kind of loved it. It's not actually about teenagers, since the "ghosts" involved were in their late twenties when they died, which I think gives it some extra depth, but it also deals with some very normal, realistic teen problems that were pretty believable.

"I couldn't take my eyes off him. Like a dessert wanderer afraid of mirages, I gazed at my oasis, but he was real." [21]

The writing was very pretty, and I love overly descriptive prose, so that was perfect. Plus it had a nice blend of times that was also pretty believable, melding old and new.

"As light dappled across the forest of faces, I could watch them create inside their hearts each a different story from the same images. It was a shame the way modern movies smothered their stories with songs and loaded every moment with noises and words. Little was left to the imagination." [91]

I was very surprised by how much the story pulled me in, keeping me up late night after night to finish. It wasn't so intensely emotional that I cried at any point (I usually on cry when there's an epic scale involved, sorry), but I was definitely invested.

Another point that I liked was that although this does deal with a concept of heaven and hell, I was delighted by the idea that **SPOILER, sort of** escaping hell had little to do with forgiveness from "God", and pretty much everything to do with forgiveness from yourself, which was lovely.

Definitely enjoyed it, although some of that might be from my "no expectations" beginning. Still, very nice, very pretty. Worth reading.