Drabble Geeks

Geeks…Being Total Geeks.

Tag: books

Getting that A… in the middle of a Pandemic

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This semester of school has been a trial for me. I graduated December of last year before everything got shut down, so I was a true novice when school started. My solution to my problem… read a books instead of asking someone for tips to get through this time. The book I read was Teach Yourself Hot to Learn: Strategies You Can Use to Ace Any Course at Any Level by Saundra Yancy McGuire.

If anything, this book reminded and refreshed me of my my study skills that I forgot the semester I was away from school. A lot of the strategies I was “of course I should be doing that. Now that I read it it’s so obvious.” As we are in the area where tests and midterms are starting to show, up I would definitely suggest reading this book, even if you think you study habits are up to the task. This gives you a way to refine your habits and learn something new about learning. It can’t hurt. I need all the help I can get passing these questions.

Power of Sleep

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I want to think that the one known secret about getting stuff done in your life, is to not get anything done for a while. And by that, I mean sleep. Now that I’m in graduate school, I’ve become pretty obsessed with reading books that might help me in the long run. One such book I was suggested was Why We Sleep: Unlocking to Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker.

I’ll be honest with you guys, but sleeping wasn’t really on my radar when it came to being productive in grad school. If anything, undergrad taught me that I really don’t need sleep during the week and that I could catch up during the weekend. I have a terrible time going to sleep when I really want to and just lie there and think about all of the stupid decisions I have ever made in my life. If anything, I would say that this book made me anxious about trying to sleep. Based on the research, I would say that it is horrifying, not sleeping, even though I get lots done when I’m sleep deprived. I’m trying to acquire habits that will help me sleep better. So far, I have to report, I have no clue how that’s working out for me. I’m a night-owl, so I feel that I’m fighting myself on this front, but I will continue trying. If anyone has more tips on trying to go to sleep, I am of open ears. Getting proper sleep is one of my next goals in life.

Remembering the Lost Soul Pt 1

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I have finally gotten around to reading a book series that I have been meaning to. This omnibus has been sitting on my bookshelf for years, and I gave finally started going through it. The series is the Remember Me series by Christopher Pike. The first book is aptly named Remember Me.

The book starts with the reader finding out that our protagonist, Shari Cooper, is dead. It’s an interesting way of introducing a character, but it did instantly capture me into the story, wanting to know what happened, which is great considering the plot of the book. Shari doesn’t remember how she died, so she goes through this book trying to figure it out. She follows her friends and family around trying to find out what happened to her and meet interesting characters along the way. I wish that I could tell you a bit about them, but they’re huge spoilers for the story overall. Just know that cool ghost powers are discussed, but no true haunting.

If you are interested in mysteries, I would greatly recommend this. It is also interesting to solve a mystery from the dead person’s perspective. I honestly don’t understand why this is a series of books right now. It seems like it is better off as a one-off book, but I’ll just have to continue and see.

Not Your Typical Vampire Pt. 4.5

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Next up in rereading a couple of books, I’m reading the short novella that takes place after the fourth book (review linked here). It was an interesting read in two ways. First, I read a Christmas themed book in the middle of February. Second, was a completely useless side plot that introduced another love interest who wasn’t interesting at all, and I honestly found it extremely stupid. If it had stayed with the main plot, I would have been happy. Being that I have read the next book in the series, I totally get that that singular plot could not be made an entire book, but there was utter nonsense that I had to practically skip through. It was mind-numbingly stupid. All you really need to know is that Sam, our vampire mom protagonist, found another medallion, and the end.

Not Your Typical Vampire Pt. 2.5

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Since it had been a while since I read the Vampire for Hire series, I decided to start from the very beginning and then get back to where I was. While doing that, I discovered short stories and other books that branch from this series. I will start with the first short story that takes place after the second book.

This short story, titled Vampire Nights explores the mindset of our vampire protagonist, Samantha Moon. Some of her struggles in being a parent, a woman, and a creature of the night come to the forefront as she talks with an old man that happens to knows many of the challenges in her life. It’s heartwarming and something that Sam needed after all the crap she was up against recently.

One to Save Them All: Pt 2

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This is a continuation of my reading of The Fallen series. Part 1 can be found here. There will be spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

Read More “One to Save Them All: Pt 2”

Religous History Reimagined Pt 2

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In the amazing work that comes from the Dan Brown, I have finished rereading the second book in the Robert Langdon series, The Da Vinci Code. As much as I loved this book, it was somewhat awkward to read again. For whatever reason, this book was still so deeply ingrained in my head, all of the twists in turns that were involved didn’t really get to me. Somethings did because I totally forgot that it was a thing. I was also trying to find proof that would somehow prove what I thought was true really wasn’t. Either way, I still loved this book. I still picture Robert Langdon as Tom Hanks and I don’t think anything will change that. Once again, I’m not too well versed in Catholicism or any of the secret society’s that were mentioned. What I loved the most was that it was still very much rooted in the first book. The main source of this book happening was because of the events of the first one. I do kinda wish the Langdon could have a more platonic partner instead of people that could be potential love interests. He has a thing for women who just had a family member die it seems.

Not How You Start a Romance

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In my desperate attempt to feel something, I decided to read a sappy romance that I had read before. I choose The Lucky One by Nickolas Sparks (because his writing is the definition of sappy romance). For those of you who have not read the book or seen the movie, The Lucky One is a story about a marine who finds a picture of a woman while out in Afganistan and ends up believing that it kept him alive. After coming back from tour, he goes on a hike across the country looking for this woman. Let me start by saying that this would only be possible in a romance novel. In real life, this would get you arrested, but when you suspend your disbelief and is a really interesting way to develop the relationship. You see the majority of the relationship building from the marine’s point of view which, giving him some props, his thoughts on everything was not creepy. He just felt the need to help her out after she “saved” his life. He was not expecting anything to come out of it. For this one reason, it’s kind of cute, especially in comparison with another male character in the book. After reading the story from the other guy’s point of view, I felt the need to take a shower. This was definitely a book that you cannot over think too much. You just have to take in at face value. If you think about it realistically, the entire story is a plot hole, but a fun read either way.

Religious History Reimagined Pt 1

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With more books being written in this series, I felt that it was time to get back into the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown. I started to adventure with the first book Angels and Demons. Yes, this is the first book and not The Da Vinci Code like so many people think. To start, I would like to say that I will be using the word mythos when describing aspects of this series. The word “mythos,” according to Merriam-Webster, is a pattern of beliefs expressing often symbolically the characteristic or prevalent attitudes in a group or culture. By using this word, I am not trying to express my own opinions of the religions and cultures expressed in these novels. If there is a better word that could be used, feel free to say so. I will take it into consideration. But, on with the review…

The first thing I have to say is how well researched this series is. I had the privilege to read the illustrated edition. It was amazing to see pictures of all of the places explored in the novel. This novel explores the “battle” between science and religion. It is well done in a way that doesn’t choose a side. Every character has different opinions regarding the matter, and everyone respects the other’s opinions. The dialogue in this way is well written and not really a fluff piece. I also enjoyed how points of view shifted. It is not often that changes in point of view are done so seamlessly, but it was well done here. All the characters are believable and intriguing. I loved everything about this book. I personally don’t really know much about the Catholic church. After asking my best friend about it as they are Catholic, I realized that it was much more accurate than I thought. They told me that the mythos of the church as it related to the book and different things. They also explained some things that I didn’t quite get, so that was also amazing. Also, from reading the acknowledgments at the end, I realized that the author actually went to the places described in the book. If that doesn’t add to it, I don’t know what does.

Down the Rabbit Hole Pt 2

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This post should really be called “Through a Mirror,” but I think you guys get the point. This is the sort-of sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, Through the Looking Glass. I say sort-of sequel because I’m not completely sure that it was the exact same universe. Yes, Alice recognizes some people, but they don’t seem to recognize her. This is still a weird book. There were times that I had to reread chapters because I was confused by what is going on, but I think that is the point. Is it truly supposed to be understood? It still gave me a headache though. And I absolutely do not understand what happened at the end, and I think it’s going to stay that way.