Gurlaffe Reads

     Happy end-of-March everyone! I think spring is supposed to be just around the corner, but from where I'm sitting it doesn't really feel like it. (There is snow falling from the sky as we speak. *furious glance out the window*) I can't wait for reading-outside-on-aesthetic-Saturday-mornings weather. Please send your warm and springy thoughts.      This month was really great for me reading-wise because I started this lovely blog here and also got out of a gigantic reading slump. Hopefully next month proves to be just as productive! Without further adieu here is a recap of my March books:      Animal Farm  by George Orwell- I was a huge fan of this one! I read it in four or five sittings and appreciated the symbolism as well as the stark message. (5/5)      Just Play Pretend  by Jennifer Ann Shore- I received this book as an ARC and it was pretty okay, but the characters fell flat for me. The concept was good thoug...

     Not to be basic about it or anything, but I put this book down seconds ago, and my face is kind of stinging because, as occurs anytime someone reads this unfortunate book, tears were shed.      The Fault in Our Stars  is about Hazel Grace, a teenage girl living with thyroid cancer. She meets a wonderful, beautiful, smart, one-legged boy called Augustus Waters at a cancer support group. They quickly become friends and eventually fall in love. Both Augustus and Hazel love this book,  An Imperial Affliction  by Peter Van Houten, and in the story, Augustus uses his Wish to go to Amsterdam with Hazel and meet the author. It's kind of a disappointing meeting, but they have a grand time in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, Augustus has a recurrence of his osteosarcoma and ends up dying from it. Exponentially sad times.      Here's the thing: Hazel and Augustus are epic and real and wonderful and that is a hill that I will die on. John Gr...

     I was sent a digital review copy of this book in exchange for my voluntary and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.      Just Play Pretend  is a YA contemporary romance novel that follows disgraced child star Alexandra Sutton as she returns to acting and falls in love with Cole Keller. Early into the story, Alexandra meets Cole after breaking into her neighbor Tess' backyard to float in the pool. It turns out that Cole is Tess' cousin. They spend the summer together working on a show at the local theater and eventually begin dating. Alexandra's parents tell her that they are getting divorced, and an opportunity opens up for Alexandra to attend Julliard for theater. Despite her parents' wanting her to stay in Pittsburgh for a free college education at the university where her father is a professor, Alexandra goes to New York with Cole and pursues theater.      Honestly, I'm a little disappointed. The concept had loads...

    Hello and happy Saturday ! We've gotten a dumping of snow here, so I spent the past week holing up in coffee shops and working on getting this all set up. Also, thanks to BookSirens, I've gotten a digital review copy of Just Play Pretend by Jennifer Ann Shore. You can expect a review for that sometime soon!     In other news, here's this week's TBR: Dune by Frank Herbert Legend by Marie Lu The Fault in Our Stars by John Green     I'm making no promises on this front, but hopefully the easier-to-read style of The Fault in Our Stars will help to push me through Dune.  I also checked out Anna Karenina from the library a week or so ago, but I think my in-library-self has more time on her hands than my out-of-library-self. We'll see if I end up having the time (and the commitment) to read that.      I should become active on Instagram this week and will be trying to post content daily, so if you feel inclined to, give me a follow there....

     We've all been there. You walk into a bookstore and smell the freshly printed pages. Your eyes dart across the uncreased bindings of the paperbacks and the shiny jackets of the hardcovers. You freeze momentarily as you decide which section to start in: fantasy? young adult? mystery? romance? or dare I say- nonfiction?     Somehow, when you get to the checkout counter, you've managed to collect enough books to start a small library.      You've guessed it- today we're going to tackle some of the books that I've bought but never read. 1. The Lord of the Rings Series     I think I'm confessing to a crime with this but, yup, I've never read the Lord of the Rings . Do what you wish with that information.      I'm not exactly sure why these have been sitting on my shelf unread for so long. The only justifiable thing I can really say here is that I bought this series from a used bookstore, so at least I didn't pay full ...

Hello to all my lovely friends and readers! Today I bring to you a review on the classic "read-it-for-high-school-literature-class" novel,  Animal Farm . This book came highly recommended to me and, I must reveal, I was not disappointed. It's not often that a reader as critical as myself can call a novel flawless, but today's the day, folks, because this book is excellent. I could hardly put it down. George Orwell is a literary genius, and  Animal Farm  is by far one of the best books I have ever read. Summary: Animal Farm , set in the early to mid-1900s, begins when the prize-winning boar Old Major rallies the animals of the Manor Farm and tells them of his dreams of freedom from human oppression. Old Major teaches them a rallying song called  Beasts of England . Most importantly, he advises them to unite against the horrible drunken farmer in charge of them, Mr. Jones. "'That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will ...