With a dreamy, far off look...

Warning: this is a mouth-watering post and a rapid need of a snack while reading may appear. 

Have a look at 10 cakes inspired by books. Read BookLikers' reviews, grab a book and plan your next literary cake. We'd love to try out some new recipes :) 

Wonder Woman

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 The Fangirl: I've been meaning to read this reboot for a while. Despite all the mixed reactions people have had to the New 52, I've been hearing a lot of great things from people I trust about this new take on Wonder Woman. But I was still on the fence so I waited until my library got a copy of the trade. Now after reading I feel like an ass for waiting for so long, because it is awesome... read more

 BOOKWRAITHS REVIEWS: Wonder Woman Volume 4: War is my first foray into the world of the New 52, and I have to say this graphic novel left me with mixed feelings: some good and some bad. The story itself revolves around Wonder Woman protecting a baby from a group of characters who are desperately seeking it... read more

The Help

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Bloggeretterized: I know, I was late for the party, and one more review might even be irrelevant at this point of the book’s life, but there was so much buzz around this book that I had to check it out and see for myself. The Help for me was a fast read. Once you get hooked and used to all the slang in the book, you’re on your way to finish it... read more 

Books, Dogs, and Other Blogs: The audiobook was great, and had several different narrators, and it was really quite engaging, even for me.  I've seen the movie as well, and the book is a little bit different, but they pretty much follow the same story line... read more

Gone With the Wind

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A Great Book Study: While I was reading the last chapter of Gone with the Wind, I could feel this lump welling up inside my throat, and my eyes became blurry with tears.  I did not want to believe this story was going to end this way.  I wanted to fix Scarlett and Rhett, but that was not possible... read more

The Armchair Librarian: Oh, Gone with the Wind - how you do go on. Seriously, though, this was one of the most difficult books I've read in about five years. Not just because of the length (1,000 pages!), but also because of the subject matter; the main character is so repulsive that you just want to slap some sense of her... read more

Frankenstein 

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kneubeck: Frankenstein is beautifully written. Mary Shelly really has a way with words. I liked this version of the book because it suprised me. I always thought that Frankenstein was old (he is in his early 20s) and that the monster was not able to speak but in fact he can speak quite well. Also, he is not green but yellow-ish... read more

The Realist: Who is the monster? And who is the man? A question that could be answered either way depending on your perspective of things. When I first went into this book, I wasn't expecting much. Considering that I haven't had much experience reading the horror genre, I decided that I couldn't go wrong with a Gothic horror. And I didn't... read more

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

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Kate Says: "Reading Is Fun!": This was a favorite book of mine when I was much younger. I used to beg my grandma to read it to me whenever she came over. There's just something about the wonderful artwork, the hands on quality of the book, and of course the story itself of the cute little caterpillar that eats and eats and eats some more until he feels sick and goes into his cacoon to hide and comes out a beautiful butterfly... read more

Harry Potter

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mattries37315: This is the third time I've read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but the first since finishing Deathly Hallows and first time reading it critically. I've tailored this review in the following in mind: the intended audience for the book (much younger than myself) and it's place in the series... read more

The Book-Addled Brain: Whoa, this series has certainly taken a turn down a very dark and twisted path!  I absolutely loved it, but I've been considering reading this series aloud with my 6 1/2 year old daughter, and if I thought the incident with the unicorn in the first book would upset her, then there's no way I'm unleashing the soul-sucking dementors on her just yet... read more

Narnia

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Lisa (Harmony): Narnia is filled with imagery, imagination, symbolism but above all ideas conveyed through the events of the story. I find that rare in adult literature let alone childrens' literature. I couldn't help but admire how Lewis uses the intricacies of a spell in The Silver Chair to convey the ideas in Plato's of Allegory of the Cave or the echoes of Dante in The Last Battle. There's so much that's rich and wondrous here... read more

Water for Elephants 

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 E.: This is the first book I've ever read where I didn't find a single error. Not one. My hat goes off to Sara Gruen's editing team. The plot is tight, almost too tight; so well plotted that the author kinda shows her hand by building the reveals. Strangely enough, this book reminded me of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, and I'm sure you'll understand when you read it... read more

Mallory Kellogg, Cat Lady and Author (in that order): Boy, was I surprised! It was wonderful! Usually, the popular books everyone loves I tend to hate. But this was so beautiful. The romance, the imagery, the time period. I knew nothing of circus life, but this was as informative as it was whimsical... read more

Divergent

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MIKELA: Giving in to an impulse to purchase a book without knowing anything about it has the advantage of surprise; the book can be wonderful, a dog with a neat cover or anywhere in between. The story line was inventive and for the first 3/4 of the book I was glued to the pages as I followed our narrator... read more   

Kindle Gal: Knowing I eventually wanted to read this series, I tried to stay away from spoilers and kept myself in a bubble about the movie so I could truly experience it "fresh." But, in the end, it was the movie trailer that got my butt in gear to finally pick up the book. (Hello, Theo James!) I also know about "the big bad thing that happens in Book 3," because the internet doesn't ever shut up... read more 

It

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kerry: What can I say about this chilling masterpiece? Well, I can add that I'm pretty sure most of my generation is afraid of clowns, because of this book/movie. Although, I do remember going to the circus at a very young age and experiencing an old, drunk clown that scared me a bit, but I also saw the movie rather young (that and Killer Klowns from Outer Space)... read more

Dantastic Book Reviews: In 1958, seven kids took it upon themselves to rid the town of Derry of a child killer that took the form of a killer clown.  In 1985, the clown is back and the kids return to Derry to finish what they started... Yeah, I'm a couple decades late to the party on this one.  So what?  Some friends were doing a group read and I decided it was time to tackle this kitten squisher... read more

Enjoy! 

pic source via

This is an update to my post about the recent revelation that two notable YouTube personalities (Tom Milsom and Alex Day), had been accused of and admitted to sexually abusing women (one of which was an underage fan).

Since my post went up Hank Green posted this video explaining the sizable steps the Nerdfighter community and Vlogbrother's channel will be making to help the community deal with the situation, and take steps to prevent abuse in the future.

Author Maureen Johnson wrote a post on her tumblr, in an attempt to lend a female voice to the discussion. She shared her personal experience with sexual abuse/assault.  

While the Nerdfighter, and Youtube community is still reeling more accusations keep coming in. Tumblr user mellowblueness has posted a round of up of information confirming that a total of NINE people with tangible connections "to nerdfighteria have been called out as sexual abusers."

See list below (Click the name to read the accusations against them):

• tom milsom
• alex day
• frezned / tom mclean
• dannyhooper
• alexcarpenter
• eddplant
• MikeLombardo
• JoshMacedo
• Kelly Montoya

The NerdfightersNotAlone Tumblr has been created to help survivors and/or a nerdfighters, by providing a support network and various resources.

The Daily Dot posted another article about the scandal, this time focusing on Alex Day and the "dangers of YouTube celebrity culture."

I would like to point out that this situations is not isolated to YouTube, or even Nerdfighteria communities. Sexual abuse and exploitation is very common in any community where certain individuals have more authority/power than others. I've witnessed similar situations through out my more than twenty years in various communities and fandoms. I've seen perpetrators and victim of every gender and sexual orientation.

People with popularity/authority in a any community also have a responsibility to not exploit that power. Part of that responsibility involves educating peers, and holding them accountable for their actions. It looks like the Nerdfighter community is working toward this goal. I hope it will prevent these situations from happening in the future.

Additional note [credit to Rose]: Tumblr user nephiesworld's account of her own disturbing encounter with Alex Day ends with an interesting bit of information.

"John Green’s been warning girls after they have been in videos with Alex about him for the past few years."

If Green had been aware that Alex's behavior was a problem why did he only bother to warn girls, rather than do something about the actual problem? 

Some superheroes have a tendency to wallow in angst in the midst of a problem or foe. She-Hulk prefers to just get shit done. But this comic isn't about She-Hulk, it's about Jennifer Walters' life outside of being a superhero. Jennifer is a damn good attorney, and when her employers reveal they only wanted her to bring in her rich superhero acquaintances as clients, not actually do her job, she quits. From there Jennifer takes on a case solo, even though the defendant is Tony Stark, and after a few robot pitfalls she settles the case with Tony himself. Issue #1 ends with Jennifer opening up her own law firm, and even though she's nervous, the readers know she'll be successful, because like I said, She-Hulk gets shit done.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

When it's not about reading, it's about writing. Discover author's know-how in pics, quotes and tips. Click image or link below to go to blog post.

On writing process:

 via Crickhollow Books - Reading Ideas from an Indie Perspective

via Derrolyn Anderson

Writer's woes - oh, yeah via Olga Godim

A little while back on BookLikes, I promised to do something of a series of posts on my writing process and methods which I use to influence/enhance that process as I move along.  This series is going to be equal parts reflection on my part and instruction, but I'll try to break it up into digestible sections so if there's a section you guys want to skip to or is more relevant to you, you can do so.  But if you read it in any capacity, I salute you. - via Rose's Jumping Into Writing #1: Putting the Pen to the Page

Writing tips:

#1 Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak. But if the pencil breaks, you can’t sharpen it on the plane, because you can’t take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils. Read Margaret Atwood’s Ten Rules for Writing Fiction via A Libra's Libros 

via HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE

Guidelines for writers via POCKET FULL OF MERMAIDS

On Writing via Derrolyn Anderson

Writer's fears:

Book to Screen via Themis-Athena's Garden of Books

Short Story via Dilettante

Non-writing writer via Dilettante

On writer's life:

 via Bookloving writer

 How to survive relationship with a writer via Bookloving author and publisher

 via HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE

good advice via Derrolyn Anderson

via Rayne Hall, Fantasy and Horror Author

This is the first chapter in Kamala Khan's journey to become the new Ms. Marvel, and G. Willow Wilson did an excellent job in laying the groundwork for this journey. Kamala and I are quite similar in that we are awkward girls with strict, religious parents of the Abrahamic persuasion (Muslim in her case, Christian in mine). The fight she had with her parents at the dinner table could have been torn from my own diary when I was sixteen, as I'm willing to bet is the case with most other readers. Besides being relatable, Kamala is just adorable. I loved the whole sequence where she hallucinated Captain Marvel appearing to her like a divine intervention, with Captain America and Iron Man tagging along in the background. At the end of issue #1 Kamala has yet to understand that she has powers or to meet the real Carol Danvers, and I cannot wait to see it unfold. 4.5 stars

For me, the best part of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls was the protagonist herself, Victoria. Victoria Wright is literally the best--she is the top of her class, has bouncy blonde curls, and keeps her room immaculately clean. My favorite things about Victoria, however, are her flaws. She may be polite and courteous, but otherwise she is pretty terrible at socializing, even though she personally finds it a waste of time as it is a distraction from her studies. For example, one day she decides that Lawrence needs her friendship, so just tells him that he is her friend now, without caring that he initially doesn't want to be her friend, and oftentimes she fails to realize the difference between constructive criticism and just being mean. When Lawrence expresses how much her friendship means to him, she freaks out and avoids him. Then a few weeks later Lawrence disappears, and when Victoria is the only one who remembers he is gone she finally, though begrudgingly, accepts how much his friendship means to her. Luckily for Lawrence, Victoria has another flaw: extreme stubbornness. It is this stubbornness which helps Victoria recognize that other kids are missing, that many people in town smile like someone is pulling back their lips, and that nobody ever talks about the local orphanage down the street, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls. While I am of the opinion that the book lost some of its appeal once the gophers showed up(the grotesque isn't really my thing), overall I really enjoyed reading this. The most remarkable thing about this book is not the mystery, but that Legrand dared to write a protagonist who can be rude and selfish, but as reader you still wanted to root for her with every page turn. 4.5 stars

My favorite kinds of short stories are the unpredictable ones. Throw in some Greek gods, awesome lady detectives, and fairy tales into the magical realism plot then I might just fall in love. 4.5 stars

"Wow, I did not expect this to open up with a murder. This isn't as boring as I thought it would be"

"OH JUST LIKE THE LION KING"

"Simba was just informed by Rafiki about seeing Mufasa's ghost haha"

"Tell me how long I have to wait before Simba and Nala go in the elephant graveyard?"

"IS THERE NOT AN EQUIVALENT TO THE ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD?"

"So I guess there's no elephant graveyard."

"Nala needs to be more assertive."

"Wow, Simba. Not cool."

"Hamlet is too much of an asshole for me to keep calling him Simba."

"HAMLET NOOOOOOOOOOOO DON'T KILL RAFIKI"

"HE KILLED RAFIKI"

I hope he can handle all the tragedy that happens after Hamlet gets back from England.

Some of the passages are downright gorgeous, but they don't rectify how flat these characters are. Maybe that's the point. Regardless, it didn't live up to the hype, nor to previous works of Fitzgerald I've read before. This is one of those books that's much more fun to dissect and discuss than to read.