-The Reverie experience has a chance of side effects.
-I'll be fine.
I want to keep doing this.
I like helping people.
I'm gonna do everything that I can to bring your husband back.
-You're gonna go back in, aren't you?
-I have to.
-Get in, get, get out.
-[ Gasps ]
-With whatever time I have left, I'm gonna be with my daughter.
-But this isn't real.
You're giving up on real people who love you.
-She's running around in other people's brains...
using a technology we barely understand.
♪♪♪♪
-What if next time Mara comes back it's an open wound?
That concerns me.
Has she noticed anything unusual?
Hallucinations?
-I warned you how dangerous this was.
-I am barely holding it together right now.
I don't even know if any of you are real.
-I think the program
is uncovering something hidden in your mind.
-You're here for a reason.
-If you're gonna go in, you might never come back.
-But you brought me here to help people, right?
Remember this.
♪♪♪♪
For more infomation >> Reverie (NBC) "This Season On" Trailer - Sarah Shahi, Dennis Haysbert virtual reality series - Duration: 1:31.-------------------------------------------
L'État offre VOS données à Google – Rumeur #2 - Duration: 7:21.
For more infomation >> L'État offre VOS données à Google – Rumeur #2 - Duration: 7:21. -------------------------------------------
Ameer hone k lye ye wazifa sehri k waqt kren | Ramzan Mein Sehri Ke Waqt 4 bar Parh Lain - Duration: 2:57.
Ameer hone k lye ye wazifa sehri k waqt kren | Ramzan Mein Sehri Ke Waqt 4 bar Parh Lain
-------------------------------------------
The Rising of Gaia Consciousness - Duration: 4:51.
The Rising of Gaia Consciousness
While we always need to look after and treat planet Earth with respect and love, over the
coming years it is going to be even more important to turn our attention and awareness to the
state of our home.
From 2018 to 2026, there are cosmic shifts happening that are going to help all of us
to awaken to how our actions and thoughts are harming and helping the planet.
These cosmic shifts include the planet Uranus moving into the sign of Taurus
Taurus is the sign that rules over planet Earth and Gaia, the goddess of our home in
this Univera se.
In ancient Greek mythology, Uranus and Gaia were lovers and it is this reunion and joining
of energy that is going to activate an awakening of how we have been treating our home.
Under this energy, we are not going to be able to ignore the warning signs Gaia has
been giving us.
No more can we pretend that certain practices are not doing long-term damage, the time to
see the truth has come.
For years our planet has been abused and overworked, for years the beautiful nature of this planet
has been compromised.
But this is not about pointing the finger at a single person or organization, instead,
it is about owning the fact that we are all responsible, and we all have a part to play.
We may appear separate but we are all One.
And all of our thoughts, vibrations, and actions create the life that we experience on this
planet.
Together, we are all playing a role in shaping the reality that we live in.
How we think, feel, and act not only affects the reality that we see and experience, but
it also reflects the reality for the whole as well.
We are all connected and working as a team, and it is up to all of us to change reality
through raising our vibration and level of consciousness.
While taking actions to protect the planet is necessary, this goes so much deeper.
While we all need to save water, choose sustainable products, recycle, walk or bicycle more and
so on, we also need to watch the energetic pollution that emanates from our being.
This energetic pollution comes from our vibration, and how we treat ourselves, others, animals,
and plants.
When you lead your life with love in the driver�s seat, your vibration helps to heal others
and this planet.
But when you allow fear into the driver�s seat and you become driven by your ego, you
lower your vibration and consequently lower the vibration of the planet.
Of course, it is not all as black and white as this, but being mindful of your energy
is not just good for you, it is also good for everyone and the planet as a whole.
Over the coming years, there is going to be a rising of consciousness in how we treat
our planet and the beings that inhabit it.
Things that we have been able to ignore are going to become harder to ignore, and Earth
may respond on its own too by showing us just how we are causing damage and chaos.
This is nothing to fear, instead, we need to rise up and start finding the sacredness
in Gaia, our Mother Earth.
Every day the ground beneath supports you, every day you are fed and nourished by this
Earth, and every day you are provided for.
By really honoring this, by really feeling this, we can all return to finding the sacredness
again.
Years ago, our ancestors worshipped the Earth and treated it as a living, breathing being.
This has been lost and forgotten by many, but now that is changing and now we are being
guided to open our minds, and hearts, and listen to what our Mother is telling us.
The best thing you can do moving forward is to be mindful of your energetic vibration
as much as possible and take actions that cause the least harm to the planet.
Of course, most of us can�t escape driving a car, buying plastics, and so on, but just
simple mindful awareness and changing a few habits can add up to a big difference.
Being grateful for planet Earth, treating it as sacred, spending time in nature, and
radiating love from your heart are all ways that we can make a lasting difference and
support the rising of a new way of living.
-------------------------------------------
The Best Business Networking Tips for 2018 - Duration: 6:20.
Hey guys.
Courtney here from RuleBreakersClub.com.
In this video I want to talk to you about something that has been blowing my mind lately.
I want to tell you why I think it's so important for you to start networking and getting clients
offline because I know a lot of us, especially you introverts out there are going to feel
resistant to that.
I've always told people that it can be really powerful to network one on one offline, in
person, in the flesh.
People are just much more willing to hire someone who the've met in person versus someone
who they found online.
Now I think there's a few reasons for this.
Number one, being the mere exposure effect, which basically just means that people develop
a preference for things that they are more familiar with.
No one's ever more familiar with you than if they meet you one on one.
In my own business this has been happening a lot lately where I have a relationship with
someone online or not at all and then I meet the person offline, and the person buys one
of my products, services, whatever, within a month of me meeting them.
And today I've got nine ways that you can start getting clients offline.
Strategy number one is to attend meetup groups.
This is my go-to strategy for making new friends.
Anyway, I've lived in a lot of different cities and a few different countries and every time
I move I go on MeetUp.com and I look for groups of people I can hang out with.
If you are specifically looking for clients, obviously you probably want to attend meetup
groups where you believe your potential clients would be hanging out.
Strategy number two is to ask for connections.
This is something that I've been so shy about doing, but when I do it, I realize that I
can start to meet of a lot of, a more curated people because they're people that have already
been filtered by the people who I've met.
Strategy number three is to saturate a market.
Now, here's what I mean by this.
Instead of going to a whole bunch of random groups and events, try to find groups and
events where similar people go.
What you want to do, is have multiple touchpoints with multiple different people because the
way that human networks work, if you and I have two or three or more mutual friends,
you and I are more likely to like each other and to form a relationship.
So instead of knowing a bunch of random people who don't know each other, try to meet other
people's contacts so that you can then saturate that network and have more friends in common.
That brings me to a very similar strategy.
Number four, which is to be everywhere.
While you're in the process of saturating a market, you're going to have to go out more
than you probably would normally, especially when you're just getting started.
I knew when I moved to a new city that I was going to have to go to more events in the
beginning than I would end up going to later because once you find contacts it starts to
gain momentum and happen more naturally.
But in the beginning you really should make an effort to be everywhere and go out as much
as you can.
That brings me to strategy number five which is to get your intro together.
People at events, they're going to ask you who you are and what you do.
And if you show up not having an answer to that question, that's just silly because you
know people are going to ask you that question.
When you're giving an intro, you really just need to know what are the main details that
you want to give someone.
Essentially who you are, what you do, who you serve.
You don't want to memorize word by work some very specific elevator pitch.
But you do want to know the general idea of what you want to say, so that when you say
it, it feels really natural.
It's time to go to strategy number six, which is to organize your contacts.
I created for myself, a spreadsheet that I call my little black book, where I've been
keeping track of all the new contacts that I've been making recently because I've been
meeting a lot of people and I don't want to forget to keep in touch with those people.
My basic system is just a list of the people I've been meeting.
And then just in another column how often I would like to get in touch with that person
depending on our level of relationship and what I think is appropriate.
Strategy number seven is another tricky one, which is to meet up with people in different
contexts.
So if you always meet somebody at the same type of event, like it's always at a networking
group, the relationship you build with that person is going to stay in a very specific
type of one-dimensional way.
If you invite that person out to grab coffee or a drink even, it's going to totally change
the dynamic of your relationship.
And the more different contexts you meet someone in, the more depth there is to the relationship
you have with the person.
Strategy number eight is to volunteer to help.
Now I realize, especially in my local community, there's a lot of people already running events
and they're doing a really good job.
But what I know for sure is that it's a lot of work to put on these events and not everybody
is super grateful about it either.
So if you want to pitch yourself to volunteer and help them out, how do you think that's
going to help your relationship with the organizer of the event?
Probably a lot, right?
If your desire is to establish a genuine connection, then volunteering to help somebody out is
a great way of going about that.
Now finally, one of my favorite strategies, strategy number nine is to pitch yourself
to speak at these events.
This is precisely how I got my first speaking gigs.
I started attending local networking events and I actually was asked to speak at a couple
of them.
And then there was one group that I went to that had a very organized event once a year
and they happened to be in the process of accepting speaker applications.
I applied.
I developed a relationship with the organizer and some other people who attended the events
and I was accepted to speak at the event.
If you've ever heard the saying that it's all about who you know, well this is how you
get to know more people.
People do work with other people who they know, like and trust.
And the fastest way to get someone to know, like and trust you is to connect with them
in person.
I would love to know in a comment below, make this a discussion.
Because I'm sure there's more ideas and I'm sure you guys have some strategies that have
already worked for you.
What is your favorite way to meet people in person when you have an online business?
Is there any specific strategy that's worked for you in the past or just on accident even?
I'd love to know in the comments.
And then make sure, as always to hit the subscribe button and like this video so that you will
get notified when the next one comes out because it's going to be just as awesome as this one
of course.
Thanks again for watching and I'll see you next time.
-------------------------------------------
How To Monster Hunter - Duration: 2:38.
At last, I thirst for the Hunt!
The Hunt is life!
Don't worry little one, you'll learn the ropes soon enough!
Everybody has a first hunt. Stick with us and you'll live to see your second, your third and your hundredth!
Yeah, you'll do alright bud.
You've got your whetstones, and your... Palico...
Meow.
This is it, young one! Just follow our lead!
You're new around here, right?
Well in that case...
Let me show you around!
You're beautiful.
I couldn't have done it without you.
Thank you.
Well, you've got better equipment now, so... it's a fair fight.
But Kevin, I love -
*dies*
-------------------------------------------
【Deceit】ダンジョンフェアリー人狼FPSコラボ！ - Duration: 1:59:52.
For more infomation >> 【Deceit】ダンジョンフェアリー人狼FPSコラボ！ - Duration: 1:59:52. -------------------------------------------
eibali alhabi wafa' | hadhak 'ant baeid - 'aghani eiraqiat 2018 - hisria - Duration: 4:47.
eibali alhabi wafa' | hadhak 'ant baeid - 'aghani eiraqiat 2018 - hisria
-------------------------------------------
Top 10 Unexplainable Media That Will GIVE YOU CHILLS - Duration: 8:50.
Hey YouTube, Jim here!
Welcome to Top10Archive!
It's a strange, strange world out there.
Just when you think you've figured it all out, you're hit with something that really
throws you for a loop.
Not entirely sure what I mean?
Maybe you will after this installment, where we're going to discuss some strange video
and audio footage.
Not only are they weird, they're among the top 10 most unexplainable media that will
surely give you the chills.
Before we dive into this video of oddities, don't forget to give the channel a subscribe
and click the bell for notifications of future Archives.
Should you like this collection of odd recordings, give the video a thumbs up and comment with
your thoughts!
10.
Grave Robbing for Morons The New York accent, the leather jacket, the
home video camerawork: Grave Robbing for Morons has all of the makings of an eerie video that
someone probably should have looked deeper into.
Launching right into the video, our youthful host gives us a rather chilling description
of how to deskin a skull.
Then, he launches into a sort of "how to..." guide on grave robbing.
Making matters worse, as many point out in the comment section, there appears to be blood
on the young lads face.
9.
The Ghost of Blockbuster There are a few things about this alleged
spectral encounter that make it chilling and worthy of the "unexplainable" tag.
For one, we're in a public setting - a Blockbuster in Mexico.
Unlike most staged ghost videos, the camera isn't conveniently pointed at a subject.
It's a security camera with a logical and clear view of the store.
Then, there's the employee's reaction.
It seems to fall in line with a real, human response and isn't over-the-top for views.
So, what do you think?
Can you explain it?
8.
Saturn's Message As the Cassini orbiter entered into Saturn's
orbit, it transmitted a strange signal back to NASA.
The space probe, which was part of the Cassini-Huygens mission oversaw by NASA, the European Space
Agency and the Italian Space Agency, was the first to enter the planet's orbit.
The signal that it picked up has been described as "alien," and with good reason.
Give it a listen, see if you can determine what you're hearing.
7.
The Woman on the Bridge Clever camerawork, a trick of the eye, something
added in post-production, or the spirit of one of the bridge's many suicide victims?
YouTube channel KoraMK2 leaves it up to you to figure out if the strange disappearing
lady he allegedly captured on his leisurely bike ride is real or not.
What makes this video most convincing is that KoraMK2's channel is dedicated to biking and
it would be out of character to fake a ghostly encounter for views.
Though, it is worth noting that it is currently the 6th most popular video on his channel.
6.
The Hum Listen closely to the audio beneath the commentary
of this August 2011 Tampa Bay Rays baseball game.
Reporter Todd Kalas attempted to link the incident to the Yankees-Rays game of July,
18th, 2011, when a lightning strike knocked out a string of power - but no report of lightning
at the August 2011 and no present humming at the July 2011 game creates a disconnect
in his explanation.
That, of course, still leaves us pondering what may have caused that "supernatural" noise.
Could it have been wind?
It seems like it'd have to be a heavy wind to create that loud of a noise within the
stadium.
5.
The Central New York Ghost Hunters Greatest Find
A good, solid EVP, or electronic voice phenomenon, is the ghost hunter's version of striking
gold.
When the Central New York Ghost Hunters of Syracuse, New York visited an old hotel in
upstate New York, they likely never expected to strike it rich.
The all-female team investigated the 19th-century hotel, interviewing only female employees
in a building with no cuckoo clock.
Why is their gender and the absence of a clock important?
Because according to the recording, there was a man and a cuckoo clock present.
The EVP is long, intense, and, according to the investigators of CNYGH, unexplainable.
4.
The Rumbles of Colorado Too rhythmic and frequent to be the sonic
boom of a jet, these strange claps occurred right before the 2011 5.3-magnitude Colorado
earthquake.
There are reports of "sky trumpets" sounding before an earthquake, but this sounds more
like something huge is crossing the terrain.
The noise even seems to travel, fading off into the distance by the end of the recording.
Was it something beneath the Earth's crust or something added in post-production to confuse
the masses?
3.
FoundontheTape If you really want to confuse someone and
leave them pondering their life choices, consider showing them the three videos on FoundontheTape's
YouTube channel.
Designated Clip094, Clip095, and Clip084, the trio of videos have no rhyme or reason
and are just a mish-mosh of horrific images that can't be explained.
Maybe most confusing is that the channel liked one video - a "How to..." for the video game
Slender: The Eight Pages.
2.
The Cannock Chase Ghost While toying around with a drone on the outskirts
of the oft-haunted Cannock Chase woods, this videographer captured something undeniably
creepy.
Home to the legend of the "black-eyed girl," Cannock Chase has been the subject of many
ghost sightings - and this appears to be one of them.
Even if it's not a specter, we're still left wondering who - or what - is hanging around
the isolated woods.
It does appear to be a woman in a white dress or gown and she even seems to hide her head
as the drone hovers nearby.
1.
The Max Headroom Broadcast Famously known as the Max Headroom broadcast,
this strange interruption of two Chicago-based television stations has been plaguing the
internet since Nov. 22nd, 1987.
The strange signal hijacked WGN-TV Channel 9 and, two hours later, WTTW Channel 11 for
around a minute and a half, displaying a masked man portraying the fictional artificial intelligence,
Max Headroom.
Though the FCC hoped to slap the perpetrators with a $10,000 fine and a year in prison,
nobody was ever linked to the unusual hijacking.
-------------------------------------------
5 THINGS YOU MUST DO IN THE FIFA 18 WORLD CUP MODE! 😅 - Duration: 11:40.
For more infomation >> 5 THINGS YOU MUST DO IN THE FIFA 18 WORLD CUP MODE! 😅 - Duration: 11:40. -------------------------------------------
Primitive Technology: Build Stone Hut, House in the Trunk, Hobbit House, Tiled Roof Hut - Duration: 45:25.
Build Stone Hut, House in the Trunk, Hobbit House, Tiled Roof Hut
-------------------------------------------
serf 1 cheez se mardana taqat 4 guna sari raat humbistry kro - Duration: 4:52.
For more infomation >> serf 1 cheez se mardana taqat 4 guna sari raat humbistry kro - Duration: 4:52. -------------------------------------------
What will you build for Cory the Guardian Water Turtle? - LEGO Elves - Duration: 2:06.
Hi, everyone. I'm Trixie from Lego Elves.
And today we're going to build a magical world for this water turtle.
Right now, we're on our way to find Naja.
She's an expert in turtles and she's in this cool aquarium.
So let's go find her.
- Hello, Trixie. - Hello, Naja.
- Thanks for meeting us. - You're welcome.
Our turtle lives in Elvendale and can control the water.
Where does your turtle live?
Our alligator snapping turtle comes from the south-eastern part of the US
and lives in rivers and lakes and also in swamps.
Can it also live on land?
Yes, actually. The females can go on land once a year to lay their eggs
that will later hatch into small babies.
Our turtle actually also has a baby.
It's called Calypso. Here it is.
How many babies can your turtle get?
Normally they lay about ten to fifty eggs at a time.
Whoa! That's a lot.
The water turtle is as old as Elvendale. How old can your turtle get?
Normally, they become about 20 to 70 years of age.
But rumour has it they can become more than 200 years old.
Whoa! That's old.
Thanks for teaching us about the turtles.
- It was my pleasure. - Let's go build.
♪ Whatever happens Wherever we go
♪ We are the Legend of Five unified And we know
♪ This is the way we're supposed to be
♪ This is the way We set the powers free
So here I have built a lift for baby Calypso.
And here I wanted to build 200 birthday cakes,
but I need your help.
So here's the first one.
Do you have any good ideas what to build for this turtle?
Then have fun and go in and share it on Lego Life.
Thank you for watching
and remember to check out our 360 Elvendale video.
-------------------------------------------
spre - lubie_to (prod. Ocean Beats) - Duration: 4:30.
For more infomation >> spre - lubie_to (prod. Ocean Beats) - Duration: 4:30. -------------------------------------------
İSMAYILLIYA GETDİM - (VLOG) !! - Duration: 7:19.
For more infomation >> İSMAYILLIYA GETDİM - (VLOG) !! - Duration: 7:19. -------------------------------------------
[Con Vlog] Japantag 2018 | aka Jday ^_^ - Duration: 4:07.
Heeey.. how meeean!
I took a picture I mean video and you just left.
*angry groan* I'm sure you are doing it on purpose (talking to cowboy in the background)
Oh I have a wound on my arm.
Jude: You have a wound on your arm?
Nici: Yea I fell at the Dokomi.
Jude: Oh damn.
(So much empathy :D)
It's supposed to be (dragon)scales
but somehow it looks more like dalmatian spots
Jude: Noo it looks good!
Someone in the back: One.. two.. three.. fourthousend..
He even claps!!!
He does that often. You can see that.
Do you think people would hug me?
Yeees
(saying something mean but I can't understand what ^^)
Shut up I'm not THAT ugly
You two should kiss! (Idk why I said that I was drunk)
What??
KISS!!
NOOO
Jude: Do it for the views!!
Kevin: *Trying to put the blanket on the tent*
René: Kevin you can do that better we all know it
-------------------------------------------
What INTJs Want In a Relationship? Look at These 11 things - Duration: 4:58.
What INTJs Want In a Relationship?
Look at hese 11 things
INTJs are generally introverted (they prefer to be alone most of the time), intuiting (they
tend to focus on thoughts and ideas rather than facts and experiences), thinking (they
tend to be more logical rather than emotional), and judging (they tend to be organized and
goal oriented)
Being in a relationship with an INTJ can be a challenging puzzle everyone want to solve.
At first, it is really interesting as people want to discover more and more about INTJs,
but as time goes, the understanding between both personalities will be the key to determine
where the relationship is going to.
For that reasons, here are some serious things you should know if you are close or even dating
an INFJ personality type.
In any case, If you find this information is helpful to you, make sure to like this
video and subscribe to our channel, so you won't miss any of our interesting updates
in the future.
#1 - INTJs need a lot of encouragement to make the first move
INTJs often get stucks on their own heads, often times they don't have enough courage
to tell you their feelings.
So, if you want to convey that you like an INTJ, you may have to just come out and say
it
#2 - They are planning something obsessively
In most cases, INTJs are planning everything obsessively.
When you invite them to hang out Saturday, you may not realize that they are busy planning
up their Monday through Friday just to reserve Saturday for you.
If you then suddenly decide on Wednesday night that Friday is actually better, then you are
out of luck and make things complicated.
#3 - They hate if you are illogical
INTJs are a logical creature, so if you suddenly become illogical, they tend to be viscerally
angry to you.
It doesn't make something right even if you feel something, they'd rather you say something
hurtful but true than something that makes no sense whatsoever.
#4 - INTJs are Fiercely Loyal.
To INTJs, honesty is practical not just ethical so they really put their best efforts to be
a faithful person when it comes to relationship.
They certainly don't honor dishonesty and it can lead to cannot being trusted or predicted.
#5 - INTJs Want You To Be More Blunt
For some people, honesty that INTJs personality type have can sometimes rub others the wrong
way.
But to make your relationship work with INTJs, you shouldn't be offended by it.
Instead, you should learn doing the same thing by being more blunt.
#6 - INTJs Want You To Succeed
When INTJs are in relationship, they care and support their partners.
They even practically help their partners to reach the goals.
So, it is actually something to be proud of when you actually are in relationship with
any of them.
#7 - INTJs feel far more than they express.
INTJs are not the type that will express everything outside, they may unintentionally make you
think that you're not so important to them, but whenever you start to doubt about their
interest, open up about your own feelings, have a nice conversation and you will find
them more caring than you realize.
#8 - INTJs Need Time Alone, A Lot
Compared to other personality types, INTJs are unique when it comes to needing a time
alone because they need a lot of it.
They love being alone without any distractions.
And don't worry, while being away from you, they never think of cheating you.
#9 - INTJs Are Hard to Shop For
INTJs are not people who like random gifts.
They prefer receiving something they really want even though it is cheaper when it comes
to price.
So, always ask before buying them a gift.
#10 - INTJs Think about Their Feelings
You're wrong if you think INTJs as robots because they do have powerful and deep emotions
they think of.
Only, INTJs prefer to not showing their feelings and keeping it private instead.
So, it's only normal if sometimes they look like introverts.
#11 - INTJs Only Argue Not Upset
What INTJs actually do when arguing is testing the ideas not expressing anger or making a
point.
So, every time they argue, they never do it with lack of respect.
Instead, they actually want to help constructing ideas.
Well, those are the things intjs wish their friends and loved ones knew about them.
So, Really cool information isn't it?
I hope you enjoy this short video, if you have something on your mind, please share
your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and watch all our other amazing videos!
Thanks for watching!
-------------------------------------------
May 2018 Reading Wrap Up [CC] - Duration: 17:45.
Hi, YouTube, its Kathy, and this is my May 2018 Reading Wrap Up.
If you're not already aware, I do weekly wrap ups of everything I read, watch, and listen to,
but I also do monthly wrap ups of just the books which is what we're doing today.
I'm going to start with the nerdy, hardcore stats and charts and then move into what I read.
In May, I read 20 books for a total of 6602 pages.
This takes into account converting audio book minutes to pages,
so 2834 of those pages were actually 71.5 hours of audiobook.
The age breakdown for these books was 11 adult books and 9 YA books, meaning 55% adult and
45% YA books. I read 16 novels, 2 graphic novels and 2 plays.
This month I read mostly contemporary, at 70%, followed
by 15% sci-fi and 5% each of fantasy at mystery and romance.
If you adjust for the amount of pages in each genre, sci-fi gets a bigger piece
of a pie which is unsurprising given sci-fi tends to have a larger page count,
and mystery decreases because the mystery I read this month was a play.
Most of these books, no surprise, came from the library, but I also read an ARC, borrowed
from a friend, and bought myself a treat. I read 7 audiobooks, 7 hardcover books,
5 paperbacks and 1 ebook. Half of my books were in the 300 to 399 page range,
and 60% of them were published this year or last year.
Most of these books were by female authors but only half of the books had female
protagonists, as I read 6 books where the protagonist falls under the category of ensemble.
I read books set in the United States, United Kingdom, other worlds,
and also a book each set in Japan, Pakistan, Trinidad, and France [also, Canada].
In terms of diversity, I read a lot of queer content, as well as books that touch on race,
were own voices, or had a combination of representation, but about 15% of the
books I read didn't have any discernible diversity. In April, I asked 9 BookTubers
to pick my TBR for May, and since some of them gave me multiple options, I decided
to check 10 books off that list. I did that, although I did end up reading one
of those books, An Ember in the Ashes, at the tail end of April so it won't be in this wrap up.
I'll put a graphic on the screen to denote which books were part
of this project, and I will link that video down below. This was a pretty good
reading month, if you go by star ratings, which pretty much is always the case
because I tend to pick up things I know I'm going to like.
This month I had three 3 star reads, two 3.5 star reads, five 4 star reads, four 4.5 star reads and six 5 star reads.
Let's start with the lowest rated book and work our way to the highest, shall we?
In the 3 star category, we have Black Coffee. This is a play in three acts. It's an Agatha
Christie mystery, and I originally figured I might like this one because it
has Poirot as the main character, but it's incredibly racist, because 1930s, and
it relied really heavily on gender norms, which ...no thanks.
It would, however, be interesting to see a play like this put on if they were to update the language.
Even in the stage notes, there's misdirection so it gives the audience
time to theorize who could have possibly been the killer. The other play I read
this month was also 3 stars and that was Noises Off. This is one of those
plays where it is way more fun to watch it than it is to read it, because half of
the play is basically going through the stage notes of what the characters are
doing while other people are talking "on stage". So although you can sort of
picture what's going on, it is way more fun to actually watch what's going on.
The last 3 star read was Sweet Southern Trouble. This is a contemporary
romance between a football coach and a schoolteacher, and it's both a hate to
love and fake to real relationship book. As I mentioned in my weekly wrap up,
it was fun to read outside of the usual genres that I read, but there were so
many tropes and so many weird little problems that I had with it. To be honest,
it's kind of hard for me to hate a reading experience unless something is
absolutely terrible, so this was fine but it's just not something I would really pick up again.
Moving on a 3.5 star reads, I read A Darker Shade of Magic, which is
the first in a trilogy. This book centres around a character that can travel
between a different versions of London, or more accurately, different worlds that
all seem to have one city called London. I definitely enjoyed this reading
experience, and the magic system was really interesting, and I will probably
finish the trilogy. But early on, I got excited because I thought that the male
main character who can travel between the worlds was having a love affair with
the prince, and then it's revealed that they're brothers, and I was like,
"how did I misread that?" Like, I don't understand. Also, as the book went on they definitely
had more of a familial bond and I want that to continue, but I was just weirded
out that I was like, "oh, yeah, they're lovers. That's fine. Oh wait,
what? They're brothers?" I'm so confused. My other 3.5 star read this month was
Behold the Dreamers. This is about an immigrant family from Cameroon that
comes over to the States and starts working for this very rich, elitist
family that works on Wall Street. And this book actually spans several years.
We learn about the family's life in Cameroon, we learn about the process of
moving to America and how the husband was actually there for a couple of years
before his to-be wife, and their child, was able to come over as well. He gets a
job with that prominent family and has it for a little while, but this is set
during the huge financial crash that happened in the States, and we see how
this impacts both of these families differently.
There are often parallels between the families and it was interesting to see
how each of them adapted to the new situations. I also enjoyed that the
author wrote a lot of the dialogue or even just description in pidgin English,
and included sections that weren't in English at all and didn't explain them.
There was also a lot of talk about the different food that they ate, that was
Cameroonian, that I have never had before, and if I still ate meat I would probably
want to try every single one of those dishes, and since I don't, I would just
have the ones that don't have meat in them. My first 4 star read was
Anna and the French Kiss, and I read this way at the beginning of the month.
It's about a girl named Anna who is sent to Paris for her last year of high school because her
dad is a rich novelist and, basically, it said like a status thing where he's like,
"I can afford to send my kid to high school in France, so that's what I'm gonna do"
and doesn't even ask her if that's what she wants. I personally would
have no problem with this. If anyone wants to send me anywhere to study
things, please do because I like studying and I like traveling. In any case, while
she's there, she falls into this group of friends. She has his boy back home that
she's sort of crushing on, ans she thinks that when she goes back for winter break
they're going to pick up where they left off, but then she also has a crush on a
boy in the friend group. It's cute, it's fluffy, it's enjoyable. If you don't think
too hard while you're reading it, it's fine. If you start thinking about it too
hard you go, "Anna, you're in Paris and you love movies; how did you not know there
is a huge movie scene in Paris? Like, how does it take you, like, six months of your
trip to find this out? My god, you have the Internet." My next 4 star read also
has Anna in the title and in the book and that is
Anna In-Between. This book is about a woman who was born in Trinidad but has been
living in the States for the past 20 years, and she's back home visiting her parents.
While she's there, she finds out that her mother has breast cancer, and
not only that, but she's been hiding it for a couple of years, basically ignoring
it and thinking, "if I don't say anything, and nobody else will say anything,
I will never have to deal with this." This book is an incredibly slow burn and
has a lot to do with the character development of these family members as
well as the people around them, and talks a lot about what it's like to be in between.
While she's back home in Trinidad, she's seen as not really still
from the island because she's been in New York for so long, and while she's in
New York, she is seen as African-American, which, fine, is true, but ignores so much else of her experience.
The next 4 star read was another cute, fluffy
contemporary and that's To All the Boys I've Loved Before. This book is about a
biracial girl named Lara Jean, who, every time she falls in love with somebody and
wants to fall out of it, she writes them a letter and doesn't send it. She gets
quite a surprise when one day boys start coming up to her saying, "hey, I got your letter".
Awkward. One of the boys happens to be
her sister's ex-boyfriend and to extricate herself from that situation,
she pretends to be dating somebody else. This book also had a fake to real
relationship trope, but I found it written in such a charming way that I just didn't care.
My next fourth I read was Obsidio, which
is the third in the Illuminate Files trilogy. Not much I can tell you here, as
this is the third in a series, but this is written in a dossier format and I
listened to the audiobook, which is a full cast recording, but if you get the
physical books, they're also really interesting to look at. You get different
doodles and diagrams, and sometimes when people are speaking in chats they're
sending emojis and stuff like that. Not quite emojis, but, like, that older version
of emojis we had where you would have to like use different keys on the keyboard
to create a picture, basically. And my last 4 star read was My Brother's Husband.
This is a manga about a man whose twin has died recently and his
twin brother's husband comes to visit him in Japan. The art in this is really cute.
I really love the protagonists daughter, as well as Mike, the husband, and this
deals a lot with the protagonist reflecting on his deep-seated homophobia,
that comes very strongly with the culture. Eventually there will be a
second volume of this I really want to read it. Onto 4.5 star reads! The next one
is actually another graphic novel and that is Sugar Town.
It's just an itty-bitty little graphic novel about this girl named Hazel who's on
winter break in Portland. She's bisexual and polyamorous, so she's updating her
boyfriend back home about her adventures while also dating a dominatrix.
For such a tiny graphic novel, there is so much representation: bisexuality, polyamory,
kink, and sex worker. The art is adorable, and if another volume comes out I would totally read it.
My next 4.5 star read was Puddin', which
is the follow-up to Dumplin', and the happiest surprise about this book for me
was that it is a dual narrative between two different girls that we met in the
first book. Now, usually when we have a dual narrative in YA it tends to be
between a girl and a boy who you figure probably gonna fall in love, and this
book kind of flips that on its head, in that these are unlikely companions and
yet by the end of the book they have a lot of love for each other.
I was also enamored with how many times the two different protagonists stories
seemed to be on the same track. Millie is used to people judging her based on her
appearance, but so is Callie, and although she's classically beautiful, and that's
the judgment that Millie has for Callie, she's also biracial and that causes some
people to look down on her just from looking at her.
I loved all the intersectionalities, the side characters were really well fleshed out, and I
enjoyed this book. My next 4.5 star read was Before Ever After. This one concerns
a woman whose husband has died and a couple of years later a man shows up on
her doorstep looking exactly like him. This book kind of balances between five
years in the past and what's going on at present, and five years in the past when
she met her husband, she was on this road trip of Europe. So immediately I'm drawn
in because I love traveling; having a road trip novel that is also a romance
is adorable to me. But then you also have this extra intrigue of this guy who
looks exactly like him, and trying to figure out how all that fits in.
In addition to those five years ago flashbacks, every time he tells a story
on that tour, we also flashback those hundreds of years to that story.
I loved learning little tidbits of history when I go on trips like that, so
I just adored this, and now I just really want to go on a trip of Europe... again and always. Forever.
My last 4.5 star read was Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and no, no, she's not.
Eleanor had a very unconventional upbringing. She's currently living in Glasgow, but used to live in London
with her mother, and one of the best things about this book is it lets you
figure out over time just how unconventional her upbringing was.
It doesn't lay out all the facts right at the beginning; it keeps you guessing
until you finally know exactly what happened in her past. Eleanor is
incredibly well read and well versed in literature but is not well versed in
current social norms. I felt that the way the character spoke and even thought
was the most interesting part of the writing because she was incredibly
verbose but she was also incredibly judgmental. There's a lot that happens in
this book, and I do not want to spoil any of the little twists, so I just really
highly recommend that everyone pick this up. Onto my 5 start reads, the first
one being a reread, which is Leah on the Offbeat. I found out after I read my
physical copy of the book that Shannon purser does the audiobook, and I just had
to listen to that. she read it pretty much exactly how I pictured Leah in my
head, so that was good. I've seen a lot of people talk about how this is actually a really
light and fluffy read that doesn't have very high stakes and
therefore they can only really give it, like, a 3 star rating. And for me,
star ratings are so subjective. I mostly go on "how did reading that book make me feel?"
and did it have a good impact on me. In my view, something doesn't have to be
an important piece of literature to be a 5 star read. My next 5 star read was
Only Human, which is the third in the Themis Files trilogy. Much like Obsidio,
I can't tell you much about this because it is the third book and it finishes out a trilogy.
This one is also written in a dossier format and I also listened to this
one because, again, it has a full cast recording. So if you've read and enjoyed
the Illuminate Files, and you want something similar, but adult, this is where you go.
This one is very high stakes, I absolutely fell in love with
the characters, and I needed to know if the human race was going to still exist
by the end of it. My next 5 star read was Ship It, which is the ARC I read and
it came out early this month. This is about a girl who is huge into the fandom
of this TV program that is very much like Supernatural and when she finds out
that the cast is coming to a Comic Con near her. She goes to it and goes to that
panel and something a little bit disastrous happens. You see, Claire writes
fan fiction and it's a popular headcanon of the fans that the two main characters
are in love; however, one of the actors on the show and on the panel
kind of snorts at this derisively and it causes a huge PR nightmare.
What's great about this is it's a dual narrative between Claire the fan and Forrest the
actor in the show, and there are definitely points where both of them go
over the line of what's appropriate. Claire basically makes it her mission to
have this head cannon and confirmed on the show,
whereas Forrest is trying really hard to get the lead in this big, video game
thing that he loves, and any bad press releases or PR that makes him out to be
anything but "The Manliest Man of All Time" (TM) it's just really not gonna help his cause.
I love this book because of a fandom element, the queer element, and
just seeing different perspectives. My next 5 star read was Written in the Stars,
and I was not prepared for it. For some reason, going into this I thought
this was going to be a contemporary fluffy type of thing, and it starts out
that way, and I think it's very deliberate that it starts out that way,
and then things go very wrong. This is about a Pakistani-American girl who is
not supposed to have any boyfriends because her parents are supposed to pick
her husband, but she has had a boyfriend for about the past year. He is also
Pakistani-American. Her parents find out and they take her on a trip back to
Pakistan to show her her roots, but really they're there to arrange her marriage.
This book goes incredibly dark, so trigger warnings for physical and
sexual assault, and it is not something I expected to see in YA literature and I'm
so glad that I did. The author notes at the end that she is part of an arranged
marriage and that they can work, and they can be great, but, also, often children are
forced into marriages still and nobody really talks about it. I read this cover
to cover without getting off my couch and if you haven't read it yet you definitely should.
My next 5 star read was All Our Wrong Todays.
This is a time-travel novel and it is written in such an interesting way. First off, if you
have the option, listen to the audiobook because it's read by the author and he
does a phenomenal job. This book starts out talking about other forms of time
travel in media and how they are wrong because the science behind them is not
solid, and goes on to talk about how the protagonist's father has actually fixed
those problems and is about to send people back in time as, basically, a
tourist operation. You see, Tom, our protagonist, lives in a very utopian
version of 2016 and somehow accidently ends up in our version of '16 which is very dystopian [to him].
Something that's very fun about this is
it plays with the grammar of talking about time travel. There's so many tenses
you need to use that you wouldn't use in normal life because nobody talks like that,
actually, but if you're talking about something that would have happened
but didn't happen because of a different timeline, it gets confusing, but he makes
an effort to make it as clear as possible which is helpful.
Also, throughout this book we really see the protagonist grow as a person, which is so
important because he starts out as a 32 year old who has kind of lost and
aimless, and really has to grow up to survive this situation.
This is definitely my favourite book that deals with time travel, by far. And my last 5
star read, and my favorite book of the month, was The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde.
I've been waiting for this one for quite a while and I loved it. In fact, I
ended up getting it from my local book store a few days early, which is the
story I've already talked about, so I'll link that. In any case, The Brightsiders
is about a girl named Emmy King who is part of a band called The Brightsiders,
and they are child rock stars. She, however, does not have a great home life.
Her parents are ex rock-and-rollers who never gave up a partying lifestyle, so
she basically raised herself. In fact, even though she's only 17 when the book
starts, she's been living in a hotel for the last six months because she cannot
stand living with her parents anymore, but is not old enough to legally buy a house.
Now, as can happen with some child stars,
she starts to go off the rails a little bit, and realizes she needs to figure out
what she's doing with her life, what's wrong, and the people that are wrong for
her, and get them out of her life, and figure out how to exist so that the band doesn't break up.
From the get-go, we as readers know that Emmy is bi; she's, in
fact, dating a girl when this book starts, but she hasn't come out to her fans yet.
Alfie, one of her band mates is genderqueer and has been out since
before the band started, but for some reason, because she's the only person in
the band that uses she/her pronouns, she gets a lot of shit from the media.
Part of that is because of the patriarchy and part of that is because she does make
some terrible life choices. This book is about finding a support system that is
healthy for you and thriving in it. I absolutely adored it and I can't believe
I have to wait until 2019 for Jen Wilde's next book, because I want to read it now, please.
I read the synopsis a couple of months ago and I'm just like, "can I have
that book now? Cuz it's - so I want it now." If you want to hear me talk more about
these books, or other books for the matter the playlist for my Weekly
Entertainment Wrap Ups is always linked down below. If you have read on any of
these, please let me know about it down in the comments below. On the way down
to the comments, if you hit that Subscribe button, that would be very nice of you.
You can like and share this as you see fit, and I will see you next time.
Bye!
[outro music]
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét