Iceland!!

[marenzi]

Hello all! I've been awful about posting lately because in the last few days I've been completely rearranging my summer. This means that in two days, I'll be leaving the country for the first time (!!) to visit Iceland for two weeks! I'm half Icelandic and have never met anyone from that side of the family before, and my best friend from high school's family moved there as diplomats so I'll be able to stay with them. YES I'M REALLY FREAKING EXCITED.

I've been going crazy trying to figure out what I need to pack and finalize travel plans. The current plan is DC metro to bus to train to Newark airport, which is pretty inexpensive but going to require a lot more coordination with a suitcase than a direct train to the airport. IDK I'm kind of freaking out that I'm going to miss one of the transfers, but mostly just bouncing around like a five-year-old. :D

I'm running out to the bookstore tomorrow for novels & a beautiful journal (ohhh I have such a kink for pretty blank journals) because I am going to write about this, damn it. And take lots of pictures. (I say this all the time. I sort of also have a phobia of writing in my pretty blank journals. But this is important!) Anyway, please rec me your favorite fun books! I'll have over twenty hours of travel time on this trip, so anything long is especially appreciated.

Okay back to packing! Slash finishing up my marathon of TBBT. (GOD I LOVE SHELDON. In very small, fictional doses.)

Comments

[lady-sarai.livejournal.com]

OH HOW AWESOME!! I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOOOOU! (I have the same thing with journals. ♥) Have a woooooooonderful time and a safe trip!

I recommend the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. ...Possibly because I'm reading them now, heh. He's a wizard! Who works with the Chicago PD! And has the best pets ever and and and there are, uh. 12 books now. Each one is better than the last. Mind you, since my mad crazy spring literature class ended, the ONLY thing I've been reading is those books and I've gone through 6.5 of them since mid-May. I'm just starting the most recent. I really do love them, but there ARE a lot of them. They're fast reads though, and the more you read, the harder it is to stop.

Otherwise, I highly recommend anything by Wendy Mass, who is an excellent YA author--my favorites are Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life and Every Soul a Star. Heaven Looks A Lot Like the Mall is fun but these are all very quick reads. Oh, there's also a trilogy that starts with The Mysterious Benedict Society and those are all longish and fun little page turners.

OH I KNOW--I raved about A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce here but it's absolutely amazing and wonderful and you must must must read it.

And of course there's anything by Robin McKinley, but I'm not sure if you've read all of hers like I have or not. ;)

...I also have a literature blog here that I set up as my literature log for my class this spring, and I think there are, uh. 35? books reviewed there. But they are all children's or young adult books, but some of the YA books are really amazing. ...But shhhh, that blog has no connection with this LJ. ;)

AND FINALLY: Have a really safe and AMAZING trip! Take lots of pictures! ♥♥♥♥♥

[marenzi.livejournal.com]

EEEEE THANK YOU!! I cannot believe this is actually happening but SO DAMN EXCITED. :D

And thank you for all the recs! I will definitely look for these tomorrow, YA novels are always great. I haven't heard of most of these other than Robin McKinley. I remember having at least one of her books in middle school and loving it but I don't think I read very many of them? Will look into that as well!

Ooh, fancy lit blog, very fun - thanks for the link! And the well wishes! ♥

[lady-sarai.livejournal.com]

OMG, KATE. ROBIN MCKINLEY IS LIKE MY HERO. I WANT TO BE HER. You have to read Spindle's End, The Outlaws of Sherwood, The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword, Beauty... There are more, but those are my favorites. Sunshine is a vampire novel that is VERY different than others I've read, though they seem to be releasing a version to appeal to Twilight readers and it... is nothing like Twilight. It was an adult book, actually. The more you know. I also liked Chalice a lot. But then, I'm very biased about her. ;) (Though if you only read one (GAH FLAIL PICK JUST ONE WHAT), go with Spindle's End.)

[marenzi.livejournal.com]

SPINDLE'S END! That was it! I have no idea where I got it from, but the local library didn't have anything else by her so I didn't read more... I'm going to see if I can find that!