Inside Kimmy's Mind

Kat and I went to Half Price Books last week where I found this comic illustrated by Matthew Forsythe. I had several books in my hands that I had planned on buying, but after I found this one I put the others down. I’ve been looking to illustrators a lot lately, they are again very inspiring and I really wish I could express myself creatively through illustrating.

Doesn’t mean I won’t attempt it. >.< I’ve been doodling a lot for fun, but I find myself getting frustrated when a picture doesn’t come out as well as I had hoped. The photo is from the comic mentioned above, how adorable is the art style? The artist is a one of the head illustrators that works on Adventure Time. Here’s the synopsis according to the cover of the book:

After eating everything in sight, Voguchi is sent to the market where a chance encounter introduces her to Jinchalo-a mischievous shape shifter. He sets our hungry heroine on a strange adventure into the sky, leaving her home far behind.

A little girl who eats everything?! Totally made for me. Speaking of which, my place is definitely in need of some groceries. -.- I keep putting it off, I’ve been eating cream cheese on graham crackers for dinner. Hopefully on my trip to the Kroger’s I don’t have to deal with a shape shifter. 😛 The ending sort of confuses me, so if you’ve seen it, I’d love to hear your interpretation of the ending. There are no actual words so the entire book is made up of pictures and your interpretation.  Moving on to Anya’s Ghost. Vera Brosgol is wonderful, she worked on Coraline and Paranorman, I can definitely see similar art styles there.  This and her comic, “What were you raised by, wolves?” is a bit darker. Anya’s Ghost is about a Russian immigrant who is trying to fit in her American high school, she’s bullied a bit and tends to see life in a negative way. And one day, on her way home from school she falls down a hole where she isn’t alone. Frannerd recommended this novel in her vlog a couple weeks ago, and it seemed interesting so I had to go and pick myself up a copy. I’m glad I did. I’m really loving this limited color pallet, along with watercolor. I want to start buying more Copic Sketch markers, they give off a watercolor effect. But they’re pretty pricy so it might take a while for me to get a decent collection. Plus I want to be able to use them correctly and I don’t think I know how to at this point. Also, I’ve been loving these illustrated notebooks from Scout Books. This post totally turned into things I’m currently loving.

I haven’t been keeping up with my disposable camera challenge, but the month isn’t over yet so I will make sure to try and get some nice pictures. I’m excited not knowing how they’re gonna turn out. Thinking back, that’s what I loved about it when I used them on class field trips back in the day. XD Of course, we would always wait years until we got them developed. I don’t intend to wait that long with this one. Let me know if you’re attempting the challenge.  That’s all for now, until next time…

Thanks for reading and commenting.

I’ve always loved blog entries where the blogger shares the contents of their bag. I don’t know why, I guess I find the photos interesting so I figured I’d try my hand at posting my own.

On a normal day out, I’ve been using my olive green satchel that I bought from Forever21 a couple months ago. It’s on the smaller side so I can’t carry as much as I usually do. This bag causes me to condense the items I choose to bring with me so I enjoy that. Sometimes I add or remove a few things from the list, but this is what I carried in my bag the last time I went out.

1. Pocket Juice: This is my favorite new thing, as long as I remember to charge it after using it. It gives me enough battery power to last the day after I use my cell to take tons of pictures and navigate me on my travels. It’s a nice thing to have and a good size, I’ve seen smaller but this one is rechargeable by outlet not double AA batteries. I absolutely love it.

2. Keys: These don’t really need an explanation, apartment, mailbox, bike lock. That’s it.

3. Mini wallet: This is what I carry when I use my smaller bag. It has my Q card, debit, license, campus id and some loose change. It’s actually falling apart so I’ll be needing a new one soon. But it’s a nice size.

4. Ipod: I love having my ipod around, it’s an older one so it only holds 1000 songs but it saves me from having to use up my cell battery listening to music.

5. 3DS: I love my Ds, and after buying Bravely Default I have been carrying it around more often but I don’t always carry it with me all the time. Especially when the weather is poop.

6. Altoids: I love mints compared to gum, and I love Altoids, but these are pretty chalky so it does get in my bag…I miss the sour ones but those were more like candy than actual mints. I’ll probably switch back to Tic-Tacs…got to have some type of mints.

7. Nivea bliss chapstick: a kiss of shimmer, I love how soft these leave my lips feeling. But I also have a fruity one that tastes yummy but sort of defeats the purpose of chapstick. So it’s nice to have this on hand, I have very thin lips so lipstick looks odd on me and lip gloss is messy. -.-

8. Star Wars Moleskine: When I use a bigger bag I carry my Star Wars planner but with this bag I like to carry this smaller notebook. It’s the perfect size and having something to write notes or ideas in is important.

9. Cell: HTC DNA. Like everyone else, my cell phone is something I carry with me everywhere. It’s my GPS, and contact with the rest of the world. Makes meeting up with people a lot easier. Of course I remember a time before cell phones were a necessity.

So that’s pretty much all I carry in this particular bag, like I said it changes when I change the bag I use. Now I’m off to make some dinner and finish washing some clothes. I start my first event on Thursday for Houston Press. I’m hopping it goes well, I’m a bit nervous about it. Wish me luck and until next time…

Thanks for reading and commenting.

I love when these type of tags are going around the blogosphere. It’s just nice to show love to your fellow bloggers and there are tons I adore. I was nominated by my lovely sister Mija and I love just having any excuse to update my blog.

VBA Rules
If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award.

1. Thank the person who gave you this award.

2. Include a link to their blog.

3. Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. ( I would add, pick blogs or bloggers that are excellent!) Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award — you might include a link to this site.

4. Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

So here are the 15 I nominate. These are bloggers that inspire/entertain me and I’m always happy when they update. So keep blogging my fellow bloggers. Obviously I know you might be too busy to update about this so don’t feel as though you have to. 😀

Seeing as the person who nominated me is my sister, there isn’t anything she doesn’t know but still..here are 7 things about me.

1. I knit and sew- haven’t had much time to do a lot of crafting but when I do, I always have a lot of fun.
2. In elementary school, I played the Wicked Witch of the West in our production of The Wizard of Oz.
3. I have an irrational fear of sloths and optometrists. >.<
4. I hate cinnamon toothpaste.
5. Like Mija, I’m also obsessed with my 3DS.
6. I love French films.
7. I’m the middle of two sisters. (Mija and Kat)

So there you have it, 7 things about me. I’m excited to see what my nominees 7 things are. And even if you weren’t nominated feel free to do this anyway. It’s all about spreading some blogger love. 🙂

I’ve always had a love for writing and reading, I don’t think I could be who I am if I didn’t. But it wasn’t until I reached the fourth grade that I discovered this fact about myself.

So yeah, I own a Nook Color. The weirdos gave it to me, I have been reading a book on it for pleasure and one for class. And let me just say how satisfying it was to push that confirm button and end up with a book before me…it was 2 in the morning. I should admit this now, but I am horribly addicted to online shopping. Thank goodness I don’t have any credit cards or I’d be in serious trouble. I enjoy ordering things online it’s the waiting process that I hate…anyway. So of course the ability to purchase a book in my pajamas and get it within minutes is pretty awesome. Also, I can watch Netflix…that has nothing to do with books or reading but is still is pretty awesome. Not to mention I can carry multiple books with me. This is great for school…minus the part where I can’t sell any books back. But let’s be honest, I’m lucky if I get five bucks back for the novels I buy for lit classes. Some teachers want me to get certain versions of the books so I won’t be able to use the Nook but for the ones I can it will be nice. This does not mean nor will it ever mean that I will stop buying hard copies of books. Nothing could ever stop me from that. Click the books or the, I pledge to read the printed word button on my sidebar. Speaking of books, I have tons of things to read at the moment but last week I picked up the book, The Underachiever’s Diary and I’m loving it so far. Bought it at Half Price for a dollar. Love Half Price. And it’s moments like these that I will always enjoy buying and reading the printed word.

Nook or Kindle? How do you feel about Ereaders, or books for that matter? Also, if you’re in Houston in the month of April then you must come to The Indie Book Fest. If you’re a bookstore owner, self published author or small press owner and are interested in getting a table I can also help you with getting you on the right list, let me know. Just shoot me an email at Kim at mind-speaks dot com.

Thanks for reading.

Kellie over at Give a Girl a Blog started a really cute Currently segment over at her blog. So naturally, I decided to take part in it as well. 😀 She is one of my favorite scrapbookers. I’m always in the mood to create after visiting her blog and her current post totally inspired me. So here I am reporting what I’m currently working on…or attempting to work on. >.< … continue reading this entry.

Fruit by Brian Francis

I bought this book at Kaboom, one of the best used book stores in Houston. I fell in love with the place, and their prices are fantastic. I enjoy Half Price, but Kaboom has them beat. It’s own by the greatest couple too, they hold readings in the back of the store and it’s just a really nice place. I mentioned it in this post awhile back but deleted the pictures because I went with the ex. I just never got around to adding different pictures to that post so I’ll do that here as well. But first, back to the main reason of this entry. A book review. Now I’ve discussed books that I’ve read before but you can’t really call them reviews. You would think after 3 semesters of creative writing and I would be able to write an awesome book review. Well it’s my opinion about it so here it goes. I purchased a review copy, so I’m not sure how much of the story was changed in  the actual published version. But I absolutely loved this book. Both as a reader and as someone who enjoys writing. As I’ve developed my writing skills, I’ve discovered that I enjoy writing coming of age stories. So when I read a book that has taken something we have all gone through and made it relatable while at the same time different, I can’t help but swoon.And that is exactly what this book did for me.

Synopsis (found on the back of the book)

Thirteen-year-old Peter Paddington is overweight, the subject of his classmates’ ridicule, and the victim of too many bad movie-of-the-week storylines. When his nipples begin speaking to him one day and inform him of their diabolical plan to expose his secret desires, Peter finds himself cornered in a world that seems to have no tolerance for difference. Peter’s only solace is “The Bedtime Movies”- perfect-world fantasies that lull him to sleep every night. But when the lines between Peter’s fantasy world and his reality begin to blur, his hilarious adventures in overeating, family dysfunction, and the terrifying world of sexual awakening really begin. 

After reading that I just had to buy it. I love the style that Francis wrote this book in. It’s in first person from the POV of Peter. Although it is relatable, everyone experiences adolescence in their own way. This story was entertaining and it definitely made me think a lot about my own experiences, that awkward stage in life. While reading this book I laughed a lot…and out loud. I feel as though I should actually get my hands on a published copy so I can compare the two. Another thing I found interesting was the fact that it was about a boy and not a girl. As a female, the male mind is somewhat out of bounds so reading this from the perspective of a thirteen year old boy was another reason I enjoyed it. After reading this book, it made me want to start working on some short stories. I might share a few that were inspired by this book.

So if you are looking for a fun book to read I highly recommend Fruit. What style of books do you find yourself drawn to? And if you have book suggestions, let me know. 😀 Thanks for reading.

Another entry!!!!

So today was my second class of math and I still feel the same about math. I HATE IT!!!! I will probably have to go to tutoring every now and then. But I will do whatever it takes to pass this stupid class. Anyway so I fully intended to vlog today, but I just didn’t have a lot to say…well now I do and I could have very well filmed a vlog but we went to Hastings today and I bought two books. Everlasting by Alyson Noël is the finale to the The Immortal series and One Day by David Nicholls. Which brings me to the next thing I want to mention.

MOVIES!!!

One Day was also made into a movie, it should be coming out some time this summer. I’m soooo excited for it. But until I get to watch it, I will read the book and then be able to compare and contrast. Another movie that I want to watch is  The Art of Getting By, it comes out next week. But sadly my small town wont have any showings. They never show any sundance films!!! WHY THE HELL NOT?! I love indie films, those are usually the best.  But I can’t wait to see these movies.  Now on to a movie I watched the other night. An Invisible Sign, it was soooooo freaking cute. These are the types of movies I love. And I’m always left with such a happy feeling after watching them. Now this movie involves math, which is the  pain of my existence. However, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the main character. I’ve never  actually been a fan of Jessica Alba but she was so adorable in this movie. So if you enjoy cute artsy movies, then I recommend this one.

And of course I’m gonna be vain real quick and add a picture of myself. XD

Song of the day is Sunny Day by Joy Williams, I heard this song during the credits of An Invisible Sign and just fell in love with it.

In the words of Mija,”Why can I never love anything?” She is over dramatic at times and she exaggerates. Unlike me

What I want to discuss is the book Shrimp by Rachel Cohn. I ordered it off the Borders website and I was hoping to get the cover that I clicked on but apparently that doesn’t matter. I am really annoyed by this. I thought that if I were to click on the green cover that, that would be the cover I would receive in the mail. But thats not how things work I guess. And now I have the completed series but the second one as you can see from the picture below does not match the first and second one. This bugs me so much.I know this might not seem like such a big deal. Oh but it is. And not something one would get angry over, but I am not a sane person. I have problems. Matching problems. I have this issue when it comes to things matching. Like for my books if I am reading and buying a series and the first one is paper back and a certain cover than the rest of the books in that series must be the same. Otherwise I will not purchase the book. Of course if you have read my previous entries then you are aware of the fact that I wasn’t able to find the green cover of Shrimp in any book store. They were all out of stock. But if I ever see the green cover in a store I will buy it to make the series actually complete. Again I have issues.

Today is also Fathers day and I just want to say that I am so thankful for my dad. He is truly one of a kind, and no matter how annoying he can be he is also amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better father. After church, I wanted a supreme croissant, and even though he didn’t feel like eating Jack in the Box he still went there for me and my sisters. Awww my Dad. I took a picture with him when we got home for my Dailybooth. Of course he doesn’t know that.

So Thursday, Mija took Kat and I to a Japaneses restaurant called Blue Fish, if I’m not mistaken. I have eaten sushi and chicken teriyaki before but not like this. It was delicious. I don’t usually like eating food that is uncooked like in sushi. But this avocado crap roll was ok. If you have eaten sushi before and you are not used to it, you know that its texture is…interesting. I’m not quite used to it. But I ate two and it was good. Kat only ate one she did not like it. lol. She made a face after putting it into her mouth and everything. You could tell she wasn’t too happy that she had to swallow it as well. But she did and I am proud that she didn’t spit it into her napkin.  Its strange because Mija hates seafood. She hates a lot of things. And I would never have thought she would be the one introducing us to different foods to broaden our food pallet. lol. But yeah she did. I also ate chicken teriyaki. It was so good. I pretty much love chicken any way you can prepare it. Kat had the pork teriyaki and Mija had beef. I wasn’t too keen on the pork  but the beef was good. It seemed like such a small portion but it filled us up. I hadn’t eaten any lunch only a few muffins so I was extremely hungry. But after chicken and sushi I was satisfied and didn’t anything after that.

I am behind a day in my chapters for Dooms Day Book but I don’t care. I will read as much as I can, and just bullshit it if I have to on Monday. Its really boring to me.  -_-

Part One: I hate that once I find something that is extremely cute in a store. I am bombarded by the fear that it will not be there when I return to that store. Sigh. I mean it takes me a long time to decided to buy something. I never have money. Therefore, when I do have money I like to make sure that I use whatever it is that I buy. Or if its a book I will read it. The other day I went to the Galleria with my sisters and we went into the Sanrio store aka Hello Kitty store. Now I wasn’t planning on buying anything from this store, because they are ridiculously over priced. -_- Kat had already decided on purchasing a bento draw string bag and a bento spoon and chopstick set. Freakin cute man. Now I didn’t see anything that I desperately wanted so after Kat bought her items we continued on to the next store. Gadzooks. Now I’m not normally a clothing shopper. I attempted to try on clothes with the idea that I would buy it if I liked it. I just didn’t want anything from that store either. So I was planning on returning to the Sanrio store and purchasing a bento box and fork and spoon set with a bento drawstring bag. (different from Kats of course) Sigh Why am I such an indecisive person? Anyway, I believe I made the comment that went like this, “What do I need a bento for? I don’t have a lunch time.” My sister than replied to me saying, “During the summer you don’t plan on working? You might not have enough time to walk home for lunch.”

DING DING DING DING! – This is true. I plan on having a job. And I might have to pack a lunch.

So at this point I kept pacing back and forth, walking up and down stairs not being able to make up mind. We were heading in the direction to the Disney store (our second favorite store) thinking we might find something there and if not I would return to buy the bento/accessories that went with it. Tsk. I know what a waste of time. Of course the Disney store was moved to another side of the mall and we weren’t exactly sure where. So we headed in the direction we assumed was the right one. During this time I kept going over whether or not I should buy the bento box or not. (Yes I over analyze everything) My sisters said we could always go back because I feared the only bento box of the character that I wanted would not be there upon returning. So I decided on the Sanrio store and I purchased the first things I thought of buying. tsk I know I am crazy. Forgive me. Its a curse. But I finally made up my mind don’t I get points for that? Now I know you might find this sort of thing very childish but I could not help it. It was so fucking cute. I am defenseless with stuff like this. So yeah.

Part Two: I have to finish the Dooms Day Book by Monday. It has 36 chapters. So if I read six chapters a day I will have it finish. I started Tuesday I am on chapter 13 as of now. Now you would think six chapters a day that’s no problem. But let me tell you, it is if you are not interested in the book at all. Now I have tried getting into it, but I just can’t. It just hasn’t hooked me like the books I’d rather be reading at the moment. While I was reading my chapters I had someone who kept distracting me. I cannot ignore the cuteness that is my sister’s cat Tomo. I swear.The story seems like it would be a good one, but for some odd reason I just dislike the way Connie Willis writes. No offense to Connie Willis. I just hope I can finish it in time. I am only on chapter 13 and I’m not sure I can continue. Is spark notes an option? >_<