My good friend Alyssa, who blogs at The Devil Orders Takeout, tagged me months ago for the Tag of Happiness. I've brought onto the blog today because I thought it would be a good way to reflect on what I'm grateful for—the small joys that make existing a little easier than it would be otherwise. A little mixtape of good things, so to speak. As I forge on into this terrifying, wonderful new year, I'd like to keep these things in mind to return to on the loud days, the cruel days, when the world forgets to be home and the sun forgets that I'm under it.

SONGS: "Wait For It" (the Hamilton cast) | "Landslide" (Oh Wonder) | "Amsterdam" (Imagine Dragons) | "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive" (Death Cab for Cutie) | "Various Storms and Saints" (Florence + the Machine)

BOOKS: East (Edith Pattou) | A Darker Shade of Magic (V.E. Schwab) | The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Rae Carson) | The History of Love (Nicole Krauss) | Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen)

FILMS: The Secret of Roan Inish | The Man From U.N.C.L.E. | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 adaptation)

WORDS: rapscallion | inimitable | rainwater | underfoot | aureate

SCENTS: instant ramen after a morning spent skiing | lavender | my grandparents' house in Busan, South Korea | new books | food carts in the heart of the city

MISCELLANY: orchestras, especially orchestras tuning | drinking chocolate | snow dusting rooftops and greenery | late-night conversations where nothing is too insignificant to say | homemade whipped cream

BLOGGERS (whom I tag, if they feel inclined to do this): Adelyn (Fable and Fancy) | Rachana (Addicted to YA) | E.R. (Rabbits&Roses) | Samantha (Her Inklings) | Eve (Twist in the Taile)

What are the things making you happy as this new year opens? (And who understands the reference—albeit a very out-of-context one—in the post title?)

Read More

[credit | karen @ i-doll]

I probably scared you all for a little while there, but after an inadvertent and lengthy hiatus from blogging, I'm back (and as overenthusiastic as ever)! I'm returning with a bookish tag post, an endeavor made possible by the inimitable Alyssa @ The Devil Orders Takeout.

(I have a bit of a backlog, so I'm going to try and spread out tags and do them one at a time! They're also going to be super out of order.)

Presenting the Bedtime Book Tag

Alyssa has tagged me for the Bedtime Book Tag! I'm rather unlike Alyssa in that I do not sleep. It takes me at least twenty to thirty minutes to fall asleep every single night, and even then, I'm incapable of sleeping in past around 8:30 in the morning. It's certainly a struggle, and it may be an unfortunate contributing factor to my short stature.

That said, here is the tag in all its sleepy and not-so-sleepy glory. 

1. A book that kept you up all night.

this series has the best covers. no one can convince me otherwise

Funnily enough, I don't actually stay up late reading books. (I stay up late doing rather less exciting things, unfortunately. Like homework, because it turns out that I have responsibilities.) But I did once get up at 4:00 am, completely of my own accord, without even setting an alarm, because I needed to finish Leigh Bardugo's Siege and Storm, the second book of the Grisha Trilogy. If you know me, you know that Siege and Storm was my absolute favorite of the series, because it was flawless, and also NIKOLAI LANTSOV, MY LOVE. And Alina being the force of nature she is and so much thought-provoking subtext about the handling of power and gorgeous writing and rich worldbuilding and—

Siege and Storm pretty much wrecked me, which made for an enormous letdown when I finally read Ruin and Rising (the book is fairly controversial, so if you'd like to discuss, feel free—just make sure you indicate in your comment that you're being spoilery so that you don't inadvertently reveal the third book's plot to other readers).

2. A book that made you scared to sleep.

what is up with this design tbh

Okay, true story: I'm actually ridiculously terrified of everything. I am so easily frightened. It's actually kind of sad. It's probably because I have such a stupidly vivid imagination—yes, it helps me out when I'm doing ~artsy things~, but it also means I DO NOT DEAL WELL WITH SPOOKINESS.

So it follows that Joseph Delaney's Revenge of the Witch scared me out of my mind when I read it a few years ago. It's actually not too bad of a book if you're into atmosphere and action (although I can't be sure because it's been a while), and I'm pretty sure I read at least two books of this series, but that much dark-and-creepy? No thanks. I'll take a sweeping, bloody high fantasy any day.

(PS: Also this seriously reminds me of John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series for a few reasons—title parallels, of course, and then the grumpy but amazing mentor—but we all know which I prefer.)

3. A book that made you go to sleep.

*mourns the unfulfilled potential*

Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen was ridiculously hyped by its publisher, and I think there wasn't a single person in the YA blogosphere who wasn't looking forward to its release at least a little bit. Beautiful, dangerous-looking cover? Check. Gorgeous premise promising plenty of politics and intrigue and magic and blood? Check. Even I couldn't help but be swept up in the excitement.

When the book came out, book bloggers' reviews were all over the board. Some loved it and others loathed it. Still others could only react with a solid "meh." "Mixed reactions" is putting it lightly. But I pushed past my misgivings and borrowed Red Queen from the library.

...and was roundly disappointed. Of course, I know there are many who would disagree, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading a mashup of The Selection and The Hunger Games. The parallels were too blatant to ignore. The characters didn't appeal to me, and the prose felt more concerned with being quotable than actually telling the story in an interesting, effective way.

on the bright side, miyazaki gifs make literally every situation better

4. A book that left you tossing and turning all night in anticipation of its release.

it's been over two years since this brilliance entered the world! how time flies

Despite how loudly I've trumpeted my love for it from the figurative Internet rooftops, Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy is still, in my honest opinion, criminally underrated. It's gloriously empowering in its unashamed display of feminism, body positivity, and diversity. It stars a tremendously brave, fierce heroine with an amazing head for politics and strategy. Its characters are achingly human and also deliver the best sarcasm and witty banter (Storm, I'm looking at you). Its magic system and worldbuilding are straight up awe-inspiring. So of course I was eagerly anticipating the release of the final installment, The Bitter Kingdom.

(Psst. Since it is a finished series and all... I think I've just picked out your next series binge read for you. I mean, no pressure. But.)

5. A book that has your dream ship.

IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME TO SPRING STIEFVATER RECS ON MY UNSUSPECTING BLOG READERS

While nearly all my ships are my 'dream ship' in some form or another, Sean Kendrick and Puck Connolly from Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races are probably one of the pairings closest to my heart. Theirs is a relationship founded on mutual respect for each other's skills and admiration for each other's personalities. They help each other and are proud to see each other succeed and are willing to stick by each other through the thick and the thin. They're very different people who complement each other when they come together. Also, they're super in love but stubbornly refuse to acknowledge until near the end of the book, which makes for the slowest, most painful burn ever. Be still my shipping heart.

tfw you find no face scary but also identify with him? oops

6. A book that would be your worst nightmare to live in.

what a mind-blowing, gorgeous, important, terrifying book

All the Rage by Courtney Summers is a stunner in more ways than one. It's a devastating, insightful, no-holds-barred commentary on the poisonous rape culture that fills society today. It's the story of one flawed, hoping, heartbreakingly real girl trying to heal around the cracks in her armor. Its prose is as piercing as shards of glass, and it'll leave you angry and afraid and drained and so much wiser than you were going in. I'm not kidding when I say that I think this book should be required reading for every high school in the US. That said, the small town the book is set in is a nightmare for sure, and I'd hate to live inside this book. It's filled with narrow-minded people who are more inclined to defend the town's golden boy than listen to the girl he raped. The weather there is also really, really, really hot, and to say my heat tolerance is low would be an egregious understatement.

7. A book that reminds you of nighttime.

the cover and interior are almost as beautiful as the actual words

I know, I know, you are all in awe of this most spectacular of cop-outs. THE WORD 'NIGHT' IS IN THE TITLE. In all seriousness, though, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus is one of the most gorgeously atmospheric and all-around brilliant books you'll ever read. I push this book at everyone, and for good reason (though to be fair, my book recommendations are always for good reasons *flips hair*). With a lovely and layered cast of characters, a whole lot of flawless prose, and a lushly magical yet mysterious ambience, it truly evokes the enchantment and splendor of nighttime. Plus, the premise is to die for and the settings are all so well-done. What's not to love?

8. A book that had a nightmarish cliffhanger.

forever confused about the color of kestrel's dress

I kind of just want to scream "EVERY YA SERIES EVER," but I know that's not rational. So. I'm going to pick Marie Rutkoski's The Winner's Crime, the second book in The Winner's Trilogy. I'm not going to tell you all about the ending to the book, obviously, but suffice it to say that it left me completely broken. It was emotionally taxing for me, brutal for the characters (especially my queen Kestrel), and so gorgeously written it was absolutely UNFAIR. I have zero idea how book three is going to use all the ridiculous and terrifying plot threads slammed into my face at the end of book two. Honestly, I am so afraid to try and pick up the pieces of my heart with the last book of this series, because the ending of the second book alone did so much damage.

Basically, I'M CONSTANTLY LOWKEY SCREAMING BECAUSE I NEED THE WINNER'S KISS.

what did i tell you about miyazaki gifs

9. A book you actually dreamt about.

deliberately looked for an image of the new american editions because i personally loathe the old ones

I read the Harry Potter series in around second grade and haven't really been able to get back into the fandom since (which I know is going to earn me some glares from my blog readers). But that meant that in elementary school, I had several rather vivid dreams centering around elements of the series. The most memorable and strange one involves Lord Voldemort attempting to murder me in the nursery where Lily Potter was killed—only his killing curse keeps missing me, because I am surrounded by small polar bears running around me in frantic circles. Honorable mention goes to the one dream I had about making friends with Lord Voldemort over tea.

(This is the same brain that my writing comes from! Come to think of it, that explains a lot.)

10. A book monster you wouldn't want to find under your bed.

(Mild Throne of Glass spoilers; proceed with caution!)

i love how literally none of the cover illustrations actually look like aelin and yet literally no one cares

Okay, real talk: Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series contains some seriously frightening monsters. I mean, it could be argued that a lot of the main cast members are monsters themselves. (You know you're in for bloodshed in a book when the heroine is described as, and I quote, a "fire-breathing bitch queen.") Plus, if you ever find an Ironteeth witch like Manon Blackbeak under your bed, you know you're not long for this world. And then there are all the other monsters faced by the main characters! Valg princes, Wyrdhounds, skinwalkers, that strange and enormous lake thing from Heir of Fire—I just. The monsters in this series are terrifying, but then again, any good high fantasy series needs to have something scary with very sharp teeth.

TL;DR if you find a ToG monster under your bed, you're about to be sliced into very tiny pieces and probably eaten. Run.

bless whoever made this gif tbh. also, more miyazaki

So, my grand return. Let's talk books + odd sleeping habits in the comments!

I also wanted to give a shoutout to the lovely Leah Bauer @ Heart Full of Ink, who tagged me for the Halloween Book Tag. While I won't be putting up a post, as the season has come and gone (alas!), I'm very grateful that she thought of me and encourage you to check out her blog!

I'm not tagging anyone in particular—I feel like I've been doing a lot of tagging—but if any reader would like to steal this for their blog, go right ahead! 

Read More

Hey all! Alyssa (from The Devil Orders Takeout, naturally) created the awesomeness that is the Milk Tea Book Tag and tagged me for it, because milk tea is a Prominent Thing in Hong Kong (where Alyssa lives). And, as Alyssa points out, why should only western delicacies be subjects for book tags? 

I think this is very, very cool, although I've never tried milk tea. I should get on that. But first! Here's my response to the tag.

Tea: the foundation of your reading life

dashti my precious fierce kind queen i love you

This book is basically MY EVERYTHING. I read it sometime in elementary school, and it's been near and dear to my heart ever since. It has almost all of the elements that have set the bones of my reading skeleton: a fairy tale retelling plot, a diverse setting (I believe it's based on the Mongolian steppes? I mean HOW COOL), a kind and courageous protagonist, and a romance that makes my heart melt.

To be frank, Shannon Hale's books have influenced me so much—not only this one, but her Books of Bayern series and Princess Academy as well. So much girl power and magical goodness. So much brilliance. If you haven't read anything from her, you should get on that ASAP because I can assure you, your childhood has a Shannon-Hale-shaped hole in it.

Milk: a rich, smooth book

dragon books at their ABSOLUTE FINEST tbh

This duology is so, so precious to me. There are incredibly original, well-executed dragons, absolutely masterful worldbuilding (basically these are fantasy worldbuilding textbooks, please read and learn), epic diversity (one of the important characters in the second book is a trans woman of color? YES), nifty magic, plot twists and politics like whoa, and delightfully fleshed-out characters. Seraphina is a heroine who uses her head and heart equally, and she's also a nerd, which is great for us fellow nerds. In sum: I have no idea why these books are so underrated. The Internet should be ALL over them.

Sugar: a book you love but is controversial

okay but like the covers for this series are PRETTY HIDEOUS

okay these covers are pretty hideous as well but like WILL HERONDALE so i don't care

I've lumped nine books under one heading. My blog, my rules. 

Cassandra Clare's work as a whole seems pretty controversial in the literary world. She gets a lot of love and a lot of hate for pretty much anything she's done in her entire online/authorial career. But I absolutely adore the Shadowhunter world—I have zero shame about this, so don't try to get any embarrassment out of me—and I just love the characters and action scenes and relationships and magic system and everything. AND this series is just aesthetically really gorgeous, which works great for—you guessed it—aesthetic trash like myself.

Of the two series, though, The Infernal Devices has stuck with me more. Tessa and Jem and Will are on my imaginary list of Top Triumvirates, honestly. (Right up there with The 100's Bellamy/Clarke/Raven, as well as LotR's Legolas/Aragorn/Gimli.) Plus the Victorian era! And period-drama-style wit! Ugh, I have so much love for this series I can't. Also, the last three Mortal Instruments books weren't quite as great as the first three, at least for me, but oh my goodness. I just love Simon and Isabelle and Magnus too much to let them go? 

Ice: a book just for fun

HOW GORGEOUS IS THIS. WHAT A WORK OF ART

This is a ridiculously fun, action-packed read that I picked up at the start of this year. It's definitely a must for steampunk lovers—the worldbuilding is really clever, and the banter is honestly so, so precious. Plus, there's an adorable ship and a firecracker of a heroine and some creepy villainous goings-on. It's not too heavy and a perfect mood-lifter, so it fits really nicely under this category.

Silk stocking: a book that's much better than it sounds

SHIIIIP — also i'm so so glad this got redesigned

I honestly thought I would loathe this book. It's super super out of my comfort zone—a fluffy Hollywood romance? Yeah, typically so not for me. I thought I was in for something shallow and corny. But Dahlia Adler pretty much hit it out of the park, with meaningful character dynamics, refreshingly realistic dialogue, incredibly readable narration, and SHIPPING POWER. She's probably one of my favorite contemporary authors period, although to my chagrin, I've yet to get my hands on Under the Lights (the sequel to Behind the Scenes). *adds to to-do list*

Yinyang: a book with foreign influence

the title text treatment though. also YAY for non-whitewashed covers

NOTE: By foreign, I'm going to assume you mean non-US or non-western. (I live in the US anyway, so.) 

Shadows on the Moon is a Cinderella retelling set in a Japan-inspired kingdom. Just hearing that description makes your eyes widen a little, right? RIGHT. It's also got revenge, illusions, intrigue, and gorgeous writing. It's fabulously diverse and really well-done. Plus, although Cinderella retellings have obviously been done to death, this story is a stunner and handles the retelling aspect nicely. This book isn't appreciated nearly as much as it should be and you really should read it so we can talk. 

I'm Tagging

...you! I would tag specific people, but Alyssa tagged a whole crowd, some of whom are mutual blogger friends of ours. So, dear reader, if you've stuck with me this long and you'd like to steal this tag for your own blog, go right ahead!

Isn't this a fabulous tag? Do you agree with my book choices? Let me know in the comments!

Read More

this has basically no significance. i just thought it was really cool that a wikipedia cake exists. [via]

*glances up at title* Um, basically everything, but we won't remark on that.

Who's brought this nefarious but undeniably brilliant combination to Christina's blog, you may ask? (I think we all know the answer at this point. HUMOR ME.) That would be the equally nefarious and even more brilliant Alyssa Carlier of The Devil Orders Takeout. She's tagged me for the Cake Book Tag and the Addictive Blog Award - my thanks as always! And if you're not devotedly following her takeout, I'd recommend it. There is much science and snark and writerly witchcraft to be had (sometimes all at the same time).

But let's get down to what you're all *really* here for: dessert.

Cake Book Tag

I think I can present this tag basically without comment and proceed, so I'll do just that.

Flour: A book that started slowly but turned out amazing.

still don't love any of the covers for this series. *sigh*

Honestly, this entire series started out slowly but turned out to be MIND-BLOWING. When I first read Throne of Glass, I was pretty 'meh' about it—I enjoyed the experience but it was nothing that I hadn't really seen before. But then I read Crown of Midnight. It was better, so I figured I'd stay with the series. And then Heir of Fire came along and IT SLAYED ME, YOU GUYS. IT... BROKE ME. The Assassin's Blade had an equally debilitating yet wonderful effect on my feels. If any of you are considering the Throne of Glass series, DO. IT. Although it may not seem amazing at first, DO NOT BE FOOLED. THERE WILL BE EMOTIONS EVERYWHERE.

Butter: A book that had a thick, rich plot.

i still don't know how i feel about these covers. i'll never know.

I mean, this series had a thick, rich EVERYTHING, not just the plot. Laini Taylor brings colorful characters and lush, vibrant settings to life with supernatural grace and power. Her writing just slides into you, settles over you like a second skin. I feel so at home in her worlds and her characters' minds, but at the same time, I'm exploring something real and new and radiant. This trilogy is such an original and powerful fantasy, fearless and gorgeous and earth-shattering. READ. IT.

Eggs: A book you thought would be bad but turned out great.

(First of all, I love eggs through and through, so I kind of take issue with this heading. But I digress.)

stop elizabeth wein 2k15

A really good IRL writer friend of mine read this book and enthusiastically recommended it to me. I super super respect her as a reader and writer to the highest power, and our tastes are usually pretty similar, so I figured I should trust her and go for it. So I borrowed the hardcover from the library and promptly decided that it just didn't click with me. The tone felt juvenile, the characters felt forced, etc. I returned it and told her that I didn't manage to finish it.

Fast forward to a deal I found for a free audiobook of Code Name Verity. Fast forward to when I decided to give it a chance.

GOODBYE, BLITHE IGNORANCE. Cue gross sobbing at the beauty and tragedy and absolute gold that is this book.

Sugar: A sugary, sweet book.

okay, fine. so this is sweet but not necessarily 'sugary'. but i am ignoring that so hard right now.

I don't really read a lot of books that could be described as 'sugary', so I'm going to have to go with Ella Enchanted. I am, as a whole, a HUGE Gail Carson Levine fan (actually, I'd say Fairest is my favorite book of hers), but I guess Ella Enchanted is the real 'classic' that she's written, and there are definitely sweet moments. And AHH THE NOSTALGIA.

And anyway, those of you who haven't read this book clearly missed out on an essential part of your childhoods. Rectify this error immediately. I promise it will help you grow up to be a more well-adjusted, awesome human being.

Icing: A book that covered every single element that you enjoy about a book.

no i will never stop book-pushing this series. #sorrynotsorry

I have squealed about this series on MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, I'm certain. But I need to bring it up again because it's one of my favorites of all time and it is so horrifically underrated. There is DIVERSITY. There is BANTER. There are COMPLEX, LAYERED, STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS EVERYWHERE. There is BEAUTIFUL WRITING. There is BRILLIANT WORLDBUILDING. This is one of my most treasured fantasy series ever to exist and I need EVERYONE TO READ IT. YOU MUST ALL READ IT. I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU HAVE. I enjoyed every bit of it and it contained basically 'every single element' I love in books. Truly the perfectly sweet icing on the literary cake. 

Sprinkles: A book that always cheers you up.

unrelated note: why are the covers for every single edition of this series so unashamedly horrible? they remake the covers over and over again and they're all absolutely terrible. this series deserves better, random house. really, it does.

John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series never fails to pick up my mood. I can flip to any page in pretty much any of the books and be completely sucked in within a few sentences of skimming. The effortless and intelligent yet hilarious Ranger snark, the gloriously played-out fight scenes, the general kick-butt everything about the series (highly skilled and awesome women! diverse characters! rich worldbuilding! detailed descriptions of weapons!)—this is the good stuff, right here. My memories of this series are immeasurably fond, since I first picked it up in the fifth grade and never looked back. It's a staggering twelve books long, so I have lots and lots to choose from if I ever need a comfort read.

The Cherry on Top: Best book of the year so far.

actual gift from the cover design gods, clearly.

(I think the fact that Alyssa and I both put this particular book in this particular spot says a lot about our friendship.)

I mean, everyone was expecting this to be here, right? V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic sounded fantastic, yes—I even spotlighted it for Waiting on Wednesday once—but I was so not ready for THIS LEVEL OF PERFECTION. I think I was operating on some kind of book-induced high for the entirety of this reading experience. CROSS-DRESSING LADY THIEF LILA BARD! KELL, THE DASHING BLOOD MAGICIAN WITH A FABULOUS COAT! ASTRID AND ATHOS DANE! HOLLAND! PRINCE RHY! I mean, it just doesn't get much better than this.

Cupcakes: An awesome short with the epicness of a book.

also LOOK GORGEOUS ART

This is a really inventive and beautifully written reinterpretation of Penelope's side of the Odyssey, with a pretty darn wonderful twist. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for the mortal women in Greek mythology, and Penelope is one of my favorites.) It is truly epic—and look! The story is available to read for free here.

Addictive Blog Award

Rules:

1. Thank the person awarding you.
2. Share a little about why you blog and how the journey started.
3. Paste the blog award on your page.
4. Nominate 10 other bloggers you feel deserve the award.

Why I blog

My reasons for blogging have definitely evolved over the past three-odd years. At first, it functioned as my excuse for playing with Blogger and trying to sound sophisticated. But soon it became a great kind of outlet for me, allowing me to express opinions about things I was passionate about, explore new areas of interest, and just generally be unashamedly me on my own little corner of the Internet. The friends that I've made here, the memories I've squealed about here, the fun I've had here—that's all thanks to this good old blog. And that's really what it's all about for me; I'd like to thank you all for making this such a great space for me and hopefully for anyone else who takes the time to stop by.

How the, er, 'journey' began

The rather humdrum and somewhat embarrassing Fairy Skeletons origin story: I was young(er). I thought I was good at writing. (Every day I argue with myself over whether or not this is true. I'll get back to you when I've decided, which will probably be never.) I could clearly see that Wordpress was not going to take me anywhere at that point, which is what I was using at the time, and so I stumbled upon Blogger one day and was immediately seized by the desire to try it out.

After over three years of 'trying it out', I think I'm finally starting to get it right. Kind of.

I'm tagging/nominating

Adelyn @ Fable and Fancy

Anna @ Bookshores

Morning @ The Ups and Downs of My Not-So-Average Life

AnQi @ Berries and Dust

Taylor @ Paper Daydreams
...so I'm totally blanking on more nominees. But! If you were awesome enough to read down to the bottom of this post, consider yourself tagged/nominated! 

Thanks again, Alyssa, and I hope you all enjoyed reading my answers!

Read More

So Alyssa (I don't even need to tell you which Alyssa, come on) has once again taken note of my love for posts with questions and has tagged me for the Epic Reads Tag! Give her a round of applause for her wisdom, everyone, and off we go...

1. If you could invite one author and one of their fictional characters to tea, who would you invite and what would you serve them?

I would invite Maggie Stiefvater and Richard Campbell Gansey III. Because reasons. I would then spend the entire time trying to hypnotize Maggie into keeping Gansey alive (very discreetly so Gansey wouldn't notice) and getting very very flustered in front of Gansey because I have a huge crush on him.

(Although of course he and Blue belong together and that is that.)

I'd serve yogurt to Gansey and be delighted by his confusion, and I'd serve Maggie caffeine so she can hurry up and give me The Raven King instead of making me wait until, like, September.

(I'm only half kidding about that last bit.)

2. What book do you wish the author would write the prequel for?

GRISHA TRILOGY PREQUEL PLEASE. (I need to know about the Darkling's early life.) But I'd also love an Infernal Devices prequel about Will Herondale's parents.


3. Which two characters (NOT from the same book) do you think would make a good couple?

Zoya Nazyalensky from the Grisha trilogy and Storm from the Fire and Thorns trilogy. They're both very caustic people with hearts of gold and minds of steel. (I mean, they could end up destroying each other, but they could also end up destroying everyone else. Together. Who knows?)

4. If you ran into your favorite author on the subway and only could say one sentence to them who is it and what would it be?

What do you mean, CHOOSE ONE FAVORITE AUTHOR? I refuse. I'd probably end up saying something completely off-my-rocker like "OMG PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR BRAIN" and that'd be the one thing that the author would remember me by for the rest of their life.

5. What book made you a reader and why?

I have to respond to this question with another question: does anyone actually remember this? I'm not totally sure myself, but I had... interesting preferences when I was younger. It was probably some combination of Magic Tree House and picture books about Disney princesses and an odd fantasy series about a world called Droon. (My book taste has obviously come a long way since then.)

6. Incendio! Your bookshelf just caught fire! What is the one book you would save?

THIS IS THE MOST DIABOLICAL QUESTION I'VE EVER LAID EYES ON. Nonetheless, if I had to choose one, I'd probably end up saving my hardback copy of The Diviners by Libba Bray, because the original edition is really pretty, unlike the newer and horribly garish paperback, and isn't really around anymore. Or I'd save my extremely thick, beautiful bindup of seven of Jane Austen's novels.

7. Which dystopian world would you want to live in and why?

Okay, so the entire reason why worlds are dystopian is because they are TERRIBLE to live in. 100% horrible. But if I had to choose one... it'd probably be the world of The Selection because apparently the biggest problems in that world are who gets to wear which dress. Sounds pretty un-dystopian to me, but I'll take it.

8. What is your most Epic Read of all time?

Oh, the cruelty.

Okay, that's it, I seriously can't answer this. DO NOT MAKE ME.

I tag:

Anyone who'd like to do this! I've done several other tags in the past, so I don't want to get annoying with tagging the same people over and over again, but if anyone would like to do this, feel free to! Consider yourself tagged.

What do you consider your "epic reads"? Do we have similar tastes? Sound off in the comments!

Read More

For this week's Music Monday, I'm hitting two birds with one stone and completing the Lyric Medley Tag on my Monday feature—for which I was tagged by Alyssa (I'm obviously running out of laudatory adjectives to describe her). 

Anyway, into the mess that is my music taste!

Read More

A very belated happy 2015 to you all! I hope your resolutions (or pseudo-resolutions, or lack thereof) are chugging along nicely—I myself have settled quite nicely into this new year.

To start off the new blogging year on Fairy Skeletons on a thoroughly positive note, Alyssa @ Insanity Inc. has been kind enough to nominate me for a blogging award (again!), and I'm writing up my response post!

Read More

You think I am exaggerating in the title of this post. I am actually not.

(I'm talking about this Alyssa and you should go give her ALL THE LOVE because she's a wonderful person.)

What happened, you might ask?

Only the most AMAZING THING OF EVER. Allow me to elaborate. (Which I'm already doing, but bear with me because my mind is still awash in fangirly nonsense.)

Read More

Maybe it's because I finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater a little while ago, but I can't stop thinking about the power of threes.

Anyway.

To start off - the lovely Alyssa at Insanity Inc. nominated me for three blog awards! So it's only natural that I open up this huge post with a big thank-you to her. I don't know if I've mentioned it (read: I have indeed mentioned it), but you should totally check out her blog and her writing because she's brilliant.

The Rules:

♥ Thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog.
♥ List the rules and display the award.
♥ Add 7 facts about yourself.
♥ Nominate 15 other bloggers.
♥ Follow on blogger the person who nominated you.

My Facts:

1. I'm very short. (Around five feet and two inches tall, or approximately 157 centimeters.)
2. My favorite film score composer of ever is Hans Zimmer (Inception, Sherlock Holmes - the Robert Downey Jr. version, The Lone Ranger, etc.). If you haven't listened to any of his pieces you should do that. Seriously.
3. I currently have thirteen books on my bookshelf that I have not read. ("For shame, Christina!" you say.) And that's not even counting the unread books on my Kindle. *sobs*
4. I once took a synchronized swimming class. You can imagine how well that went.
5. For some reason I constantly get called 'Christine'.
6. My glasses are purple. *grins*
7. And I'll go Alyssa's route here and talk about classes! I'm taking Literature/Composition 10, World History 10, AP Statistics, Graphic Design 1, STEM Physics, and Japanese 1. So far I'm getting less homework than I did in middle school and am feeling extremely weird with so much free time. (I'm just going to ignore PE, because don't I always?)

Best Blogging Buddies Award

The Rules:
☼You must make a post to show your award on your main blog.
☼You must tag the person who nominated you in your post.
☼You must nominate all of your best buddies, and those whom you want to become best buddies with, who, to your knowledge, have not been nominated for this award.
☼You must ask your buddies at least 15 questions in your post.
☼You must answer all of the questions your buddies ask you on your post.

Imagine a door. Any door. Describe it?

It's painted a deep green, with a doorknob worn smooth by years of turning, turning, turning. Something about it is out of place, like it's being shifted and blurred by a layer of smoke, and it smells burnt, though it shows no signs of damage. When you reach out and place your hand on it, it's warm to the touch, strangely so.

Naturally, when you try to get it open, it's locked.

Pick up the book nearest to you and read the fifth sentence on page seventy-six.

Actually, in the book nearest to me - Collapse by Jared Diamond, which I'm reading for World History Honors and desperately trying to enjoy but struggling - page seventy-six is blank. So.

What's your favourite colour? What's the nearest object to you that is this colour?

My favorite color pretty much changes based on my mood, but right now I think it's this one (giving you an image because I feel too lazy to describe it):

I don't think there are actually any objects in my house that are this color. A shame, I know.

Which is your favourite literary character?

I swear this is one of the most cruel questions I've ever been asked. HOW DO I CHOOSE?

Okay, so at the moment I'm really loving Karou from Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. This girl may seem like a Mary Sue at first, but the way she picks up the pieces of herself time and time again after being shattered just tugs at my heartstrings. She is tender yet strong. Indestructible. Also, she is magical and wonderful and is an artist and has blue hair.

Heck, I even made her a fanmix.

Subject you're taking that you hate most?

This isn't normally the case, but right now I absolutely loathe Literature/Composition. It's not because I hate the subject itself - why on earth would I be a writer if I did? - it's that we just spent two and a half months on Lord of the Flies and we've been writing CHAPTER SUMMARIES. (The book is less than two hundred pages long. I have no idea how this happened.) Worse still, I've already done this book for school - in seventh grade, and I think we did more in-depth in-class analysis back then. It's not that Lord of the Flies is a bad book, though. It's actually very thought-provoking and fairly well-written besides. It's just that no one should be made to read it this slowly.

But now the LotF unit is over and we're doing poetry, so hopefully it gets better. (But I kind of think it won't, because the class is honestly kind of a joke.)

When did you sleep last night?

Something like 12:30 am? This is entirely the fault of anime.

The most amazing thing that's happened to you in the last week?

This. (Thanks, Alyssa.)

Who's in your profile photo? If it's yourself, what's special about this photo?

I honestly don't know - it's a silhouette photo that I have no idea where I found. It'll probably change soon. *grins sheepishly* (On that note, does anyone have ideas for what I should use as my new profile photo?)

Favourite OTP ever?

This is very cruel. Along the lines of the favorite literary character question earlier.

*makes inhuman noises*

I'm going to have to say Blue Sargent x Richard Campbell Gansey III from The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, also termed "Bluesey" or "doomed" according to the author. (I affectionately call them Dick and Jane.) There's so much tragedy and tenderness and heart in their relationship - meaning in the silences and the loneliness and the in-between moments.

AND IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR A KISS? ARGH.

Which fandom are you not in but you admire a lot?

I really admire the ASOIAF (A Song of Ice and Fire for those of you who don't know) fandom, which Alyssa herself is a part of, as well as some others on the Internet that I see around. The book series by George R. R. Martin just sounds so awesome - I have no idea why I haven't gotten to it yet - and the TV series sounds equally amazing. Plus, the fan work (art! art! art! also music!) that comes out of this fandom is just mind-blowing. I want to be in this fandom! Ahh!

My answer to this question also may or may not be influenced by this:

I'm hooked on the Game of Thrones main theme. SEND HELP.
— christina (@clocksandcages) November 29, 2014

Favourite fairytale from a country your parents/grandparents/known ancestors were from?

All of my known ancestors are from Korea (and I'm very proud of my heritage), so our folklore isn't really termed as "fairy tales", but I'll make do. (Plus KOREAN FOLKLORE IS AMAZING.)

There's one story that goes something like this (although it varies widely depending on who you hear it from, and I may have muddled it up a bit):

Long ago, there once was a peasant woman who made a living selling rice cakes. She had a son, Haesik, and a daughter, Dalsun - the son was older and very wise, and the daughter was younger and very innocent. They lived together in a small cottage far from the nearest village.

The peasant woman often went to the village for a day to sell her rice cakes, and on one such day, she encountered a tiger on the way home. The tiger demanded that she give him a rice cake; otherwise, he would eat her. Frightened, the woman gave him her best one, but the tiger simply came again and again, taking rice cakes until they were all gone. The woman begged him to spare her life for the sake of the two children waiting at home, but the tiger, consumed by thoughts of an easy meal, devoured her.

The tiger then kept the mother's clothes and set off towards the children's house. The children had locked the door, and the tiger knocked and asked to be let in. Dalsun moved to open the door right away, but Haesik stopped her, alarmed that the tiger's voice was so different from their mother's. In his frustration, the tiger covered his paws with rice cake powder. He fooled the children into thinking his skin was as pale as their mother's and opening the door.

The tiger immediately lunged at them, and Haesik and Dalsun ran as fast as they could until they reached a tall tree and began to climb. Not to be thwarted, the tiger retrieved an axe from inside the house and began chopping the tree down.

Dalsun prayed for a rope from the heavens - if the children were good-hearted enough to be saved, the rope would hold firm, but otherwise, it would be rotten. Accordingly, a rope came, and Haesik and Dalsun were able to climb it into the sky. The tiger saw what they were doing and prayed for a rope for himself. The rope that came down for him was rotten, and it broke after mere moments.

The tiger fell and died and I cheered because honestly I hate this tiger so much.

Once they'd reached the heavens, Haesik and Dalsun became the sun (Haenim) and moon (Dalnim), respectively, and brother and sister still light up the night sky.

What do you find lacking in your life?

I find that I have all these grand aspirations and then not enough motivation to follow through with them. I want that to change. I want to feel productive and work hard at things I love, and I feel like that just isn't happening right now.

What are you going to do in the next five minutes, other than answering these questions?

I'll probably work on either my Scholastic Art and Writing Awards entry (yay for Orpheus/Eurydice genderflipping and Japanese elements in fantasy) or my cases for Speech and Debate (slightly less yay because I'm a singularly horrible debater).

What's the one thing you want to change in the world?

Institutionalized prejudice, definitely. Racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, etc. It's so destructive and counterproductive and horrifying. And insidious, because it's so easy to pretend that it doesn't exist. It strips people of their humanity and that shouldn't happen.

Freeform — tell us anything you want to say.

I expect that some people might use this space for something very deep and thought-provoking. I however, am going to signal boost a cause that I really care about:

I'll leave you with their extremely important mission statement and a link to their website:

We Need Diverse Books is a grassroots organization created to address the lack of diverse, non-majority narratives in children’s literature. We Need Diverse Books is committed to the ideal that embracing diversity will lead to acceptance, empathy, and ultimately equality. We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities. Our mission is to promote or amplify diversification efforts and increase visibility for diverse books and authors, with a goal of empowering a wide range of readers in the process.

Also, their first Indiegogo campaign is ending in ten days, so please contribute if you can!

EDIT: I forgot to include my questions for the nominees, gah!

1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do that you managed to finally get done this year?
2. Name five things you genuinely and wholeheartedly like about yourself.
3. What's your favorite part of blogging?
4. Describe your writing style (in blog posts or creative writing, your choice!) in three sentences.
5. Is there a song that's currently stuck in your head? If so, what is it?
6. If you could only eat one kind of fruit for the rest of your life, what would it be?
7. What language(s) - real or fictional - would you love to learn?
8. What is your opinion of silence - the all-encompassing, thick-as-a-blanket kind?
9. Without using the Internet or the news, predict the weather for tomorrow (be as far-fetched or practical as you want).
10. In the movie Rise of the Guardians (which I personally love), each Guardian has his or her own "center", or a single value that makes them who they are. For example, Santa Claus's center is "wonder". What do you think your center would be?
11. If a movie was made about your life, which actors/actresses would you put in the cast?
12. How do you like your eggs cooked (or do you not like eggs at all)?
13. How would you describe your fashion sense?
14. Do you have an "aesthetic"? If so, describe it for us!
15. Absolute favorite poem?

The Rules:
♥ Thank the person who nominated you.
♥ Leave a link to their page.
♥ Give a brief story about how you started blogging, and share some tips.
♥ Nominate 15 other bloggers
♥ Notify your nominees by email or comment


The Blog's Origin Story:

Nothing terribly glamorous, I'm afraid. I started out blogging on Wordpress (don't go hunting for that now, it's long gone) and was thoroughly awful at it, because I had no real idea of what I wanted to do. When I made this blog, it wasn't really a case of "I have finally found a grand purpose for my blogging life and will proudly carry it out"; it was more like "Ooh, Google has a blogging platform and I want to play with it".

Blogging Tips:

• Make friends! Blogging can be a very lonely endeavor for a very long time without them, and I'm so thankful for the friends I've been meeting in recent years. 
• Comment. If you're anything like me, you perk up every time you get an email saying that someone's commented on one of your posts. So leave meaningful, kind comments on blogs you love reading, and people are sure to return the favor. Never think that your comment bothers someone, because almost 100% of the time, they'll love you for stopping by.
• Don't stress because of "blogging obligations". A blog is your space to do whatever you want with, and no one will hate you if you aren't able to put up X post on X day or if you don't post enough or something along those lines. "Blogging obligations" will only make you unhappy and cause you to question why you created this blog in the first place, and that makes it stop being fun.
• Social media counts. Whether it's Twitter, Tumblr, or any other secondary platform, it really helps you connect with others who share your interests. It might help to get on specific social networks that reflect what you like - for example, I made a Figment account because I love to write, and thus I found fellow writers who I now consider very good friends.
• Have a nice design. Not only is a pretty design easier on the eyes and really fun to set up, it draws more people to your blog.

That's all from me! Now for my nominations.

My Nominations

Since Alyssa and I have lots of mutual friends, she nominated many of the people I would have spotlighted. (They're all awesome too, by the way.) So this won't be quite fifteen, but here you are! (My apologies if you've already been tagged for any of these.)

Adelyn @ Seeking Saturday

Kimberly @ I Wear Milk Crowns

Pseudonymous @ A Jar of Something

Alex @ Third Star to the Right

Ryanne @ thinking out loud

Morning @ The Ups and Downs of My Not-So-Average Life
Katie @ Adventures in Katieland

Ahh, blog awards are so much fun! I hope you enjoyed my answers.

Read More