#BookWorm: Dear John

Hello readers,

I told you I was whipping through books! So I finished Dear John. Ahh so many feels. It was actually way better than I had anticipated. I broke my own rule a long time ago by seeing the movie opening weekend in 2010, so I knew the premise of the story and some of the events. However, I couldn't remember if the ending was cliche or not. While at my favorite place last summer, McKay's Used Books in Chattanooga, TN, I found a copy for cheap and decided to buy it. I just now got to reading it as there were books way higher on my priority list last year, AKA the whole Divergent Series. So back to the book.

I love Nicholas Sparks, so if you don't you probably won't like this book. If you are the type of person who is like "ew Nicholas Sparks love stories not for me" they aren't all just mushy love stories. He does a great job making the background story super interesting and in the end it all connects so well. Also if you have seen the movie Dear John, don't write off the book like I almost did. When I saw the movie, I thought it was alright. I love Channing Tatum but didn't care for Amanda Seyfried at the time so I wasn't a huge fan. Now I actually would like to see it again to make comparisons. The book's plot line was as you imagined: an army boy falling in love with a small town girl (living in a lonely world). Sorry had to. Anyways that is the general idea, but I love how Nicholas Sparks adds in a lot about the military life and the point of view from the guy. I do wish we had more of an insight from the female in this books, but overall I enjoyed it a lot more than I had expected! Overall I would give this book an 8/10. I didn't like certain things about the book like the lack of female perspective and some of the plot, but I definitely would recommend it. Also while reading, I flipped open to the front and noticed it was signed by none other than Nicholas Sparks himself, which is awesome! He came to USF around Valentine's Day for a University Lecture Series, but unfortunately I had to work so this made me so happy that I have a signed copy!

Anyways, have you ever read Dear John or seen the movie? Or both? What did you think of the book? Better, worse, the same? I'd love to hear!

Thanks,
- Olivia

DIY: Cookie Dough Frosted Brownie

Hello all,

So when I was in Elementary school my best friend's family made these amazing brownies with cookie dough on top. Yes raw cookie dough, but it was eggless. I fell in love. Every year for my birthday or class party that is what I wanted. They were amazing. So now in college one day I wanted one, so I experimented and came up with a recipe on my own for the eggless cookie dough.

I used boxed brownies (yes I know should've made them from scratch but as a nursing student working 2 jobs, ain't nobody got time for that). So here are the directions for the cookie dough:

3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of softened butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

You basically mix all of that together and put it in the fridge. After baking the brownies let them cool and put them in the fridge overnight. The next morning use the cookie dough as frosting and put it on top of the brownies. Wal-ah. Cookie dough frosted brownies. Delicious diabetes in a pan. So good. I know the picture of the actual brownie looks awful but by the time I remembered to take a picture, I had passed out the rest of the brownies and this was the sad one that was left.

Have you ever made eggless cookie dough? What would you put it on? Or do you eat it by itself?

Let me know & thanks for keeping up,
-Olivia Aili :)

#BookWorm: Looking for Alaska

Hey all,

So I have been going through books like crazy this month! I recently finished Looking for Alaska by John Green, the same author who wrote The Fault In Our Stars and wow does this man have a way with words and emotions. First of all, it is not similar to TFIOS except for his writing style and that it is about teenagers. For some reason I get very into books with teen to twenty somethings, probably because I can relate and find the teenage brain fascinating. Let me start off with this, I REALLY enjoyed this book. First, it was from a male perspective which is not a style I read super frequently but I actually enjoy a lot. It is cool to hear a side from a guy's thoughts being female because you don't always understand why their head works the way it does. And if you are male, I'm sure it is refreshing to read a book with a point of view from a male character that isn't an action novel. I also loved that this book took place at a boarding school, which is something that I have never experienced but that reminded me of a Hogwarts feel minus the magic. Is that weird? Probably, but I tend to relate a lot of things back to J.K. Rowling's genius work. Anyways back to the book.

The book's main premise is about a high school boy who goes to boarding school looking for the "great perhaps". Along the way he meets an array of people, all of which are fantastic characters. And no, he is not literally looking for the state of Alaska. When I first read the title I thought it was going to be a similar book to Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Not at all. One huge thing that I liked about this book was John Green's portion at the end of it where he explained that some of this story relates to his actual life and he went to boarding school. Cray. I love love love when authors throw a bit of themselves into their work, because I do that too, and to me it makes your fans more interested in the books. Overall I would give this book a 8.5/10. It did not hit me quite as hard as TFIOS, but nevertheless it was a great read. I am looking forward to reading more of his books since I have heard awesome things about the rest of them.

So have you read TFIOS and Looking for Alaska? What did you think? Did you like one more than the other? If you have read one and not the other, I suggest you read both! I am now about halfway through Dear John by Nicholas Sparks and looking forward to getting through a pretty thick stack of books this summer. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks for reading,
- Olivia :)

#BookWorm: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Hello readers,

I recently finished the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Long title right? Yeah. Well long book is more like it. Although it is not even close to being the longest book I've ever read, it's about 400 pages, it sure felt like it. It is hard to mask my disappointment of this book. I am hoping that all of you have seen or at least heard of the Broadway musical Wicked. I saw it for the first time in 2010 in London's theater district at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, which you may have heard of before because of the roof collapsing sometime in recent years (so scary). Let me just say, as you probably have heard if you've heard of the musical, it is amazing. Highly worth the astronomical price for a ticket. I was lucky enough to get to see it again with Madi, Reegan, and Colton, as our Christmas gift in 2013 at the Straz in Tampa. And I would probably pay the astronomical amount again if I ever get to back to New York City, because besides The Lion King on Broadway, it's hands down the best play I have EVER seen #letsbehonestiwouldpayastronomicalamountsagaineasily.

Anyways enough about the play, back to the book. The play was based off of the book, which a lot of people do not know. What people also lack knowledge of is that apart from the basic plot line of it being the story of why the Wicked Witch of the West is so wicked and the names of characters, the book and play have little in common. Since I am not going to spoil the majesty of the play, I can't give specific examples, however some that don't spoil the play are how in the play Elphaba's sister, Nessarose, joins Elphaba at school right away, but in the book the only reason she comes is because the Nanny is needed to supervise Elphaba and Galinda. Also the love stories are all messed up too. The book includes a lot of sexual references, including the act and detailed body descriptions that I find completely unnecessary. The way that the author splits up the paragraphs and conversations is super confusing. And to be honest, I skimmed the last 100 pages because I could not take the torture anymore. The book was similar to a cross between 50 Shades of Gray, the Wizard of Oz, and Lord of the Rings. Making it one thing: weird.

The good parts of the book, were the chapters of the characters in school, as those were less confusing to read. The overall plot line of the story was intriguing. And the last good part was that Gregory Maguire created the idea that gave Stephen Schwartz and Marc Platt to create the brilliant musical Wicked. Overall, I would give the book a 3.5/10. I wouldn't recommend it unless you really enjoy the combination of stories I previously mentioned.