First up in April, I finally got to go see Ripley's Aquarium of Canada!!
I had been wanting to go ever since I moved to Toronto and I'm so glad I finally got the chance because I absolutely LOVED it! I spent a solid six hours there because I am the type of person who likes to see and read EVERYTHING there is to see and read at these kinds of places. So in the end, I got a TON out of my experience, saw some absolutely breathtaking sea creatures, and got to pet a few of them, too. I would highly recommend going there to anyone who hasn't gone yet, but you should definitely try to avoid peak times because it was PACKED.
April also meant Easter and though I am not religious, Easter for me has always been a time for getting together with family and painting Easter eggs, a tradition I have carried out for as long as I can remember:
And finally, the moment I had been waiting for all month... the Laini Taylor signing event!
Can you spot me? Hee.
And so I got to meet my Queen, the one-and-only, Laini Taylor (in a leopard shirt to show my support for the chimaera):
There were three - extremely different - TV shows that I binge watched in April:
Now Girls on the other hand... I'm not sure where I stand with it. I didn't find any of the girls to be particularly relatable, but at least the time of their lives (right out of university and trying to make it in the real world) was a lot more relatable to me than Sex and the City ever was. The girls are all deeply flawed and I found myself actually liking the guys on the show a lot more... still it's a pretty entertaining watch nonetheless!
I also caught up on the latest season of Avatar: The Legend of Korra. Loooovee!! If you've never watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, you definitely should (but please, let's not even think about that abomination that was the M. Night Shyamalan film). And once you've done that, you can get to The Legend of Korra! The animation is sooo gorgeous. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself:
Blog Posts in April:
March Recap: Back Into the Swing of Things
Top Ten Bookish Items That Are THE SHIZ
Waiting On Wednesday: HarperCollins Summer 2014 Catalog
Waiting On Wednesday: Hachette Summer 2014 Catalog
Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Summer 2014 Catalog
Review: Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor - 4.5 Stars
Review: Sunrise (Ashfall #3) by Mike Mullin - 4 Stars
Review: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare - 3.5 Stars
Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - 5 Stars
Review: The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke - 3 Stars
Best Book Read in April:
I mean, what more can I say about my love for this series and Laini Taylor that I haven't already said? Laini is just INSANELY talented and Dreams of Gods & Monsters proves that!!
That aquarium looks awesome! And yay for signings! The easer eggs look really pretty, it's a tradition that has never caught up here - 90% of the country is catholic and we tend to make easter week a very religious affair with no fun whatsoever, I used to hate it when I was a kid - but I always wish it had.
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Also, I was very annoyed when I watched Girls, I saw a few episodes because my friend told me to give it a chance but it just made me sad, my friend said it gets better but I didn't care. I do plan on catching up to Avatar, since I discovered the first series is all in Netflix :D
Hope you have a lovely May!
Second left in the second row? *waves* SO freaking incredible that you got to meet Laini Taylor!! She's one of the four authors on my 'authors to meet' bucket list ♥ I can totally relate to becoming starstruck when meeting beloved authors though, the only thing I managed to tell Brandon Sanderson was that he was awesome and that I hoped he never stopped writing >.>
ReplyDeleteYAY for Dreams of Gods & Monsters!! When you stopped by last week you mentioned not having as much time as you would have wanted to read it - and since I was going through the same thing - I was curious to see how you were doing! I'm not finished yet but it's getting harder to stay away the more I read. I should make a nice dent in it in the next coupled of days :D Oh and I smiled HUGE to see the Legend of Korra artwork. Gorgeous picks btw. I love that you're watching & loving it!! Eeep! True Detective is one the watchlist for sure for me though...The Aquarium experience (that could TOTALLY be a retro rock-band name) looks like it was a blast, I adore anything to do with water and underwater creatures so I can definitely see lingering for ever. Oh and cute Easter Egg art! I got excited to spot a HP one and one for the Chimera hehe. That plus my default: ''Ooh pretty colours'' reaction. Awesome April Aylee (or AAA for short heh) ^^ xxx
It's funny, when I first saw the mask photo a couple weeks ago, I couldn't see you. But I spotted you right away this time. So jealous you go to go to this. Author events sound like so much fun. I have my copy of Dreams of Gods and Monsters, but I haven't read it yet. I will. I hope you review it, I am looking forward to reading your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a pretty fun month. Which is great to hear. I loved seeing your Easter eggs. I chuckled at the black and red ones- Not your typical pastels.
I haven't watched True Detective, but I think I need to. I haven't heard a single bad thing about it. I have only watched the first season of Girls and, like you, I am not sure about it. I am in my twenties and while maybe I have similar issues as those girls, I certainly don't react the same way.
Anywho... have a good May (how is it already May?).
I still need to read Laini's books; this summer might be a good time to do that!! That's awesome you got to meet her. I'm pretty shy around people I don't know, so I tend not to say too much to authors either. Ah well, it's just nice knowing you were around them!
ReplyDeleteYou got a lot of posts in April. That's awesome. I'm glad you had a nice Easter, even if you weren't with your own family. Have a fantastic May!!
-Lauren
I love it. Fun fun.
ReplyDeleteI feel ya. I get sooo excited I can't usually say much either.
Oh and I know I said this on Twitter already but I love the leopard t! You're making me want one.
DeleteI love your picture with Laini, Aylee. No one would think that you were nervous meeting her because you look so calm and confident with that pose ;)
ReplyDeleteI know my brother loved Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'm not sure if he has watched The Legend of Korra yet but if he hasn't, I'll tell him to watch it.
Super cute pictures from the event with Laini! I have all the books in hardback as well, and would love to get them signed by her. But she doesn't make it out to the East Coast that often, it seems. I guess because she's a Portland gal. I wasn't as big a fan of Dreams of Gods and Monsters as you were. I finished it yesterday and had some serious issues with the ending. I think I really need to have a group discussion on that book!
ReplyDeleteLove that you're watching Korra! I liked Season 1 much better than Season 2 because I really liked the conflict between the Steampunk technology and Old World bending-abilities. I wish they'd continued to explore that more, but I suppose the Spirit World didn't really create the best avenue for that.
Going to check out your review of The Book Thief now... :)
Lauren @ Wordy Hughes
Those eggs turned out great, especially the second batch. Very vibrant colors indeed! I need to catch up with Laini Taylor's series. I have the second book waiting for me. I've seen several episodes from Avatar. This might be fun to binge watch in the summer vacation.
ReplyDeleteThe aquarium looks great! I'm glad you had fun and I'm also that type of a person, not wanting to miss out on anything ever. Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE you leopard t-shirt and yes, Laini Taylor is the best. I'm SO glad I binge-read Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy last month. Such a great experience!
Whoa, I had no idea True Detective existed! I did watch the pilot of Girls and then kinda gave up on it. I think I'd love to watch an animated series and Avatar looks amazing. I've only ever watched RWBY by Rooster Teeth on YouTube and fell in love.
Ooh that aquarium looks amazing! If I'm ever in Toronto I'm definitely going to make time for it. So happy to hear you got to meet Laini! Isn't she awesome? I got to meet her at a book festival here and I was a stammering fool. :-) I always get nervous when I meet authors whose writing I adore, it makes me into jello. Those Easter eggs are gorgeous! I need to try the Ukrainian pysanka method next year. YAY for True Detective and Legend of Korra. I have a love/hate relationship with Girls, but I'm still probably going to binge watch Season 2 soon. Awesome April wrap up! :-)
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ReplyDeleteOMG you got to meet Laini Taylor. You are so lucky. I"m pretty sure this gal is a local writer (I live in Oregon). How cool!! I need to read her next book. I'm wondering does this one wrap up the series or are there more books to come. I hope so I'd be so disappointed if it was over. I'm glad you had a good Easter despite being separated from your family. You did a fabulous job on the eggs. I like the 2nd set of eggs the best. The aquarium look like a great time. We have one in Seattle and my hubby and I have visited it a couple different times. Each time I discover something new. What an exciting month for you!
ReplyDeleteYay for the aquarium! I'll definitely need to go there someday...hopefully not too far in the future. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love your Easter eggs...especially the Harry Potter one. ;D haha
The Laini Taylor signing looked like it was so much fun!!! You'll just have to tell her how much you love her over Twitter! ;D
And finally, I've never watched any of Avatar stuff (even the abomination you mentioned :P haha), but you're soooo right! The animation is GORGEOUSSSS! It reminds me of the Studio Ghibli films, and I seriously adore those so freaking much (especially Howl's Moving Castle...it's my favourite!!!)! :D I may just have to start watching...after I finish Doctor Who that is...I finally started watching past the 10th doctor, David Tennant....love him! :)
Also...I've been a super lazy blogger lately, and have taken this long to comment on your post about April. :P Better late than never though I guess.