Miss Lowe's Book Nook

Hello all! College is again plaguing me with a lack of free time for reading. I finally got a book read because I read it on my phone! Ebooks do have some redeeming qualities. I finished up I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You , the first book in Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series. I started this series when it first debuted, but fizzled out before it finished, so I'm going back to read them all properly! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Carter's style and spunk. Our main character is Cammie, also known as "The Chameleon". She's the daughter of spies and now attending an elite spy academy (the Gallagher Academy, where the series gets its name), training to go into the field herself. Aided by her best friends, Bex and Liz, she gets into the average amount of trouble for a teenage spy. Two people come into her life and throw it out of wack- Macey, the rich, snobbish daughter of a prominent senator, and new Gallagher Girl; and Josh,...

Hello all! Again with the busy college-ing. I've really been into creative non-fiction lately, and so I picked up Amy Poehler's book, Yes Please . I recently finished Parks & Recreation , which Amy stars in, and I loved every second of it. Her book was right up there with Parks & Rec in how funny, heart-warming, and relatable it was. The majority of the book was essays, but they were all easy to read and fun. Amy traced her journey in comedy throughout her whole life, from her blue-collar childhood to being on SNL. She told tales of living purely for comedy and friendship in tiny apartments, the events surrounding the birth of her sons, how she met her best friends, and stories from her school days. There were also quirky and funky lists and letters sprinkled throughout, which I loved. Amy's personality shone through every page. Her essays, while on Hollywood-esque topics, all had relatable themes for the average person. My favorite essays were "Gimme That Pud...

College has been insanely busy for the last few weeks, but I've finally had time to finish another book. Searching for inspiration for my creative writing class, I picked up How to Ruin Everything by George Watsky. I had heard a lot of hype about it, and it's got a blurb from Lin-Manuel Miranda on the front, so I had reasonably high expectations. My expectations were thoroughly met. I've never been an avid reader of essay collections. They always seemed dry and boring, much less exciting than my traditional adventure novels and realistic fiction. I now have a new appreciation for essays and creative non-fiction. It takes talent and work to be able to tell your own stories on the page. Watsky did an amazing job with his essays. This book contained 13, and I loved all of them. If I had to pick favorites, I would say "Tusk", "Three Stories", and "Concert Tickets". Before reading his book, I knew nothing about George Watsky. I now know that he...