Sunday Post #33

• I'm done with work!!!! Thursday was my last day and it feels WONDERFUL to be done. The waitressing life is not the life for me. Of course, I wanted to make some money while I still could so Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week I worked 12-hour shifts and it really truly exhausted me (hence why the blog wasn't particularly poppin' this week). 
• I hope everyone had a wonderful, safe 4th of July (if you celebrate it). My dad came to visit (which meant I had to clean my entire apartment) and he made breakfast and dinner and we mostly just relaxed. It was a good day! To be honest, I don't care that much about 4th of July so it was nice to just have good food and good laziness. 
• I LEAVE FOR FLORIDA TOMORROW! I am so so so excited. I'll be staying with my sister for 3 weeks, hanging out by the pool, and living my absolute best life. 

Books read this week:

Reviews: 
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
(★★★★½)

Discussions: 
- Doing It All In The Book Community

Currently reading:

Reviews: 
- What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum
- Caraval by Stephanie Garber
- Coming Up for Air by Miranda Kenneally

Features/Misc.:
- Discussion: The Feeling After Reading a Hyped Book
- The Eclectic Corner #4: Song Lyrics 

Here are my favorite photos from this week! Make sure to follow me (@leftyreads) to see everything I post! 

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Lefty's Lowdown: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

(standalone)
Published: February 21, 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Read for free on Rivetedlit.com. All opinions stated in this review are my own.

Summary from Goodreads: 
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

I'd heard a lot about this novel but I wasn't quite sure what to expect, really. A cute dude romance. That's all I had in my brain going into this book, and boy was I misguided in that. This novel is more than a sweet story of two boys falling in love. Much, much more. Reading this book allowed me to embark on a journey of asking questions and learning how to come to terms with feelings. 

I've seen a lot of reviews criticizing Ari's character, claiming he's mean and treats people poorly, and I just have to disagree. In my opinion, Ari was painfully real and relatable. I saw a young boy who resorted to coping mechanisms and aversion tactics, who didn't know how to handle all the thoughts swirling around his head, who was often lonely and bored and insecure. I saw so many pieces of my heart in Ari, so many pieces of my fears and flaws. Maybe he wasn't a particularly likeable character, so to speak, but he was a character I really sympathized with, rooted for, and ended up loving, despite his flaws, and I think that's a truly beautiful, raw relationship to have with a fictional character. 

Dante, on the other hand, was a delightful contrast to Ari. He was unabashed and so generous with his love. He was exactly the person Ari needed in his life. With that said, though, this is not really what I'd consider a romantic book. In my opinion, their relationship is more about friendship and different variations on love, and the way feelings truly affect you. Of course I shipped them together because they balanced each other out beautifully, but they didn't have the sort of relationship where I wanted to push their heads together and make them kiss like two dolls. I wanted their relationship to evolve slowly, for them both to really figure things out before they came to terms with their feelings for each other. I was more than satisfied where these characters ended up--I was grinning like a fool by the time I reached the novel's conclusion. 

Now, admittedly, this is not a plot-focused book by any means. It's all about character development. I'm all on board with that, but I know a lot of people are not as gung-ho about it as myself. So, yes, this book is essentially plot-less, but it still managed to keep my attention and keep me eager to know what happens to my little babies. The writing style took me a little bit of time to get used to, but by the end, I really adored it and I think it fit the story. It was a bit jagged and jarring at first, but by the end of the novel it seemed more seamless. 

This is a novel that truly explores what it means to grow up and what it means to be a person. This is a novel of juxtaposition, of beauty and ugliness. Of honesty and stifled truths. Of being happy and simply just being. Aristotle and Dante provided a unique reading experience that I know I will revisit one day. My reaction at the very end was simply to close my eyes and say "Wow." 

My rating:

4.5/5

Sunday Post #32

Books read this week: 

Reviews: 
- Aftercare Instructions by Bonnie Pipkin (★★★★★)
- Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch (★★★½)
Memes:
- Top Ten Books I've Read In 2017 So Far

Features/misc:
- New To My Wishlist #4
- June Recap

Currently reading:

 Reviews:
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
- Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Memes: 
- Top Ten Books I've Been Meaning To Read But Haven't Yet
- Sunday Post #33

Features/misc.: 
- Discussion: Doing It All In The Book Community
- Would You Rather #4

 Okay, y'all, I got some hecking exciting book mail recently, but I'm holding off sharing it until I can film an unboxing video!!

But.

I did get this one from Netgalley:

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
Published: August 29. 2017 by Sourcebooks Fire

Here are my favorite photos from this week! Make sure to follow me (@leftyreads) to see everything I post! 

A post shared by The Left-Handed Book Lover (@leftyreads) on Jun 26, 2017 at 4:29pm PDT

A post shared by The Left-Handed Book Lover (@leftyreads) on Jun 27, 2017 at 2:29pm PDT

June Recap

I spent pretty much this entire month working and saving money, so I don't have a whole lot to report, tbh. I'm quite proud of myself for the money that I've been able to save up in just a month! But I have no idea if that money will still be in my possession by the end of summer. I have a lot that I want/need to pay for. Plus, I'm going on vacation for a few weeks, and who knows how much I'll end up spending in Florida. Plus...MY BEST FRIEND AND I GOT OUR OWN APARTMENT. We put down the deposit and I'm moving in at the beginning of August. We're gonna have to buy furniture and pay to get water and electric and all that jazz turned on. I feel like an adult. I'm gonna have REAL BILLS...but I'm not excited about that part.

I'm back, my dudes! It's taking me a little while to get back into the swing of blogging, but it feels good to be at it again. Now, ideas and plans for the blog are a-brewing, so you better be ready!

As far as reading goes, I think I had a pretty great month! I mean, it definitely could have been better, but I also work 40+ hours a week and I'm usually exhausted, so I think I done good.

(I promise in July I will review something that isn't contemporary)
TOP TEN TUESDAYS: Top Ten Contemporary Books I've Recently Added To My TBR Top Ten Books I've Read In 2017 So Far
FEATURES: YA Look Book #2: Once and for All by Sarah Dessen Just Write #3 New To My Wishlist #4
RANDOM POSTS: Spring Favorites Quiz: Which Sarah Dessen Book Do You Belong In? Life's A Beach Book Tag (Original) 8 Ways To Spread Positivity In The Book Community 2017 Reader Resolutions Updates Literature/Writing Classes I Wish I Could Take

FOLLOWERS:

Bloglovin - 93

GFC - 27 

Twitter - 450

Instagram - 83

YouTube - 86

Total pageviews - 21,163

BOOKS READ:

2 hardcovers | 1 paperback | 2 ebooks | 3 eARCs

Book with the most pages: Caraval by Stephanie Garber (407 pages)

Books with the least pages: Aftercare Instructions by Bonnie Pipkin (265 pages)

Total Pages read: 2,861

Books reviewed: 6

1 star reviews: 0

2 star reviews: 0

3 star reviews: 1

3.5 star reviews: 1

3.75 star reviews: 1

4 star reviews: 0

4.25 star reviews: 1

4.5 star reviews: 1

5 star reviews: 1

Average rating: 4 stars

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Here is my most popular video this month! Make sure to subscribe to me if you want to stay updated on when and what I post! If you have a YouTube channel, send me your link because I wanna see whatchya got!

BOOKSTAGRAM:
Here are my favorite photos from this month (I just got back into bookstagram this week). Make sure to follow me so you can see all the purrrdy books I post!

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Top Ten Books I've Read In 2017 So Far

I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH 2017 *PANICS*

Luckily, I've read some truly delightful books this year already, and I have plans to read so many more in the second half of the year. I've done my best to rank my top ten favorite books that I've read so far this year, but ranking books is hard, okay?

Heartless by Marissa Meyer - This was the first book I read in 2017 and it is still first in my heart. I will forever be in love with the characters and the world and everything that this book is. (MY REVIEW)

Caraval by Stephanie Garber - This is a recent read for me, actually, but it wormed its way into my heart reallllll quick. I read all 400 pages on one sitting because I was hardcore hooked from the very beginning. This was an emotional roller coaster and I never knew who to trust or what was real. It was magnificent.

Once and for All by Sarah Dessen - Sarah Dessen never fails to wow me. (MY REVIEW)

Aftercare Instructions by Bonnie Pipkin - This one took me by surprise! But it was complicated and a angsty and stole my heart.

Noteworthy by Riley Redgate - I can't sing this book's praises enough (see what I did there). Hooray for a cappella and questioning gender roles! (MY REVIEW)

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh - This book left me with a lot of questions, but from the second the romance was introduced I was absolute trash for it. This novel was addicting as heck.

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson - This isn't my favorite Matson novel, but it still had so much emotion and lovely characters!

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz - It took me a hot minute to get into the writing style, but once I did I was absolutely hooked. I really enjoyed getting to know Ari and Dante and watching them find themselves.

Geekerella by Ashley Poston - This novel is incredibly cute, fun, and charming. A great summer read, and perfect if you're looking for a book that will make you flat out happy. (MY REVIEW)

The Selection by Kiera Cass - What can I say? This series is trope-y and addicting and I am not ashamed to say I devoured it, okay?