Literary Musings: Trashy Books

I've been thinking a lot about the Vampire Academy series today. It's one of those series that you pick up because it sounds entertaining (and let's admit it, trashy) and then you finish all 6 books in the series within two weeks.

I honestly think it takes a lot of talent to be able to write a fast-paced action-packed series where each book delivers the perfect amount of drama. Now, I'm not saying these books are perfect, or literary beacons of excellence, because, let's be honest, they were a little trashy. But suffice to say the series exceeded my expectations.

I think it's interesting to mull over the idea of what makes a series like that so intoxicating. It's not great literature, but yet something about makes you need more. It's hardly the only series I've read where I was dying to get my hands on the next book. But what do all of those series/books have in common? Sure, they're packed with drama, but so are a lot of books that aren't all that great. So what is it?

I've been thinking about this for a while now, if not to help my own literary aspirations then to help me discriminate the entertaining books from the bad, and I think I've come to conclude that their are 5 key elements that make a good trashy-novel.

1. A strong main character
2. A touch of humor
3. Relationships that don't feel forced
4. Dramatic plot twists
5. A common theme that surpasses 'good vs. evil'

Anyhow, that's my list! If anyone happens to read this, comment what you're list looks like!

-Kirby

Read-A-Thon UPDATE!

Alright! So the Read-A-Thon I mentioned before officially ended on Monday, January 12. It is now the 19th, so as you can see I'm really doing a good job of keeping this blog updated! Anyhow, for the Read-A-Thon, I managed to make my way through 3 books! Yay! Given, they were relatively short, but hey, a book is a book.

1. Daisy Miller by Henry James

What I thought: I read this book off of a recommendation from my English teacher. It was very short (it was originally published in a magazine) but I got a great feel for the characters. Throughout the book, I internally struggled with whether or not I liked Daisy. True, she was naive, but I couldn't help but feel as if she knew what she was doing the whole time. I'm not saying that she purposefully tried to act in a scandalous manner, but I think she just did what she wanted, to hell with everyone else. While admirable, I'm not sure this is a 'likable' trait. It sort of reminds me of Scarlett from Gone with the Wind (a favorite book of mine), but while I didn't like Daisy (I think I've made up my mind about that) I really liked Scarlett. Probably just different circumstances and different authors. I did enjoy Henry James's writing though.

2. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

What I thought: Well. This book was interesting. It was like watching a train wreck. I felt so bad for the Main Character, and I can no doubt say that this book's purpose was accomplished. It definatley made the effects of drug addiction seem terrifying. It was a very nice read, and for a diary it really read like a book. I suppose by calling it a diary I am getting myself into the controversy of whether or not it is fictional or a diary of a girl. I'm withholding judgement on this one. 

3. Looking for Alaska by John Green 

What I thought: What can I say? I'm a sucker for John Green. I honestly love all of his books. However, his best book in my opinion is The Fault in our Stars. But, Looking for Alaska was very good. I thought Alaska was an interesting character but I can't say I've met anyone like her in real life. I don't know if people like that do exist. The world would be a much more exciting and dangerous place if they lived in abundance, that's for sure.

So there you go! My roundup of the three books I read for the Read-A-Thon! Yay :) 

-Kirby 

Lovely Winter Nail Polish

I received this nail polish in a set of Pic-A-Colour polishes as a gift last Christmas. I had never really tried it, but I decided to give it a go last week. As the product description on Amazon.com says "Nail color is HOT!" (see link below), and I couldn't agree more. This color is a light, icy blue with just a hint of shimmer. I thought it looked great with almost all of my outfits this week, mostly the neutrals. I was surprised to find that it even complimented my dark blue sweater! I guess the whole 'different shades of the same color' thing really holds true! Anyhow, enjoy the pictures below! Also, please not they were taken in very different lighting, and the first picture is more accurate in terms of color!

-Kirby

*Link to the polish on Amazon*
http://www.amazon.com/Pic-Colour-Nail-Polish-Laquer/dp/B006IXHWYK

Read-A-Thon

 Hello there,

So I was recently browsing my youtube subscription box when I came across this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5A7UCPGHqg

I was immediately intrigued and wished to learn more about this Read-A-Thon. I found my way to the Bout of Books blog (link below) and read a bit about it. Essentially, you just read, which is pretty great, since I spend most of my time doing just that. So, here I am, declaring my intention to join the Read-A-Thon. I'll make sure to post in a week and let you know how I did!

-Kirby

P.S. Here is the information for the Read-A-Thon!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.

FAQs (even though I've never been asked)

Now that the blog is in full swing, I guess there are a couple of questions hanging in the air. Some might call them FAQs, but honestly, I haven't been asked any questions. So, I suppose it would be QFATOP (Questions Frequently Asked To Other People) that currently could pertain to me.

Why did you pick the name Dewdrops and Glitter?

I really like the idea of dewdrops. They are perpetually new, and I think that's an appealing thought. Dewdrops are all natural, created by nature, there every morning waiting for us to discover them. Conversely, glitter is probably one of the most over processed man-made substances. It's like a replication of dewdrops, only exaggerated. They're available 24-7 to be captured. It's like putting a dewdrop in a bottle and carrying it around with you. But that doesn't mean it's any less beautiful. Both dewdrops and glitter shine.

What is your blog about?

So this is a really difficult question. I think the title of the blog kind of does a good job of answering it. Dewdrops, (A.K.A fresh, nature stuff) kind of represents all the thoughts I have and and Glitter (A.K.A processed shiny) represents materialistic things. I like to think that I'm some great philosopher, but really I'm not. So maybe I'll post something deep, then something about a new nail polish, then something about where I want to travel, or places I have traveled, or a new writing technique, or a cool recipe, or probably all of the above. Get ready.

How often are you going to post?

*Nervous laughter* Haha. Haha. Okay....so I'll try for once a week but most likely this will happen whenever I feel like it. If I want to write something, then I probably will! Seems easy enough.


Those are all of the questions I can think of for the moment, so I suppose I'll just leave it at that!

-Kirby

Hey, Hi, Hello

Now, I'm not quite sure that the title of this post will do my 'first post' justice, but I think it suits the job nicely. I mean, when you think about it, there is an incredible amount of pressure riding on this first post. It defines the blog. It sets an outline of what to expect. And, if I should keep this blog for a long time, as I'm hopefully planning to, it will always be known as my first post.

I'm starting to feel bad for this little guy! :( But, the job must be done at some point, and chances are no one will ever read this. Chances are no one will really read my blog at all. And strangely, I'm okay with that. I don't think of this so much as me telling something to an audience, as I think of this as me, telling things to myself. If someone just happens to read along, that's fine. The more the merrier!

Now, to the title. The hey, hi, hello, isn't just me greeting one person, or one group of people. It's me greeting three separate and equally beautiful things that have and hopefully will come out of this little adventure into bloggerdom (bloggerdom n.: the magical land in which bloggers blog).


Hey people that might be reading this. I know I already said that I didn't expect anyone to be there, and while that remains true, I don't want to be rude or neglect any possible readers that might have stumbled here.

Hi new blog, with all your newness and possibilities. I know you can do so much. I, for one, have never underestimated the power of words. I hope you protect that power and my knowledge of that power. Just help me do you justice.

Hello new me. The new me who is going to try to blog every week. Call it a New Year's resolution that's 4 days late, but hopefully I'll be able to stick to it. It's not the writing that I think I'm going to have trouble with (I did NaNoWriMo for goodness sake!), but more the actual discipline and coming up with ideas. Now, I'm not saying I don't have ideas, because believe me, I do, but actually translating my thoughts and ideas into words is going to be the tricky part!

Well, I guess I did it.  The frightening, the permanent, the monumental First Blog Post. I think I did alright. I think this will be alright.


-Kirby