Heidi's Haven

Hello again! I'm here today with another book review. I received a copy of   What Would Jesus Post?  by Brian D. Wassom from BookLook Bloggers. This book gives seven principles for how Christians should act on social media. These include think before you post, don't try to act like something you're not, guard your heart, don't be too distracted by social media, don't be a stumbling block for other people, be a peacemaker, and build genuine community. While this is aimed for a Christian audience, I think that these principles are ones that every person on social media should be following.  The author's main points include thinking before you post and not bringing down other people. Is what you're about to say going to hurt anyone? Is this something that really needs to be shared? Think about what you're posting: is this appropriate for the people who are going to see it? Pretty common sense stuff that doesn't seem to be so common. He al...

Hello everyone! Today I am reviewing the book Doon  by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon, which I received from BookLook Bloggers. I was so excited to receive this book because I have seen many reviews on it and heard wonderful things about it. I couldn't wait to pick it up and start reading. Doon  is a fantasy novel that takes place in Scotland. The story follows two American girls who just graduated from high school named Veronica and Mackenna. While Mackenna is from a rich family and is very outgoing, Veronica lives with her mother who drinks a lot and her pervy boyfriend. Mackenna has just inherited a cottage in Scotland, and the two friends go there to spend the summer. However, Veronica is having visions of an attractive, Scottish boy calling to her. Once arriving in Scotland and learning some of the local legends that she is sure is connected to her mystery man, she sets out to find the truth. Along with Mackenna, she soon finds herself in the mystical world of D...

Hello, there! Unfortunately, I didn't get to read as much as I did last month, and I didn't stick to my TBR list at all. School has been keeping me insanely busy, and I've been knitting/crocheting a lot of Christmas gifts lately. Also, I was having some trouble getting into the two books that I'm currently reading. So, here's what I read in November. The Amazing Book is Not on Fire  by Dan Howell and Phil Lester- I found a signed copy of this book at Target and I am so excited! Dan and Phil touched my book! It's a very fun, quick read that I recommend for anyone who enjoys their YouTube videos. I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads. Unconfessed  by Yvette Christianse- This is a book that I had to read for one of my English classes. It's about a slave woman in South Africa who is sent to a prison. It deals with all of the injustices and bad things that happened to her. It was interesting and easy to get through, though I only gave it 2/5 stars. ...

I actually read a lot in October, which surprised me since I had a lot of homework last month as well. I also didn't stick to my TBR list that I posted last month. This is because I had to read a few books for school. I also borrowed a couple of books from friends, and I try to read books that I borrow quickly so I can give it back right away. Here's what I read in October... The Lost Hero  by Rick Riordan 5/5 stars The Kneeling Christian  by Anonymous 5/5 stars What Alice Forgot  by Liane Moriarty 4/5 stars  Alice in Zombieland  by Gena Showalter 4/5 stars The Prodigal God  by Timothy Keller 4/5 stars Cracking India  by Bapsi Sidhwa 2/5 stars Through the Zombie Glass  by Gena Showalter 3/5 stars Running out of Time  by Margaret Peterson Haddix 4/5 stars I'm hoping that I can read that much this month, too. Reading even more would be nice, especially since I'm way behind on my goal for the whole year.  Here's my TBR fo...

Unfortunately, I have limited space in my apartment at my new school, which means that I could only take a couple of books with me when I moved. These books are ones that have been in my TBR mountain  pile for a long time that I really wanted to read, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. I realize I'm a little premature with this TBR, since it's still September, but with how busy I am with school I probably won't be getting to read much until October. 1. The Lost Hero  by Rick Riordan I have heard really good things about this author, though I haven't read any of his other books yet. I think it's in the same sort of universe as the Percy Jackson series. I've read a couple of chapters so far and I'm really enjoying it! 2. Dreamland  by Sarah Dessen I really love some of Sarah Dessen's books, while some are just okay. This book is pretty short, so it will be a nice, quick read.  3. Wedding Night  by Sophie Kinsella I abs...

Hey guys! Today I'll be writing a book review of a book I read in August. (This is also my first book review and I'm pretty excited to finally be writing this!) The book I want to tell you all about is Beneath the Surface by John Hargrove. The author, John Hargrove, is a former SeaWorld orca trainer. A few months ago, I watched the documentary Blackfish , which talks about the treatment and lives of the whales at SeaWorld, and all of the dangerous incidents that happened with the whales leading up to the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau. John Hargrove is one of the trainers who spoke in the film about what really happens at SeaWorld. What I particularly enjoyed about this book is that the author never verbally attacked SeaWorld, he simply told the facts of what he experienced while working there. While he talks about why whales should not be in captivity and how SeaWorld isn't taking as good of care of these whales as they'd like us to believe, ...

Hey there! So some pretty exciting things have happened. I recently moved two hours away from home to a new university. How scary is that! I really love it here so far (apart from the classes haha), and I'm really looking forward to some new experiences. Also, in August, I went to Chicago for two days with my mom and my sister. My sister wanted to go to the Art Institute of Chicago, and I wanted to go to the Shedd Aquarium, so that's exactly what we did! I saw so many amazing paintings at the Art Institute. I saw some by Monet and Van Gogh (some of my favorites!), which I really wasn't expecting. I live in kind of in the middle of nowhere and I had expected such famous paintings to be in New York or Paris. It was such a great surprise seeing them so close to where I live! We also did a bit of sightseeing-- you can't go to Chicago without seeing the "bean"! On our second day, we went to Shedd Aquarium. I absolutely LO...

Hello guys! Last week, I went on vacation with my family. We drove from Wisconsin all the way to California and back.  We drove through Wisconsin to Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and stopped in Reno, Nevada for a few days. We went into California a few days in a row but stayed in Reno each night. Going home, we drove through Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota, and then back to Wisconsin. One of the first places we stopped on the trip was the Great Salt Lake in Utah. It really is huge! You could hardly see the land on the other side. Shortly after than, we saw the Bonneville Salt flats. It's literally miles and miles of natural salt covering the ground, and it's where quite a few speed records have been set. In Reno, Nevada, we stayed in a hotel called Circus Circus.  It was huge! There was a gigantic casino, stores, restaurants, and a huge circus midway inside. There were a bunch of really cool...

Hey guys! So the other night, I attended an event in my town called Chalk Fest. At Chalk Fest, people can draw on the sidewalks of my city's square. It was so great to see all of the things people drew, and I am always so amazed by the talent some people have. Here are some of my favorites! Aren't these amazing?? I got especially excited about the All Time Low one! xx Heidi