Heidi's Haven

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