A few weeks ago a friend of mine took me to an awesome place in Baltimore. It’s called The Book Thing of Baltimore (link to http://bookthing.org) and it’s a pretty magical place. Basically, they get book donations from anyone who is trying to get rid of books and then on Saturday’s and Sunday’s from 9-6 you can go peruse their selection (there are LOTS of books) and take however many books you want for free! Free books, guys…. they’re free! Going to The Book Thing of Baltimore made me start thinking of other awesome places that are generous with their books.

There’s actually a similar company in the UK called “Books for Free.” They started their store to attempt to prevent books from going to landfills. They say that as long as you don’t throw them away, you can take them.

I happened upon this picture (http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7jkihsOI01qa2se0o1_500.jpg) on Tumblr and I thought it was pretty awesome. ReLitNY.org collects gently used books and then hands them out to people who need/want them once a month. I think this idea is particularly great for New York because with the limited amount of space they have they can just rotate their books in and out of the program and share with other people.

My all time favorite bookstore is one that I don’t even know the name and location of. (http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m24tq9iaRK1rnu5aoo1_500.jpg) This picture has circulated around the Internet for a while now and it is so inspiring to me. The fact that this store has books for sale but is offering to give them away for free is so…so precious! I adore generous people and I feel like when others a generous is inspires others and they can pass on the good vibes. Basically I just feel like we all need to be nicer to each other. Okay, okay, I’ll stop now.

What I also think we need more of is free books. Who’s with me!?

If you’re reading this blog I’m going to assume you’re probably an intense book nerd or my dad. For those of you who aren’t my dad, prepare yourselves because your bank account is about to suffer.

I love clothes, I love shopping, I love eating, and I love books. To be able to put any of those things together is like heaven for me. I have broken this down into lists of awesome book themed things and I hope you’re geeking out about it as much as I am!

Book Accessories:

An awesome site that sells book themed clothes is outofprintclothing.com! Here’s a Wizard of Oz themed example. (http://shop.outofprintclothing.com/The_Wizard_of_Oz_book_cover_raglan_pullover_p/l-1039.htm)

Out of print also has cute accessories likes this Gatsby phone case (http://shop.outofprintclothing.com/The_Great_Gatsby_iPhone_case_p/p-1001.htm) and if you can’t find the case you want on there, I’m sure Etsy.com will have the one you’re looking for because Etsy has everything.

Edible Book Things:

I found this on Pinterest and unfortunately there was no recipe, but don’t these Hunger Game cupcakes look delicious?! (http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/277956608221339895_RCTqx8SJ_c.jpg) I’m sure you can make whatever kind of cupcake tickles your fancy and then you can get creative with the decorations. If you make some book-ish pastries please send us your pictures!

For those of you 21 and above there is a Fred and George Weasley drink! (http://pinterest.com/pin/266979084130759992/) Fred and George are perfect so I’d assume their drink would be as well.

Random Stuff:

Do you ever sit down to relax and read a good book and people just keep coming up to talk to you? It’s the worst, right? You just want to tell them to go away! Well now you can do just that without being rude. But one of these books sleeves over book and I bet you’ll get a lot less interruptions. (http://pinterest.com/pin/54958057922843186/)

I’m not really an outdoorsy person, but I’d totally go camping if I had a tent like this. (http://pinterest.com/pin/54958057923292037/) I would be sleeping in a large book! I could never pass up that opportunity.

This is my favorite thing out of all the things. I’ll let the picture speak for itself. (http://pinterest.com/pin/54958057923378806/) I want everything in that picture set up exactly in that way. Then I would be completely content.

That’s all I have right now but I’m sure I’ll think of some other things and probably post them some other time! If you’re looking for some more book related things you should check out our Pinterest. Follow us at Pinterest.com/BiggerBooks.

I recently turned 20 and I’ve been feeling all nostalgic and weepy about the fact that I’m “growing up.” I heard about the book What I Know Now by Ellen Spragins through a friend and I adored the idea.

Basically the book is a compilation of letters that famous/successful women wrote to their younger selves at a complicated time in their lives. It was a really quick read because the letters aren’t long and I could blow through them in a few hours, but the length isn’t the awesome part. The awesome part is reading about how these awesomely influential and inspiring women once struggled with finding themselves too! I think about that all the time. I try to get all deep and I think to myself, “Who am I, where am I going in my life, what should I do in the future, how do I find myself, etc., etc.” Reading all of those letters assured me that I don’t need to know the answers to everything right now.

The book served its purpose. It inspired me and made me feel better about myself, so I encourage you to read it as well if you need a little advice and life assistance! 

Going back to school is pretty upsetting (to me at least) because I’m forced to do things like homework, speak in front of the class (the WORST), and learn in a way someone else thinks is best. That includes reading books that I wouldn’t normally choose for myself.

Sometimes I end up enjoying books that I’m forced to read in school, but a lot of the time I just read it because I’m obligated to and then I move on without looking back. I then read a book of my choosing because being forced to read something I didn’t want to read gets me in the mood to read ALL OF THE BOOKS that I like.  

Since I feel a lot of sympathy for you readers that are back at school I figured I would share my list of books that I always tend to go for when I am avoiding doing my actual schoolwork.

Some Classics: Classics are fabulous and there is no denying that. Most of the time when we’re required to read books in school they are classics, but quite a few resonated with my friends and me and became favorites. Some of those are Anna Karenina, Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Macbeth.

Summer-y Books: No matter what season we’re in, I always get the urge to read summer-y books. The urge is particularly strong in the beginning of the school year because although I’m longing for sweater weather and hot cups of tea, I desperately wish I was still summer so I could live life without the existence of school.

All-time Favorites: Harry Potter. Duh. Never gets old.

Guilty Pleasures: Normally I try to maintain the mindset that I don’t have any guilty pleasures because I don’t want to feel guilty about anything that brings me happiness, but then Fifty Shades of Grey came along. I am aware of its flaws, but no matter what anyone says about this book I will always read it when I need a mood boost.

I hope you enjoy my list/it gives you ideas! If you have any back to school favorites, feel free to share. 

At first I thought it was just me who adores quotations from books and respected authors, but after asking some friends I’ve realized that a lot of people share the same feelings. This got me thinking; what is it about books and authors that make these quotations mean more to us than if we heard them from someone in every day life?

When I was talking to friends about this they told me their thoughts. One said that when you come across a profound thought from a book you’re able to insert yourself into the life of the character and see how they can succeed. Those quotations can give us a way to live our lives because we can see how they work…they give us hope.

Another friend told me that they’re meaningful because when it’s written in a book or put into words by an author they’re immortalized forever. You can constantly go back to look at the quotation for reference whenever you need to.

Here are some of the quotations that are the favorites of my friends and myself:

“Happiness can be found in even the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light.”—Harry Potter

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”—Perks of Being a Wallflower

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”—Dr. Suess

“Art and love are the same thing: It’s the process of seeing yourself in things that are not you. It’s understanding the unreasonable.” —Chuck Klostermam

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. “—Dr. Suess

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”—The Great Gatsby

“Your past is just a story and once you realize this it has no power over you.”—Invisible Monsters

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”—Oscar Wilde

“When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?”—Invisible Monsters

“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.”—Henry David Thoreau

“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”—Friedrich Nietzsche

I obviously have plenty of quotations that I hold close to my heart and try to live my life by. Does anyone else have any favorites? Let us know in the comments section!

I recently came across an article published on BookRiot.com and I fell in love with everything about it. The article, which can be read here, contained a list of boys from books that are dreamy beyond belief and belong in an edition of Tiger Beat.

Some of the boys on this authors list include Augustus Waters (sa-woon), Ponyboy Curtis (obvs), and Tiny Cooper (adorable man in every way). After reading this list I was inspired to make my own! Here are a few men that I think deserve a spread in a teen magazine.

Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower: He is adorable in every sense of the word. He’s so genuine and smart that you just can’t help but love him! I’d plaster my room with his poster any day.

Ron Weasley from Harry Potter: He’s loyal, he’s funny, he’s sweet, and best of all, he’s ginger.

Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby: Sure, he can be a little over the top, but you’ve got to give him credit for never giving up on his one true love.

Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey: He’s one of those guys that gorgeous, troubled, and you just want to hug him and tell him everything will be okay. On top of that, he’s a sex god.

Conrad and Jeremiah from The Summer I Turned Pretty: They’re those high school boys that every girl dreams about. They’re gentlemanly, they have an adorable relationship with their mother, and they’re just. so. precious.

Any man from any Nicholas Sparks book: Cheesy, yes. Cliché, yes. But we all need a little bit of that from time to time.

Who do you guys think should be in a literary version of Tiger Beat and what makes boys from books so much better than boys in real life?! Let us know in the comments!

About a month ago I became a vegetarian. I have tried being a vegetarian before, for no particular reason, and it just didn’t stick. I would do well for about two weeks and then remember that bacon exists and I’d give up. It even became a joke in my family. When I informed my father that I’m a vegetarian again he asked if it was going to last until the weekend because he needed to know what to make my sister and me for dinner. This time it’s different, though, because this time I read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.

In this book Foer begins by explaining that he really began to look into the meat industry because he was expecting a child and he wanted to be able to not only feed him well, but also pass down good stories and beliefs to him.

Foer doesn’t try to sway the reader one-way or the other, he just presented the facts. The problem is that the facts are incredibly shocking. You’ll have to read the book to get the full affect, but it’s crazy…crazy enough to convince me to stop eating meat.

I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to be better informed about the food they’re fueling their bodies with. And the great part about it is that it doesn’t just focus on the food, it focuses on the stories and meanings behind it.  

I almost can’t even explain to you how interesting Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is. It is SO amazing and you have to put it at the very top of your “To Be Read” lists. One of the things I loved most about this book is the unique way that the story is told. With one chapter from Nick Dunne and the next from Amy, his wife, the reader is never really sure that they are getting the whole story. Then when you think you are finally figuring out what is going on the novel throws in a twist you never saw coming and makes you question everything all over again.

Normally when I am reading a book that I’m really into and a friend of mine has previously read it I beg them to tell me what’s going to happen. This time my friends who have read this book told me they weren’t going to tell me anything because “you just wait….oh my god, just wait, Ash.” I thought they were being dramatic. I mean, how interesting could it really be? But let me tell you, there are so many plot twists and crazy things that happen throughout this novel. You will not be able to put this book down once you start reading it because it is so very intriguing and intelligent.

I know in all of my book reviews I usually give a little summary of the plot and then my opinion on it but I refuse to tell you anything about the plot this time. Read this book, guys, you will not regret it!

As I am quickly approaching my twentieth birthday I have been attempting to do some deep reflection (I feel like I probably should since I’m supposed to be an ‘adult’ now). While doing this reflecting I have realized that my tastes in a lot of things have changed, as they normally do with age, but I am quite sad about one change in particular. I have been reading books geared more towards adults and I feel like I’ve abandoned my safe home in the Young Adult section.

Although I’m upset (read: distraught) about the evolution of my reading tastes, I know I’ll always have a special place in my heart for certain YA authors and no matter how old I am, I will read every book they write. I know there are many different genres within the YA section that I couldn’t possibly cover in one post, but this list consists of what I think is some of the best of YA.

John Green (As I’ve mentioned many times before): What a flawless man. I personally think John Green’s writing can be enjoyed by people of every age even though his books are in the YA section, but even if they weren’t so versatile I would still read the heck out of them.

Sarah Dessen: I adore this woman. Her books are all very similar in many ways, but each one is special and has just the right amount of everything. I really think that Sarah Dessen’s books are the perfect example of good YA fiction.

Susane Colasanti: I haven’t read all of her books but I greatly enjoyed the ones that I read. She writes in a style that teenagers can really relate to and I think that’s why they’re so popular. She basically writes the way that teens talk (like, and um) but with a little more intelligence (no offense teens) and I found that really fun and easy to read.

After all of this YA talk I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of it. Sure, I’ll read books geared towards adults more frequently, but my love for YA will always be strong. I assumed that when I revisited the books I used to love a few years ago would make me cringe but all I got was a smile. Check out some of your old favorites! I think you’ll find that you’ve been missing some old friends.

Fabulous book, guys! Just fabulous. Since I read The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner this summer, I wanted to read another one of her books to get a better taste of her style. Best Friends Forever did not disappoint in any way!

This novel is the story two best friends that had a massive fallout in high school but are brought together again many years later over an issue surrounding their fallout (sorry I’m being really vague but this is a huge part of the story and I don’t want to ruin it). The readers get flashbacks so they can see the growth of their friendship, and there is an alternating point of view between several people in the story that is done very well (a lot of times I get confused when there’s constant POV switching but this was obvious). Each character was very distinctly written and stood out in their own way. The main character, Addie Downs, goes through a massive physical transformation that in turn helps her change emotionally. This story is a funny and heartwarming adventure between two girls who will clearly be bonded as best friends forever.

I most definitely recommend reading this book. I read it in a little less than two days and enjoyed every minute! Happy reading!