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Since You've Been Gone
Since You've Been Gone
Morgan Matson | 2014 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.4 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
A fun, summery YA read
This is the nineteenth book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Let's clear those shelves and delve into that backlist!

When Emily's best friend Sloane disappears, right on the cusp of the epic summer they have planned, she feels adrift. Sloane is outgoing while Emily is shy, and she doesn't know what to do without her friend. But then a letter arrives from Sloane, with a list of things Emily should do over the summer, such as "kiss a stranger," "dance until dawn," "hug a Jamie," and more. Very little on the list are things Emily feels comfortable with--they are more Sloane-esque--but she embarks on them anyway, hoping they will bring her friend back. Soon she has the unexpected help of Frank Porter, an upstanding fellow classmate and not normally a friend of hers, and her summer is off to an interesting start.

This is a fun and fluffy book, with a small but lovable cast of characters. I really liked Emily and adored Frank. I especially identified with Emily due to her shyness and her intense dislike of horses. Somehow the crossing items off a list concept was fresh and intriguing here. It's a very summery book, filled with all those fun summery things: ice cream, road trips, pizza parlors, falling in love, and more.

It is a little concerning that no one seems to worry that Sloane and her family has been kidnapped, when she just disappears, but maybe kidnapped people don't have access to stamps?

Overall, this is a sweet book focused on teen friendship. It's cute and romantic and will make you long for warm summer nights and falling in love for the first time.
  
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Nancy Whang recommended Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys in Music (curated)

 
Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
1989 | Hip-hop, Rock
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"It's a brilliant album. What's not to like? It's universally loved and accepted as an album, as a collection of music. When you're a kid you listen to Beastie Boys because you like to sing '(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)' because it's silly and fun but Paul's Boutique is sophisticated and mature, as well as being really musical, which I really like about it. And long before I had any awareness of what sampling was, all the different bits that they use I was always curious about what they were. I always knew they were from other songs, because some of them I recognised. But it was super fascinating to me. I was already in love with New York and the idea of moving to New York. And in my adolescent fantasy I thought: ""I'm going to graduate high school, I'm going to move out of the house, I'm going to move straight to New York, and then maybe, one day, I'll get to meet one of the Beastie Boys."" And now I've met all of them! James [Murphy] is really good friends with Ad-Rock and he'd be at the studio with us and I'd go there and be with Adam, and eat pizza with Adam. It was so bizarre because 15-year-old me was losing her mind but I had to be cool. But also it was totally normal because he's just a normal guy and he's hanging out with my friend who's just a normal guy and they're doing normal stuff. But no matter how many times I meet them or see them I've never stopped being star-struck. I have to stop myself falling apart."

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Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus by Nick Cave / Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus by Nick Cave / Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2004 | Alternative
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I think one of the main reasons I picked Abattoir Blues and Lyre Of Orpheus was because, as a double album, you get more bang for your buck. Abattoir Blues has a more gospel feel to it, background vocals and big crescendos. Lyre Of Orpheus was generally a quieter record except for the title track, which is one of my favourites. I love the lyrics to that song. One awesome thing about Nick Cave is the darkness and the humour in his stuff. On Abattoir Blues, I love 'There She Goes, My Beautiful World', 'Hiding All Away' and 'Nature Boy'. Just good tunes man. At this point you can hear the Warren Ellis influence. I've always been a Nick Cave fan, since The Birthday Party. My roommate at the time, Charles Peterson [Sub Pop photographer], had a copy of Prayers On Fire and I've been listening to and following Nick Cave ever since then. First time I got to see him he didn't play Seattle, so me and my friends drove three hours north to Vancouver and that was on the First Born Is Dead tour. My favourite ever Nick Cave lyric was going way back to 'Deep In The Woods' [from Mutiny/The Bad Seed] - where it ends with the line, "Tonight we sleep in separate ditches"; that always cracks me up. 20,000 Days On Earth was the best music documentary I've ever seen. It didn't follow the normal " and then he did this and then he did that" of those Behind The Music narratives, it was a surreal and cool peak in to Cave's world. Something I learned about him that I didn't know already is that he likes to eat pizza in front of the TV!"

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    Dr. Panda's Restaurant

    Dr. Panda's Restaurant

    Games and Education

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    Come to Dr. Panda’s Restaurant and cook delicious food for the animal guests! In this app, kids...

    MUL.MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL

    MUL.MASH.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL

    Games and Entertainment

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    ENDLESS UPGRADES. CONSTANT DANGER. ANCIENT WISDOM. BOUNCY BALLS. Launch Sale, 40% OFF for a very...