Always Be Prepared For Fangirling

A fangirl's motto, much like that of the Boy Scouts of America and Scar from The Lion King, is to always Be Prepared. 

After all, what if Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles just so happened to be grocery shopping at your local supermarket?  Well, if you were a fangirl, you'd definitely have a pen at the ready for autographing purposes.  (You'd also have at least two backups just in case the first one unexpectedly ran out of ink.)
And what if your bus breaks down?  Or your train is behind schedule?  Or a layover has you stuck somewhere in Bumblefuck, Nebraska?  A fangirl wouldn't sweat that shit!  She's got a book handy!  Or a Sudoku puzzle!  Or some type of gaming device to keep her occupied!

In other words, a true fangirl is ALWAYS prepared for ANYTHING!

Now, you may be wondering why I'm harping on you to be prepared.  Well, I told you that to tell you this.

This year I plan on throwing a Super Epic Halloween Party!  How will it be both super and epic, you ask?  By being Harry Potter themed, of course!
Now you may be wondering why I'm talking to you about Halloween when it's only FEBRUARY!  Well here's how we tie everything together, so pay attention.  In order to throw an amazeballs Harry Potter Halloween party in October, you need to start early.  Like, say, in February!
So throughout this year I'll be posting lil' How To Fangirl posts in which I'll show and explain to you how exactly I'm preparing for my Harry Potter Halloween.  And after Halloween, I'll show you the entire finished product!   

I'm gonna kick things off next week with How To Make a Mandrake Baby!  So be sure to stay tuned, guys.
And if you've ever thrown a Harry Potter party and have awesome ideas to share, drop 'em off in the comments section.   

Book Resolutions For 2014

It's that time of year again!  Time for resolutions!  More specifically, BOOK resolutions!
So while thinking about what I would like to bookishly resolve to do this year, I figured it only made sense to take a look back on previous years and previous resolutions.
And you know what I found?  I really suck at keeping them!
But I shan't let that lack of achievement stop me.  Hells no!
I will learn from my past mistakes!

So this year I've resolved NOT to get all resolution crazy.  Instead I will focus all my bookish energy on keeping the mere 2 resolutions that I've come up with.  So, without further ado, here are my Book Resolutions for 2014:

1.  I will STOP obsessing about hitting that coveted "100 books read" mark and I will instead enjoy the books I do manage to read and I will review and post them promptly.  (Normally and shamefully, I put the "pro" in procrastinator.  I'd like to stop that shit and start blogging on the regular.  You know, like a blogger does.) 

2.  I will start up The Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge again!  I've been wanting to do this one for a while now.  I've kinda missed the BSC, and the Sweet Valley gang, and the effed up horrors of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike.  I've also missed being super snarky.  ;)

So, there you have it. My very short list of Book Resolutions for 2014!
What about you guys?  Got any Book Resolutions of your own that you'd like to share?  Well dish it up in the comments section or you can find me on Twitter @girlsleuth and share your rezzies by using the hashtag #BookResolutions.

Have a happy new year, y'all! And happy reading!!!

Back From The Brink... ish

Aloha bloggermuffins!  No, I'm not writing to you from the beautiful isles of Hawaii.  I wish!
But, alas, nope.  Instead I'm reporting live from the kitschy innards of Nancy Drew Is My Homegirl headquarters where there are, unfortch, no tropical drinks with tiny paper umbrellas or shirtless cabana boys to fetch them for me.  But there are shelves and shelves of books to read!
And, after all, that is what this blog is about: BOOKS!!!

I realize you may have forgotten that since I went all radio silent.  And I totally understand if you're super confused, considering I haven't written a blog post since... Holy Shit! July 21st!  Of LAST YEAR!  That's 5 months, 3 weeks and 4 days!
Just think of all the bloggy, bookish, awesome shizz that's happened since July friggin' 21st of last friggin' year! 

Ugh! I've been a very, very bad book nerd.  And that's my bad, y'all.  But, you know, sometimes life just kind of happens.  And when it does, things like books and blogging and blogging about books has to take a backseat for a sec so you can refocus and sort your shit out. 

I feel like, at this point (5 months, 3 weeks and 4 days later,) the bulk of my shit has been sorted.  Meaning I'm ready to jump right back in and blog my lil' heart out!
Sooooo, I'll be back soon!  And I hope you will too!

There Will Be Blood!

Ok, well there won't technically be blood. That's just me being super dramatic with my post title in order to get your attention.
So. There won't be blood but there will be CHANGES!
Perhaps y'all have noticed that lately I've been quite slacky with my posting and my reviewing and my various other bloggy responsibilities. Well the reason is this:

I wanna revamp my blog!!!   
Yes, I know I've done this before. But sometimes you just get the urge to shake things up. And I've recently been daydreaming about backgrounds and fonts and features! So I definitely think the time to shake these things up is NOW!
So here's a list of shizz that I'll be changing/adding/what-have-you in the coming weeks:

*Nancy Drew Is My Homegirl will have a whole new look!

*I'll be introducing a new feature called Honest To Blog in which I'll be revealing 5 random facts about myself!

*Fangirl Five Fridays will NO LONGER be EVERY Friday. I'll be changing it to a monthly feature. The first Friday of every month, I'll be fangirling about what I'm the most excited about that's happening in said month. (And you can still fangirl right along with me!)

*I'll be adding a Tab called Homegirl Vocab. So if you ever come across a word or phrase that you've never heard and you're sure I either made it up or it's simply a reference to something you've never seen, just hit up this new Tab and you'll be able to find the definition and finally know what the fuck I'm talking about!

*I plan on resurrecting The Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge! I'm hoping to make that a monthly thing too.

*I'm also kicking around the idea of having a weekly TV roundup post of sorts in which I'll dissect all the WTFery that's gone down on my favorite shows for that week. I like this idea and I think it could be really fun but I sometimes have a little problem with follow-through. So this one is just an idea at this stage. (But if Evil Eva can actually get her shit together, this feature will be a definite go!)

So, as you can see, I'm planning a bit of an overhaul. You might come back and see what, at first, might appear to be a completely different blog. But don't worry, y'all. It'll still be the same ol' Nancy Drew Is My Homegirl here! Just with 100% more awesomeness!

Book Resolutions For 2013!

January is probably one of my favorite months. Second only to October which has the unfair advantage of not only being my birth month but also being home to Halloween AND having pretty much the best weather of the year here in South Georgia (it's not so stiflingly hot as it is during the summer and it's still at least two months away from actual cold weather.)
Anyhoo, i like January because it's all about change and resolving to better yourself and straight up renewing your shizz. So yay for January!!!  
Since it's a brand new year, it's time for brand new resolutions!
So here are my Book Resolutions For 2013!!!

*My first resolution is ALWAYS on my rezzy list. Every year i try my damnedest to read at least 100 books. And i'll be trying again in 2013. Wish me luck with this one, y'all.  

*My second is to read more non-fiction books. i feel that this might make me feel smarter. Memoirs count as non-fiction, right?    

*Numero tres resolution is to start up The Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge again this year! i did it in 2011 and i really enjoyed myself. So i've decided to dive back into my book-nerdy childhood this year too! 

*Fourthly i resolve to post more reviews and post them more frequently. Last year was a big ol' clustereff so i got quite slacky posting my reviews in a timely manner. Well no more, my friends! 2013 will be the year of prompt posts!

*Rezzy number five is to read more "adult" fiction. Recently (whilst i reorganized my bookshelves over Christmas break) i noticed that i almost solely drink from the cup of YA. Even though i'm An Old! And should totally NOT be reading about teens and their love affairs with vampires, werewolves, angels or whathaveya! So i've decided that this year i'll try to read like an actual adult. (There are decent grown up books out there, right? RIGHT!?!?!)

*And my last resolution is one that i have struggled with for quite some time. But this year, hopefully i'll master it. i want to try to read more of "The Classics." For some reason *cough*they're boring*cough* i just can't seem to make myself read them. i'd rather see what supernatural so-n-so is trending right now. But i think it's about time that i stop with the Ciffs Notes-ing and START actually reading! Wish me luck on this one too. 

So those are my Book Resolutions for this year. 
What about you? Are there any bookish things you'd like to try out this year? Ones you wanna quit? Books you for sure, without a doubt, totally wanna read? Ways you wanna challenge yourself? Dish it up in the comments section or you can share your Book Resolutions with me on Twitter. Just find me @girlsleuth and use the hashtag #BookResolution!

Have A Super Bookish New Year!!!

How To Fangirl

If you're a loyal reader of this blog (thank you very much!) you already know that here at Nancy Drew Is My Homegirl, we like to fangirl about pretty much everything.
But if you're new 'round these parts and don't know what this whole "fangirl" business is all about, fear not because i'm here to explain.

Let's start with the basics.

What is a fangirl?
A fangirl is an extremely awesome gal that gets easily excited over random, usually geeky things.

But wait, isn't being geeky a bad thing?
HELL NO! Being a geek and/or a dork, nerd, or weirdo is one of the greatest things you can EVER be! So if anyone ever calls you by one of those names, take it as the compliment it is, for being a geek (and/or a dork, nerd, or weirdo) simply means that you really enjoy things and aren't afraid to show your love for them in a really big and often times public manner. What's wrong with that? Answer: Absolutely nothing! In fact, it makes geeks and the like pretty much the bravest people on the planet. Because even though what they love might seem "uncool" or "unpopular," they go right on loving it anyway. Bravest. People. EVER!  

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, that's a good point, Evil Eva. This fangirl stuff sure sounds like the bees knees. So what can i do to become a fangirl?
That's the best part! You don't have to do anything! It you want to be a fangirl, congratulations, you are a fangirl!
In fact, the only thing required of a fangirl is a deep, abiding love for anything that you already love deeply and abidingly.
It's. That. Simple!

However, all that being said, there may be times when you think: how can i properly fangirl over this particular moment?
Well don't you worry your pretty little head over that. Because that's what this feature is all about.
How To Fangirl is about taking something that is already totally awesome and completely fangirl-worthy and making it even more awesome and fangirl-worthy!
And since i fancy myself a fangirling expert, i'll be using this new feature to share all kinds of tips and tricks and pics to show you guys ways you can enhance any situation like a true fangirl!

Sound good? Ready to get your fangirl on?
Keep checking back to my blog for this brand spankin' new feature: How To Fangirl!

Coming Soon!   

Book Resolutions For 2012!

Do you remember way back when at the end of 2010 when i posted this about my book resolutions for the coming year?
i did pretty well in 2011. (Except for that whole Classics Challenge thing. Erg. i did not excel at that one at all.)
But now it's 2012 which means it's time for new resolutions!!!

So here are my New Year Book Resolutions for 2012!!!

My first Book Resolution is to try to read at least 100 books.

i have a notebook in which i've been keeping track of the number of books i read in a year since 2008. In 2011 i read a total of 74 books. Which is pretty good but this year i'd like to read even more! i've come very close in the past few years but i've never actually been able to do it. i'm hoping 2012 will finally be the year in which i crack 100!

My second Book Resolution is to read more adult fiction.

As my little bloggermuffins know, i love me some YA. It's almost all i read. So this year i thought i would broaden my horizons and actually try to be a grownup.

My third Book Resolution is to try to do what i couldn't last year.

That's right y'all, i'm gonna try The Classics Challenge again. This year i'm gonna aim a little lower. Maybe i can read at least 3 classics in 2012.

So those are my Book Resolutions for 2012. What about you guys? What ways are you looking to challenge yourself this year? Comment it up, y'all! Or tweet me @girlsleuth with the hashtag #BookResolutions.

Happy 2012 And Good Luck With Your Reading Resolutions!!!



Nancy Drew Is Getting A Facelift!

Hey guys. Sorry i've been neglecting my bloggy duties. i know it seems like i've only been Fangirling and Top Tenning lately. i haven't done a book review in awhile and i have yet to shake down the last two episodes of Supernatural. My bad.
i've been completely sabotaged by that infamous Year End Chaos that always sneaks in around Thanksgiving. My brain has been running on buying gifts and making cookies, wrapping gifts and eating cookies. Well now it's 2012 and i've got multiple paper cuts and a bellyache. So it's time for a little changy-change!
That's right! i'm about to get super focused up in this bitch!

i've decided to revamp Nancy Drew Is My Homegirl (hence the title of this post) so things will start to look a little different around here. But never fear. i'm still the same smart-mouthed, sassy-pantsed, book-loving, Supernatural-watching, cray cray fangirl i've always been.

The biggest change you'll notice is that the format for my book reviews will be different in this new year. It'll look a little reminiscent of my Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge reviews. i'll be Dissecting The Cover, i'll have Bonus Shizz, and i'll be dishing about Swoony Times (as well as Sexy Times if the book calls for it.) i'll still give my honest opinion about whether i loved, hated or felt nothing for the book and my Scale of Judgment will still be in use too.
So, like i said, that'll be the biggest change.

There may be a few other changes here and there. Even i don't know all the ways i wanna spruce up my blog yet. So just know that this will kinda be a construction site from here on out. But a pretty construction site.

i'm still gonna recap all the new episodes of Supernatural. i'm still gonna dish about books and books into movies and books into TV news. i'm still gonna participate in Top Ten Tuesday and i'm still gonna host Fangirl Five Friday.

So i'll change a little but i'll stay the same a little too.
i want your feedback though so dish those comments up, y'all.
And i hope that you guys have an amazing, prosperous and booktastical New Year!

M.I.Bloggy.A

Hey y'all. If you follow me on Twitter then you know that i'm in the process of moving. That being said, i have never moved before and thus didn't know all the shizz that goes into it. There's packing and unpacking and hauling and unhauling and painting and setting everything up the way you want it and having cable/internet installed and just a laundry list of other stuff that has me pretty much EXHAUSTED at the end of the day.
So as much as it pains me, i may be taking a brief hiatus this month so that i can get settled.
Right now i'm not sure if i'll have The Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge or The TBR Back Burner Challenge ready for this month. i've only read one Flashback Challenge book so far. i just don't have the time to sit down for extended periods of time to read and when i do get the time i'm dog-tired and just want to sleep. So this month might not be as review-y as i'd like it to be but i promise i'll get my shit together next month.
Please try to be patient with my ass.

Moving: when it doesn't pay to be book nerdy.
(And that's not even half of my books.)

P.S. That's my awesome bean bag chair in the left corner in case you were wondering what that giant blue slouchy thing was. :)

What's Your Book Resolution?

So, it's almost January. 2011! Can you believe that shizz? It feels like just yesterday it was January 2010. But no. We've already gone through 12 whole months. We've gotten through countless holidays & other celebratory hoopla. & now we're back to square one. 
Good ol' January. The do-over month. The month we can take all of last years failures, condense them into one month of good intentions, invariably decide to scrap the whole "master plan" & instead go back to our lives of extreme leisure usually starting around February 2nd. 
Well not this year!
Ok. Maybe this year. But only with the BiG-every-year-unrealistic resolutions like losing weight, getting a better job & finding "the one."
Fuck those resolutions! 
What's your book resolution?
Maybe there's a particular book you've been meaning to get to? A series you thought sounded interesting? Perhaps a massive re-read you'd like to undertake? Maybe you'd like to substitute your usual YA for another genre for a while?
Well i've given some serious thought to my book resolutions. & i've come up with three to challenge myself with in 2011:

The Classics Challenge.
As a book whore i'm slightly embarrassed/ashamed of how few of "the classics" i've actually read. So this year i'm gonna challenge myself to read at least five books that are thought of as literary classics. It'll be a challenge because i find the classics to be SOOO BORING with their thees, & thous, & tis' & the fortnights! My God the fortnights! But i'm gonna give it a shot. & at five, i think i'll be able to manage. That really is the key when making resolutions, you see. Don't try to overextend yourself. Just do your best. & my best, this year at least, will be five for this particular challenge.


The Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge.
Ah, the books of yesteryear! They're calling to me, bloggermuffins. & this year, i'm gonna answer! This challenge is all about reconnecting with the books of my youth. i'm gonna try to read four books a month from these blast-from-the-past-oldie-but-goodies:
The Baby Sitters Club.
Sweet Valley High.
Goosebumps.
The Baby Sitters Club: Little Sister.
Fear Street.
Shivers.
& any other wonderful nuggets i can find! i'm really excited about this challenge! It'll be fun to sit & reminisce about simpler times, back before i became Evil. *sigh*

The TBR Back Burner Challenge.
For those not in the know, TBR stands for To Be Read. & i have a pile that's so high it's threatening to topple over & kill me in my sleep. These are all books that i've really wanted to read & then some other book comes along that i really wanna read so the previously really-wanted-to-read book gets placed on the teetering TBR pile & doesn't get read & then doesn't get read again because now i really wanna read this other book! It's a vicious cycle, really. This year i'm hoping to break it though. So the challenge is to whittle down the TBR pile by reading two TBR books a month.


So. Those are my three book resolutions for 2011.
i will of course post all throughout the year on how i'm doing with them. 
What will your book resolutions be? Dish the shizz in the comments section. 

&, of course, have a Happy & Booky New Year!

The Scale of Judgment

So you're probably thinking, "Uh, what the F is The Scale of Judgment?" Well i'm glad you're so inquisitive & thus i will tell you. The Scale of Judgment will be the rating system by which all books will be judged in this blog.
i just thought i'd go ahead & mention it & explain it a little.

The Scale of Judgment

5= Complete Awesomeness

4= Almost Awesome

3=MildyAmusing

2=Borderline Sucky

1=Hugely Suckish

i think The Scale pretty much speaks for itself. it's idiot-proof, really. After every book review there will be an accompanying score (1-5, idiot!) But worry not bloggermuffins! i'll be transferring a copy of it over to the side. So if you forget what 3 means you can just look to the right & see that, Oh this book was Slightly Amusing. it's that simple!

i've also decided the first book that i'm gonna review! For right now though i'm gonna keep it my little secret. Keep checking back here & on Twitter (i'm @girlsleuth) 

All will be revealed SOON!

It's New! It's Improved! It's...The Same?

I actually started this blog a few years ago but it never fully became what i wanted it to be. So i decided to scrap it, delete all previous posts & start fresh. This is the first post of the new & improved (& yes, kinda the same) Nancy Drew is My Homegirl booktastical blog!
i guess i'll start off by telling you a little about myself...

My real name isn't EvilEva, obvs.i like to think of EvilEva as my alter ego. She's me only sassier, ballsier, & more EViL! However, for the purposes of this blog, we're one & the same.
The purposes of this blog being book reviews, book news, talk of TV, movies, music & life in general. But mainly books. Because i love books! i love pretty much EVERYTHING having to do with books! i love to read! i love bookstores & libraries & bookmarks & bookshelves! i love book review sites & books being turned into movies & TV shows! i love other people that are super passionate about books & want to discuss them ad nausium!   i just really, truly, deeply LOVE LOVE LOVE anything & everything about books & reading.

My second love in life, which i will undoubtedly discuss quite a bit in this blog, is Supernatural! i've been a fan (or fanatic, whatever!) of this show since the pilot episode. i've watched EVERY SINGLE episode since (even tho this year they're changing it to Friday at 9. i find this particularly blasphemous as Supernatural's rightful home is Thursday at 9! Uh, DUH!!!!!) i have all 5 seasons on DVD, i have every book thus far in the series, i have every magazine issue to date, i have a Supernatural themed playlist on my iPod, i even have the friggin' widget at the bottom of this page! In short, i love the show (& Jared Padalecki! i soooo wanted to become Mrs. Padalecki but he had to go & marry Ruby!)
So, much like books, Supernatural is something that i'll be talking about A LOT in this blog.
As far as TV goes, i also love me some Dexter, Big Bang Theory, Psych, Vampire Diaries, & True Blood. So these will probably get a mention from time to time too.

i do have other interests besides books & TV tho. 
i love music! i love to sing! If i weren't such an unbelievable chicken shit i'd love to be a singer. But currently i'm pretty much terrified to sing in front of anyone. Really hoping that'll change one day. i write songs. & i'd really love to learn to play the acoustic guitar (i was very much a Jewel-head in the mid 90's! Hated it when she went all pseudo-poptart in the 00's. What happened to Foolish Games, man? Bring that chick back!) i like making up "soundtracks" for pretty much EVERY occasion. Basically, i'm the mix tape queen!

It has just occurred to me that "a little about myself" has kinda spiraled outta control! i also wanted to explain what you can come to expect from this new & improved blog.
Basically "Nancy Drew is My Homegirl" is a book review site. i'll be reading books, obvs. Reviewing the crap out of 'em & rating them from Suckish to Awesomeness. (i'll explain more about the rating system in my next post.)
i'll also be keeping you up to date with any & all book related news. Plus, i'll introduce you to The Big Ass Read, The Mini Ass Read, & The Nancy Drew Files. (These are all book challenges that i'll get into further later on.)
So, that's who i am & what this blog will be. Interested? Intrigued? Then check in each week for a new post.
Thanks for letting me ramble! 
 

                                                                               EvilEva;)