Thought Corner: Halloween Art #1

Breana’s Comments: While brainstorming ideas for what to do on the blog in October, I decided on something art related since it’s been awhile. And I knew from the start that I wanted to do something fun and colorful. I gave myself two prompts to fulfil on the second and last Sunday of October. Adri is joining me for this mini challenge as well.

Today’s prompt: Candy corn but make it lunch or an appetizer

Breana’s Comments: I wanted to lean into the whole idea of candy as food. I actually like candy corn, and I envisioned it here as part of a salad, taking the place of cherry tomatoes or some other kind of vegetable. I wanted to keep my color choices bright. And honestly, I like Prismacolor colored pencils True Blue and Light Cerulean Blue. I've also included my sketch page, where I was deciding whether or not I was going to use crayon, crayon + marker, or Prismacolor colored pencils.

Adri’s Comments: It’s been a minute since I pulled out my Reeves watercolor gouache and I felt it was time to do so. I too opted for a salad, but with giant candy corn strawberry… Stracornberry? Sorry. I was originally going to have a previous character I drew holding a plate. Instead, I ended up with something like what you see above. I tried to add some of my gold acrylic, but it’s not that visible in the photo.

Stay tuned for our second and final prompt challenge on the 31st! Until then, thanks for stopping by and happy reading!

The Friday 56 (206) & Book Beginnings: Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

New York Times bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic

After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think—she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man," a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price. Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN. Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. As the trio head out into the woods--bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them--the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: "Avoid large places. Keep to small." And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.

Beginning: "She wished she were on the other side of the glass. You don't waste October sunshine."

56: "Brian snorted and the strange tension broke." 

Comments: Small Spaces is still one of my favorite tales. I'm doing a reread of the first two books of the series this October. I wanted to refresh my memory of the story before picking up Dark Waters. What are you reading this week?

Spooky Books to Read This October

Welcome! Today, Adri and I are going to share a list of some of our favorite spooky books we’ve read this year. Also, check out our list from last year HERE.

Breana: My first pick is What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie (find the review HERE). I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book, and it was an excellent story with a few genuinely creepy moments. The setting, an old and isolated museum, Woodmoor Manor, was the perfect location for a ghost story. It was a spooky read that also had a heartwarming resolution.

Adri: My first pick is The Shadows by Jacqueline West (find the review HERE). It was a reread, and I was excited to get back into The Books of Elsewhere series with Olive, three wise cats, and paintings in a creepy house.

Breana: My next one is Small Town Monsters by Diana Rodriguez-Wallach (find the review HERE). This book was one of my favorite reads so far this year. It had a lot of references to the conjuring universe (specifically Ed and Lorraine Warren), and Wallach’s use of paranormal aspects amongst an every-day and almost cheerful idyllic kind of setting only heightened the spooky happenings surrounding the story.

Adri: My second and last pick (because I need to step up my spooky reading game) is Spellbound by Jacqueline West. In terms of pacing between both books, the first in the series was like moving into the house, where as the second is like settling into the house—especially for Olive. It was kind of wild, and I can’t wait to get into The Second Spy, The Books of Elsewhere #3.

Breana: I have two more books to add to this list. The first is Mine by Delilah S. Dawson (find the review HERE). Mine was probably one of the eeriest books on my end of the list. From growing up to dealing with a frightening haunting in a house she didn’t want to be in—with parents who she was at odds with—the character, Lily, went through it. And my last pick is Dark Waters by Katherine Arden. My review for Dark Waters will be posted later this month. It was one of my favorite reads of the year so far, and it’s a fitting continuation of the story set up by Small Spaces and Dead Voices.

 

So that’s what we read this year. Thanks for stopping by. Happy reading!

Music Monday (175): Rina Sawayama, Tyler The Creator, Teezo Touchdown, V.I.C., Cupid, The Slide Man, Los Del Rio, Marcia Griffiths

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I'm still listening to Sawayama. It's such a good album, and I wanted to share another one of my favorite songs. This one is called Who's Gonna Save U Now?.

 

Adri: Hello, I've been listening to Tyler, The Creator lately. My picks for today are Earfquake featuring Playboi Carti, Charlie Wilson, and Jessy Wilson, and Runitup featuring Teezo Touchdown. Anyway see you later.

Andrea: Hi all! This week, I'm line dancing. There are so many songs great for line dancing, and I am currently listening/dancing to some of my favorites: Wobble by V.I.C (2008), Cupid Shuffle by Cupid (2007), The Cha Cha Slide by The Slide Man (2000), Macarana by Los Del Rio (1993), and Electric Boogie by Marcia Griffiths (1990).

 

Until next time, have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

Quarterly Recap: July-September

It’s October 1st, and the spooky season is officially upon us. It’s also time for the last quarterly recap of 2021, as the feature takes a break in December when we post our favorites lists before our annual break from blogging. Without further ado, here are the reviews and other posts that have appeared on Our Thoughts Precisely from July to the end of September.

July Reviews:

• Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
• The Brilliant Abyss by Helen Scales
• Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore
• The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien 

August Reviews:

• Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno Garcia 
• Mine by Delilah S. Dawson
• You Can Never Tell by Sarah Warburton 
• Seven Year Witch by Angela M. Sanders

September Reviews:

• Small Town Monsters by Diana Rodriguez-Wallach
• The Case Study of Vanitas vol. 8 by Jun Mochizuki
• What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie
• Fire & Ice by Natalie Starkey 
• Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney 

July Other Posts:

• Short Stories I Read in June
• I Listened to Planet Her by Doja Cat
• Quarterly Recap: April-June

August Other Posts:

• Short Stories I Read in July
• I Listened to Pink Noise by Laura Mvula
• I Listened to Last Year Was Weird vol. 3 by Tkay Maidza

September Other Posts:

• I Listened to Music by Magdalena Bay
• Short Stories I Read in August
• Thought Corner: What I've Been Watching (2021)
• I Listened to If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power by Halsey

Looking ahead, “Short Stories” is taking a break this month. I never found the time in September, but I do have a small TBR of short stories I hope to read in October.

This month, I’m doing a reread of the first two books in the Small Spaces series by Katherine Arden. I love the books, and I wanted to refresh my memory before diving into Dark Waters, Small Spaces #3, which came out in August of this year. My reread starts on October 8th with a Friday 56 post for Small Spaces. Also in October, Adri and I are doing a mini Halloween themed art challenge. There are two parts, and they will be posted on the second and last Sunday of October respectively.