Reading

Reading: My Favorite Intellectual Tumblr Blogs

March 7, 2013

the best tumblr intellectual blogs

You may not know this about me but I love to read and learn about all kinds of topics (I mention this a bit in my 10 Things You Don’t Know About Me post). In particular I’ve been very interested in science lately. However, in the past few weeks I’ve felt like my days have been getting shorter and my free time has disappeared so it has been hard to keep up with learning.

Not being able to constantly nourish my mind has been pretty tough for me to get used to. So when I started a food Tumblr documenting my daily nibbles I started trying to follow blogs that would teach me new things or inspire me to know more about the world. Hence the link below! Check out my favorite intellectual tumblr’s as well as my favorite food blog. Whenever I have a spare moment I check my dashboard to learn new things without having to search high and low through different websites.

Science based blogs:

ASAP Science: They have new videos each week explaining different phenomenons. I once featured here their video on the science of productivity.
Science Junkie: A mishmash of different science facts, discoveries, and humor throughout the day.
Stellar-Indulgence: Beautiful photos of the stars and of nature.
Explore: “A discovery engine for meaningful knowledge, fueled by cross-disciplinary curiosity.”

My favorite food blog is Garden of Vegan. It’s a gorgeous Tumblr full of original photographs from the blogger of ILoveVegan.com. Although I’m not a vegan I do draw a lot of food inspiration from her pictures. It isn’t science based but I thought it warranted a mention.

What little things do you do to incorporate more learning into your day? How do you keep your brain fresh?

P. S. I would also like to mention that I run girl-karma’s Tumblr. Check it out for daily inspirations.

P. P. S. The image sources are from the blogs mentioned.

Tagged as: Tumblr

Book Chat #2: Harry Potter Book 1 & Pottermore

September 17, 2012

in Reading, Videos

I was finally able to finish reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in conjunction with Pottermore. It took me much longer to get through then I thought!

If you aren’t familiar with the Harry Potter series (I’ve heard they weren’t allowed in some schools), here is a summary:

“Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That’s because he’s being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he’s really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.”

Below are the questions I thought about while reading and answered in the video above. I liked keeping notes in my iPhone of everything that intrigued me.

What about the book stood out to you?
What about Pottermore stood out to you?
Did you notice any underlying metaphor or lesson?
How did it compare to the movie?

I read all of my books on my Kindle (it’s like my best friend), I use an older model but you may like the Kindle Fire.

On next month’s Book Chat will be around October 25th and it will be on The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, a mature but interesting book about a society in the future that is having trouble reproducing. Here is a summary:

“Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife. She may go out once a day to markets whose signs are now pictures because women are not allowed to read. She must pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, for in a time of declining birthrates her value lies in her fertility, and failure means exile to the dangerously polluted Colonies. Offred can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name. Now she navigates the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life in breaking the rules.”

I first read The Handmaid’s Tale in my senior year of high school. It was so intriguing! There is a lot of color symbolism as well. I can’t wait to read it again.

What do you think of Harry Potter and Pottermore book one? How about the movie? Participate in this Book Chat in the comments!

If you liked this video, make sure to suport (for free!) by subscribing to RebeccaKelsey.com on YouTube. If you have a YouTube account already, just click the subscribe button below. Even if you watch videos through the blog only, I’d appreciate it. My goal for the year is 15,000 subscribers!

Kindness is the best accessory,

Tagged as: Harry Potter, Pottermore, The Handmaid's Tale

Book Chat: Book Club, My Favorites, & What I’ve Been Reading

August 13, 2012

in Reading, Videos

I’m really excited to be starting a book club! For more details on that, read this post. Above I chatted about my favorites like The Handmaid’s Tale (which I read my senior year of high school) and some of the books I’m currently reading. I hope you enjoy! Reading is such a fun and engaging experience, I love getting wrapped up into a character.

Here are some of the physical copies of the books I’ve mentioned. I linked those in the widget from booksamillion.com because they had a lot of book sets, which are usually cheaper when you consider how much it is to get everything separately. Hover over them to see the prices and click on them for purchase info.

Kindle versions & Amazon books:

The Harry Potter series e-books can be purchased at shop.pottermore.com and you can learn more about Pottermore and how fun it is here. My username is OwlFeather75 if you’d like to add me as a friend.

If you liked this video, make sure to suport (for free!) by subscribing to RebeccaKelsey.com on YouTube. If you have a Youtube account already, just click the subscribe button below. Even if you watch videos through the blog only, I’d appreciate it. My goal for the year is 15,000 subscribers!

What is your favorite book? Are you going to join the book club?

Kindness is the best accessory,

Tagged as: Harry Potter, The Hunger Games

Let’s Have a Book Club!

August 11, 2012

in Reading

Earlier this week I filmed a video talking about my favorite books and what I am currently reading (It will be up this Monday). I asked in the video whether or not you guys would be interested in starting a book club with me. I haven’t even uploaded the video yet and I already decided that would be a lot of fun! Here is what we are reading (if you decide to join in) for our first book club meeting.

We are reading: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling and the Pottermore equivalent.

Amazon summary: Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That’s because he’s being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he’s really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.

What is Pottermore? Pottermore is a unique online experience created by J. K. Rowling and Sony to engage those interested in the series and provide additional written content to the novels (a lot of enriching back story!). You travel through the chapters of Harry Potter, collecting things along the way that you can use in potions and spells (they have online games). Going through the books gives you badges and you can earn points for your respective house (I’m a hufflepuff) to see who wins The House Cup. It’s aimed at younger audiences but I still enjoy it.

Below is a great tutorial on how to use Pottermore. His voice is a little low though so make sure you are in a quiet environment.

Book Club Info:

1. Discussions of the books may include movie spoilers. I’d recommend also watching the movie series. I’ll try to mark spoilers during our discussion so that you aren’t spoiled about the future of the series if this is your first time exploring Harry Potter.

2. We’ll have our discussion on September 13th. I recommend reading one chapter of the book and then one chapter of Pottermore and alternating as such. Then you can compare and get more information as you go. The Pottermore chapters only take a few minutes to go through.

3. On September 13th I’ll be posting a few discussion questions for us to chat about in the comments. Keep notes of anything you find interesting as you go so you won’t forget to mention it on the discussion day.

4. You can join Pottermore here. It’s free! My username is OwlFeather75 if you want to add me to your friends list.

Where to shop:

If you have a Kindle (if not, this is my version) you can get the Harry Potter books for the first time as an ebook here. Below are a few of the different hard cover options. Click the images for more information.

What do you guys think? Are you going to join? I read the Harry Potter series so long ago that I’ve lost all the detail, reading it along with Pottermore seems like such a great experience!

Kindness is the best accessory,

Tagged as: Harry Potter

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