The Sunflower Club! A New Years Resolution

jlya • 21 May 2020 at 2:04 PM

@totallynotjoey
Welcome to the club! 😃 My reading has also dwindled, and it's quite unfortunate. 😋 I love a good book, I just never seen to pick one up anymore.

totallynotjoey • 21 May 2020 at 2:23 PM

@jlya I was a total bookworm a year or two back. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love books and when I do, well, rarely pick up a good book, I will enjoy it immensely haha
I wish I could get back into reading but nowadays I can never find the time, I'm always either doing school work, on eggcave, or drawing or something like that 😋

jlya • 21 May 2020 at 5:53 PM

@totallynotjoey
I'm the same way! I read a couple classics this year, and I'm actually thankful for my schoolwork because it gets me reading good books. It's not that I don't like books, I just don't get to it often anymore ^^'

totallynotjoey • 21 May 2020 at 5:59 PM

@jlya I get what you mean, I got to read Lord of the Flies, not my normal genre but still incredibly intriguing. I also got to read Romeo and Juliet, as mainstream or whatever it's become, it's Shakespeare and his language is known for being incredibly rich and hella poetic 😊

jlya • 21 May 2020 at 8:35 PM

@totallynotjoey
Yeah, exactly. 😊 I got to read A Tale of Two Cities, which can be a little difficult to get through but the writing is absolutely excellent. All the seemingly insignificant pieces for together masterfully. 😃 And I read The Giver, which is an interesting genre, but it was a great book.
The only Shakespeare I've read is Julius Caesar. I should probably branch out more, but see previous conversation about no time.

totallynotjoey • 22 May 2020 at 3:35 AM

@jlya I don't think I've heard of either of those. But I did get to read Ender's Game, I forgot about that one but ooh boy that was a treat. The ending was iffy but there wasn't any better way to do it with that kind of story. Throughout the story though, dear lord I never wanted it to end. It's not my usual genre either, I enjoy YA books but still, that book was a masterpiece.
I think my first Shakespeare piece was Much Ado About Nothing, I don't remember it much I read it in like primary school, would you guys call it middle school? Not sure, school systems are confusing, like wth is a sophomore lmao
I also read A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice and I thiiiink The Tempest but I'm not really sure. If I did read them it was ages ago and I hardly remember anything lol

qerrats • 22 May 2020 at 4:07 PM

xDxDxD Yay we got through a whole page 😱 xDxDxD *throws streamers* @totallynotjoey Welcome to the club! 😊 And yes, that is the Stargirl book! We read it as a class when school was still in session, and I loved it. If I had seen it on the shelf, I don't think I would've picked it up, but it was oh-so-good! xD
Hmm... as for a favorite book/author, I'm really into weird, unknown and unheard of unique books by authors most haven't heard of ^^" Like, right now I'm reading the twentieth book in a series with twenty two books in total, and I just ordered the other two, so hopefully they'll arrive before I finish xD The series is called Redwall, by Brian Jacques? It's totally like creative medieval animals where good always triumphs over evil x3 Not perhaps the book that brings those midnight tears, but they're definitely exciting, haha.
And WHAT how come I haven't gotten into Shakespeare yet arrrrrrrgh school that's your responsibility... xD But I have read the Giver! 😊 Also not my style, also forced upon me at school, and also enjoyed it xDxDxD (See the pattern?)
Okay, anyways, enough essay-writing for me, time to go get dust in my hair as I dig through ancient boxes of art supplies... *sighs* Anyways, @totallynotjoey Welcome welcome welcome!! You'll find that we can strike up the oddest (and by far most interesting) of convos here at the Sunflower Club 😉

jlya • 22 May 2020 at 8:26 PM

@totallynotjoey
You're not from the same place I am, are you. xD Ah, that's so sad you've never heard of A Tale of Two Cities! I very much recommend it. I appreciate writing that gets you on the edge of your seat and captures the heart of the reader. You know it was a good book when you're satisfied at the end but still want it to go on. A lot of those sound like great books. 😱
@qerrats
*Throws streamers* XD Ah, I can't even get through one book, let alone 20-long series 😋 I'm halfway through probably five books. Nothing against the authors, just the way I am. 😋 Lol, exactly about the Giver. xD Have fun buried in the dust of old art projects! Find a treasure map and look me up so we can find treasure together. 😃 We can split it 1%/99% 50/50. And yes, @totallynotjoey we've fallen slightly from the kindness side but we do have a good conversation. xD
Just remember, kindness means even more now. Everybody's stressed, frustrated or scared and just a smile can mean the world. ❤️

qerrats • 22 May 2020 at 9:09 PM

@jlya That's so, so true ❤️ There's this rp that I'm apart of (on a different site, chickensmoothie), and one of the members asked the leader if they could take a LOA because they were working on their applications to be a nurse ❤️ Literally everyone in the rp was like congratulating her and being like 'way to go!' xDxDxD But yes, kindness means so much right now, especially seeing that there's so many people out there who are all by themselves, never seeing anyone. I feel as though right now, one of the best ways to spread kindness is here, on your computer, just saying hi to people, socializing, and getting to know and be with other people 😸
Also, yes, I actually found this ancient book filled with mouse breeds and ways to identify them? xD So I guess I have a new project: Draw as many cartoon-themed-yet-actually-based-off-of-real-mouse-breeds mice ^^ xDxDxD So far my favorite is Daphne's Oldfield Mouse because it's SO ADORABLE AND ROUND LIKE A TENNIS BALL jkjkjk, it's round like a... um... bowling ball? Basketball? Maybe a pingpong ball... xDxDxD

jlya • 22 May 2020 at 10:18 PM

Oh, that's amazing!! Congrats to her ❤️ And yes, I completely agree. We can reach so many people stuck at home thanks to the internet. ❤️
Also I looked up the Daphne's Oldfield Mouse and it's SO ADORABLE. It's such a little moonchkin 😸 ❤️

totallynotjoey • 23 May 2020 at 3:07 AM

@qerrats Whoo! A whole page! *throws even more streamers*
Stargirl is such a wonderful book! Almost all of the covers on his other books are super simple, like how Stargirl is just a white doodle of a girl on a plan pink background. Have you read the sequel? It's called Love, Stargirl and it's just as good if I remember correctly. Well, all his books are really well written. I remember reading one called Milkweed, it was a brown book with a small black doodlish drawing of the plant milkweed on the front I think. I read it because it was written by Jerry Spinelli but it was really different. I may be mixing up books but I thiiink it was about [yeep] and two friends, not sure though. Either way, whichever book I'm describing, it was a good one haha!
Wow! Twentieth book! That's some dedication you've got there. How long is each book? Come to think of it I haven't read many series. There are a few but I can only think of Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz and Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. Those were g r e a t. Gosh I loved them. I finished the Alex Rider series and it was about a teenage who became a spy, I forgot if it was willingly or not. Either way he was kinda, not forced, but pushed into a corner, in the choice of becoming a spy. It's not really like your classic teenage spy book. Well, it is but it's so much better. He gets gadgets and stuff but the plots are kind of more suited for teenagers who can take that kind of stuff. It's not so bad though, generally just rich dudes who seem like they're doing something good for the country but have ulterior motives. There's this other book that I read from the same author. I forgot it's name but it was like a collection of short stories. Oh I think it was called Horowitz' Horrors or something. As you can probably tell from the name there's some twisted [yeep] in there. Like cannibalism is one of them. I read it at night too, the idiot I am. It's nothing like omg a killer clown! It's so much more harrowing than that. ANYways, enough about Anthony Horowitz' books. Have you read or heard of Skullduggery Pleasant? Jesus christ that was good. I don't think the series is finished yet but one of the books came out like last year? I think so. I never got around to reading it as it had been ages since I'd read the book before it and I had forgotten everything. I actually planned on rereading the whole series but I never got around to it haha! Quite an ambitious feat, seeing as most of the books are mega thick. It's about a witty skeleton detective(?) named Skullduggery Pleasant and a girl name Stephanie. She gets the name Valkyrie Cain afterwords and let me just say, those are some badass names, gosh I love them. Anyways I don't really remember the plot but there's magic, evil people, monsters, and all that good stuff loaded in the book, and all hidden from the 'normal' world. It's crazy how no one knows about it XD I loved this series so much dear god that was amazing.
Shakespeare is honestly a really good playwright, well duh, how else would he be so famous now lmao. Anyways yeah all the books that school forces on me are actually good books ngl
I enjoy art but I still have yet to dabble in just about every medium. I only use what I have lying around or in my pencil case. So mainly pencil and eraser. Sometimes I use felt tip, but that's only really for like lineart, this one time I drew straight on the page with the felt tip and it was pretty cool, kinda want to try again. Sometimes I just use a pen too, like a ballpoint one. Normally I doodle but if I feel motivated or bothered I'll spend a bunch of time on a drawing. I use reference photos/drawings. I suppose it's not as good to use drawings over photos but it works so eh, doesn't really bother me
I can tell these conversations are interesting haha, aI've written a lot up there ^^^ I wonder how many words XD

@jlya Yeah, as you can see on my profile, I'm from Antarctica. I'm assuming it's really different from where you are. I need to check that book out then 😊 Maybe I can find it in my library, and writing of that manner is such a great read. For sure! Kindness can't be defined as one thing 😊 It's great that the internet is a thing, it would be almost impossible to connect with others without it


Edit: I just posted it and oh my lord what kind of a rant is that. Jesus no wonder I can't feel my pinky LOL

jlya • 23 May 2020 at 2:49 PM

@totallynotjoey
I'm relieved to see I'm not the only one who goes on rants. xD Welcome to the club, lol. My family's read Alex Rider and says they're really good books. Another series to add to the list. 😋 Yeah, books forced on you are annoying but they actually end up being really good. 😊 Answering a bunch of questions over them, on the other hand... 😋 There's a lot of pros and cons to the internet. But that one's definitely a pro. ❤️ Oh, lol, I feel that about the pinky. XD

totallynotjoey • 23 May 2020 at 3:36 PM

@jlya Man I rant too much lol. Alex Rider is great, I actually own a few of the books. I got them for free when my library was giving away books 😃 Honestly, the questions aren't too bad, it's the essays that kill me 😋 Everything got it's goods and bads, thankfully there's not a lot of the bad here on eggcave 😊 And it doesn't help the pinky situation when you've been lying on your elbow for that long lmao

arcana • 23 May 2020 at 3:40 PM

Oh! Books! Popping in to say that I am an avid reader and have opinons about certain things. Especially certain genres. Unfortunately, I haven't been reading much lately, since I prefer physical books, and you know. Bookwise, I haven't found very many books I love, but I have my favorite authors. I am very late to this conversation, aren't I?

Shakespeare is nice enough, although it certainly isn't one that I find very memorable and compelling. I own a collection of his stories for some reason or another and read it every so often when I was younger. I wasn't forced to, I just kinda did because I was bored? I don't really know why I did. None of it really stuck though. In one ear and out the other.

As for the other books mentioned here, I believe I have had a run-in with them occasionally? I've read some of them, but most I've only heard a little about.

Also can I rant about how YA dystopia is overdone and kind of awful

totallynotjoey • 23 May 2020 at 3:55 PM

@arcana Hah! Don't we all! (have opinions on certain genres). Physical book ftw, I think I've read like 2 ebooks 😋 And yeah, it's pretty hard to find a great book, especially when you start reading less, I can relate. Though, most books I pick up I enjoy, though they all get forgotten pretty quickly. I've read hundreds of books but only remember like 10, and I need some reminder to remember them too haha! You're not late btw, also, any times a good time to discuss books 😊

I agree, Shakespeare is good, but that's about it. If I could choose to read his work over almost almost anything, I'd probably choose the latter.

When I read YA books, I generally stick to the romance genre, not really the drama ones. I guess you could lump them together though? I enjoy the ones that focus on like emotions and the characters themselves. I remember reading a few books that were filled with crazy plotlines. You know like secret brain surgeries and becoming some famous super model because of it. I'm not even gonna explain it, it's pretty wild. I like the more down to earth ones, ones that you can relate with I guess you could say. Like highschool love stories and personal issues and all that juicy stuff 😋 I haven't ever, nor do I think I ever will, dabble in the YA dystopia genre. Dystopian stories are definitely intriguing and can be a great read for sure! Just not my go to genre. I'd love to hear your rant so I can further stay away from it. (Jk I just love rants, they're great 😋 )

EDIt: Also, when there's uneccessary romance, the kind that the author throws in just cause there's two characters available, that's a hard no from me. It's like adding a gay character for no reason, like I appreciate the diversity but it kind of screams ISUPPORTANDLOVEALLLGBTQ+PEOPLE!! I'm not against them in any way by saying this, I myself am bi but if it doesn't add to the plot story or whatever then what's the point? At the same time this could just be me overthinking stuff. Heck, I think the emoticon : ) (without the space) is passive aggressive! Don't trust me lol, half the time it's total bs coming out of my mouth, or well, laptop keyboard whatever

arcana • 23 May 2020 at 4:40 PM

@totallynotjoey
I think reading romance YA is a bit better, just because it lets you know what you're in for. On the other hand, YA fantasy and dystopia are almost always romance books disguised by their setting. But yeah, YA books can be crazy, and sometimes I think about how the writer, publisher, editor, and reviewers are all adults and very much not teens. Maybe that's why there are so many "fantasy/dystopia"(but it's actually just romance) books.

My go-to genre has always been fantasy, so I have a little pet peeve about romance B-plots. And unnecessary romance or forced diversity is a pain, but I think I haven't run into forced diversity as much as romance. I cringe/die of second-hand embarrassment very easily, so I don't seek out drama or romance books, but they always seem to find me.

Ahem. Dystopia rant time.
It started with the Hunger Games. That blew up, and then too many followed. Before then, dystopia was mostly for adults. (1984 and etc) Hunger Games was okay, fine. It definitely wasn't all that memorable for me. But then came all the books with "If you loved the Hunger Games, you'll love this!" in their reviews. I didn't love the Hunger Games, and I certainly don't need Hunger Games but it's a school and the ending is completely arbitrary, the love interest isn't interesting and the heroine is even less so. Main characteristics: Smart, Plot Armor. Also, predictability isn't bad, but if I can spot who's going to die the minute I see their description...well...you don't exactly get sadness or shock value, which is what you're fishing for. There are so many of these books and half the time it's a combination of idiot plot and "oh no bad government" Also, why the heck do you always need a romantic interest? And why is it almost always the main character: girl. Love interest: boy. Fantasy does this too, but fantasy gets a pass because it's good, compelling, and creative. This is just the same stuff over and over again, and it certainly isn't all that good, compelling, or creative to me. Hunger Games was the one that blew up, and you lookalikes are certainly going to blow my fuse. If you want to write a romance, write a good romance. You aren't doing yourself any favors by mixing it with dystopia.

Oh boy. I probably made some grammar mistakes, but I'm too worked up to care.

qerrats • 23 May 2020 at 10:05 PM

@jlya xDxDxD Ikr?! And there's also the Four-striped Grass Mouse and Eastern Rock Elephant Shrew ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ I mean, WHO KNEW RODENTS COULD BE SO DARNED ADORABLE?! xD

@totallynotjoey @arcana
Oh wow, really? I've only read just the one... whelp, time to take a trip to the school library... xD And no, I haven't read either of those, but I'll see if I can find them! 😊 And yeah, it started when an Aunt gave me the first, and I've been hooked ever since. It's one of those nonstop-action books that makes you stay awake until the sun comes up reading, but then once you're done you want to reread it xD They're maybe 500-700 pages long? Long enough for me to get attached to the characters, anyways ^^" And whoa, I haven't tried that with the felt tip! I should so do it sometime... right now I've been doing online art stuff and dabbling in charcoal xD So far I should really start actually trying to draw people, but, for now, while I still blur the entire image with my left hand, it's cats, dogs, birds and mice for me xD
Fantasy for me, and for forever xD Personally, whenever I see those YA romance books with good reviews I'll be like "oh boy, this should be fun!" and then halfway through the second chapter I lose interest because either A. I feel like it's exaggerated or unrealistic (which is a huge ouch coming from a fantasy lover xD) or B. I feel like their relationship might be cute, but I don't need someone else's drama in my life xDxD
I haven't actually read Hunger Games... *hmm* I should probably do that eventually so I actually get all those jokes going around my family right now, but until then, I've got... to finish... this series... *takes deep breaths* Actually, when I finish, I know I'm going to be mad cuz this was like my favorite ever, and the author has long since stopped writing books, so after that 22nd book arrives and I read it, that'll be it ;-; xD
@arcana Ikr? I hate it when that happens. Sadly, the series I'm really into has a way of killing off your favorite characters that either don't seem important enough to kill, or seem to important to kill xD And yes, I hate it when I pick up a romance book and halfway through you're like, "wait. Did I already read this book...?" xD

jlya • 23 May 2020 at 11:28 PM

@qerrats
aaAAWWWW ❤️ Rodents really are adorable. I know lots of girls are freaked out by nice but I find them quite cute 😸 I always smear my own drawings xD And I'd love to get better at drawing people, but that takes lots of practice and much loss of hope in humanity xD

@arcana
I am prone to second-hand embarrassment and it's awful. As if I didn't embarrass myself enough. xD I don't mind romance if it's a good one, but between the ridiculous drama and awkwardness, I quickly start to wonder why I'm reading it. 😋

qerrats • 24 May 2020 at 7:28 PM

@jlya xD I know, personally, I'm not that freaked out by them? Like, my cat is a serious, serious mouse hunter and regularly leaves decapitated (and, occasionally, gutted) mice on the driveway so I should be able to handle seeing living ones just fine xD As for me, my weakness in drawing people comes with the eyes 😋 Mine are always either too big, too small, make an adult look like a puppy or a baby look like some hardened survivor of war xDxDxD

jlya • 24 May 2020 at 7:33 PM

@qerrats
Lol same, I've often found a kidney on my front porch. xD
xD I'm actually decent with eyes, I learned from someone a while back and they're not fantastic, but not bad. My weakness is feet and hands. Limbs are difficult for me. 😋

qerrats • 24 May 2020 at 9:49 PM

@jlya OH MY GOSH YES xDxD I can get away with feet, assuming I give them socks or shoes, but hands.... *shivers* xD I even went through this stage where ever person I drew wore gloves xDxDxD

jlya • 24 May 2020 at 11:07 PM

@qerrats
Yessss. xD I can't even do shoes or gloves well. 😋 I probably should look up a tutorial or something during the summer. 😱 Add that to my list, lol.

qerrats • 27 May 2020 at 12:10 AM

@jlya xD Yeah, on my list is to achieve walking 20k steps a day (right now I'm at an average of about 11k), learn to draw a realistic Aussiedoodle dog with my charcoals (that's my dog's breed, and the fur is so hard ;-; xD), draw 300 mouse breeds (I know, I'm ambitious, but hey, I got myself some time here xD) and try sending letters to the elder's home a few miles from my house ^^

jlya • 27 May 2020 at 11:41 AM

@qerrats
Wow, that's really cool! 😱 And very ambitious. XD Your list of things is actually useful, lol. Most of mine is stupid stuff I probably won't get around to. ^^'
I do have a couple goals that are productive. Slightly ambitious but definitely obtainable, so I'm going for them. 😃
Also if you manage to draw a realistic Aussiedoodle send me a picture. xD

qerrats • 27 May 2020 at 10:31 PM

@jlya I hate it when I don't complete my goals (no matter how ambitious), so I try to be sensible with my selections xD And yes, if I manage to draw my dog realistically, I'm literally going to post the link to it everywhere imaginable, being like "LOOK AT DIS AT WHAT I ACCOMPLISHED" xDxDxD But I'll need to spend a good amount of time on it, and right now I'm focusing on the mouse thing ^^"

jlya • 28 May 2020 at 1:38 PM

@qerrats
I'm the same way about achieving my goals. I usually set standards too high for myself, though. 😋 Lol, definitely do that, because If you manage to it will certainly be a feat.

qerrats • 28 May 2020 at 5:41 PM

@jlya xD Same, except I just underestimate my laziness xD And I've managed to draw a cartoon-y themed charcoal drawing of him? Except now I'm annoyed with it because it doesn't really look like him and I want him to be holding a frisbee in his mouth ^^"
So, I just looked up this list of ideas for a random act of kindness (because I'm bored xD), and it told me to chose a random number between 1 and 50, and I chose 23. Guess what the act of kindness for 23 was? "Practice self-kindness and spend 30 minutes doing something you love today." -_- xD As if I need more of that... xD But some of them are pretty awesome ideas, and I'll definitely do some of them... ^^

jlya • 4 June 2020 at 3:45 PM

@qerrats
Thought I responded ^^' Ah, me too. xD Well at least that's a start! Lol, isn't that how life goes? When you need to rest yourself you can't, and when you don't need to you have no choice (cough Corona cough cough). I could probably use some self-rest actually. 😋

Also what ever happened to our mascot? xD

qerrats • 6 June 2020 at 3:19 PM

@jlya xD It's fine xD I know, I'm getting so much rest, and I really want to go out and give someone cookies or something, but we're under quarantine, so nope ;-; xD Laminae is still in my cove, ready for someone to take her ^^" She's on her second stage, actually!

jlya • 7 June 2020 at 8:37 PM

@qerrats
Lol.
"Want a cookie?"
"Yeah!"
*Remembers distancing rule* "oh, um..." *Chucks cookie across sidewalk*
Yeah, I saw her in your cove. 😊 We should reboot the Laminae exchange again.