Would You Rather (Book Blog Edition)

Hey, y'all! So this book tag has been floating around Booktube for a few months, and I decided it would be fun to do this because some of these questions are very, very difficult. So let's jump right into it!

1. Read only trilogies or stand alones?

I really wish that one of these was swapped for series, because I love series more than either trilogies or stand-alones. And this is probably one of the harder questions. I have several stand-alones that are very close to my heart, and so many trilogies are really weak. However, I would get so tired of stand-alones, and having three books allows me to get more invested in the world and the characters.

I guess I'm going to have to go with TRILOGIES. Because I'll almost always choose the one that allows me to get more invested with characters and worlds.


2. Read only female or male authors?

This one seemed rather easy to me at first glance, but upon second glance, I realized that it might not be. Harry Potter, The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and the Across The Universe trilogy are very near and dear to my heart, and they were all written by women, as are a large chunk of YA books. However, out of my top 15 stand-alones, a whopping TWELVE are by men, as is the Pendragon series, AKA one of my all-time favorite series ever.

In the end, though, I think I'm still going to have to give it to FEMALE AUTHORS. Because if I couldn't read JK Rowling and Cassandra Clare's books ever again, I would be very sad. Plus, it gives me more options when choosing new books to read. 


3. Shop at Barnes & Noble or Amazon?

This one is one of the least difficult for me. I absolutely love going to a bookstore and picking out books and physically taking them home with me. However, Barnes and Noble is usually a lot more expensive than Amazon. And even if the website says the book is in-store, with my luck, it probably isn't there. I have Amazon Prime, so I can buy books for less expensive and get them in two days. 

I have to go with AMAZON. Although my ideal shopping experience is used bookstores. And Amazon has some shady business practices. But it's inexpensive, which is helpful for me.

4. All books become movies or t.v. shows?

When I first read these questions, I made a hasty decision, but I've since changed my mind. I absolutely have to go with a TV SHOW. Or, depending on the book, a TV mini-series. So if it's a stand-alone, just a mini-series, and then be done with it. Or in the case of Harry Potter, a seven-season long show, with each season being the exact replica of each of the books. So seasons 1-3 would be fairly short, but seasons 4-7 would be massive and epic.

5. Read 5 pages per day or 5 books per week?

I would have to go with FIVE BOOKS PER WEEK. I could always read 4 smaller books if there was one large book I wanted to read, although reading a 1000 page book within one week terrifies me. But yeah, 5 books a week. Although I don't know where I would find the time for that.

6. Be a professional reviewer or author?

This was probably the easiest question on this list. AUTHOR. AUTHOR. AUTHOR. It's been my dream job since I was an infant. Unfortunately, I have to be realistic and work on my novels on the side while balancing school and work and blog, but it's still a dream of mine. And I honestly don't think I'm a great reviewer, which is why I call my reviews "discussions" because I don't feel like I'm objective enough to be a good reviewer. 

7. Only read your top 20 favorite books over and over or always read new ones that you haven't read before?

As a notorious re-reader, this is actually really tough for me. I've seen so many people say "oh, I don't like re-reading that much, so this is so easy!" but that's definitely not me. I love re-reading books. I've read some of my favorite books like... 20 times. When I really love characters and a world, I love re-experiencing things and noticing new things that I'd missed before. However, 20 books is not that many. That's like... Harry Potter, The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments, and probably my 3 favorite stand-alones. Not only is that neglecting all of my other favorite books, but also any new books I could ever enjoy. So I have to choose to ALWAYS READ NEW BOOKS THAT I HAVEN'T READ BEFORE.

8. Be a librarian or book seller?

If you've been following my blog for very long, you might know that when I finish with my undergrad, I plan to continue to grad school and get a dual degree in library science and musicology because I want to be a music librarian. However, I think it would be really cool to be a book seller too. I would never want to work in Barnes and Noble or in a public library at the front desk. Not my thing. However, I think it would be really cool to own an independent bookstore. And obviously, I would love to work in an academic library as a music librarian. I would also enjoy working as a cataloging librarian as well. Even though the independent bookstore option sounds really great, I'd still have to choose LIBRARIAN. I mean, that's what I'm going to school for. DUH.

9. Only read your favorite genre, or every genre except your favorite?

Well... I have two favorite genres (Fantasy and Dystopian!) so I'm just going to work off the assumption that both count as my favorite genre. Honestly, even if I had to choose between the two, I think I would still choose to ONLY READ MY FAVORITE GENRE. Most people have been choosing to read every genre except their favorite because it's less limiting, but I have to choose the opposite. If I had to choose a single genre, I'd probably pick fantasy. There are like 20 billion fantasy novels. And often, fantasy is mixed with other genres, so that gives me even more options. Plus, if I couldn't read fantasy, I couldn't read any of my favorite series. That just wouldn't work. 
 
10. Only read physical books or eBooks?

eBooks are really convenient for travel, but I will always, always choose PHYSICAL BOOKS. I love going to used bookstores and dream of having a home with shelves and shelves full of books. I will never give up on physical books. They're great.

That's all for Would You Rather Book Blog Edition. These questions were really tricky, but this was lots of fun!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow so that I know you're enjoying what I'm posting! See y'all soon!

28 Day Would You Rather Challenge (Times 2!)

Hey, y'all! Today I'll be doing my first One Day Tumblr Challenge post of the month! I actually decided to do two challenges within this post because they go together and each one is fairly short. So here we go, the two 28 Day Would You Rather challenges!

1) Live without music or live without TV?

Well, this one is fairly easy for me. Nearly all of the shows that I actually watch, I watch on Hulu or on Netflix. So I don't really watch actual TV very often. And I'm a music major. So I'd rather live without TV.

2) Eat a bar of soap or drink a bottle of dish washing liquid?
My thought process behind this is that regardless of how fast you can chew, it's going to take a long time to eat soap, and you'll be tasting it the entire time. With the liquid soap, you can just chug it and hopefully barely taste it. So I'm going to choose drinking a bottle of dish washing liquid.

3) Hold your pee forever of have an uncontrollable bladder?

It would be really uncomfortable, but I guess I would have to hold my pee forever. I mean, an uncontrollable bladder would be incredibly embarrassing. Unless I wore adult diapers or something.

4) Be called a racist or a traitor to your country?
I guess a traitor to my country. I can always move!

5) Be trapped in an elevator with wet dogs or with three fat men with bad breath?

Wet dogs. They might smell bad but they'd probably at least be cute.

6) Lose your legs or lose your arms?

I would definitely rather lose my legs. Feet don't have the same fine motor skills as hands and fingers, so I would be losing much, much more by losing my arms. I could get prosthetic legs that would do most of my legs' job for me. And probably wouldn't tire as quickly.

7) Have a beautiful house and an ugly car or an ugly house and a beautiful car?

A beautiful house and an ugly car. I spend much, much more time in my house than in my car, so I'd rather it be nice. I don't care if anyone else thinks my car looks stupid.

8) Be blind or deaf?

I've thought about this a lot and still have trouble deciding. I guess I would go with deaf because first off, I could function without a ton of assistance. I could watch shows using (admittedly terrible) captions. Additionally, doctors have begun being able to give deaf people devices to hear, so I might not even have to deal with actually being deaf.

9) Live in Antarctica or Death Valley?

Death Valley. I'd rather be too warm. I hate the cold.

10) Find true love or 10 million dollars?

A few years ago, I think I would have answered with find true love rather quickly, but at this point, I don't think I would say that. I very much like being myself, and honestly wouldn't mind if I ended up single for my entire life. So I think that at this point in my life, I would prefer the 10 million dollars.

11) Always say what's on your mind or never speak again?

Always say what's on my mind. It would suck, but the alternative is much worse.

12) Have pom-poms for hands or glow sticks for fingers?

Glow sticks for fingers. That would be super cool. Only a cheerleader would prefer the pom-poms.

13) Be able to hear any conversation or take back what you said?

Be able to hear any conversation. I'm not one to dwell on the past or worry about anything I said or did. I am however, one of the most curious human beings on the face of this planet, and I would love to know what other people are talking about.

14) End hunger or hatred?

Ooh, this one is a toughie. I think I would rather end hunger. I feel like that could serve to alleviate the hatred problem just a smidge.

15) Always lose or never play?

I wanted to say always lose, but honestly, I'd say never play. If I'm going to constantly put effort into something and constantly fail, I'd just rather not put the effort into it. What can I say, I'm lazy. Sorry, not sorry.

16) Fly when you fart or pee when you laugh?

Fly when I fart. That's at least fun. Peeing when laughing would be embarrassing, especially since I laugh so much.

17) Know it all or have it all?

Know it all. No question. I'm an insatiably curious person and I want to literally know everything. 

18) Give bad advice or take bad advice?

Give bad advice. That's basically how my life works right now, and it's working pretty well for me. Eventually people will/ would stop asking me for advice.

19) Have a mansion in the middle of nowhere or an apartment with 10 friends?

A mansion in the middle of nowhere sounds absolutely perfect. As long as that "middle of nowhere" is grassy and pretty rather than like a desert or something. I like being by myself, so living with 10 friends sounds terrifying.

20) Be forgotten or hatefully remembered?

That's basically like asking whether I'd rather be Hitler or some random unknown person. So I'd rather be forgotten. 

21) Not be able to use your phone or your email?

My email. I use my phone all the time, and only really use my email for school and blog stuff, so it wouldn't be completely disastrous if I didn't have it. I'd just have to call a lot more than I do now.

22) Be rich with an unhappy job or make less money with a job you like?

I'd rather make less money with a job I like. This is also basically my life. I'm going to do a job I really want to do, but it's not the best paying thing in the world.

23) Be able to read everyone's mind all the time or always know their future?

That's a toughie. I think it would be cool to read minds, but I'd also have to be able to filter out the really random stuff and the stuff the fleeting thoughts that they didn't actually mean. So I think I'd rather always know their future just because that's at least a little more concrete.

24) Eat a handful of hair or lick three public phones?

Eat a handful of hair. It would be gross, but I could just eat my own hair, knowing I wouldn't get any sort of weird diseases or get sick or anything.

25) Be schizophrenic or have amnesia?

Amnesia. I'd rather forget stuff than not be able to be a functioning adult.

26) Talk like Yoda or breathe like Darth Vader?

Breathe like Darth Vader. That might actually be cool, but talking like Yoda would just be annoying.

27) Marry a vain person or a person with poor image?

I would much rather marry a person with poor image. Vanity in a person is one of the least attractive traits ever. Even more unattractive than being physically unattractive.

28) Eat 30 pounds of cheese in one sitting or a bucket of peanut butter without water?

A bucket of peanut butter without water. At least I wouldn't get sick by doing that. I would vomit several times if I had to eat 30 pounds of cheese in a single sitting.

1) Get Fridays off or get Mondays off?

I would prefer to get Fridays off. That would be a dream come true.

2) Find true love or 10 million dollars?

Oops repeat question from the first. Like I said on the other one, I'd choose 10 million dollars.

3) Lose half of your hair or lose half your hearing?

Half of my hair. It could be like spread out throughout my hair and not just in one place, so it wouldn't be as bad. Plus, I could totally just get hair plugs or something like that.

4) Be poor and work at a job you love or be rich and work at a job you hate?

This is pretty much like the question from the other one. I would rather be poor and work at a job I love.

5) Go without the internet or a car for a month?

Go without a car for a month. I have a roommate who could drive me around if I needed her to. I don't know what I'd do without the internet.

6) Have to sit all day or stand all day?

Have to sit all day. That's basically how I spend my life right now anyway.

7) Dump someone else or be the person getting dumped?

Dump someone else. Yes, you're the bad guy, but it hurts less.

8) Drink a cup of spoiled milk or pee your pants in public?

Ooh, this one really sucks. I guess I'd rather pee my pants in public. I could pretend I sat in water or something.

9) Have your flight delayed by 8 hours or lose your luggage?

Have my flight delayed by 8 hours. I could use some free wifi and just use the internet, per usual. Losing my luggage would really suck, because I tend to take my favorite stuff with me on a trip.

10) Be in your pajamas all day or in a suit all day?

Is this even an actual question? I'd rather be in my pajamas all day. Duh!

11) Have a missing finger or have an extra toe?

An extra toe. As someone who plays a stringed instrument and does a lot of typing, losing a finger would take a long time to recover from. Having an extra toe would probably not be too much of a hassle.

12) Never use the internet again or never watch TV again?

Never watch TV again. I spend much less time watching TV, and could totally watch TV shows online. So that's kinda the obvious choice.

13) Be invisible or have super speed?

I'm assuming that this means I could become invisible whenever I wanted, not that I would be in a constant state of invisibility. In that case, I'd rather be invisible. 

14) Have an extra hour every day or have $40 given to you free and clear every day?

An extra hour would definitely be really handy, but I think that $280 dollars a week would be even more handy. So I'd rather have $40 given to me free and clear every day. 

15) Have a photographic memory or be able to forget anything you wanted?

I think I would prefer to have a photographic memory. I'm not one to dwell on the negatives of the past, so while it would be nice to forget some stuff, I feel like it would still come back to haunt me, and nothing in my past is really haunting enough to upset me too much.

16) Able to lie without being caught or always be able to tell when someone is lying?

Always be able to tell when someone is lying to me. I feel like this would be more handy to me in my life because I tend to not get into situations where lying is necessary.

17) Be a clown that distracts the bull or the bull rider on the bull?

The bull rider on the bull. I think that would be kinda cool to do just once.

18) Be known as a drug dealer or be known as a liar?

Be known as a liar. Because I could use that to my advantage. Being known as a drug dealer might get me killed.

19) Eat only KFC for a month or eat only Taco Bell for a year?

Only KFC for a month. I like Taco Bell, but it gets old really quickly. I could eat fried chicken forever though.

20) Be your favorite video game character or be your favorite movie character?

Well, my favorite video game character is probably Spyro. I'm not sure I have a favorite movie character. I really like Emma Stone's character in The Rocker, and it would be really cool to have her life, so I guess I'd rather be my favorite movie character. 

21) Run 26 miles or swim 5 miles?

Swim 5 miles. I like swimming more than running. I would probably get kinda tired, but I think I'd survive. Running 26 miles would be terrible.

22) Hold your pee all day or go pee every 5 minutes?

I'd probably prefer to go pee every 5 minutes. Holding pee is one of those all-consuming thoughts and I'm not sure I could get anything done if I had to do that all day.

23) Be a famous rapper or be a notorious mobster?

I don't really like rap and this isn't even a thought. I'd rather be a famous rapper. If I were a notorious mobster, people would probably be after me to kill me!

24) Be eaten by a zombie or be burnt at the stake?

Ooh, this one is a toughie. I guess I'd rather be burnt at the stake. Burning sounds slightly less painful than being ripped limb from limb.

25) Never drink soda again or never eat pizza again?

Well, this sucks because these are two of my favorite things ever. However, I drink somewhere around 30-50 oz of soda in any given day, and only get pizza occasionally, so I'd have to choose to never eat pizza again.

26) See everything blurry or see everything in black and white?

I guess it depends. Seeing everything blurry would basically be like having bad eyesight, right? So I guess I could just get glasses/ contacts to fix that and it wouldn't really have much of an effect on my life. However, if it was too bad to fix with glasses, then black and white wouldn't be bad at all. So I guess I'd say see everything blurry unless it couldn't be remedied with glasses.

27) Be stuck in a room with dead bodies or eat 5 spiders?

I guess that all depends on how long I was stuck in that room. If it wasn't for a terribly long time, I'd rather be stuck in a room with dead bodies. 

28) Be deaf and have no legs or be blind with no arms?

Be deaf and have no legs. Losing my eyesight and arms would each be more devastating than their counterparts. 

So there we go, those are the 2 Would You Rather challenges! I hope you enjoyed this! I thought it was pretty fun.

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow so that I know you're enjoying what I'm posting! See y'all soon!

Falling In Reverse- The Drug in Me Is You

Hey, y'all!

So, you've probably realized I was missing last week (as was addressed in a post on Saturday) and then didn't post Tuesday. I'm not gone! As I said in my last post, I didn't have internet at the place we were staying over spring break (which is ridiculous, because hotels have free wifi, but this CONDO didn't). Then, I got back from break and was playing catch-up. My homework piled up big-time, and I actually fell asleep with my laptop laying on my stomach last night. BUT, I was finally able to finish this up and get it posted. There will still be a new post Saturday, per usual!

ANYWAY... It's time for me to talk about another CD on my shelf! As always, I put my iTunes on shuffle, and the CD containing the first song that played is the one I'll be talking about!

Release Date: July 26, 2011

Genre: Post-Hardcore, Alternative

Track Listing

1. Raised by Wolves
2. Tragic Magic
3. The Drug in Me Is You
4. I'm Not A Vampire
5. Good Girls, Bad Guys
6. Pick Up The Phone
7. Don't Mess With Ouija Boards
8. Sink or Swim
9. Caught Like a Fly
10. Goodbye Graceful
11. The Westerner

Falling In Reverse lineup on this CD:
Ronnie Radke- lead vocals
Jacky Vincent- lead guitar
Derek Jones- rhythm guitar
Nason Schoeffler- bass guitar
Scott Gee- drums, percussion

About Falling In Reverse: 
When Ronnie Radke was arrested in 2008, he was kicked out of Escape the Fate, the band he was singing for at the time. Falling In Reverse was actually formed while he was in prison, and they even began putting out music while he was still in prison. When he was released from prison in December 2010, the band began recording their debut CD, The Drug in Me Is You. Their sophomore release, Fashionably Late, was released in June 2013.

My Opinion about Falling In Reverse:
I have really mixed feelings about this band. First off, I don't like Ronnie Radke as a person. I think he's a complete jerk who needs to grow up and pull himself together. As far as their music, I'm very torn. Half of their music is stuff I really enjoy and think is really great. The other half is so bad it's good- guilty pleasure music. I'm very confused how that music could come from the same person.

About the CD:  

As I said earlier, this CD was recorded almost immediately after Ronnie was released from prison. The sound on this CD is fairly consistent (especially when compared to their second CD) and it is the post-hardcore sound which I consider to be the Falling In Reverse "sound". Guitar solos, which are some of Falling In Reverse's best moments, are all over the place in this CD, and it improves it significantly.

IMHO: 
This is my favorite Falling In Reverse CD. I like the consistent sound much better than their completely disjointed sophomore release featuring everything from post-hardcore, to rap, to country. Although this CD still has some songs that are so bad they're good, but overall, I enjoy it.

As always, I'm going to give each song a rating out of 10 and then give a brief explanation of why it got that rating. 


Raised by Wolves- 9.5/10. It's a really strong opener. Really catchy and a great mix of clean and unclean vocals!
Tragic Magic- 8.5/10. One of many songs where Ronnie is writing about himself and being arrogant, but I really like the breakdown in the second half of the song.
The Drug in Me Is You- 9.5/10. I completely love the guitar in this song. The chorus and verses are really different, but both really great. And I love the bass in the verses. It's great.
I'm Not A Vampire- 10/10. My favorite song on the CD. I think it's really fun. It has some of the silly Ronnie lyrics, but they make me laugh rather than roll my eyes (Hi, my name is Ronnie, I'm an addict/ Daddy should've never raised me on Black Sabbath... I just love it!). And the guitar and bass parts are great.

Good Girls, Bad Guys- 9/10. I'm so mixed on this song. I really love the music but the lyrics are abysmal. (Just wanna kiss your lips/ the ones between your hips; sexy, please text me/ I'm ready for you... REALLY?). I hate the lyrics but it's just so catchy that I can't hate it or that great guitar solo. But it loses points for those terrible lyrics.
Pick Up The Phone- 9.5/10. Once again with these bass parts that I love. I also really like vocals on this one. Yes, for once, Ronnie Radke is one of the main reasons I like a song. Shocking.
Don't Mess With Ouija Boards- 8.5/10. I'm not sure what it is about the unclean vocals in this song... but I just don't like them. Usually I'm a pretty big fan of Falling In Reverse's use of unclean vocals, but the unclean vocals for the first half of this song aren't my favorite. I like the breakdown in the middle, though! I guess they're just a bit too heavy-handed. But otherwise I like the song!
Sink or Swim- 8.5/10. I thought the unclean vocals were a little heavy-handed in this one as well, but otherwise, it's a really interesting, and pretty eclectic song.
Caught Like a Fly- 9/10. I love the carnival-like sound. It's really cool and unique! And for once I really enjoy Ronnie being kinda angsty.
Goodbye Graceful- 8/10. This is the least played song on the CD. I think I just overlook it a lot because overall, all the songs on this CD are great, and this one's just kinda average.
The Westerner- 9/10. Oh look, another one all about Ronnie! But really like this one. Like Sink or Swim, this one is kinda eclectic. It transitions through several markedly different sections, each of which is really great.

Favorite Songs: I'm Not A Vampire, The Drug in Me Is You, Raised By Wolves, and Pick Up The Phone

Least Favorite Songs: Goodbye Graceful- it just gets lost in the mix.

Video! 

I'm Not A Vampire music video

The Drug In Me is You music video

Rating: 9/10. The average is about a 9, and I think that's accurate. It's good but not absolutely spectacular.

Hope you liked my newest "The CDs on my Shelf" post! Have any questions? What did you think of Falling In Reverse? Let me know in the comments. If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow, because it lets me know y'all are liking them! Hope you enjoyed! Comment, comment, comment! I love feedback! Thanks for reading!

Book of the Month: You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney

Hey, y'all! One of my goals for 2014 is to read at least one non-school related book per month. I have a separate reading goal for over the summer, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there! Anyway, I realized that since I've been in college, constantly surrounded by friends, and bombarded by homework, I haven't had time to read. Or, at least, I haven't taken the time to read. I mean, I haven't even reread Harry Potter in the last couple years, which is a crime in itself.

I figured that since I'm attempting this goal, I should blog about it (because whenever I ask myself if I should blog about something, my mental response is "why not?!"). As of now, I haven't chosen a book for February yet, but I have a feeling that by the end of this, I'll have chosen one. It'll probably be pictured at the end of this post. I do, however, already have a March book chosen, because there's a rather large book I've been wanting to read, and I'll have a bit more time to read while travelling in March.

Alright, on to the book! My January choice was You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney. Ever since I decided to study Psychology (along with my Music major), I've had a growing interest in nonfiction Psych books. I know, I know, when you hear the word nonfiction, it conjures thoughts of stuffy, boring books with overly intellectual prose that will put you to sleep. That's definitely not the case with this book.

You Are Not So Smart takes almost anything you believe about life and turns it on its head. McRaney takes you through 48 ways you're deluding yourself into believing something that just isn't true. If you're like me, you see this as a bit of a challenge. "Of course I'm not deluding myself! I've actually taken the time to think about my decisions and what influenced them." Cue a chapter about introspection and how you make things up to explain your decisions and opinions.

One thing that I really liked about this book is that McRaney never talks down to you. He's a journalist, not a psychologist, so he doesn't speak to you with technical terms that you don't understand. He explains concepts as if he's a friend, not someone with a Psychology doctorate trying to dumb things down for you to understand. He's already explaining why you're not so smart, so no one would want to continue reading if they felt like the author was talking down to them. There's also a very lighthearted and clever tone to his writing, which keeps the reader engaged. You can tell upon reading the book that he's a funny and witty person. Another thing that he does which I really like is that he speaks directly to the reader several times, presenting a scenario and asking the reader to react to it. Usually he uses this to show you why you're just as deluded as everyone else.

Another factor to this book that I really enjoy is that it's divided into 48 chapters, each focusing on one of the ways people delude themselves. McRaney covers topics as well known as brand loyalty (c'mon, you didn't think you were loyal to just one brand because all their products are perfect, did you?), ones that are fairly commonplace in Psychology, like the Confirmation Bias, to completely random ones like "The Public Goods Game." 48 chapters may seem like a lot, but each chapter is short, and makes it easy to read it in small snippets of time, which is basically all I really have for reading.

Overall, I really enjoyed You Are Not So Smart. I feel like it's a book that is marketable to a much wider audience than most Psych books. Everyone at one point or another has wondered why they or someone else did something, and I feel like this book could explain almost any of those situations. There is a sequel out called You Are Now Less Dumb, and I might pick it up for an upcoming month.

As I predicted at the top, I have decided on a book, and already went out and bought it.

I'm obviously not going to talk about it in detail since I haven't read it and I'm going to do it next month once it's done, but it seems creepy and oddball, which is totally my thing. It's been sitting on my desk since Sunday and I really want to get started on it, but I'm not allowed to start until February. I'll probably post these "book of the month" posts either the last or second-to-last day of the month, depending upon where that falls. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed my little mini-review of You Are Not So Smart. Have you read it? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments! Don't forget to check back Saturday for chapter 2 of The Secret Lightning Scar! If you enjoy my posts, make sure to subscribe/follow, as it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. Thanks, y'all!

WorldVentures/ Dream Trips "You Should Be Here" Sign, Pyramid Scheme SCAM

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Update:1/2/21

I just reread this post for the first time in several years, and wanted to make this quick note at the beginning. I wrote this over 7 years ago, before I knew what an MLM was, and now that I do know, I feel like a lot of this post is not well written. If I were to write it again today, I could be much more articulate about the issues inherent in MLM companies, debunk their favorite spiels, and better explain why they are pyramid schemes and scams. Because yes, I do fully stand by my prior statement that WorldVentures and other MLMs, yes, ALL MLMs, are scams and pyramid schemes. And I won't explain that here & now, because there's an entire YouTube community dedicated to exposing them, and they've explained it much better than I ever could.

Side note, if you Google WorldVentures MLM now, you'll see all kinds of discussions about them being a pyramid scheme, which definitely feels good after seeing all the old hunbot comments on this post trying to claim I'm an idiot with no idea what I'm talking about (I mean, I kinda was, but also I was RIGHT). 

Nonetheless, the post below is my own personal experience with a WorldVentures rep & I would urge you to check out MLM content on YouTube if you'd like to learn more about why MLMs, on the whole, are pyramid schemes and should be illegal (and in some places, the law has done its due diligence and done just that!). 

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ALSO: Please check out my recent update post about this HERE before making any sort of judgments or opinions. Thanks!

I'm posting this to at least 2 of my blogs, because I really want to get this one out there, to make sure no one falls into this well-hidden trap. Please share this so that everyone can learn more about this, and will know everything about it if the situation is presented to them. I want everyone to know that this scheme should be avoided at all costs. Please don't fall victim to it. So, let me share my story of WorldVentures/ Dream Trips with you.

A few days ago, I got a message on Facebook from a girl I hadn't seen in a few years. The odd thing was that I'd never been close with this girl. We had one class together in 10th grade (which is *almost* four years ago for me) and even then, we didn't really talk. If we had to work together on a project, we did, but the only thing we really had in common was that one of my closest friends was friends with her. One of us added the other on Facebook (at this point, I have no idea which it was) and once the class ended, we went our separate ways and haven't seen each other or spoken since.

That is, until a few days ago. Out of the blue, she messaged me on Facebook. I thought it was a little odd that someone I barely knew was talking to me for the first time in 3ish years, but I figured that she might just have seen a post of mine and wanted to know me better, or maybe even that she was soon going to ask me "hey, where do I know you from?" But neither of these turned out to be the case.

We talked a bit about what was going on in our lives, where we were going to school now, and everything seemed to be pretty normal. My first uneasy feeling came when, instead of just responding to a message, she sent me a picture. I won't share the actual picture for privacy reasons, but it's not unlike this one I found online:

Her picture had less people in it, and was a big city in the nighttime, but generally, the same thing. This picture was accompanied by the question "have you ever seen this blue sign before?" My first reaction was just confusion. It seemed so out of the blue. I looked at it, and at first glance, a couple of the people in the picture looked like some friends of mine, and this seemed to explain it. On second glance, I realized that no, none of my friends were in this picture, and that the girl who sent it was the only person in it that I knew. So, I got kinda confused. Why was she sending me this? She then said that the meaning behind the sign was really cool and asked for my number. I was a little hesitant, but I gave it to her. At this point, I was starting to think that maybe this sign had some inspirational meaning or story, and that she wanted me to hear it and donate money to a cause... or maybe that it had some religious meaning and that she was trying to convert me.

But then she asked if she could call. I really hate calling, so I just replied that I'd prefer to text, because I was busy and didn't have time for a phone conversation. When she responded that she wanted to play some sort of audio for me, I got extremely suspicious. I really didn't want to listen to whatever audio she wanted to play, but I didn't want to be rude and just blow her off. So, I decided to find out a little bit about it myself.

When I googled it, I discovered that the sign was kinda a marketing tool for WorldVentures' DreamTrips. At this point, I realized that this 'friend' was probably trying to get me to join/buy something, but I didn't know anything else until I came across an article saying it was a pyramid scheme, so I continued my search by trying to find out information about the pyramid scheme.
One very helpful website that I found was this:
http://natewienert.com/dreamtrips-aka-worldventures-pyramid-scheme-scam

This is where I learned most of my information about the pyramid scheme. Basically, this company claims to offer some extremely low rates on travel for their members. The membership is about $200 to join, with fees around $50 per month. Here's the catch that makes it a very cleverly hidden pyramid scheme. A member who joins is able to waive their membership fee by getting 6 friends to join as well. Now, according to what I've seen, the scam part is that the membership really doesn't save you money. Their prices aren't really better than other sites. I can't verify this for sure, because I haven't looked into it. But it certainly doesn't seem to be worth the trouble you have to go through to actually get 6 friends to join. And obviously, it isn't even guaranteed that you'll find 6 who will buy into it.

Now, after gaining this information, I was almost positive that this girl was just trying to get me to buy a membership. But, I didn't want to be blunt yet, so I simply told her I looked into the sign a bit, and asked if she had a membership with the company. Her response was that she should really give me the information herself rather than me reading online, but that yes, she was a member. This was all I was really looking for. I simply let her know (as nicely, yet bluntly as possible) that I was aware of what she was trying to do and that I wasn't interested. I also suggested that she get out of the membership, because it was pretty much just a scam. This has gone unanswered which just shows that I ended up being correct.

I'm saying all this to show not only what this company and membership is, but to also give a different perspective from the blog I got information from. He was approached in person, while I was approached via the internet. Obviously, I had a bit of an advantage over him, because I was not face-to-face with this girl and could freely search for as long as I wanted, and therefore could get all the info I needed.

I think one key thing that both of our experiences share is that we were both approached by someone we were not in contact with for a while beforehand. While he was approached by a friend he hadn't seen in years, I was approached by an acquaintance I hadn't talked to in a few years. I hate to say that this is a red flag, but it might be something to look for. This is probably someone you either haven't talked to in a while, or don't know extremely well. If someone like this contacts you, and you talk for a while without getting any explanation from them as to WHY they randomly contacted you, it's definitely a good idea to ask (although I feel like most people would do this anyway just out of curiosity). I think that asking for your number is also one that you should watch out for, because you already have a means of communication that is working (of course, they could simply prefer texting or calling, or be stepping away from the computer for a while and don't have a smartphone). These different "red flags" clearly pale in comparison to any mention of the company, Dream Trips, or the you should be here sign. This could also be followed, as was done with me, by the person wanting you to listen to some sort of audio recording about the sign or the company. At first mention of anything related to this company, I would suggest trying to establish whether or not they have a membership in the company. Even if they mention some audio they want you to hear, but don't mention the company, I'd ask further before giving it any of your time. If they do admit to having a membership with WorldVentures, it's probably best to be upfront about what you know, so that they don't waste time on you, and you don't have to listen to them trying to sell you anything. Along with this, I would suggest that you let the person know that they too should probably avoid the situation, and that they aren't going to be helped by being a part of this. ( I think this part works for any pyramid scheme, not just this one) This shows them that you're not trying to be rude, and could possibly show them that they aren't in a good spot.

I hope this has helped you out a bit, and even if you haven't been approached by someone about this, I hope I've given you some good info in case you're approached by someone about the membership. If you thought this was helpful, please share, because I don't want anyone to fall into this trap.

The following was posted as a comment at the beginning of December, but I'm putting it on the main post so it's more visible.

Hi Everyone,
As you all can see, I have stopped responding to comments, both positive and negative. I honestly just don't have the time to go through each and every comment and give feedback. To those of you who have voiced your opinions in a polite and respectful manner, thank you! I sincerely appreciate feedback, even if you disagree with me. However, if your sole intent is to be rude, to bash me, or to make me look stupid, don't waste your time typing out a hateful comment. It only serves to make you look brainwashed and desperate to save a company that you're too tightly woven into to recognize a single flaw. Honestly, I find it funny that half of the people who try to insult my intelligence can't even manage to put together a single grammatically correct sentence. This blog post is based upon my experiences, and the experiences of others. I have never claimed that anything I learned about the company could be considered "research." Those who aim to bash me have used that term, but I literally just googled it in search of other people's experiences. I have never claimed to be a business expert. I have simply stated my experience with a member, and have discussed concerns that others have had. The vast number of unhappy members/former members and the many people who have been approached in the same way as I was should ALL be signs of a failing business model, scam or no scam (although I do still stand by my "scam" belief). If you can't see that, then I fail to see how I'm the ignorant and illogical person in this situation.