Posts

Showing posts from September, 2014

Stacking The Shelves (27/09/2014) *zombie noises*


This week has been horrible, I've been walking round with a stomach bug like I'm about to turn into a zombie at any moment, so I might as well start acting like it. I finally got my ass in gear today and went outside for some fresh air... which seems to have cured me. I now have a ton of reviews to write but I haven't read much this week anyway, just The Raft. I have started Trial By Fire and I've nearly finished In The End though, which is terrible. Ergh.


Acquired This Week


For a sick person, I sure do acquire books. I've been waiting to get my hands on copies of Afterworlds and A Little In Love for MONTHS. Afterworlds spine is just amazing, I keep stroking it for no particular reason. A Little In Love is Eponine's story from Les Miserables and has inspired me to actually try and read the original book, because apparently I'm crazy.

5 Things I Do Outside Of Blogging

Bloggers are unusual people, and I often find that what a blogger does outside of blogging really surprising - but that information isn't often known! If you have 10 (or more) things you want to tell people, feel free to make your own post. And then link me to it so I can stalk you.


1. I play and excessive amount of Facebook games. It's kind of embarrasing. I loved the Facebook simulation games like Cafe World, Fashion World and even Social City or whatever it was called, but sadly all of these have now been closed. So I'm left madly playing Bubble Witch 2 and Slotomania...


2. I cross stitch. This is better known, as I have links to my Etsy page on the side bar. I've been cross stitching since I was 13 and... I'm really good at it. *shameless brag*


3. I collect things. I've always been a bit of a collector. My biggest collection is Kinder Surprise toys, which you have never heard of if you're American because they're banned in your country. Pretty sad. I have boxes and boxes of these toys that I need to sort out... when I get a chance! I also collect Lego figures and some small Hello Kitty figures.

Christmas ones are harder to get, and worth more. This one's a penguin with a parachute. Stop judging me.

4. I seem to have turned book hunting into an art form. Normal people just go out and buy books, but I actually spend a lot of time trying to find new places to get books cheaply. I've been to charity shops in Blackpool, Whitby, Somerset, York, Leeds, London and probably a few more places too. Last week I found 6 YA books for £1 each in a shop that sells wool, which was a weird moment.

Pretty sure most readers relate to the towering bookshelves.

5. Photography! I like to take photographs of things. Yep... bout it really. I do have a pigeon obsession though.


Review of 1984 by George Orwell

Format: Paperback
Genres: Dystopia, Classics,
Pages: 326
Publisher: Penguin Books
Release Date: 1949
Find The Author: Website 

Abe Books ¦ Book Depository ¦ Goodreads


Winston Smith works for the Ministry of truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. Despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, Winston and Julia begin to question the Party; they are drawn towards conspiracy. Yet Big Brother will not tolerate dissent - even in the mind. For those with original thoughts they invented Room 101 . . .

Ninteen Eighty-Four is George Orwell's terrifying vision of a totalitarian future in which everything and everyone is slave to a tyrannical regime.



1984 isn't the usual sort of book I would pick up, you only have to see my Goodreads page or my blog to know that. I usually stick pretty solidly with young adult books, but I've always been curious about cult classic like Fight Club and A Clockwork Orange, both of which have movies I love. I thought 1984 would be a good choice for me because I love the Dystopia genre but sadly, I was wrong.

I spent a lot of time hating reading this book, but I was determined to finish it, just to say that I had read it. I found a lot of problems. The first was the characters. Winston himself and most of the other characters are just... cardboard. There's nothing really there. Easily forgettable, and I never cared very much for Winston or whether he would survive the book.

Another problem was well, the whole concept. I did have a little difficulty swallowing the idea that in about 20 years, the entire world had changed so much as to divide into 3 super states, or whatever they were called. It just seemed too far fetched that anyone could take over that quickly, and have the entire population under their thumb that quickly too.

I was expecting that introduction of Julie to really speed up the story, and it did a little. Guess what, I had a serious problem with Julie too. You may have heard this term attributed to John Green's girls, but Julie really was a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She had no real personality and I had no idea why this young girl loved Winston, a guy in (or nearing?) his forties.

Julie did start off Winston questioning the system, breaking the rules and starting to do something, as per her MPDG requirements... even if breaking the rules was so they could have somewhere quiet to have sex. A lot. Thankfully, Julie magically never got pregnant, because if she did there would sure be a lot of questioning going on.

About three quarters into the story we come across what can only be described as a text book by me, and wonderful by Julie. We're 'treated' to this text book for freaking thirty pages without a break inbetween, which has a lot of details about the war, without me actually understanding how these powers took over so quickly. I nearly fell asleep on numerous occasions.

The ending was okay. It was certainly stronger than the rest of the book and it wasn't the ending I was fully expecting, which was a nice surprise. Honestly, I was just glad to finish it finally, it took me about 6 days in total, rather than my usual 1-2. I don't think I'll be picking this book up again.


Review of Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

Format: Paperback
Genres: Childrens, Historical
Pages: 288
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Release Date: 26/02/2013
Find The Author: Twitter
Abe Books ¦ Book Depository ¦ Goodreads


Everyone thinks that Sophie is an orphan. True, there were no other recorded female survivors from the shipwreck which left baby Sophie floating in the English Channel in a cello case, but Sophie remembers seeing her mother wave for help. Her guardian tells her it is almost impossible that her mother is still alive, but that means still possible. You should never ignore a possible. So when the Welfare Agency writes to her guardian threatening to send Sophie to an orphanage, she takes matters into her own hands and flees to Paris to look for her mother, starting with the only clue she has - the address of the cello maker. Evading the French authorities, she meets Matteo and his network of rooftoppers - urchins who live in the sky. Together they scour the city for Sophie's mother before she is caught and sent back to London, and most importantly before she loses hope.




I love stories like this, full of dreams and hope in a world where anything is possible. As a baby, Sophie is found by a man called Charles after her ship is wrecked. He raises her the best he can and she grows up to be resourceful and intelligent. Finding themselves in Paris, searching for Sophie's mother, Sophie meets the Rooftoppers, children who have made their home on the roofs of Paris.

A strange thing I noticed about this book's description was the complete lack of mention of Sophie's Guardian coming with Sophie to Paris. Charles is my favourite character in the story, and very important. He knows how to bring up a child, but not in the 'proper' way the government insists on. To avoid them getting separated, as well as trying to grant Sophie's wish, he makes the arrangements to travel to Paris. 

The writing style is just lovely, with an almost musical quality to it. “He was thirty-six years old, and six foot three. He spoke English to people and French to cats, and Latin to the birds. He had once nearly killed himself trying to read and ride a horse at the same time.” is just one example of the many times I laughed out loud.

The introduction of the Rooftoppers really added to the story, and added a lot of suspense too! I was pretty worried about Sophie, scrambling along the Rooftops, trying to keep up with Matteo. They made a great pair though and I almost forgot about Sophie's goal to find her mother.

I've been reading more children's books lately, and this one made me want to read even more. Often young adult books deal with difficult subjects with bittersweet endings, so it was nice to dive into a book where I was almost certain I'd leave with a smile on my face and a great ending for the characters involved, which I did.


Review of The Trap by Andrew Fukuda

Series: The Hunt #3
Format: eBook
Genres: Vampires, Paranormal, Fantasy
Pages: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 24/10/2013
Find The Author: Website ¦ Twitter
Abe Books ¦ Book Depository ¦ Goodreads


After barely escaping the Mission alive, Gene and Sissy face an impossible task: staying alive long enough to stop an entire world bent on their destruction. Bound on a train heading into the unknown with the surviving Mission girls, Gene, Sissy, David, and Epap must stick together and use everything they have to protect each other and their only hope: the cure that will turn the blood-thirsty creatures around them into humans again. Now that they know how to reverse the virus, Gene and Sissy have one final chance to save those they love and create a better life for...

 
The third and final? book in the Hunt series, this continues where we left off, in a train bound to some unknown destination. Gene and Sissy later find themselves back where they started, in a city filled with millions of Vampires. This final book often some pretty amazing plot twists that I really enjoyed and some amazing word play. Some loose ends were not tied up sadly and I was left wanting more. Still, it was an incredible ride!

When we're throw back into the story, we find ourselves hurtling across The Vast (giant barren landscape thing), heading to destination unknown. There is hope that they're heading to a city of humans, a legend told by members of the crazy cult they'd just left, but it quickly becomes apparently that in reality they're literally just meals on wheels - and heading straight towards a Vampire stronghold. 

Andrew is just full of wacky ideas, and doesn't disappoint with this story. After they arrive they have to cram themselves in a lift, with anyone left being quickly devoured. From there, they enter a maze of caves. This next part is a little difficult to explain. The caves are filled with kids that are all awaiting their fate. When an alarm sounds they have to dive into one of many holes in the walls (see Saw 5 and the nail bomb) and then pray they don't get selected as dinner.

Gene finds himself meeting the King of the Vampires, who wants him to travel back to the city with Sissy - or else he'll eat the youngest kid. So, instead of continuing our journey as I hoped, we head back to the city and do a whole lot of wandering around, trying not to get caught while trying to find April June and kill her. It's all very strange.

I honestly wish going back hadn't of happened. I saw no real point to it and some loose ends that could have been tied up, weren't. There were characters where we never found out what happened to them and despite the intense amount of action and some amazing wordplay, I was left wanting another book. It was a great conclusion though, I have to say.



Stacking The Shelves (20/09/2014)

This week was a lazier week for me. I got a section of my cross stitch project finished, finally finished 1984 and then just read a lot! I read two of my favourite books this year too, which was a nice surprise.


Acquired This Week
I was pretty surprised when I walked past a wool shop this week with Actual Books In It. Four bookshelves in fact filled with books to buy! And the books were only £1 each. After not a lot of digging at all, I found 3 young adult books that I've been wanting, and 3 that I've read that I wanted copies of.


I've read an enjoyed Ashes, but read the galley on NetGalley. Never read What's Left Of Me but I'm excited to own a copy! I love that freaky double face thing.


The UK books for Wither, Fever and Sever are all Ridiculously Large, and I've been wanting to swap them for new UK sized paperback editions for a long time - I still have an oversized copy of Sever but these look great!


*waves arms* I love these covers So Freaking Much. And the spines are so gorgeous I could lick them. Maybe.


Read This Week (Sat 13th - Fri 19th)


1984 felt like it took a century to read, I really detest that book. The rest of the books have been pretty great though, with both The Rain and Panic on my special shelves!

Review of The Prey by Andrew Fukuda

Series: The Hunt #2
Format: Paperback
Genres: Paranormal, Vampires, Fantasy
Pages: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 29/01/2013
Find The Author: Website ¦ Twitter
Abe Books ¦ Book Depository ¦ Goodreads


For Gene and the remaining humans - or hepers - death is just a heartbeat away. On the run and hunted by society, they must find a way to survive in The Vast... and avoid the hungry predators tracking them in the dark. But they’re not the only things following Gene. He’s haunted by the girl he left behind and his burgeoning feelings for Sissy, the human girl at his side.

When they discover a refuge of exiled humans living high in the mountains, Gene and his friends think they’re finally safe. Led by a group of intensely secretive elders, the civilisation begins to raise more questions than answers. A strict code of behaviour is the rule, harsh punishments are meted out, young men are nowhere to be found - and Gene begins to wonder if the world they’ve entered is just as evil as the one they left behind. As life at the refuge grows more perilous, he and Sissy only grow closer. In an increasingly violent world, all they have is each other... if they can only stay alive.


 
The Hunt is one of my favourite guilty pleasure reads, in the so-bad-it's-good category. You have your brutal, bloody violence, vampires, and armpit sex. Let's just skim that last part. The second book, The Prey, has a whole lot less vampires in it, but everything is just as wonderfully weird when Gene and his friends arrive at The Mission, a giant village in the middle of nowhere with seriously bizarre rules - don't travel in less than a group of three, the girls are all deformed, and there's some branding going on too. 

After the suffocating world of the Vampires, where Gene can't even breathe the wrong way without potentially being caught, teaming up with a group of humans (or hepers, as the Vampires call them) was a welcome respite. Gene and Sissy's relationship gets a chance to grow, and it's done well, with them being thrown into many perilous situations it made sense for them to cling to each other.

Generally, the second book is a trilogy is filler, and weaker. However, with the introduction of new environments, a dangerous quest and hundreds of Vampires chasing them, I read the whole story compulsively. I haven't enjoyed a sequel this much since Scorch Trials, or Catching Fire. We also find out more about who Gene is and why everything falls into place the way it does, it's very clever.

As soon as I finished this book, I grabbed The Trap. I was lucky - I read The Hunt when it was first released, but never got round to reading The Prey until The Trap was released. With the new revelations and a killer cliff-hanger ending, you're going to want to have the last book handy so you can devour it as soon as possible. Heh, Vampire jokes.


Review of Wide Awake by Shelley Crane

Format: eBook
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Mental Health,
Pages: 193
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: 22/03/2013
Find The Author: Website ¦ Twitter
Abe Books ¦ Book Depository ¦ Goodreads


A girl.
A coma.
A life she can't remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital.

Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?

 

Emma wakes up in hospital, confused and unsure where she is. She learns that she used to be Emmie, but she can't remember a single detail about her old life. During recovery she meets Mason, her (young, hot) physical therapist and falls in love - but everyone wants her to be Emmie, not Emma, and Emmie's old boyfriend wants her to be his too.

I loved the idea of this story a lot more than it's execution. The first half, where Emmie wakes up and has to cope with her new surroundings was incredibly done. Things I never thought of before, like how much pain she was in from the lack of physical exercise, I knew the author had researched. I did feel that Mason's appearance was a little rushed and felt he should have turned up later.

The second half was good but I was reading it to finish it, rather than enjoying in. Emma's ex boyfriend, Andy is this incredibly scary, possessive stalker and I just wanted him to leave already. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head when he started trying to open her window in the middle of the night like some creepy rapist. I wish she had got an injunction against him or something.

Each chapter has a useless fact, from a book that Emmie finds under her hospital bed. Things like "It's impossible to lick your elbow but 75% of people will try this anyway". I really wanted that book! The useless facts were funny and tied in well with the whole plot, especially when I had to wait forever to find out just what Emmie had written in her note to Mason - totally worth the wait, honestly.

I really enjoyed this read and Emmie's recovery was very descriptive, I could see the author had done a lot of research into amnesia and didn't gloss over what Emma was going through. I enjoyed Emma and Mason's relationship, but found myself thinking that the author had probably written a few slushy romance novels previous to this one and that did hinder my enjoyment of the story a lot.

 

Review of Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

Format: eBook
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 436
Publisher: Speak
Release Date: 16/09/2009
Find The Author: Website ¦ Twitter
Abe Books ¦ Book Depository ¦ Goodreads



It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.


  
Bored and tired of her mother's constant expectations, Auden chooses to spend her summer with her father, step-mother and their new baby. However she quickly realises that her days are not going to be carefree bliss at the beach when she turns up to find her father in his study, writing his new book and ignoring the new arrival. Meanwhile her step-mom Heidi is at the brink of a breakdown and Auden has to step in to help.

This is quite a long story, but I really enjoyed it. It's also my first Sarah Dessen read and I really appreciated that she didn't make it all about the romance, but about Auden's relationships with her friends and family. It took me a while to like Eli, who came across as kind of cold when she ran into him (repeatedly). Probably because she'd just been with his brother.

I absolutely hated Auden's father. Probably because he reminded strongly of the man I used to call my father and have now completely cut him out of my life. Auden's father has excuses for every little thing and point blank refuses to care for the baby, citing that he's told Heidi she can get a nanny in and then quickly disappearing into his study to continue writing his stupid book.

Auden's mother, on the other hand, I loved. She's a very strict parent, wanting Auden to be all about grades and achieving but I really warmed to her constant sarcasm, sensing a like minded individual. “And all that pink. It's like a giant vagina in there”. She made me laugh on so many occasions that I started really looking forward to her phone calls.

Romance. You want to hear about the romance right? It was pretty perfect, after a shaky start that involved cupcakes and a screaming ex-girlfriend. My favourite parts of their relationship was at night, where they'd both talk late into the night at cafes or diners, or even go bowling. The whole idea of Auden and Eli sleeping for most of the morning and staying out late just really appealed to me.

As I mentioned, I'm late to the Sarah Dessen party and have only read this book - however, I loved it so much I'm going to search around for a whole book pack of hers and read myself to death. I just know that I need a whole set of these books on my shelves.


Review of Blackbird by Anna Carey

Format: eBook
Genres: mystery, thriller,
Pages: 256
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: 16/09/2014
Find The Author: Website ¦ Twitter
Book Depository ¦ Amazon UK/US ¦ Goodreads


This twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined. 



I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up Blackbird and I was wary, having read one of Anna Carey's books before and disliking it immensely. This book is much better, and kept me guessing all the way through but it was let down by the decision to use a second person (you did this, that), which came across as more of a gimmick and didn't really work.

The story itself was very original and I finished it within a day. I love stories that keep me reading, wanting to find out what happens next and I really did care about 'Sunny', as she choose to name herself. When the book started she woke up railway tracks, with a train about to hit her and I just knew this was going to be a good read.

The "You did this, that" writing style grew tiresome, quickly. I can overlook it for the great story but I really did feel that it was being used as a gimmick and an odd one at that - I don't think readers typically like that writing style. I don't mind it (when it is done right) but I was often left feeling that this was new to the author too and it even got confusing at to what was happening in places.

There's a feeling of being chased, hunted, throughout the story which was pretty scary at times! I had no clues about who it was that was hunting Sunny, or why they were hunting her. Occasionally we get clues from the people, who get their own voice in some chapters but they still gave very little clues as to what was going on.

I enjoyed the ending and I'm looking forward to reading the next book to see what happens next. There was plenty of action and mystery in this story that I'm hoping continues throughout the series. There's a few questions left unanswered which I'm hoping get answered in the next book and not left until the very end of the series.



Many Covers Monday: Is That Comfortable?

I love contemporary romances, the longing looks, the drawn out romance, the difficulties our characters face. Like, trying to balance on a bicycle for the front cover.

What?



I casually balance on a bicycle like this all the time. ALL THE TIME.
Now pedal.


Yes, let's just make out on this probably-burning-hot tarmac. Perfect.


*wobble*


Bonus:

"Hey. Hey, I'm wearing a white shirt too! We should be white shirt buddies! Where are you going?"

Review of Tunnels Of Blood by Darren Shan

Format: Paperback
Genres: Horror, Vampires,
Pages: 162
Publisher: Collins
Release Date: 06/11/2000
Find The Author: Website ¦ Twitter
Abe Books ¦ Book Depository ¦ Goodreads


Darren, the vampire's assistant, gets a taste of the city when he leaves the Cirque Du Freak with Evra the snake-boy and Mr. Crepsley. When corpses are discovered--corpses drained of blood-- Darren and Evra are compelled to hunt down whatever foul creature is committing such horrendous acts. Meanwhile, beneath the streets, evil stalks Darren and Evra, and all clues point to Mr. Crepsley. Can they escape, or are they doomed to perish in the tunnels of blood?
 

Tunnels Of Blood is the third book in the Darren Shan series, and the series is getting stronger with each book, in writing style and in plot. Darren Shan has almost lost the juvenile, slightly irritating voice he had in the first book, as he's getting older and wiser now. Also gone is the thing that almost made me put down the second book - the 'but you wouldn't guess what would happen next!' style at the end of each chapter.

The first book was set in Darren's home town, the second book in the circus and this book is set in the city - Larten's city in fact. There's a vicious killer on the loose, leaving piles of bodies behind and Darren suspects that the killer might just be the very person that turned him, Larten Crepsley himself. Darren and Evra - the snake boy he's dragged along with him - find themselves lurking the city at night, trying to solve the mystery.

We do find out who the killer is fairly quickly - inevitable in a story that's less than 200 pages long. It's a fast paced read and the whole story overall feels much quicker than the second book. I was glad to finish it, as I've read some of the books before and I know that it's in the next book that things really start to get interesting!


Stacking The Shelves (13/09/2014)

 
This week I've read less than I wanted to, because I've been spending the past 3 or 4 days battling with 1984. Being a huge fan of Dystopia, I was almost sure that I would love this book but unfortunately I'm having a ton of problems with it and have almost DNF'd it twice.
 
However, I did get to binge read The Hunt series at the beginning of this week (Sat onwards)! It's a wonderfully cheesy series involving Vampires and... armpit sex (no really). I think this series might be my new favourite after The Maze Runner.


Acquired This Week (Sat 6th - Fri 12th)
I thought I wasn't going to get any books this week as money has been pretty tight, however I suprprised myself - I found four short story compilations for £1, perfect for Halloween. And then when I went food shopping I found a bargain bin of teen books for just 99p! That's less that $2 a book U.S. people.


99p each guys. 99p.


Other Things
It's not something I really talk about but we actually live in a small, kinda rubbish council house (we rent it from the council in our area but we're so poor we don't pay rent. Literally the internet and books is my main luxury). This week we were finally able to go out and buy wallpaper and paint to decorate mine and my partner's room, my Gran's room and the living room! 
 
Yeah, I live with my partner and my Gran. Living situations are notoriously strange in England. My partner's Dad who's in his 50's lives with his mum, as well as my partner's aunt AND her partner.

Moving on, here's my wallpaper!


I plan to paper one wall and paint the rest. I hear that's in fashion right now. And yes, I promise pictures.
 
I've also been avoiding reading 1984 by cross stitching.
 
 
I haven't finished any project in months, so it felt good to finish this. Cross Stitching is my main passion after reading! If I ever find myself stuck in the past I'll be fine...


Read This Week (Sat 6th - Fri 12th)


Man Candy.
I'm about three quarters into 1984 now, so that should make an appearance on next week's STS, which will be a whole lot shorter, I hope. I have a whole pile of books after it I really want to read!