Friday, May 17, 2013

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Format: E book, 480 Pages
Series: Pushing the Limits BOOK 2

 A fabulous and amazing companion novel to Pushing the Limits.

Ryan Stowe is a popular jock at school with family secrets. Everything started with a dare to ask out Skater Girl, troubled seventeen-year-old Beth Risk, who couldn't be less interested in him.

Let's talk about the characters first. There was just as much character development as the first book, Pushing the Limits, which I really enjoyed. But I couldn't really connect with the main character, Beth. She wasn't as likable as Echo. The love-interest was okay, i guess. And I felt kinda bad for Isaiah and it was disappointing to learn that he wasn't the love-interest. Another thing is that I didn't get to read more about Noah and Echo. Since it is the companion novel of Pushing the Limits, I expected to see more of Echo and Noah but sadly there were just a few snippets of it.

As for the plot, there was a lot of stuff going on.There was definitely more action in Dare You To compared to Pushing the Limits. There was just so much drama! But sadly, I wasn't that emotionally invested in this book.

On a whole, a decent read with fantastic character development and lots of drama but it was not as amazing as the first.



Monday, May 13, 2013

'Read A Book A Day' Challenge

Hi there,
so I have something to tell you guys.

 I WANT TO READ A BOOK EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Right here, where I live, we have a 1 month school vacation and it officially starts on the 1st of June. Hence, I want to challenge myself to read 1 book everyday. I wanted to have this challenge because I want to read more, improve on my writing skills, catch up on my reading challenge, improve on my reading skills and reduce my TBR pile.

You are more than welcome to join me in this challenge if it sounds like a good idea. You need not start it on the 1st June. Start whenever you are comfortable and yeah, you could do this for as long as you like. There are some tips below to help you. Do visit the links too and get inspired! I would be posting updates on this 'Read A Book A Day' challenge on a weekly basis.

(Useful) Tips: 

Choosing a Book

You would most probably want to grab a book that you know you will enjoy. "Guilty pleasures" are fine too, as long as it helps you to stay on track. You might also want to read a short novella and trying to tackle War & Peace isn't a good idea.

Make Yourself Comfortable

Where is the best place to read? On your bed? Outside?
Drinks and healthy snacks would be good.

Read

That's the most important one.

Take Breaks

Take short breaks when you feel tired physically or mentally!



Links to Relevant Websites:

366 Day, 366 Books
How to Read 7 Books in 7 Days
How to Read a Whole Book in One Day
A Quest to Read a Book a Day For 365 Days



Bye...


Friday, May 3, 2013

A Quick Update...

Hey y'all. Hope you're doing good.
I am well aware that I haven't post anything for over a month now.
And that's because
  1. EXAMS.
  2. I haven't been reading much.
  3. I lost interest in blogging.
 But the thing is I AM BACK TO BLOGGING AND I AM HERE TO STAY!
This book blog will resume in 2 weeks time and I have quite a few reviews lined up for you guys.

I still have 2 more weeks of exams to go!!!! You guys have no idea how much I look forward to the end of my exams!!!
Currently Reading
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
 
Reading Progress: p. 140 of 1,448 (10%) 
Bye!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Format: Hardback, 118 Pages

A MEH book for me.

It takes place on Manor Farm where the animals soon carried out a rebellion against the humans and took over the farm. I can't really write blurbs, but if it sounded interesting, you might want to pick it up.

There is clearly, a lot of research done on The Russian Revolution. It is accurate, or at least it is to me. All the main characters are based on the Communist Party Leaders and it is really fascinating to see all the similarities between the novel and The Russian Revolution. That was great.

The writing style. I didn't like it. I wouldn't say that it was badly written because George Orwell wanted to write it in such a way that it is as clear and open as possible. He wanted to make Animal Farm easy to read. But sadly, I find it very hard to get through this book.

One of the few redeeming points was the ending. To be exact, the last chapter of the book. There was a twist to the plot! And yes, after re-reading some parts of the book, I noticed some foreshadowing going on. It was pretty awesome and I gave it a better rating.
 On a whole, an average book with an amazing ending.


Friday, March 22, 2013

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Format: Paperback, 231 Pages

2 words. Pretty good.

Alaska Young. A messed-up, beautiful, fascinating girl.
Miles Halter a.k.a Pudge. A boy obsessed with famous last words. A boy who wants to find the "Great Perhaps". A boy whose life changed when he heads to Culver Creek Boarding School. A boy who fell in love with Alaska.

John Green managed to write a humorous yet serious novel. If you have read The Fault in Our Stars, you will understand how emotional one can get when reading his books.

For me, the book was bitter-sweet.  The witty John Green writing style that I really enjoy, amazing and well-developed characters and you know, um, good stuff.

Let's talk about the characters! I like Pudge, the Colonel, Takumi and I think every likable character! Some say that they weren't emotionally invested in Alaska, but I feel that John Green made her in such a way, purposely. The readers will understand how screwed-up she is and her unpredictable character actually plays a huge part in the story (or at least, that's my opinion). Pudge was captured really well. He was awkward, geeky. I could identify with him easily, and I believe that you could, too.

Smoke. Alcohol. Sex. Pranks. What more could you ask from this poignant coming-of-age novel?

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Future Books to Movies Casting!!!


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHH.
Yes,yes,yes.

There are a couple of YA books that are being made into movies and even a TV series (Delirium).




Liana Liberato is rumoured to have clinched the lead role as Hazel.

Actually, she does kinda look like Hazel when being compared to this fan art.

Shailene Woodley is also rumored to be part of this movie.



























Shailene Woodley is also in Divergent as the main lead, Tris/ Beatrice Prior.

While the love interest, Four/ Tobias, is Theo James.

Tris' brother, Cale, is played by Ansel Elgort.

Maggie Q is going to play as Tori in Divergent.

Zoë Kravitz will be Christina.

Kate Winslet will also have a role.











































http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A1THjdiQPLg/UEnT7d8yBUI/AAAAAAAAKzY/qyMhe-uL7jk/s1600/vintage+scroll+work+-+sweetly+scrapped.jpg
Emma Roberts will play Lena.

Daren Kagasoff will play Alex.

Gregg Sulkin will be Julian.


























Zoey Deutch will play Rose.
 http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A1THjdiQPLg/UEnT7d8yBUI/AAAAAAAAKzY/qyMhe-uL7jk/s1600/vintage+scroll+work+-+sweetly+scrapped.jpg
Yael Grobglas will play as American Singer.

Lucien Laviscount will be Aspen.














Monday, March 11, 2013

It's the 11th March! It's Douglas Adams' Birthday!



So, I saw this on Google!
Google have this featured in celebration of  Douglas Adams' birthday.






Does his name ring a bell? 
That's right, he is the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
It's still sitting in my giant stack of unread books! *Gasp*
Have you read that? Is it any good?

Friday, March 1, 2013

March 2013 TBR

So, in order to get back on track on my reading challenge this year, I will have to read a lot more. I haven't been blogging or even reading that much recently because of SCHOOL. Gah! And here are the books I am gonna read.

Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose slogan becomes: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Published in 1945, this powerful satire of the Russian Revolution under Stalin remains as vivid and relevant today as it was on its first publication.
I am currently reading this for school. I have read 1/2 of it already but I am still not really feeling the love for it yet. So, hopefully, I will like it much better in the second half of Animal Farm.






What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life? Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.
I thought it would be of a faster pacing, but its pretty slow so far. Its okay but kinda boring at times. We will see.






Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
I will really have to start reading this! Have you watched the movie?




Lyra's life is already sufficiently interesting for a novel before she eavesdrops on a presentation by her uncle Lord Asriel to his colleagues in the Jordan College faculty, Oxford. The college, famed for its leadership in experimental theology, is funding Lord Asriel's research into the heretical possibility of the existence of worlds unlike Lyra's own, where everyone is born with a familiar animal companion, magic of a kind works, the Tartars are threatening to overrun Muscovy, and the Pope is a puritanical Protestant. Set in an England familiar and strange, Philip Pullman's lively, taut story is a must-read and re-read for fantasy lovers of all ages. The world-building is outstanding, from the subtle hints of the 1898 Tokay to odd quirks of language to the panserbjorne, while determined, clever Lyra is strongly reminiscent of Joan Aiken's Dido Twite.
Also known as The Golden Compass! I realized thatI have never read any of Pullman's works so I wanted to start with his most famous one. It got some mixed reviews so I 'm excited to see how much I will enjoy it.
Written by British-born author Frances Hodgson Burnett and first published in 1905, A Little Princess tells the story of young Sara Crewe, privileged daughter of a wealthy diamond merchant. All the other girls at Miss Minchin's school treat Sara as if she truly were a princess. But when Captain Crewe's fortune is sadly lost, Sara's luck changes. Suddenly she is treated no better than a scullery maid. Her own fierce determination to maintain her dignity and remain a princess inside has intrigued and delighted readers for almost a hundred years, even inspiring a recent popular feature film.
I picked this instead of The Secret Garden because I have always wanted to read this. But I will get to The Secret Garden soon!






Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan’s social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City’s elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone—from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud—threatens Elizabeth’s and Diana’s golden future. With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city’s gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan’s most celebrated daughter disappear... In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.
This is like a "guilty-pleasure" kind of book and YEAH, I "hate" them.


Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. After. Nothing is ever the same.
JOHN GREEN! Another of his book!
Since I am going on a road trip in about 1-2 weeks. Why not read a book about a road trip during a road trip?


Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions. Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.
THIS IS A YA BOOK! AND I HEARD NOTHING BUT GOOD STUFF!

And.....yeah. That's about it. I think 8 books is actually quite a lot. Tell me what you think about these books and BYE. :)

Saturday, February 16, 2013

January Classic of the Month


  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is our January Classic of the Month! And I made a poster for this. Woohoo!
  I read the novel and watched the 2011 adaptation, both of which I enjoyed quite a bit!

Original Title: Jane Eyre: An Autobiography
Written Under: Currer Bell
Published : 16 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London, England
Original Publication Format: Three volumes, comprising chapters 1 to 15, 16 to 26, and 27 to 38


"Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity.

She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman's passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

With a heroine full of yearning, the dangerous secrets she encounters, and the choices she finally makes, Charlotte Bronte's innovative and enduring romantic novel continues to engage and provoke readers."



I started this new feature and would choose a classic for the month. So, for January I chose a classic novel that starts with the letter 'J'. Look out for the February Classic of the Month! :)

Friday, February 15, 2013

Thank You x9

  Hello!!! So today I am going to thank the 9 book bloggers who nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award.
I decided to make this blog an award-free blog (sadly), but still, I am really honoured that I was nominated. Do check them out! They are ..........(in no particular order)

Gemini Perspective
So Many Books So Little Time
The Kooky Bookworm
Words With Leti Del Mar
Drugs Called Books
Bookwryming Thoughts
Book Nerd & Critic
Dear, Restless Reader
No Bent Spines


Byeeeeee



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