Book of the Month: February 2013

For this month I have read 4 books. Click here to see my "Wrap-Up" post. Out of those four books, I have decided that Legend by Marie Lu was my favourite, Prodigy (the sequel) by the same author at a very close second. What was your favourite book of February? Comment below and tell me!! Bye!

All photos are credit to goodreads.com

February Wrap-Up and March 1st - 15th TBR

This month I read:

• Angelfall by Susan Ee: **** (4 stars)
• Legend by Marie Lu: ***** (5 stars)
• Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher: ***** (5 stars)
• Prodigy: ****/ (4.5 stars)

Look out for my pick of the month, coming shortly.

Now for the TBR! For the month of March I have decided to do something a little bit different. I will be having three books per theme (generally), but instead of picking the books right at the beginning of the month I have decided to pick 2 books at the beginning of the month and 1 more book in the middle of the month. I've decided to do this because I'm finding myself growing tired and loosing anticipation for the books I've chosen at the beginning of the month by it's time for me to read them. So yeah. Hopefully this will help me finish my TBR's.

A few weeks ago I asked my viewers what theme they would like me to read this month. It was between "green book covers", "sequels", "books with more than 500 pages", "the best looking covers", "new releases". "Green Book Covers", "Sequels" and "500 pages" ruled out. Now before you all start yelling at me, let me explain.

One of my viewers said that he would choose "500 pages" ONLY IF I read Lord of the Rings. His next choice is "sequels". Now since I am not going to be reading LOTR, his vote on "500 pages" is changed to "sequels" and the votes are even.

I will be splitting up the categories like this:

1. Sequel
2. Over 500 pages
3. Green Cover

I will be (hopefully) reading #1 and #2 in the first part of this month. The books I have chosen are Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder (sequel) and Hunger by Michael Grant. The last book,  just as a reminder, will be coming on the 15th.

I hope you enjoyed this Wrap-Up and TBR. Let me know what you have been reading in the comments below. Bye!

March 2013 Viewers Choice

Hey guys! So I need you opinion. For the month of March I am having a hard time choosing a topic, so I have made it up to you to choose the one that you would like me to do. A poll will be on the side-bar. Anyways, the choices are...

1. Green Book Covers
2. Books over 500 Pages
3. Sequels
4. New Releases
5. Best-Looking Covers

If you have any books that you would like to tell me about that fit into any of these categories, please leave a comment! I would love to hear about it!!! Also, if you go to the "March 2013 TBR" list on goodreads and check out my votes, you will be able to know what books are a possibility for each of the categories. Plus you can add your ideas too!

Thank-you so much for supporting me and I will talk to you guys later. Bye!

Top Ten Favourite Characters in X Genre

Three posts in one day? I'm CRAY!! Anyhow...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created at The Broke and the Bookish and it is where we book bloggers share our top tens. This week we will be choosing our top ten favourite characters in the genre of our choice. The genre that I have chosen (well, more like category) is "books that should be made into movies" (in my opinion). Note that these are not books that will be made into movies. Also, if any of these books that I have on my list ARE being turned into movies, please inform me. By the way, the list is not in order, so I didn't use numbers.

Top Ten Favourite Characters in X Genre – Feb. 19th

- Bramble (Entwined): I loved her bubbly personality
- Toby (Th1rteen R3asons Why): He was so understanding and conforting not only to the characters, but to the readers
- Raffe (Angelfall): Raffe was so kind-hearted and witty.
- Valek (Poison Study): He was also very kind-hearted. Even though he is so much older than me, he is still a literary crush.
- Uglies (Tally): A kick-butt character.
- Stargirl (Stargirl): Such a unique person that is fun and caring towards others.
- Astrid (Gone): There was something so likeable about this character. I just can't quite put my finger on it.
- Will/Robert (What's Left of Me): Such a cute person! Both are such amazing souls.
- Colin (An Abundance of Katherines): Funny! "This is the probability that I will break up with Katherine in two days..."
- Lena (Delirium): Such a daring person! Willing to go against the government for what she desires.

The Name Game Book Tag

As I was wandering around BookTube a few mornings ago I came across LittleBookOwl and SweetBookReviews' "Name Game Book Tag" video. It looked like fun, so I decided to do it, even if I didn't get tagged by anybody.

The Name Game Book Tag was created by KimberlysBookNook and it is where you say your first name. Then you choose a book that starts with each letter of your name to represent yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKSnHIP7Kw (SweetBookReviews' Tag)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h9fJV0Oa50 (LittleBookOwl's Tag)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVMZjVsQrfU (KimberlysBookNook's Tag)

The One and Only Rule: You must own the book OR you have to have read the book

My Book Representatives:
B - (the) Breadwinner Trilogy
R - (the) Reptile Room
I - Inside Out
A - Angelfall
N - No Place for Magic
N - Number the Stars
A - Ascend

I Tag...
- Kalindee @ Get Litspired!
- Danika @ Books to Dream
- Julia @ Books as Wings
- Jami @ Bookworm's Blog
- Kirsten @ K's BooK's to Read

Th1rteen R3asons Why Book Review

Title: Th1rteen R3asons Why
Author: Jay Asher
# of Pages: 288
Reading Span: One Day
Rating: ***** (five stars)


If this rating was based solely of the mood of the book, I would rate it one star. It was so horrible reading the words of a dead girl who took her own life, even if she was only a fictional character. However, I am looking more at the literary elements, which provides this book with a different rating.
          Everything about this book was pretty good. I could sympathize for the characters, and I got to know them really well as the story progressed. The thirteen reasons why Hannah killed herself all who've together eventually and I could understand how that motivated her to make the decision that she did. As the tapes progress and the actions that people took get worse, you get more and more sympathetic towards her.
          We get to know Clay better as he listened to more and more tapes as well. At first I was a bit unsure of his thoughts, thinking that Jay Asher had overdone his feelings, but really, it was perfect, but I didn't realize it until more of the tapes were getting listened to. Tony was also a great character to read about. I loved how he acted like a rose in the kiddy of thorns. It added relief to not only Clay, but to readers as well when he came into the text. There is one instance in particular that almost makes you want to throw up because of how sad it is, but then there comes Tony how eases this feeling.
          The setting is also very good in this book. Throughout the novel you follow a map that Hannah has left for clay to follow, which helps him experience what he is hearing better, and enhances sense of setting for the readers. I found that to be a very interesting addition to the book. Not only was it spoken of inside, but the inside of the dust jacket there is the map so you can get fully engrossed in the story's setting.
          The plot progression was also very well done. As mentioned before, it started with the little things, but then grew into things that were so much bigger. It made a for a good exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. That's another thing: the ending. Who would have known that there could have been a good ending to this? I certainly didn't, but then experienced it as the book drew to a close. It left me as satisfied as I could be. Yes, after finishing this all I wanted to do was lie in bed, thinking and reflecting on it, but other than that I was able to move on fairly well.
          The only thing that I didn't like as far as literary elements goes is the format. Sometimes is was hard to tell the difference between the italics (Hannah) and the normal text (Clay). I never really got used to it, but I don't think that there would have been a better way to tell the difference between Hannah and Clay, either than colour which sort of bothers me anyways.
          I will never forget this novel, and the impacts it has had on my life will never leave me. I recommend that everyone reads this who is 13 years or older. Not only does this age limit will help you understand what is happening better, but this book does cover some mature topics. That being said, I think that everyone needs to read this to help us gain more information about suicide, taking us one step closer to stopping it.

Looking Forward (2)

I know I just did one of these, but I think I need to make another one, considering all of the new blog posting chains that are going up. I also was watching a youtube video by AmberPepper, and it gave me this idea to make yet, another post series. I thought I would make one of these posts to mention all of my post types that I will be doing with an explanation so a don't have to make a billion posts. So yeah.

• Looking Forward: Basically an update on blogging, as well as the occasional writing update
• Reading Update: An update on what I'm reading, kind of like the friday reads hashtag on twitter, but any day, any time.
• Relate!: When I will post an inspirational/relatable quote, bookfession, et-cetera.
• Wrap-Up and TBR: One of these every month featuring what I've read in the past month and what I'm planning to read in the coming month.
• Book Reviews: If you don't know what this is then you have been living under a rock... not to be mean or anything.
• Book Talk: When I am part-way done a book and need to get my thoughts out. Spoiler and non-spoiler discussions available.
• Top Ten Tuesday: Originating at The Broke and the Bookish, it's where we book bloggers list our top tens.
• Cover to Cover: A battle between different covers of the same book.
• If You Liked...: A book recommendation
• WoW: Stands for waiting on wednesday. I will discuss my most anticipated books. I don't make a post for this every week.
• Matching Books With Bookmarks: Pretty self-explanatory.
• Making Connections: When I make connections between what I'm reading and real-life.
• Book of the Month: A monthly meme in which I will talk about my favourite book that I read during that month.

I may continue updating this post if I think of any new ones in the next few days, but until then.... Bye!

Literary Love Letters

Hey Guys!

I was just looking over my subscriptions on YouTube and came across marlinelina writing love letters to her literary crushes, and I thought that it would be fun to do so as well! I hope you enjoy the video!

Characters Mentioned:
Peeta from "The Hunger Games Trilogy"
David from the "Uglies Saga"
Four from Divergent and Insurgent
Valek from Poison Study
Raffe from Angelfall
Riley from the "Inside Duology"

Top Ten Favourite Romances

I'm sorry this is up so late. :(

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish and it is where book bloggers list their top tens. This week we will be pooling a whole bunch of our favourite romances. I have chosen to take this as a relationship and not a genre. So here is my list (which is in order from favourite to least favourite):

Top Ten Favourite Romances – Feb. 11th

1. Yelena and Valek (Poison Study)
2. Trella and Riley (Inside Duology)
3. Penryn and Raffe (Angelfall)
4. Tris and Four (Divergent)
5. Christina and Will (Divergent): I love this quote that Will says to Christina: "Moths," repeats Will. "You're afraid of moths?" -----   "Not just a cloud of moths," she says, "like... a swarm of them. Everywhere. All those wings and legs and..." She shudders and shakes her head. ----- "Terrifying," Will says with mock seriousness. "That's my girl. Tough as cotton balls." ----- "Oh, Shut up." I just had to add that. :D
6. Saba and Jack (Blood Red Road)
7. Astrid and Sam (Gone)
8. Katniss and Peeta (The Hunger Games and Catching Fire)
9. Tally and David (Uglies)
10. Annie and Finnick (Catching Fire and Mockingjay)

Relate! (1)

Once again, I feel like I need to create another chain of posts. This one is going to be called "Relate". These posts will include relatable book quotes, bookfessions, or inspirational quotes from books that I relate to or that have changed the way I see things. Today, I have chosen to showcase a photo that I found on http://oh-jensen.tumblr.com/page/2 which is about books and tea. Honestly, those two things are probably on the top ten list of bookish things that I use at least once a day.

Do you agree? Comment below.

Alternate Text Review

Here it is!! I hope you have as much fun watching it as I had making it. :D

Looking Forward (1)

I am going to be starting a new post series that I will be calling "Looking Forward" as you can tell from the title. These posts will be kind of like reading updates, except they will be more focused on my blog or my writing.

What to Look For:

• I will be posting a alternate text review on the Killer Bunnies Card game. Be sure to look out for that, coming out either today or tomorrow.
• I am also hoping to film a Gone movie trailer, but this will probably come up a little bit later, next week, perhaps. I want it to be good, so it will take more time.
• Also, I NEED to finish Angelfall. It has taken me over a week to get 65 pages into a book, and I am very mad at myself for it. I need to get into my other three books for this month, and hopefully my January books that I didn't finish. Ahhhhhh... I hope it gets better soon.
• And finally, my other book reviews (Stargirl, Gone, Wings, Blood Red Road...). I am hoping to put up little notes on Goodreads, so be sure to check out my profile for these mini reviews. After I get a couple other things off of my hands (the above points), I will write a full-on review of the books.

Writing:

I'm so sad. :( I haven't been keeping up with my writing. My goal of writing for 15 minutes or more per day has gone down the drain. I am hoping to continue with this goal now, but I don't have any ideas. If you are willing to share any prompting words or phrases, please leave them in the comments! I would love the inspiration. :D

Comment below if you like the idea of this post series.

Top Ten Bookish Memories

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish where we book bloggers list our top ten's. This weeks top ten tuesday is...

Top Ten Bookish Memories But I Only Really Have Five....... – Feb. 5th

1. Trading Notes Between Books at the Library: I won't go into too much detail, but basically, me and my friend have a little thing going that is kind of like Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. When the other person has a hold in at the library we will put little notes in them and then they will return it in the next hold... So much fun and a great way of living inside some of my favourite books!
2. Dreaming about Gone: I just recently had a dream about Gone by Michael Grant, and I know that this isn't exactly a memory that the hosts at The Book and the Bookish had in mind, but I thought that this would be the perfect place to mention it. It brought out the story really well, and was so vivid.
3. Starting my Book Blog: It was such an exciting experience to start this up. I loved it!!!!! Such a fun time. :D
4. Reading The Book of Awesome Along With the Rest of My City: Basically, the leader of my city organized a thing with the public library to make people read the same book all at once, somewhat like a huge book club. I felt warm fuzzies inside, and it was an amazing memory.
5. Getting Goodreads: Goodreads is a really great thing for us book-lovers, and after I got it I was really happy, and it was really great. :D

What are your top tens (or less)? Leave a blog link or a comment telling me your bookish memories. Too-da-loo!

Poison Study Review On Review

Hello Guys! Today I am going to be doing another review on a review. This time, I am going to be assessing Mac's review of Poison Study over at Live to Read, Read to Live. So, without further ado, the review (hee hee, that rhymed)!

Mac mentioned in his review the characters, and how they were introduced too quickly. "What I thought about this book was that it was very weird how they introduced some of the characters." I disagree with this statement. I thought that the characters were introduced nicely. We got to know what we needed to know about the character in order to understand at the beginning. Then, as I got to know them better, some of their back-story. The relationships between the characters were also gradual and realistic (in my opinion) which added to the story. There was also no insta-love, which is a double thumbs up. Mac also wrote about the pacing of the book, and how it was action-packed. I totally agree with him here. There was so much going on, yet their wasn't so much that it is overwhelming.

Poison Study is a great book for readers of, practically all ages. There was some violence and mature terms, which is why I say practically. Anyone over the age of 12 should defiantly go and pick up this novel. I instantly feel in love with the characters, plot and setting. I found it really interesting to read about the time-period. I found myself reading about "new" inventions that sound a lot like some everyday things in my life.

"Good, isn't it? My latest recipe. I take a long strip of pastry dough, cover it with cinnamon, roll it up into a ball, bake it, and then spread the icing on while it's hot. I'm having some trouble with the name though. Cinnamon call? Ball? Swirl?"~ pg. 70, Poison Study.

To me that sounds a lot like cinnamon buns! It made me wonder, are they discovering or re-discovering them? Later events in the story helped me conclude that it, indeed, is in the future times or in another dimension. The suspense of this book was also incredible. There was a cliff-hanger off of every chapter  as well as at the end of the book. It is a never-ending adventure that you should go and pick up and read. Happy reading!!

January Wrap-Up and February TBR

Hey everyone! So, as January comes to a close and February begins, I am writing a January Wrap-Up and a February TBR.

January Wrap-Up
In the month on January I read 5 books, all of which were pretty good. There was one disappointment, but other than that this month was good. The books that I read were (and are in order by the way):

1. Outside In by Maria V. Snyder: ****/ (four and a half stars)
2. Wings by Aprilynne Pike: *** (three stars)
3. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder ***** (five stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
4. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli: **** (four stars)
5. Gone by Michael Grant: ****/ (four and a half stars)

***For the month of January, Poison Study was by-far my favourite. Review (on a review) coming VERY soon.***

Anyways, as you can tell, I failed my January TBR but I read some awesome extra books. I will hopefully have a review up for all of these very soon. I also read 4 pages of Angelfall by Susan Ee, but come one, that's doesn't REALLY count for anything, does it?

February TBR

Now for my TBR! Originally I was going to be doing romance, but I don't really feel like it for this month. I still wanted to do something that contributes to Valentine's day, so I've decided to choose 4 books (like always) that have an author's last name acronym for L.O.V.E. For example, if I was doing a "D" then I could choose any Sarah Dessen book. So... The books that I will hopefully be reading for this month are:

1. Legend by Marie Lu
2. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
3. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
4. Angelfall by Susan Ee

I am also hoping to finish reading my January TBR which means I will be reading What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher, and The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Fredrick.

I'm interested to know what you have read and are planning to read in the coming months. Leave a comment below! I love you guys <3