M.A.S.H.: Book Edition

During my read-a-thon that I did on April 29th, 2013, I took breaks. On one of those breaks I decided to do M. A. S. H. in book edition. I saw Jesse from jessethereader on YouTube do this, and it looked like a lot of fun so I did it during on of my breaks. For each of the categories I chose one good (green), one bad (red), and one okay (blue) choice. I also made each of my choices/submissions come from different books. Then I did that swirl thing, and my number was 5. This is what happened...

M. A. S. H.

Husband
Cas from Altered
Alex from Delirium
Thomas from The Maze Runner

Places
Godspeed from Across the Universe
New Beijing from Cinder
London from A Great and Terrible Beauty

Jobs
Gamemaker from The Hunger Games
Guardian from The Treachery of Beautiful Things
Matcher from Matched

Colours (choices came from book covers)
Red from Blood Red Road
Blue from The Archived
Yellow from The Diamond of Darkhold

Vehicles
Train from Divergent and Insurgent
Hoverboard from Uglies
Boat from Gone

Numbers (of kids)
7 from Harry Potter
2 from Legend (Day and June)
5 from The Beacon Street Girls

Animals
Dog from Dog Lost
Cat from Warriors
Fenris from Sisters Red

Best Friend
Laurel from Wings
Penryn from Angelfall
Lindsey from An Abundance of Kathrines


So... I will live in a shack in London working as a Match Maker. I will get around London in my yellow overboard. I will marry Alex, have 5 kids, have a pet cat and be best friends with Lindsey Lee Wells.

That's my life! Be sure to check out Jesse's video as well. Also, I'm really interested to see all of your M. A. S. H. games in book edition. Comment below with a blog link and I will be sure to check out your post. Happy reading!

April 29th, 2013: Read-a-Thon!

Hello everyone! This afternoon I don't have school and I was thinking, "Why not do a read-a-thon?" So that's what I'm doing for the next three hours. Over the course of this read-a-thon, I will be reading up to page 202 in The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Long, Glitches: Novella by Marissa Meyer (to serve as a break from tToBT or tHotS) and possibly Slide by Jill Hathaway (if I finish tToBT). I will also be having breaks between reading to keep my eyes healthy. The breaks will mainly be piano practice, a couple of goodreads updates, and instagram scrolling. I have also made a schedule that you can view by clicking here. Feel free to join me in reading! Happy reading.

May Viewers Choice

... This is late. Super late...

Oh well! I still want to do one, because they are so much fun to make, and I love considering you guys in my reading choices. This month though, I am going to be having a choice between books, not themes. The theme has already chosen. It is books that are the first in a series. I chose this theme because I have so many books that fit underneath this category out from my local library right now.

Your choices for the month of May are...

1. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers: His Fair Assassin #1
2. The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson: Shades of London #1
3. Partials by Dan Wells: Partials #1
4. The False Prince by Jennifer Neilsen: The Ascendence Trilogy #1
5. Breathe by Sarah Crossan: Breathe #1
6. Fracture by Megan Miranda: Fracture #1
7. Article 5 by Kirsten Simmons: Article 5 #1
8. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl: Caster Chronicles #1

Please comment below with your top 3 choices! I will be reading the 3 with the most votes.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading.

Grave Mercy photo credit goes to goodreads.com

Viewers Choice word art was created by me on Microsoft Word

Under The Never Sky Book Review

Author: Veronica Rossi
# of Pages: 374
Reading Span:
Rating: still deciding

Yay! It's my first TBR book review. Don't worry, I'm going to start catching up on the book reviews for past months, but I'm going to start with Under The Never Sky because it's fresh in my mind. So, Under The Never Sky. I read it while I was in a bit of a slump - after reading Eve and then putting down two books after that because I couldn't... I just couldn't. This book didn't really help me out either. It was pretty good, don't get me wrong, but I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I had read it after or before my little reading slump. Anyways....

I really liked the idea of the world in this book. The idea of having an "outside" and an "inside" was so cool, but I think that it could have been done better. A main part of this book is finding out the "inside's" secrets, but it didn't seem too important. The information wasn't anything that was really worth keeping away from Aria, and it just made the characters naïve.

And the characters... Hmmmm. I don't know how I feel about them. Aria isn't a strong character, and that's one of the traits that I look for in a female protagonist, especially in a book like this. I also thought that Perry was a bit weak as well, although I think I do like him more than Aria. My favourite character was probably Roar or Marron. Both of them had good personalities, and traits that I could look up to. I also liked Aether guy. I could relate to him and understand what he was going through, and I enjoyed reading about him along the way.

The plot, on the other hand, was enjoyable. It had a point! Although some things got a bit repetitious. That being said, it was never really boring. Almost never. The only thing that really annoyed me about the plot was the romance. I get it Perry, she smells like roses, now hurry up and fight or else you are going to die! I don't know, maybe if I liked romance better, this part wouldn't have bothered me, but I personally didn't enjoy it.

Now how could I forget about the magical element? It was awesome! I think that that was the thing that really pulled up he rating for me. I liked the idea of senses and the Aether and ah! So amazing. If I were to recommend this book for one reason, that would be it.

The writing style was also good. Good. Not amazing, but not bad either. Just good. There were no run-on sentences or awkward word choices, but there were no amazing descriptions within it either. Nothing special, just goodness.

So yeah. That is my review of Under athe Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I recommend this book to people who enjoy young-adult fantasy. If you are looking for a dystopia, I would say to look somewhere else. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld are both great dystopias that you may want to check out.

Have you read Under The Never Sky? Are you planning on it? Leave your thoughts down below, and don't forget to subscribe. Happy reading!

Happy 100th!

It's my 100th post! Whoa! I had no idea I posted this much... Anyways, I thought that I would have a "happy 100" celebration. I'm not entirely sure what to do yet, so leave a comment below with ideas. I'm looking forward to spending another "happy 100" day with you when I gain that many followers, but until then...

Happy reading!

Top Ten Books I Liked More/Less Than Expected

If you do not know what Top Ten Tuesday is, please visit http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.ca/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html

Top Ten Books That I Liked More/Less Than Expected – Apr. 23rd

Green means that I liked it more, red means less.

The Breadwinner Trilogy by Deborah Ellis

I received this as a gift a few years ago and my reaction was sort of like, "Um... Yeah. Thanks." Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. This book was amazing. A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. 

Almost Home by Nora Baskin

I got this book out from the library expecting it to be okay. And I got less than that. It was pretty short so I lived through it, but I defiantly wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Angelfall by Susan Ee

This wasn't a huge disappointment, although it still wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Considering all the rave reviews,  I was expecting a 5 star rating from me. The beginning though, wasn't my favourite, which brought it down to 4 stars. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't amazing either.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Sort of the same issue that I had with Angelfall. Forgive me for not wanting to repeat myself.

Bookweird by Paul Glennon

I hate putting all these books down, but honestly Bookweird? How could I not mention you. I was super excited for this book when I was younger, but of course, that's not what I got.

Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo

I loved this book. Absolutely awesome. I was expecting it to be a bit boring being non-fiction, but I actually throughly enjoyed it and I think that you should all go and check it out.

The Face of the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. And to be honest, I was a bit thrown off by the cover. Thankfully, I still decided to pick it up, because I absolutely loved it.

The Giver by Louis Lowry

I was required to read this book for school a couple years ago and it got me super mad. Reading is supposed to be for fun! Thankfully though, it was so good. Way better than expected. Woot woot!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I almost forgot about Mockingjay. Tisk tisk. I really didn't like this book. Sorry everyone. This book was just... ugh. If you would like to see a full review, comment below.

Flush by Carl Hiaasen

To end on a good note we have Flush, which again, I thought would only be okay but ended up being better.

Have you done a Top Ten Tuesday? Leave a comment below with your link and I'll be sure to check your list out! Happy reading. 

Book Talk: Speed Reading!

Nice to be typing to you again, my lovely viewers! It's been a while since I've posted anything, and I've had "speed reading" on my mind for the past little while, so I'd thought I'd have a little talk about it.

First let's determine what "speed reading" is exactly. To me, it means picking up a book and simply pushing yourself to read for as long as you can. So let's get on a talk about it.

So speed reading, is it a good thing? I'd say it depends. I think that is a great way to get me out of a slump, because it get's me to read in the most difficult times, and I find out that I enjoy it once I actually push myself to do it. The goal/speed reading is just what I need to get myself out of that.

Otherwise, I don't think that speed reading is the best choice, at least for me. When I'm really enjoying reading, and I technically "speed read" without the push, sitting down to read when I don't feel like it isn't the best choice. It's actually the thing that gets me into a slump. Just the thought that it's my duty to read puts me down, and I often get out of the "zone".

What about you? How do you feel about speed-reading. Talk to me!!!! I'm lonely :( Okay, good-bye. Happy reading!

The House of the Scorpion - Thoughts So Far

Now that I have started reading the novel and have experienced the first section, it's time to discuss my thoughts so far. To be honest, this book is not my favourite at the moment. Why? Well, let's discuss....

First of all, I cannot connect to the characters - especially Matt, the protagonist. I don't know what it is about him. Whether he's too young for me to understand him, or we just have different personalities, I don't feel compelled to read about his life. The writing style is also a bit ramble-y; in the dialogue mostly. In a lot of parts I feel like I'm reading a script instead of a novel. Maybe that's why there's a cast of characters in the front matter.

Another thing that all readers want to avoid is confusion. Good luck people. Nancy Farmer introduced so many characters. I have no idea who they are and what importance they have to the story - if they even have any importance! I’ve needed to look back on the cast of characters quite a bit to find out where they fit in. Every time I check back, it’s takes away from the story.

And ugh... This novel isn't engaging. I mean, I realize that this is the exposition of the book, but honestly? I have read many books that make the beginning more interesting than this. Also, it's a bit predictable, although I'm pretty sure that Nancy Farmer did this on purpose.

Moving onto the things that I liked. I'm not going to lie, it was really hard for me to think up these points, but eventually I dug these valid points up.

I like the premise a lot. It’s so cool, and if anything, that's what’s pushing me to read on. Who doesn't want to read about clones? It's such an original idea, and I praise Nancy Farmer coming up with it.

Another thing that I like is the descriptions that Nancy writes. Yes, one of my weak points is on the writing style, but that was for the dialogue (mostly). The descriptions that Nancy Farmer included were excellent and painted a picture in my head.

My last point is the Spanish that you might have noticed while flipping through the book. It enhanced the mood of the book, and made the overall experience a lot better.

So that's it – my thoughts of the first section of the book. Tonight I'm going to be reading up to page 83, so stay tuned for more thoughts. Happy reading!

Remember Me Book Review

This book is part of my spring break book reviews. Click here to view all of them.

Remember Me
Author: Nadia Adjari
# of Pages: 48
Reading Span: A Half Hour
Rating: ****

Remember Me was an enjoyable book that I bought signed a couple years ago when it came out. Since then, I haven't picked it up an read it... until spring break. I was in the mood for something short and easy to read, so I sat down and took 30 minutes to read Remember Me. I'm really glad that I did.

The characters were likeable enough, and I praise Nadia Adjari for developing them as well as she did in 48 pages (which in reality is only 37). And if you are following me on goodreads, you would know that this book made me cry. I cried sometime in the end scene, when the characters... sorry, can't say. Spoilers! But anyways, I could relate to the characters and so I gladly followed their story, interested in finding out what would happen next.

Though the characters were good and fit nicely into the skinny book, I feel like other elements were a bit rushed such as a love interest, and the plot. The relationship between the two of the characters formed too quickly, especially since it didn't start up until about half-way through the book. Also, many of the events leading up to the resolution hap
pened to quickly which resulted in an unrealistic story. That being said, I could still relate to Tessie's story. It's like real-life but on fast-forward. I could also see the ending from a long way off, although that wasn't too big of a deal.

One of the other things that made this book more enjoyable for me was the setting. The story took place in Calgary, Alberta, and I have indeed, been there before. So when Nadia spoke of a couple shopping centres and a bus system I got really excited because I knew where they were. I felt like I was right along with Tessie, revisiting Calgary with a friend. Even if you haven't been to Calgary before, the writing was good enough that you can still picture the place in your mind and enter into Tessie's world.

The writing style of this book was nothing special, but I think it could be. I really hope that Nadia continues to write, as this book shows much potential for future books. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads, and I defiantly recommend this book to anyone over the age of 10 who can get their hands on it.

All photos are form goodreads.com

Series I've Started But Haven't Finished

So I realize I have started a whole bunch of series that I haven't exactly finished... yeah. I have separated them into different groups to make things easier, as well as to keep the lists shorter. I hope you enjoy!

Series That I Will Be Finishing That Have Sequels Released

1. Across the Universe Trilogy by Beth Revis
2. Fairytale Retellings Series by Jackson Pearce
3. Gone Series by Michael Grant
4. Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray
5. Dustlands Trilogy by Moira Young
6. Study Series by Maria V. Snyder
7. The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner
8. Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver
9. The Giver Quartet by Louis Lowry
10. Stargirl Duology by Jerry Spinelli
11. The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
12. Under The Never Sky Series by Veronica Rossi

Series That I May Or May Not Finish (that have sequels that have and have not be released)

1. Wings Series by Aprilynne Pike
2. Hex Hall Trilogy by Rachel Hawkins
3. Matched Trilogy by Allie Condie
4. Visions Series by Lisa McMann
5. The Chronicles of Narnia Series by C. S. Lewis
6. Tomorrow When The War Began Series by John Marsden
7. Silverwing Series by Kenneth Opal
8. Warrior Series by Erin Hunter
9. Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowhitz
10. Eve Trilogy by Anna Carey

Series That I Will Be Continuing When The Sequels Arrive

1. Varient Series by Robison Wells
2. Altered Series by Jennifer Rush
3. Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth
4. Lunar Chronicles Quartet by Marissa Meyer
5. Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu
6. Mind Games Series by Kiersten White
7. The Archived Series by Victoria Schwab
8. Uglies: Graphic Novels
9. Penryn & The End of Days Series by Susan Ee

Series That I Will Not Be Continuing

1. Geronimo Stilton Series by Geronimo Stilton
2. The Secrets of Immortal Nicolas Flannel Series by Michael Scott
3. Brian's Saga by Gary Paulsen
4. Matt Cruse Series by Kenneth Opal
5. The Guardians of Ga'Hoole Series by Kathryn Lasky
6. Bookweird Trilogy by Paul Glennon
7. Janie Johnson Series by Caroline B. Cooney
8. Beacon Street Girls Series by Annie Bryant
9. Chasing Vermer Series by Blue Balliett

How many series do you have unfinished? I would love to hear from you. Happy reading!

Photos are all from goodreads.com

In My Library (1)

I saw this really good idea on Bookables channel on YouTube and I've decided to try it out on my blog. And by the way, you should go and watch Bookables' videos because she is amazing!!!!!

Bookables channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Bookables

In My Library is basically where I share with you the books that I've gotten from the library. I will be doing these every once in a while, when I go crazy and get a ton of books. If you really want to know what I have out from the library at every single moment I have a shelf on goodreads called books-i-have-out and I update it with the books I have out from the library.

Goodreads Shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/12683404-brianna?format=html&shelf=books-i-have-out

Right at the moment I have two books out from my school library and 16 from my local library. I know, I'm kind of crazy. I have a book getting obsession, and it doesn't help that the library got a few new paperbacks.

I'm going to start with the books that I have out from my school library, so... The first book that I have out is The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Far
mer. I'm actually reading this for school (if you saw my latest "Looking Foreword" post), and I'm on page 49. To be honest though, it's not my favourite thing.

The second book I have out from my school library is just for pleasure and it is The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. It is the third and final book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy and no, I haven't read the second one yet but I have it and I thought, you know, "Why not?" And just saying, but holy cow, this book is huge!!!!

Now onto my local library books... The 16 of them. Since I don't want this post to be too long, I'm going to explain each of these books in 5 words. I saw Kate do this on her channel, so you should take a look at that as well.

Katesbookclub: http://www.youtube.com/user/KatesBookClub

1. The Seeing Stone by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black: Spiderwick Chronicles two; reading next
2. Lucinda's Secret by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black: Spiderwick Chronicles three; short book
3. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray: So excited; Gemma Doyle two
4. Pivot Point by Kasie West: Read; love it; new release
5. Breathe by Sarah Crossan: Cool concept; reading soon; excited
6. Enclave by Ann Aguirre: Not working; okay; currently reading
7. The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Long: Pretty cover; monthly TBR list
8. Slide by Jill Hathaway: shorter than expected; monthly to-read
9. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson: London, what's not to love?
10. Shards and Ashes by Various Authors: short stories; dystopia; want it
11. The False Prince by Jennifer Neilsen: Someone recommended; on a whim
12. Partials by Dan Wells: AHHHHHH; i want it now
13. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers: Fairly thick; beautiful; pretty spine
14. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver: sequel; part of a trilogy
15. The Shattering by Karen Healy: Might return; got just because
16. Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi: Monthly TBR; currently reading; love

Wow... that was a lot of books. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this post. Happy reading!

All photos are from goodreads.com

#FridayReads - April 12th, 2013

Check out Bunny Cates from YouTube (or her blog) for more information on what FridayReads is.

This weekend I will be reading Enclave by Ann Aguirre, but I've started it and it's not my favourite thing in the world...

If Enclave doesn't work out then I will be reading Breathe by Sarah Crossan, which I'm really excited to get into.

I am also hoping to finish the second book in the Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony Diterlizzi and Holly Black.

Change In My TBR

Again, I'm changing my TBR a little bit because I just couldn't read/finish The Selection. So, I have changed the 2012 Debut to Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. Sorry about all the changes.

Looking Forward (3)

Hello everyone! This is an update pertaining the postings that I will be including on this blog, as well as a new page that you may have noticed at the top of my blog. For school, I will be starting an in-depth inquiry on The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. I will be posting a few individual posts on this blog, plus a few posts with a few peers in my class. Please know that I will still be continuing on with my regular posts, but I will be focusing more on this one book.

Thanks! And happy reading.

Something Fishy.....

It has come to my attention that the side-bar thing-a-ma-jig has been doing weird things in saying that one person voted for something, yet that's not how it has showed up. Apparently, a reader chose 2012 debuts instead of new releases, which serves to be a problem. Therefore, I have made a new TBR list.

I will still, most likely, be reading Pivot Point in April, it just isn't my top priority. Instead, my top priority will by The Selection by Kiera Cass, which is a 2012 debut. This is my "priority TBR".

1. The Selection by Kiera Cass
2. Slide by Jill Hathaway
3. The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Long
4. Pivot Point by Kasie West

I also may very well be reading Fracture by Megan Miranda, which is also a 2012 debut and was a toss-up. The only reason why The Selection ruled out is because it's in on my hold shelves from the library. It would be fifth though...

What do you think of this new TBR?

Happy reading!

Book of the Month: March 2013

My favourite book that I read this month has been.... Well, I really should say books with an "s", because I have a tie between Across the Universe and Scarlet, which were both 5 star reads.




What was your favourite book? Or does it have a "s" on the end like me?  ...  Happy reading!

April TBR 2013

So many decisions to make!! So I'm going to be choosing my 3 books at the beginning of the month again...

The viewers choice for April didn't turn out the way that I have planned. I only got 3 votes!!! On top of that, they were all different themes, so I will be choosing 3 books from 3 different themes. These themes will also be recycled for the month of May, so if you did not vote, do not fear! You will that opportunity in a few weeks. Now, enough nonsense blabbering.

The 3 themes that I have chosen books from are "New Releases", "Dress on the Cover" and "Titles That Start With "S"". And the books that I'm planning to read for each of these are (in order of the way I addressed them)...

1. Pivot Point by Kasie West
2. The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Long
3. Slide by Jill Hathaway

Be sure to look out for spring break book reviews! And Happy reading!

March 2013 Wrap-Up

I've decided to split up my TBR's and Wrap-Ups. So yeah! The books I read in March.

The first book that I finished in March was The Archived by Victoria Schwab. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. Click here to see my full review.

The second book that I finished in March was Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, and I absolutely loved this book. It was a definite 5 out of 5 star read, and I suggest that you read Cinder if you haven't already so you can move on to the amazing sequel.

Remember Me by Nadia Ajdari was the third book that I read last month. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It was a very enjoyable, and I recommend it to everyone.

The fourth books of the month was Across the Universe by Beth Revis, which I started along the with The Archived, and I'm really glad that I did. 5 stars.

The fifth book was Splintered by A. G. Howard which was on my TBR of March. I really liked it, although it wasn't my favourite. 4 stars.

The sixth book that I finished was Crash by Lisa McMann, a very quick read and over all, only 3 stars.

I also read a lot of Mind Games, but didn't finish it until the 1st of April.

Happy reading!

Sorry this post is so terrible. I just feel like I need to get something up for you!