Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Book Covers

I could tell you what they all are – or I could simply show you. I vote for option 2. Who’s with me??

I just like all the little details included in the branches and whatnot. Such a good book.

The cover got me to read the book which was a sad disappointment honestly. But the cover is cool

Love this cover.. All steampunky and swirly. Yep. Great cover.

No question what this book is about.at. all. I love how striking and vibrant the cover is.

While this is not the cover of the English edition, I think this one is so much better.

It took me forever to realize that the girl was there. Looking at it now, I don’t know how I missed it.

I like simple. This one is a great example

I also like a cover that makes you look twice – like this one.

Simple lines

Finally the kind of cover that just is amusing so you must pick it up.

Okay, I admit that my list probably looks very different than most. What would you add that didn’t? Which cover do you hate on here?

Book Review: Partials

Book: Partials

Author: Dan Wells

Recommend: Great dystopian fiction of a different variety..

I’ve been trying to write this review for about twenty minutes now but my husband is scrolling through tons of cat memes and I can’t focus for the life of me. I picked this up a few weeks ago but other books kept jumping in front of it for various reasons. Finally, tonight I should have been doing homework but I ignored it completely in order to read and I’m so glad I did. The  book was so good that I immediately ordered the next one in the series simply because I couldn’t put it down.

Kira is a one of the few thousand left of the human race who have somehow survived the deadly RM virus that has killed everyone else alive – well everyone else completely human. For some reason the Partials hadn’t come after them to finish them off, however they were still out there – lurking, waiting for the last of the human race to die out or attack, whichever comes first. When Kira thinks she might know a way to find a cure, she will risk everything to give the human race hope.

Great story, wonderful plot, interesting characters, and good pacing – makes for a great read. There are enough character to keep it interesting while not so many that you get lost. The main character is complex and driven by more than her heart which is nice to see the romance in a dystopian novel not take center stage. There are enough twists and turns in this book to keep you guessing and the ending sets the reader up for the next book, going into enough detail to get the reader interested without giving too much away.

Definitely worth reading and will keep you guessing all the way through!

I was just looking at my post count and I can’t believe this is my 300th post!!

Final Rating:

Need more than one copy!!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books dealing with tough subjects

Okay, last week was rough – I know. This week shouldn’t be as hard to come up with books for but is still a tough week because we are dealing with books that are  hard to read for one reason or another but normally deal with difficult subjects like suicide, abuse or drug use.

1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher – This deals with the aftermath of teen suicide and what is left behind when a person decides to end their own life.

2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – Deals with kids trying to deal with their own cancer, attempting to have a normal life, all while knowing they are dying.

3. A Child Called “It” by Dave Peltzer – This book and the follow ups deal with the author’s personal experiences with abuse. There are also a couple of books written by his brother who was abused after he left.

4. Room by Emma Donoghue – Deals with a girl who is abducted and the has to raise her child by her kidnapper. When they finally escape, it also goes into the emotional upheavaltat comes with leaving the situation.

5. Please Stop Laughing at Me… by Jodee Blanco – This book deals with the torment that children can force on their peers. This girl’s personal account of being bullied through school. Being a victim of bullying myself when I was a kid, this book really hit home.

6.Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott – Written as YA fiction, this deals with a girl who is kidnapped and lives with a pedophile until she reaches the point where he no longer wants her and tries to use her to kidnap someone else.

7. The Tiger’s Child by Torey Hayden – The story of a teacher and a wild little girl. A little girl that no one understood.

8. Trafficked by Kim Purcell – A modern day human trafficking story.

9. No More Bullies by Frank Peretti – A personal story of how he was bullied as a child and a call to stop bullying.

10. Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman – A discussion on the secret world of girl bullies, how it has continued and what we can do to stop it.

I think that these kinds of books are very important because they deal with the reality that some people are forced to live through. While I think that a steady diet of this kind of reading, wouldn’t be healthy, some of this is important so that we can have some understanding of what others around us might be going through. What would you add to this list?

Book Review: Rise

Book: Rise

Author: Anna Carey

Recommend: Definitely, but only if you’ve read the first two books in the series.

I had less than an hour to read this one. I saw it on the shelves while wondering Barnes and Noble on a long lunch hour. I picked it up, plopped down at a table and began to race through the book, eagerly devouring the conclusion to one of my favorite trilogies lately.

Eve is a mess after the shooting of Caleb and she is definitely showing it at the beginning of this book. Her hatred of her father and everything he stands for has only grown since she lost Caleb but she goes through the motions – all while secretly planning his assassination all while dealing with her sham of a marriage to Charles. When she find out that she has one last piece of Caleb left, everything changes and she puts her life on the line to stop her father forever.

This one was  a complete roller coaster ride to the end and when you think it’s all over, the author throws you for a welcome tailspin. I think the only thing I would say could be a negative about this book is that the author takes Eve away from the action one too many times. I know why she does it but it almost seems like a cop-out to keep her alive. I would have rather seen her in the middle of the action, continuing to fight and somehow escaping the inevitable. I think it would have made for a more exciting storyline. However, I really liked the fact that she brought back some of the issues from the first book to show that they weren’t forgotten. I also love the fact that she doesn’t make things too easy on Eve. The major complication in this book is almost funny in a way but also very bittersweet for the character, not to mention dangerous. I love the transformation of the character from a girl scared of her own shadow to a leader who seems to be able to overcome almost anything when necessary. A very large change but without losing the heart of the character.

My biggest frustration with this book was the ending. While I loved how she concluded the story, she needed to write about five more pages. It was just plain mean to leave us where she did. I wanted to see the moment she walked into that room! UGH! A few more paragraphs wouldn’t have killed her. Of course I’m among the group who loved the prolonged ending to Return of the King and I wanted just a bit more this book too. When you cut the story just short of a huge payoff for the readers, it’s just frustrating for them. It really didn’t need to be long or dragged out, but it needed to be!

Great end to such a fun series. I’m rather sad that there isn’t another Eve book to wait for.

Final Rating:

Buy it new

Top Ten Tuesday: Light and fun reads

Okay, honestly this topic terrifies me a bit. I don’t really do light and fun. My view of something light and fun would make most people run  for the hills because  the kind of thing that I find fun is not at all what others find light fun reading. I think a lot of the reads in this category for me include things like classic literature or horror. Yah. I know. I’m strange. I’m going to attempt to write a list though.

1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – This is just a fun read if you are gamer, grew up in the 1980s or find dystopian novels fun. (Yah, number one on the list and there is already a dystopian novel. I’m in trouble).

2. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Wiesberger – A book about a horrible boss and a girl’s attempt to deal with her. (yep. I fail at fun and light reads).

3. Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford – Hilarious book about Jane Austen trying to get published in the modern day. How is she still alive you ask? Simple. She’s a vampire. (great. Now I’m including books involving vampires – this is not working well)

4. Maps in a Mirror and Keeper of Dreams by Orson Scott Card -This man is the master of short stories. Short reads with something for everyone.. including one of the scariest stories I’ve ever read. (now I’m recommending scary stories… good job)

5. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer – umm…  (*facepalm*)

THAT’S IT! I fail at this – completely!!

I kid you not, these were the immediate thoughts for fun light reads. Others included Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, The Sookie Stackhouse books, and A Series of Unfortunate Events.  I think there is really something rather wrong with me….

I went through my list of read books on goodreads even and couldn’t come up with anything decent to list. Yep. No luck there either.

Anyone out there have actual light and fun reads to recommend? Since I apparently don’t do light or fun reads…

Top Ten Tuesday: Words/Topics that instantly make me pick up/buy a book

This could be a very very long list. I’m a avid readers and find a lot of things that interest me. I think it would honestly be easier to do a reverse of this list because there is very little that I find uninteresting to read about. So I think you’re going to get both today. The ones that will make me pick up a book and the ones that will make me throw a book back on the shelf like it’s diseased.

Topics/Words that make books fly into my hands

1. OZ – Yep. I’ve loved the original series since I was little. To this day, if it’s on TV, everyone knows they aren’t going to be getting the TV back anytime soon.

2. Stephenie Meyer – Odd I know but if she recommends it or it is written by her, no questions asked, I’m checking it out.

3. Dystiopian – As much as I complain about the overabundance of dystopia fiction coming out, I still read tons of it. I find the different ideas fascinating. (Can we add this word to spell check and the dictionary already?? I hate those little wavy red lines popping up under things I know are right.. grr)

4. The Doctor – yep. If you’ve read my blog, you know have I a slightly unhealthy obsession with anything related to Doctor Who. I’ll even read authors who admit to throwing references into the book in the forward or acknowledgements. (Maybe I need help….. nah).

5. Fairy Tales re-imagined – I have always loved fairy tales. I love them even more when authors take the original story and flesh out the characters, adding their own spin to it. Right now there are so many wonderful books doing this. I really like it when they blend the modern with the original. A modern person getting pulled into something magical. So much fun to read.

6. Steampunk – I have to admit that I love this stuff when it’s good. So often though it is all flash and no substance. I like steampunk with substance.

7. Music – If the story is about musicians or has a large music element to it, the chances of me picking it up to read are highly likely. As a musician, it is always interesting to see how others write about music. Right now I’ve got a couple of music books waiting in my rather large stack and it is taking some serious will power not to yank them out and read them now.

8. high fantasy with a very high word count – Yep, I love a good long fantasy series.

9. Anything with the words geek or video game – I’m not talking about books based on video games. I don’t want to read about the game worlds. I’m talking about books about uber-geeks or gamers. Being a huge geek myself, it’s like reading about a friend I haven’t met in person yet.

10. hidden worlds – I love the idea of secret societies or a world existing just next to our own that bleeds through to ours. The idea that something much more interesting is going on that we simply don’t notice is intriguing.

Okay, not a bad list If I do say so myself Anything you think I missed here? Here are the things that will make me throw a book back down when I hear them.

1. Mystery – yep. Hate the genre as a general rule. I usually figure them out way too soon and they are just not interesting.

2. Murder investigation – see number 1. (Unless it is a serial killer – then I ‘might’ be interested)

3. Romance – we are talking the cheesy Harlequin kind.

4. Biography – I don’t find real people that interesting – sorry.

5. Non-fiction – Yah. No.

6. 90% of Christian fiction – Why? Because it is poorly written and cheesy. (Actually I think the 90% number might be generous… that implies that 10% of it might be okay – I honestly don’t think the number is that high). Please someone – write something good! I beg you.

7. Self- Discovery – This means the main character is going to be stuck in their own head most of the book. It also means it is probably going to be a HUGE snooze fest. There are notable exceptions to this one though.

8. Ernest Hemingway – I simply can’t stand the way he writes. If an author is compared to him, good luck getting me to read his work.

9. Western – I live in the Southwest. This gets shoved down my throat enough. No thank you.

10. Anything with half dressed people on the cover – No thanks. Just no. I don’t normally judge a book by its cover, but in this, I think I’m justified.

Comments? Suggestions? Think I’m crazy? Totally agree? Let me know

Book Review: Pandemonium

Book: Pandemonium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Recommend: If you’ve read the first book in the series you will be thrilled with the second one…

Okay, honestly I rather enjoyed Delirium but it wasn’t anything that really stuck with me. A society where feelings are not allowed and there is a drug to get rid of them. Seems a lot like the plot from the movie Equilibrium starting Christian Bale. I picked up the next book in the series because one of the blogs I follow and trust simply raved about how much better the second book was. She was completely right. The second book is by far an improvement over the first.

The author takes up through the next part of the story by alternating between two points in Lena’s life, right after she leaves the city and a much later point, where she is helping to spy on the society. The timelines gradually get closer until they meet at the end of the book just in time for the climax scene. I think the pacing is so much better in this book and you really get a feel for who Lena is. The new kid, Julian has his own issues and you are almost happy for them when they fall for each other, even though apart of you is still sad about Alex but that’s okay because Lena is too.

Then the author changes everything in the last two pages and Lena’s life is spun completely out of control again in preparation for book number three, Requiem, which I immediately requested the second I finished reading this one.

I would say the big flaw of this book is that while the two timelines bit worked, in a few areas it was a bit too perfectly planned. When you can see the writing device working for the author, it is no longer working.

Overall, this is a great read and I can’t wait to get my hands on number 3.

Final Rating:

Buy it new

Book Review: Fragile Things

Book: Fragile Things
Author: Neil Gaiman
Recommend: Great in small doses…

Have you ever had an author that you truly enjoy but only when you are in the right mood? Neil Gaiman is one of those authors for me. I love the stories he creates and the way he writes, but I also find myself relieved when I finish one of his books. I think I am easily burnt out on his stuff for some reason. This book is no exception.

I really like how unique his stories are and the characters he comes up with. Sometimes they get a bit too bizarre, even for me, but I still find them enjoyable. I think in this collection, the one about Susan from the Narnia series hit me rather hard. I thought he was going somewhere completely different than where he went. I’ve always wondered about her and why she had walked away completely. I just wasn’t expecting the author to blame God instead of Susan.

Interesting reads if you are fan of short stories and have enjoyed one of his full length works.

Final Rating:

Get it free

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I thought I would like more/less than I did

We all have preconceived notions when we get a book in our hands. Whether it is the cover, synopsis, a review or something else, we get an idea of how we think we are going to like a book before we start it. Sometimes our opinion is spot on, but there are occasions where we are very very wrong. These are some of mine.

1. Wicked by Gregory Macguire – This book has so much going for it. First of all, we are dealing with a retelling of the Wizard of Oz. Second this is a villain’s story which are always more fun. Third, there was so much hype surrounding this book. I was so excited when I started reading it. But then I read it. I was never so disappointed. The book is honestly just awful. It’s not the actual basic plot though. The basic plot is great but the way Macguire writes is as dry as dust and there were so many things he threw in that just weren’t necessary, many of which were completely distasteful. Started hearing the music for the musical though and went to see that. Loved it. I think they need to rewrite the book basing off the musical and not letting Macguire have a thing to do with it.

2.Archangel by Sharon Shinn – I really try not to judge a book by it’s cover but I simply couldn’t help it with this one. The cover is honestly cheesetastic (yep, not a word – I know). The synopsis is almost as bad. Really the only reason I read it is because one of my good friends from work was thoroughly convinced that I would love it. I picked it up and was completely engrossed. The story is wonderful and I am halfway convinced that I need to start a petition for a new cover. It’s a great book that suffers from bad artwork. So sad.

3. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – I picked these up out of curiosity. They were already getting a ton of press about how evil they were. Churches were beginning to ban them. As a Christian, I wanted to see what all the controversy was about so I picked up a copy of the first couple of books. Not only is it completely fantasy, they are simply wonderful children’s books. I may have been in line at midnight for the release of every book after that and read them through before going to bed. Never thought I would love them so much. I really don’t understand all the hype surrounding them to this day.

Wow this list is really short and I can’t come up with any more!!!

Honestly, I’m usually spot on about what I read. if I have an opinion beforehand, most books uphold my opinion. However, I really do enjoy going into a book with little to no preformed opinion which is why this list was so hard to create. I like to make decisions for myself and not base them on the decisions of others.

What would be on your list?

Book Reivew: Monument 14

Book: Monument 14
Author: Emmy Laybourne
Recommend: It was a fun fast read…

I picked this one up recently and was looking through my library pile for something on the shorter side. I wasn’t feeling well and but didn’t quite want to go to bed yet. So I started in on this book and finished it in a couple of hours.

The best thing about this book was that it didn’t read just like every other teen dystopian novel out there. First of all, we see the disaster. We aren’t looking at society many years later. Second, there is nothing paranormal about this one. Hurray. Don’t get me wrong, I love my paranormal fiction but it was nice to read something without it. I also found the plot refreshing in some ways. These teens were far from perfect and it confronted issues like drinking, drug abuse and teen pregnancy.

I will say that some of this book was rather predictable because well, this was a zombie apocalypse without the zombies. This author seemed to want to write a zombie book minus zombies which she did, rather effectively but some of the plot points were painfully obvious. That being said, there were somethings that I didn’t see coming – at all, which kept me reading despite some of the issues. There is one twist in the story as well that simply made me want to crawl through the covers and kill one of the characters. If the characters in the book hadn’t done it for me I would have been furious. I would definitely say that this is TRULY a teen book and not one to be read by someone who is not yet a teenager. Some of the plot points are intended for a more mature audience.

Overall it was a fun read. Not one I’ll be adding to my collection but one that I wouldn’t mind reading the sequel to if I get the chance.

Final Rating:

Get it used…

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND: Favorite Childhood reads

This is the very first of the Top Ten Tuesdays. Since I just started doing these recently, I figured no better place to start the rewinds than with the very first one on the list that I haven’t done.

1. Imogene’s Antlers by David Small – I absolutely loved this book when I was a kid. The story of a girl who wakes up one day with antlers sticking out of her head and how they try to deal with them. A book that deals with being different without overdoing it.

2. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White – The first book I ever read on my own and still one of my favorites.

3. The Giver by Lois Lowry – An early start to my obsession with dystopian fiction. I read this when I was young and it struck a nerve. It is one of those books that I’ve never forgotten.

4. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle – Loved the idea behind this book. Meg and her relationship with her little brother and the fact that she doesn’t know how important she is makes the book so wonderful. I think that one of the things it communicates best is that everyone has something important to offer. I love how her family is constantly trying to convince her that she is intelligent and important even though she doesn’t have something obviously exceptional about herself that she can see.

5. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien – A book about what happens when you research on animals. It’s a fun read. One I checked out from the library many times.

6. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh – I loved how she snuck in everywhere and was constantly wrong about everything going on. I was always a people watcher as a kid so I understood her desire to see into people’s personal lives when I was younger.

7. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams – This book is all about a boy’s love for his favorite toy. I think we all had a toy or two that we were more attached to than the others growing up. I love the life that author gave it after the child could no longer have his toy. Such a great book.

8. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst – I loved this book especially at the end of a rough day. My mom used to read it to me all the time when I was younger.

9. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll – I loved the utter nonsense that was this book when I was younger. I had a copy that included this and Through the Looking Glass.  I needed some nonsense in the middle of all the serious reading I did when I was younger.

10. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgeson Burnett – My mom loved The Secret Garden growing up and while I enjoyed that one as well, it was always second to A Little Princess. I loved the idea of the main character being someone other than who they though she was.

What were some of your childhood favorites?

Book Review: Birthmarked

Book: Birthmarked

Author: Caragh M. O’Brien

Recommend: It was a decent read.. if you could ignore some things.

I read the first chapter of this at the library and was intrigued so I brought it home. The story was great and the characters were intense. I found the main character intriguing but I think the author had some issues and the more I read, the more I noticed the plot point problems.

First of all, the main character seems to live a life out of the history books but the society beyond the wall was supposed to be somewhat advanced. How would none of the technology on one side of the wall have bled over to the other? It should have in older, more basic forms and yet, for some reason, the author doesn’t mention it until much later in the book. There is a problem with what the author allows technology wise and what isn’t there. For example, there are movies but not sign of computers. I also found the plot points at the end kind of improbable. The whole idea that a city was surrounded by outlying areas and then they were somehow able to figure out the births from the whole community and who was who from a book without having to figure out which books belonged to their area first made no sense.

While I think this book had a ton of potential, the plot issues were rather distracting.

Final Rating:

Get it free

Book Review: The Fault in our Stars

Book: The Fault in our Stars
Author: John Green
Recommend: Most definitely… a must read book.

I’ve heard a lot about this book. Those of you who read my blog often know that I tend to avoid books with tons of hype until much later. This is another example of this but I finally picked this one up. I wish I would have picked this one up sooner. I read this book in one sitting simply because I couldn’t put it down.

First of all, this book comes from Hazel’s point of view and is written by a male author. Often, this doesn’t go well. However this guy somehow seemed to figure out how to write a teenage girl in a way that was believable. She is a wonderful character and learns so much through the course of this book. Augustus is also wonderful and flawed. Then there is the whole thing with the author of her favorite book. The symbolism that the author uses with the author character is wonderful.

The only somewhat negative piece of this book is that while some of the plot lines are necessary, in some places the plot line feels a bit cheesy. There I said it. I know this won’t necessarily be the popular view on this book but I pretty much knew how it was going to end long before we got there. I think the author of her favorite book, Peter Van Houten was the most original part of the storyline. The whole way things turned out, while sad was extremely predictable. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved it, I just wish the author had done something a bit more interesting with the ending.

Overall a wonderful read and not one to be missed. This is not your typical teen fiction.

Final Rating:

Buy it new

Book to Film: The Host

Wanda’s Seeker from The Host

I have been eagerly anticipating this film for ages. I loved the book and feel like I’ve been waiting for forever for the sequel(s) to be released. So when this Friday finally got here, I grabbed my best friend and dragged him along to go see it. I was thrilled and bouncing a bit while the previews were going on (I may have squealed slightly when we got to see the trailer for City of Bones).

The movie did not start the way I thought it was going to. we all thought the teaser trailer had absolutely nothing to do with the movie. When it was in the first minute or so of the film I was rather shocked. I actually found a lot of the way they filmed this movie to be unexpected while remaining fairly true to the book. I think the biggest departures from the book for me were the following:

1. The Seekers – First of all they wear white instead of black, which I guess kind of makes sense but I think that while Wanderer’s seeker was great, the rest of the seekers were too much like the other souls. There should have been more of a difference in my opinion.
   

   Wanda/Wanderer/Melanie

2. How Wanderer/Melanie end up in the desert – Yep. Just completely different from the book, although I don’t think it was a bad adjustment. Not good either but definitely not bad. I get why they made the change for the movie. It created another action sequence in a movie that honestly could have seriously lacked action.
3. The way the souls are removed – Okay, this was kind of bothersome for me. The way that they explain it in the book makes so much more sense. The movie simply just made no sense. How would the soul sense anything about the emotional climate around it when it is supposed to be cut off from its senses without a host? Makes no sense at all. The only thing that make sense is that it can feel physical touch and that there is a way to get to respond instinctively that would allow for removal.
4. The choice for Wanda post-removal – The actress they chose to play Wanda was interesting because I honestly don’t think that she’ll give her the same emotional quality that Saoirse Ronan did but I’m sure they’ll find some way of explaining that away if it becomes a problem.

Soul Flight

The movie was definitely not bad though. I LOVED the fact that they left the ending alone and stopped where the book does in order to leave it open for a sequel. (If Stephenie Meyer ever gets it written). I wasn’t sure about the choices for actors but after seeing the movie, I think they made wonderful choices. While this story doesn’t quite have the magic of the Twilight series, it has a depth that Twilight is completely missing. Definitely worth checking out while it is still in the theaters.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorites from before my blogging days

Okay, I’m not only going to try to come up with ones from before my blogging days but ones that I haven’t mentioned or have  barely mentioned before on this blog. So that means no Anne, Doctor Who, Terry Goodkind, Twilight or Ender, among others. I promise.

1. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden – Wonderful book about love in the most unlikely of places. Worth a read if you haven’t picked it up yet. The movie is also wonderful.

2. 1984 by George Orwell – The father of dystopian fiction before the term even existed. My freshman year English teacher gave me a copy of this book for reading the most books that year and I read it many times. It was one of the first times I was exposed to the idea of dystopian fiction and it has become one of my favorites.

3. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy – A story about a woman falling in love with the man who just happens to be her husband. I’ve only ever read the first book in the series but I loved it.

4. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton – I loved this book. Wonderful read with all kind of scary business inside. One of the few books that I read after watching the movie. The books are so much better.

5. Matilda by Roald Dahl – One of the favorites of my childhood and she continues to be one of those characters that stay with me even though my childhood is long since past.

6. Roots by Alex Haley – Wonderful book about a family’s history from Africa to the modern day through history. Wonderful book that sparked the most watched mini-series of all time.

7. Redwall by Brian Jacques – I loved this book and the many others that followed. I actually am planning on rereading them again int he near future. They are such a good read. The only animal based books that I ever liked.

8. This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti – This book and the follow up really got me thinking about spiritual warfare in a whole new way. While it id definitely fiction, the idea behind an impression even years later.

9. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – A book with hundreds of character to keep straight and a very complex storyline. I’ve read it a bunch of times and always seem to catch something new.

10. Wurthering Heights by Emily Bronte – A plot where the main characters only redeeming quality is how much they love each other. Other than that, they really have nothing good about them.

There are so many others I could mention on this list. If you are a blogger what would you list?

Book Review: The Age of Miracles

Book: The Age of Miracles
Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Recommend: Not at all what I expected but definitely interesting…

This book was exactly the last thing I expected it to be. First of all, even though this is adult fiction, the narrator is a twelve year old girl.  This book is actually feels like it’s coming from a twelve year old kid. It includes the kinds of conflicts and issues a pre-teen would be dealing with. Only a few times did I find the author slipping out of the voice a bit and they were brief and mostly due to the seriousness of the situation they were dealing with. While I knew it dealt with the slowing of the rotation of the earth, I didn’t expect it to be as fatalistic as it was. While the story was interesting and I felt compelled to finish it, this book wasn’t exactly the kind of book you couldn’t put down. In fact I did put it down, often. If you’ve been wanting to read something thought provoking but that can be read in small pieces, this is that kind of book.

Umm… yep, can’t believe this but that’s pretty much all I have to say about this one.

Final Rating:

Get it used…

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters who I would crush on if I were also a fictional character…

Yep, this post is otherwise known as who would my top choices for fictional boyfriends be. Honestly though, I think really this list is the worlds I simply would want to live in. Honestly, I wouldn’t want them in my real life but in their fictional worlds, becoming one of the characters – yep. The real name of this list should be books I want to live in and characters I would date if I were in their fictional worlds.

1. Let’s just get him out of the way, shall we? Yep, first on my list is Edward Cullen. A guy who could read my mind. Not saying that I would want to go through everything Bella Swan goes through in the series but Edward Cullen would definitely be in my top ten. Yes, I’m team Edward. Always have been. Always will be. Would I become a vampire for Edward Cullen? Absolutely.

2. Okay number two on my list is in books. Sort of. Books based off the TV show but still in books therefor he counts! Who might that be? Why the Doctor of course. If I had to pick a version, it would be Ten and I would be Rose. I absolutely love that storyline. While the others are wonderful and River Song is a very close second, it would have to be ten and Rose for sure.

3. Here is another sort of member of my list since there are books written about this character. Superman would definitely be on my list. No question. I don’t think this even needs explanation. Lois Lane is just awesome even though I wish it wouldn’t take so long for them to figure everything out.

4. Next on my list would be Richard Rahl from the Terry Goodkind series. If we want to talk torturing two characters and creating an amazing love story, this one is amazing. Of course, they are constantly fighting, almost dying and being pulled apart but when they are together, they are amazing. Plus Kahlan is a phenomenal character on her own.

5. Okay five on my list is Harry Potter simply because the love story between him and Ginny is wonderful, sweet and adorable. The problem is that I have two in this story that need to be mentioned, so my number 6 is…

6. Ron Weasley is number six simply because I am a whole lot like a muggle version of Hermione down to the crazy bushy hair and big front teeth. Not to mention the bookish rule follower that I used to be in school.

7. I think another would be Gilbert from the Anne series. I don’t know that I would want to live during that time period but I do think the way he loves her is amazing.  Even though she doesn’t see it, he knows from the beginning that they are meant to be and he waits for her as long as it takes until she realizes it too.

8. The love interest of Elisa in The Girl of Fire and Thorns series by Rae Carson. I simply love this story. The whole thing sneaks up on the reader in a way that you don’t expect. I really don’t want to say much because it would completely ruin the story

9. Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre. I love this love story. I think that Jane makes all the right choices and I love how it all ends. Although I could do without the crazy wife in the attic.

10. Eragon would be the last one on the list simply because he loves her completely. However, I would completely change the end of the last book. Completely.

Whew. That list was very hard to come up with. There are many other stories that I love that I would never want to be in for example, while I love The Hunger Games, I would never want to live in that storyline. Another one would be The Host. Love the story but wouldn’t want to share my body with Wanda or be Wanda and have to share my body with someone else. Yikes. What characters would your list contain?

Book Review: Beta

Book: Beta
Author: Rachel Cohn
Recommend: Interesting read..

I have a routine when I go to the library. If I can’t bring myself just to go grab my book(s) on the hold shelf, I walk through and collect books I think I might be interested in based on the synopsis and cover and pop them into my Disney Villains bag. When I’ve got somewhere between 7 and 12 books, I find a seat, hopefully in the back of the library where there aren’t a lot of people around and pull the books out one by one. If they are book I placed a hold on, they stay in the bag but the rest come out and are placed in a stack in front of me. Then I pull the top one and start to read a bit to see if I think the book is worth taking home with me. When I get a substantial way into a book without realizing it, like I did with this one, it usually means it will be the first one I read when I get home. Went to the library today. I’m already done with the book.

Beta tells the story of one of the first teenage clones on an island paradise. The story follows Elysia as she tries to cope with life as a test clone, sold into a life of futuristic slavery. While some of the book is frankly completely unbelievable, this beauty of this book is the obvious parallel to slavery before the civil war. It would be a great book study to introduce this concept in a high school classroom (not that teachers have time for that kind of thing).

I really liked the fact that the author maintains the same view about the sanctity of human life throughout the book. It would have been so easy to simply parrot the popular ideas of today but this author follows her idea to its logical conclusion. I also like that while she doesn’t shy away from some of the more difficult aspects of the life of a slave, she does handle them delicately.

However, this book had one HUGE flaw. The ending. Everything was great until the bizarre ending the author gave her book. I was fine until the very last couple of pages. Then I felt like the author completely phoned it in to set up for the next book in an obvious series. She was fine without her little revelation on the last page. She really could have left things where they were and given us that in more detail at the beginning of book two.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and memorable read minus a couple of flaws. Worth picking up.

Final Rating:

Buy it new

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I recommend Most

This topic is actually going to be rather difficult. To come up with only ten that I recommend most is tricky. Part of the reason that I did this blog was so that I could give better recommendations of what to read to people who asked me quite often what to read. Not everyone enjoys the same kinds of things and since I think the most important thing about reading is that you actually do it, I recommend whatever people are most likely to enjoy. That being said, there are some books I recommend more often than most. Here is the ones I suggest the most often in no particular order.

1. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card – Great science fiction with wonderful characters and the start of two fabulous series of books that are still being written. Yep. Worth reading.

2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery – I grew up on these books. I love them so much that I wore out multiple copies completely and had to get new ones. Definitely the one I recommend to my female students who are looking for something new to read.

3. Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer – I usually recommend this to people who have refused to read it before I tell them to. Normally these are people who have only seen bits of the movie and have no idea what the story is really about. While it isn’t the best thing ever written by far, the plot line is wonderful and the characters are so much fun to read. It was the first light reading that I fell in love with and was the books that got me started on YA fiction.

4. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – I loved this series. The feels. Oh the feels that go with the story of Jace and Clary, especially in the first three books. Wow. This book is the definition of angst.

5. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo – This is probably my favorite book of all time. The story is wonderful and complex and tragic and amazing all at the same time. There is something for every mood you might be feeling at any given time. It is epic wonderfulness. Am I gushing? Yep. Is the book completely worth gushing over? Oh yes.

6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – This is a wonderful story of what happens when everyone betrays you and you seek revenge only to realize that living a life and being happy is more important than revenge. I ALWAYS recommend the unabridged version. There is so much that you miss out on in the abridged version of this classic. So much of the priest and his time in prison which makes the whole book make more sense.

7. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – Completely tragic love story that ends so very badly. A cautionary tale of how love can ruin you completely. So wonderfully written with parallel stories running through it that capture the imagination. The ending is tragic of course but the whole thing is a wonderful read.

8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – This is a wonderful book that will caught my imagination completely and wouldn’t let go the whole time I was reading. Competing magicians who have no idea what is going to happen or how the competition will end.

9. Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind – If someone is looking for really good fantasy, this is where I send them every time but I’m sure those of you who read my blog know this by know.

10. Quiet by Susan Cain – I recommend this to every single introverted person I know and anyone who knows someone introverted and doesn’t seem to understand them. As someone who is an introvert, this book helped me understand myself so much better.

Okay, I’m sure there a bunch I would recommend that I didn’t include on this list but these are the ones I can come up with right now. What are the books that you recommend most often?

Book Review: Prodigy

Book: Prodigy
Author: Marie Lu
Recommend: Yes but be prepared for the pain-fest that is this book…

Note: This review was written while on cold medicine….

I loved Legend. It was amazing. Then to find out that she based it on one of my favorite stories of all time and yet it was so subtle that I didn’t catch it at first – amazing. I may have done a bit of a happy dance when I saw the email to tell me that this was available and waiting for me at the library last week. It didn’t matter that I was staying across town for the week. I drove and picked it up.

When I finally had time to get into it, I thought it would be one of those devour it in one sitting kind of books. I was wrong. So very wrong. I had to put this one down – often – in order to get through it. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good read and I applaud the author for going a completely different direction than any of her readers would ever have imagined – period. However, this book was painful. It was more realistic than most but still an extremely painful read.

I honestly wanted to reach through the pages a few times and slap some sense into the two main characters all while understanding why they were making the infuriating choices they did. Yep. Not one to read unprepared.

Not much more I can without spoiling the whole plot so, yah – in the words of Scar from the Lion King, “Be Prepared!”

Final Rating:

Buy it new