Day 1

Day #1 - Best book you read last year?
I loved the Twilight saga. I've only begun to really get into books again at the end of last year. And I started with this series. Glad I read it :)

30 Day Book Challenge

Day 01 - Best book you read last year
Day 02 - A book that you’ve read more than 3 times
Day 03 - Your favorite series
Day 04 - Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 05 - A book that makes you happy
Day 06 - A book that makes you sad
Day 07 - Most underrated book
Day 08 - Most overrated book
Day 09 - A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 10 - Favorite classic book
Day 11 - A book you hated
Day 12 - A book you used to love but don’t anymore
Day 13 - Your favorite writer
Day 14 - Favorite book of your favorite writer
Day 15 - Favorite male character
Day 16 - Favorite female character
Day 17 - Favorite quote from your favorite book
Day 18 - A book that disappointed you
Day 19 - Favorite book turned into a movie
Day 20 - Favorite romance book
Day 21 - Favorite book from your childhood
Day 22 - Favorite book you own
Day 23 - A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t
Day 24 - A book that you wish more people would’ve read
Day 25 - A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 - A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 - The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 - Favorite title
Day 29 - A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 - Your favorite book of all time

What's your favourite book as a kid?

Out of Curiosity...
As part of this massive cleanout that’s happening, I’ve been going through my bookshelf, especially those from when I was a kid. I thought it’d be neat to a see what other people’s treasures are.
What was your favourite book as a kid?
I loved the Junie B. Jones books, and BabySitters Club. If only I could find them again :(

Contest Winner!

Thanks to the 43 awesome followers who entered my contest for the books Compound by S.A. Bodeen, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Gone by Michael Grant. The lucky winner who gets a brand spankin' new copy of these wonderful books is...
Kristen Larson!
Congrats! I'm emailing you right now and you'll have a week to get back to me before I pick another winner.

The Host cuteness

Aw how cute is that?
I have The Host sitting on my TBR pile, I picked it up once, read a few pages and never got back to it. I heard it's a really awesome book though so I'll try and read this again very soon.

Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood

“In a snug New England fishing village, Charlie St. Cloud tends the lawns and monuments of an ancient cemetery where his younger brother, Sam, is buried. After surviving the car accident that claimed his brother’s life, Charlie is graced with an extraordinary gift: He can see, talk to, and even play catch with Sam’s spirit. Into this magical world comes Tess Carroll, a captivating woman training for a solo sailing trip around the globe. Fate steers her boat into a treacherous storm that propels her into Charlie’s life. Their beautiful and uncommon connection leads to a race against time and a choice between death and life, between the past and the future, between holding on and letting go—and the discovery that miracles can happen if we simply open our hearts.”

I just finished this book last night and it was phenomenal. Charlie St. Cloud is a character that I will remember for the rest of my days. Charlie can only be described as devoted and I was a devoted reader until the very last page. This is no book about romance. This is a book about love, romantic and brotherly.

The film adaptation of this book stars Zac Efron and was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. Before or after seeing the movie, I urge you to read the book. It is more in depth, more captivating and something more tangible than any film could be. Thank you, Ben Sherwood, for writing a novel that has filled my heart with hope.

5 Stars!

The Devouring by Simon Holt

“When dark creeps in and eats the light, bury your fears on Sorry Night. For in the winter’s blackest hours, comes the feassting of the Vours. No one can see it, the life they stole. Your body’s here, but not your soul…”

Reggie has always been a fan of the gothic, the supernatural, the horrific. One day, while working at the local bookstore, she comes across a book called The Devouring and, thinking it’s just another horror novel, takes it home. As Reggie and her best friend, Aaron, peruse the book, they discover the world of the Vours, demonic creatures who possess humans by preying off of fear. For Reggie and Aaron, it’s all just fun and games, until Reggie’s little brother, Henry, starts exhibiting strange behavior. Then, bad things start happening. Henry’s babysitter turns up dead, and Reggie finds Henry’s pet hamster in the toilet with a broken neck. Henry begins lying to their father, getting Reggie in trouble for things she didn’t do. When Reggie starts experiencing fear-induced hallucinations, she begins to wonder if the Vours really are just storybook monsters after all. The Devouring is a compelling young adult thriller that focuses on the element of fear. Even though the Vours are fictional beings, I found it easy to relate to the fear described in the book, mainly because fear is a natural reaction that all of us, as humans, experience at one time or another. In addition, The Devouring doesn’t just focus on supernatural issues, but normal, teenage problems that the characters face as well. The book was very well-written and suspenseful, and kept me turning pages the entire time. Be warned though, it does end with a cliffhanger, leading into Holt’s second book in the series, The Soulstice.
4 Stars!

Gossip Girl Series

secret; my grade 7 year consisted of all these books. i was obsessed, they were so good. every sentence had the work fuck in it, and i thought these books were friggin great for the audience they were for. i watch the show because of my past obsession with the books, and let me say, there is quite a difference and the show somewhat ruined the story line.

The Outsiders Quote

“Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets and you see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the sights you want to see.”
—
Ponyboy Curtis, The Outsiders

Slam by Nick Hornby

Here's a very worthy cautionary tale that teenagers will relate to. Sam Jones, skateboarder, knows that you can do the right thing 99.9% of the time--staying in control, playing by the rules and making all the right moves---but then with a momentary loss of concentration or a single wrong turn you can end up eating concrete. Sam's a good kid who generally does the right thing. When a momentary lapse results in an unplanned pregnancy, he experiences a life-jarring, mind-shattering slam far worse than any of the skateboarding accidents he's been through. As he shares his perceptions and reactions, Sam's voice rings true. He shares what he learns without any twinge of preachiness. His lessons are difficult ones--about a condom malfunction, childbirth and diaper changing, as well as evolving relationships with his girlfriend, his parents and his baby boy. Most importantly, Sam shows that good people sometimes get slammed but, when they do, they can recover, reclaim their lives and still be good people. Most people have to learn these hard lessons by making their own mistakes. However, sometimes we're lucky enough to learn things from a well-told story that can help us avoid a catastrophic slam. This one's definitely worth a read. 5 stars!

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

I love this trilogy!
One of my favorites, I honestly didn't expect to like these books as much as I did. I thought they would be about whiny teenagers obsessed with their looks. It's so much more, and really adventurous, whole new world type of books.


“What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”
—
Scott Westerfeld

BDB box set

Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.r. Ward.
I'd choose buying box sets over single books anyday.

Advantages
- They're cheaper when you buy as a whole.
- Can start on next book, once you finish reading previous.
- Quick purchase.

Disadvantages
-If you dislike the series, your screwed outta money.

I just wish more series had box sets. Some that I would by if they did have box sets are the Kate Daniels series, Rachel Morgan, Mercy Thompson, Anita Blake. But unfortunately they are all single books.

Would you rather buy the box set or purchase single books?

Haruki Murakami Quote

“If you only read the books everyone else is reading, you only think the thoughts everyone else is thinking.”
—
Haruki Murakami


It's hard for me to buy a book I've heard nothing about. Most of the books I buy, I do an extensive search on them, reading lots of reviews, judging by the stars. This is also why most of the books I put up and read I love. But next time I go to a bookstore, I will buy a book I've never heard of, and discover a new author.

Chuck Palahniuk

“What I want is to be needed. What I need is to be indispensable to somebody. Who I need is somebody that will eat up all my free time, my ego, my attention. Somebody addicted to me. A mutual addiction.”
—
Chuck Palahniuk


Who else LOVES his books?

What should I read next?

I finished The Warrior Heir today!

So now I must move onto something else. Preferable something in this house. Options include:

• Before I Die by Jenny Downham
• As You Wish by Jackson Pearce
• Perfect Chemisty by Simone Elkeles

I could also move onto The Wizard Heir, or finish Cracked Up To Be, except that I can’t actually find my copy. A Great and Terrible Beauty also exists here, and I should probably read that eventually.
So Bloggers, what should I pick?

To The Lighthouse. Quote

If only, he could be alone in his room working, he thought, among his books. That was where he felt at his ease.
— Virginia Woolf in To The Lighthouse