Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Teaser Tuesday (20)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

The rules are:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS.
My teaser:

"I always forget how clear it is up here," she said. "The night looks almost . . . messy with all those stars, doesn't it?"


~pg. 18 "Next Summer"
by Hailey Abbott

Oh, I just had to choose one about stars. As you probably know, I went to a cottage this weekend. Almost every night night, I gazed up at the stars and no, I thought it didn't look messy. It looked serene. I love stargazing. It's so wonderful!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Daily Dose (34)



This new meme is hosted by Holly from Good Golly Miss Holly.

I have returned!!! And I will be commenting back again. Thanks, guys! :)

Saturday, August 28, 2010

In My Mailbox (24)


In My Mailbox is held weekly by Kristi at The Story Siren. Click here for details on how to participate.

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Once again, books from the library!

Ttyl (Internet Girls book 1) by Lauren Myracle
Shadowkiss
(Vampire Academy book 2) by Richelle Mead

Have a great weekend and happy reading! :)

(I will be at a cottage for the entire weekend so I will get back to you when I return on Monday!)

Friday, August 27, 2010

Friday's Finest (29)


Friday's Finest is a new meme hosted by Steff & Justine from A Bookful of Thoughts.

Rules:

~Post a quote that really stuck to you after reading it in a book.
~Make sure it isn't a spoiler!
~If you'd like, expand on what you think it means and why you chose it.


I had rescued the moment by using my camera and in that way had found how to stop time and hold it. No one could take that image away from me because I owned it.


The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Capturing the moment. It does describe the few seconds right before I take a picture with my camera.



Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (36)


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine.

Radiance (Radiance #1)
by Alyson Noel

Release Date:
October 10, 2010

Description:
Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley...

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I love Alyson Noel and this new series sounds fantastic. I love reading about the afterlife and its endless possibilities. And plus, the cover is beautiful! It reminds me of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold -- both the movie and the book.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Justine's Thoughts: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty
By Jenny Han

Source: Library
Pages:
276
Book Description (Goodreads):

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

A quote:

Sometimes it’s like people are a million times more beautiful to you in your mind. It’s like you see them through a special lens -- but maybe if it’s how you see them, that’s how they really are.

Any thoughts:

Absolutely perfect as a summer read. Only the problem is that it’s got me wishing for a summerhouse the entire time, where I can swim, go to the beach, be with family friends and enjoy summer! I totally wish.

When I first came across The Summer I Turned Pretty, I immediately thought it was only based on summer romances. But beneath all the lightness and the drama, there lies some serious conflicts which Belly is kept from. With everything blended well together, it becomes one heck of a great novel. What more, Jenny Han’s perception of a 15-year-old girl comes off as real. She makes Belly’s experiences sound plausible as Belly goes through various decisions that sometimes annoy me because she always ends up choosing wrong. And the love square, if you may, is way interesting. It was too difficult to me to choose between Conrad, Jeremiah, and a guy named Cam. I would often change my mind because they are all unique guys. How lucky Belly is to be surrounded by those kind of guys during summer. It’s probably why she likes going to Cousins Beach a lot.

Overall, The Summer I Turned Pretty has got me dreaming about the perfect summer. Jenny Han creates such an enchanting place by the beach where anything can happen over the summer.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Daily Dose (33)



This new meme is hosted by Holly from Good Golly Miss Holly.

edit: Okay, cool, two Daily Doses in one day! That is what happens when I forget I have scheduled posts. How is that even possible? But anyhoo, I hope you enjoy the beautiful pictures and have a happy Monday!!

Oh and since tonight is the Midnight Release Party of MOCKINGJAY (*squeal*), I will be going and will be preparing a post about it. It is actually my first time going to a midnight release party, so I'm worried about a few things (such as: will there be enough copies? will there be a super duper long line?). I don't know how many people around here are fans of THG, but it does worry me! Even though that's a good thing. I know I'm going to enjoy though, which is why I cannot wait!!!


Daily Dose (32)



This new meme is hosted by Holly from Good Golly Miss Holly, where inspirational pictures are posted to enlighten your day.


Saturday, August 21, 2010

In My Mailbox (23)

In My Mailbox is held weekly by Kristi at The Story Siren. Click here for details on how to participate.

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All are from the LIBRARY!

Fade (Dreamcatcher book 2) by Lisa McMann
Masquerade
(Blue Bloods book 2) by Melissa de la Cruz
Frostbite (Vampire Academy book 2) by Richelle Mead
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

A few of paranormal/vampire books this week with a touch of deep, sad, romance! I've never read The Notebook before but I have watched the movie...I'll have to see about the book.

AND! I've decided to re-read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire this weekend in preparation for the release of Mockingjay! Hooray! I'm too excited for words. :)

Happy reading to everyone!

Friday, August 20, 2010

The Blog Hop (Aug 20-23)

Book Blogger Hop is hosted weekly by Jenn at Crazy for Books.

The question this week is:

How many blogs do you follow?

My response:

Tons! 352 blogs, to be exact. I mostly discover new ones through giveaways and such. It's fun to get to know new bloggers! There are some whom I visit on a regular basis, but I also do try my best to look through others and comment.

And hey, it's my first blog hop! I love answering questions, especially interview type of questions. So I'll definitely be participating in the future! :)


Book Blogger Hop

Friday's Finest (28)


Friday's Finest is a new meme hosted by Steff & Justine from A Bookful of Thoughts.

Rules:

~Post a quote that really stuck to you after reading it in a book.
~Make sure it isn't a spoiler!
~If you'd like, expand on what you think it means and why you chose it.


Between a man and a woman there was always one person who was stronger than the other one. That doesn’t mean the weaker one doesn’t love the stronger.


The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I thought I'd go back to taking quotes from The Lovely Bones. It has endless quotable quotes and it happens to be one of my faves.



Do you have a quote to share today? If so, link it here!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Justine's Thoughts: Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert

Ballads of Suburbia
By Stephanie Kuehnert

Pages:

342

Book Description:

Kara hasn’t been back to Oak Park since the end of junior year, when a heroin overdose nearly killed her and sirens heralded her exit. Four years later, she returns to face the music. Her life changed forever back in high school: her family disintegrated, she ran around with a whole new crowd of friends, she partied a little too hard, and she fell in love with gorgeous bad-bay Adrian, who left her to die that day in Scoville Park...

Amid the music, the booze, the drugs, and the drama, her friends filled a notebook with heartbreakingly honest confessions of the moments that defined and shattered young lives. Now, finally, Kara is ready to write her own.

A quote:

Falling in love with someone sounded terrifying. “Falling” implied control; it implied landing badly and hurting yourself.

Any thoughts:

Everyone has a story to tell. Ballads, in this case: “A true ballad is tells a story about real life...A lot of ballads are the mistakes we inevitably while trying to figure out how to live our lives.”

Ballads of Suburbia is a masterpiece. Everything flowed as if Kuehnert carefully planned each occurrence with detail. It was clear that she tied it up all together, inserted the ballads and combined them to make such a significant story.

Throughout the whole novel, I never knew what to expect, but whenever I paused it always had me pondering. I could never get it out of my head. Though the novel mostly has dark, real, mature content, I found myself focusing on the relationships between characters. It was interesting to see how each affected everyone else. It was as if they were all tied together whether they liked it or not.

The ballads seem incredibly real and emotional. Characters write their own story in one notebook, which everyone shares. Each ballad gives a part of their past, a reason why they are who they are, information they wouldn’t normally tell anyone. It gives insight into what’s beneath their shells (all except one who I really dislike).

This novel is so powerful, real, and captivating, that I tore through it. Though depressing and too much at times, I could not stop reading it. I was fully into the story, learning about Kara’s full high school experience. It is so deep and moving that I couldn’t take my mind off of the plot. With the fact that Kuehnert had gone through something Kara was going through, it couldn’t be more real. She knew what Kara was feeling, expressing it in ways I cannot describe. It is one hell of a novel full of ballads, feelings and truth.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (35)


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine.

Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2)
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Release Date:
October 10, 2010

Description:
Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.


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Oh dear. Trouble's a-coming! I'm nervous and excited at the same time. And wow, what a haunting cover. Gorgeous!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

In My Mailbox (22)


In My Mailbox is held weekly by Kristi at The Story Siren. Click here for details on how to participate.

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Linger (Shiver Series book 2) by Maggie Stiefvater (won)
Kisses and Lies
(Scarlett Wakefield Series book 2) by Lauren Henderson (library)

OH PLEASE DON'T TELL ME SUMMER IS ENDING! If so, it would mean a lot of things (such as: less updates, less posts, less reading, new layout). Buuut, I'm not getting into that just yet. It's still summer anyway, and humidity is still in the air!

So in that case, happy summer reading to everyone! :D

Friday, August 13, 2010

Friday's Finest (27)


Friday's Finest is a new meme hosted by Steff & Justine from A Bookful of Thoughts.

Rules:

~Post a quote that really stuck to you after reading it in a book.
~Make sure it isn't a spoiler!
~If you'd like, expand on what you think it means and why you chose it.


"Living is a risk," I snapped at him. "Every decision, every interaction, every step, every time you get out of bed in the morning, you take a risk. To survive is to know you're taking that risk and to not get out of bed clutching illusions of safety."

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Yelena is a heroine I really, really, really love. She's brilliant and determined. Her view of life in the quote above just shows that she's willing to fight and survive and take that risk.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Teaser Tuesday (19)


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

The rules are:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS.
My teaser:

"You're the one in for a surprise, because I'm going to bring you to the Magician's Keep where the First Magician will peel your mind like a banana, exposing the soft center where all the answers lie. Your brain gets a little mashed in the process --" he shrugged his shoulders as if unconcerned about this detail "-- but the information is always accurate."


~pg. 69 "Magic Study"
by Maria V. Snyder

Well, wow. That sounds very enjoyable. But anyway...69 pages and I'm already loving it! Gosh, I love this series so far. I may end up marrying it.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Friday's Finest (26)


Friday's Finest is a new meme hosted by Steff & Justine from A Bookful of Thoughts.

Rules:

~Post a quote that really stuck to you after reading it in a book.
~Make sure it isn't a spoiler!
~If you'd like, expand on what you think it means and why you chose it.


All relationships are tough. Just like with music, sometimes you have harmony and other times you have cacophony.


If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Gayle Forman successfully shows the analogy above through her characters and their relationships. They all go through bumps in the road but they also experience smoothness and unity.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Justine's Thoughts: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

City of Glass
By Cassandra Clare

Pages:

541

Book Description:

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.

A quote:

People aren’t born good or bad. Maybe they’re born with tendencies either way, but it’s the way you live your life that matters. And the people you know.

Any thoughts:

City of Glass seems like the perfect ending for The Mortal Instruments series. It’s got everything -- friendship, heartache, action, epiphanies, suspense, family and love. Who would ask for more? Every minute and every second spent reading this book was seriously a pleasure.

Initially when I saw the book, I noticed how thick it was and thought it would take me forever. Little did I know that I would want to stay up late to read it. Alas, it took me only two days to read such a thick book. (I’m so proud of myself!) Cassandra Clare really knows how to hook people at the end of chapters despite their length.

Every question that has been bugging my mind since City of Bones is finally answered. We also see a completely different side of Jace -- his inner self. Beneath his arrogance and wit lies the Jace who we’ve all been waiting to see. It’s the reason why I love him so much! As a fictional character, of course. Other characters are further developed and I enjoyed each personality’s uniqueness. They are all so loveable! To be honest, I even liked Valentine. He is one of the best villains of all time. Everything that everyone says about him is right; he draws people in with his leadership qualities. He is pretty determined; however, he’s a villain for many reasons.

One thing I wanted to mention was how Jace reminded me a lot like Shakespeare’s own Hamlet. It’s strange but true! I’ll leave it to you to make the similarities and differences.

Overall, City of Glass is by far my most favourite. It took me to a series of loops as if I was on a roller coaster ride. It left me pondering and guessing after having read it. Although I’m glad it seems like the perfect ending, I’m happier that there’s another book in the series and an additional prequel to The Mortal Instruments. Boy, am I ever excited!

If you have not started this series, I beg you to do so! I assure you that you will not regret it. In fact, you’ll enjoy the roller coaster ride.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (35)


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine.


Torment
by Lauren Kate

Release Date:
September 28, 2010

Description:
How many lives do you need to live before you find someone worth dying for? In the aftermath of what happened at Sword & Cross, Luce has been hidden away by her cursed angelic boyfriend, Daniel, in a new school filled with Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. Daniel promises she will be safe here, protected from those who would kill her. At the school Luce discovers what the Shadows that have followed her all her life mean - and how to manipulate them to see into her other lives. Yet the more Luce learns about herself, the more she realizes that the past is her only key to unlocking her future...and that Daniel hasn't told her everything. What if his version of the past isn't actually the way things happened...what if Luce was really meant to be with someone else?

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Yes, it's finally my WoW for the week. What can I say? I love the sound of it! And the cover is hauntingly gorgeous. Argh, September come now! I'm anxious for you!