Friday, September 30, 2011

Readathon

April at Good Books and Good Wine has decided to host an impromtu readathon.  This is good for me because I have been reading the same book for the past 2 weeks.  I have been a bit of a reading funk.  I am reading The Book Thief which is AMAZING but I have been just so tired when I get home from work.  Anyhow, I have decided to take part in this readathon. 

You may be asking which books I plan on reading and here they are:

-Crank
-The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
-Pregnant Pause 

I do not want to be too overzealous because I also know that tomorrow my husband and I will be spending some time together but every moment not spent with him I will be reading reading reading. 

If you want to join don't forget to check out the link for April's website. 

Which books are you most interested in reading next?

Review: Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publishing Date: May 3rd 2011
Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages: 367 pgs
ISBN: 9781416994084

Summary from GoodReads:

Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.
Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.
As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.




My Review:
As I stated in my previous post I have started listening to audio books on my long drive to school.  My first audio book was actually Shade which is the first in the Smith-Ready series.  I fell in love with Aura and I am not going to like with Zachary too.  Who can resist a Scottish accent or any accent really for that matter.  I also loved the idea of these books.  That there was a shift and at the shift a whole population of people were born who could see ghosts.  I can not imagine what life would be like if I could see ghosts walking around all the time.  It was an original concept for a story line and I have to admit that I am a bit partial to ghost stories.  It broke my heart in the first novel to listen to Aura go through her struggles with letting Logan go and moving on with her life.  I do not want to give away too much of the storyline but there is quite the twist in this novel.  I love that while many authors seem to go for the multiple book series a la Vampire Academy or Mortal Instruments series, Smith-Ready decided to leave it with 2 books.  I like that after reading the first novel I could go right into the second novel and find out everything.  I hate reading a series and having to wait and wait and wait through several books to get any answers.  That drives me bananas and I eventually end up losing interest.  I love that the book concluded and many questions were answered.  I am not going to lie but I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of Logan.  From the beginning he seemed a bit too egotistical for me.  While he does have some redeeming qualities, I am definitely on Team Zachary.  I would highly recommend both Shade and Shift.  I could not get enough of them and ended up listening to these books even when I was not driving.  I think I may have driven my husband crazy but oh well.   Anyhow, overall I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick is coming out on October 4th and I honestly can't wait.  I finished reading Crescendo on my Kindle and I had to go to the bookstore to make sure that my e-book had the whole book attached.  I was convinced that I had to be missing the rest of the book because it ended on such a cliffhanger.  I can't wait to read this book, especially after reading the synopsis on GoodReads.

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever. 
It sounds amazing and really the covers on this series are just stunning!  

For all you Canadians out there Simon and Schuster has a great contest in conjuction with Garage.  Becca Fitzpatrick is actually heading to Brampton and you can win a chance for front row tickets to her event as well as a signed Hush Hush series set and a giftcard to the Garage.  Here are all the details:



I wish I could be in the Brampton that night but I'm not sure my principal would really like me taking a day off the next day to be at a book signing.  Not to mention my grade 1s would be wondering what was going on and why their teacher isn't there.  For those of you a little too far from the Toronto area there is also a Facebook app where you and Patch can be together forever.  You should check it out. 


I was wondering what your favourite part of the Hush, Hush series is.  Mine is really just Nora's character in general.  She is not afraid of being who she really is.  Not to mention, Fitzpatrick actually writes in a way that the characters act like teens.  I can't stand when I meet a character in YA fiction that is too grown up.  Nora is ruled by her emotions and I love that.  I can't wait to see what happens next.

What are you most looking forward to in the next book?   What has been your fave part of the Hush Hush series thus far?  

Leave a comment and I will be sure to respond.  Only a few more days until the release of Silence!  


Monday, September 19, 2011

Book Review: The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler

Publisher: McClelland and Stewart (in Canada)
Publishing Date: July 5th 2011 (in Canada)
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 528 pgs
ISBN: 9780374173951

Summary from GoodReads
Prepare for The Hypnotist to cast its spell In the frigid clime of Tumba, Sweden, a gruesome triple homicide attracts the interest of Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who demands to investigate the murders. The killer is still at large, and there’s only one surviving witness—the boy whose family was killed before his eyes. Whoever committed the crimes wanted this boy to die: he’s suffered more than one hundred knife wounds and lapsed into a state of shock. Desperate for information, Linna sees only one option: hypnotism. He enlists Dr. Erik Maria Bark to mesmerize the boy, hoping to discover the killer through his eyes. It’s the sort of work that Bark has sworn he would never do again—ethically dubious and psychically scarring. When he breaks his promise and hypnotizes the victim, a long and terrifying chain of events begins to unfurl. An international sensation, The Hypnotist is set to appear in thirty-seven countries, and it has landed at the top of bestseller lists wherever it’s been published—in France, Holland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark. Now it’s America’s turn. Combining the addictive power of the Stieg Larsson trilogy with the storytelling drive of The Silence of the Lambs, this adrenaline-drenched thriller is spellbinding from its very first page.

My Review: 
I recently started a new job that is an hour away and I was wondering what I was going to do with myself for 2 hours a day while I was driving.  I decided that I was going to try audiobooks and I now don't know what I did before I started listening to audiobooks in the car.  I have to say this book kept my alert on the ride to and from work.  It started out fast paced and continued that way throughout the entire book.  I really liked that the book was told from the perspective of several people.  It also went from the present to the future to the past again in terms of the timeline.  While some may find that irritating I like that the author used this as a way to keep things a surprise.  While one character may be experiencing one thing another may have a completely different reaction to the same thing.  For those of the feint of heart this is not the book for you.  This book is quite gruesome and at times a little hard to handle.  That being said, I am a bit of a weirdo and I like that kind of thing.  If you like a good mystery I suggest you pick this up.  Being titled the Hypnotist this book has a lot of information on hypnosis and what it kind be used for.  I found the information to be really interesting.  I couldn't get enough of this book and even found myself listening to it before bed.  Overall I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.   

Saturday, September 17, 2011

100 Most Popular YA Books

So, I've been seeing this everywhere lately (most recently at the Bookish Brunette) and I thought that I would make a post of my own.  There is a list of the most popular YA books and I was a little surprised that a few of them were even considered YA.  Anyhow, I have put the books that I have read in bold and the books that I own but haven't read in italics.  The rest are books that I neither own nor have read.  Hope you enjoy? 

1. Alex Finn – Beastly
2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie – Matched (on Kindle)
5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) (on Kindle)
6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3) (on Kindle)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3) (On Kindle)
17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3, 4)
18. Christopher Paolini – Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse (On Kindle)
23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2) (On Kindle)
31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) (On Kindle)
32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why (On Kindle)
33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green – Looking for Alaska (On Kindle)
38. John Green – Paper Towns
39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2) (On Kindle)
41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3) (On Kindle)
42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3) (On Kindle)
44. Lemony Snicket – Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52. Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60. Meg Rosoff – How I live now
61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks
79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85. Scott Westerfeld – Leviathan (1, 2)
86. Scott Westerfeld – Uglies (1, 2, 3)
87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephanie Meyer – The Host
93. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped
Hmm... it seems that I have many of these books but haven't read them.  Maybe I should recitify that.  I am surprised that I have read so many considering that I have just really started reading YA this year.  Anyhow, how many have you read?  Which one is your favorite?  Do you think they left any books out? 


Monday, September 12, 2011

I'm Back!!!

Hello everyone.  I kind of dropped off the face of the blogosphere for a little while but I promise that I am back.  Do you want to know what  I was up to and why I stopped posting.  Well, I was a little busy.  Instead of writing about it I will show you.  Here is what I was up to:

Surprise!  I got married!  Aug. 27th.  This is a sneak peak that we got from the photographer.  I can't wait to see the rest!



This was taken before heading to the ceremony. 
This is right after my hubby and I got married.

Here is a closeup of my dress.

Of course being bookish, the favors HAD to be bookmarks :)

Our first kiss. 

Here is my guestbook.  I made it like a scrapbook with a picture of each guest and they signed beside their picture.

Again, the bookmark favors but also, I made each and every one of those napkin rings.  Talk about a pain!

Here is the reading list I made for my guests.

This is our table setting.  I didn't use table numbers but instead I had a different book at each table and the guests had to find their table by looking for their book. Also, the centerpieces were candy buffets at every table.

Here is our tent.  We got married in our backyard and had a huge tent.  All the blue and purple puffs were made by moi.

My dad walking me up the aisle.

Our puppy Webber in his adorable tux!


Anyhow, as you can see that most of my wedding was DIY and as a result I didn't have any time for anything else, including reading.  I am making a promise to keep up with my blog from now on.  I may post a couple more wedding related things but I promise to also start up with the reviews again.  Thanks for still following me.  It means a lot to me.