So this week I would say has been a pretty good week for me, in terms of reading and blogging.
Firstly I managed to write a chapter and continue on the plan of my story.
I also changed my blog slighty, I made a new header (Tell me what you think???) and changed the sidebar a bit.
So anyway:
Books I have Read:
Legacy of Lies by Elizabeth Chandler (Tuesday)
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (Wednesday)
Radiance by Alyson Noel (Thursday)
Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles (Friday)
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Sunday)
I managed to catch up with my reading challenge, and hope to read 6 books next week :D
I reviewed:
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Radiance by Alyson Noel
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stones by JK Rowling
Forsaken/The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
I was also able to catch up slightly on reviews :D
In My Mailbox:
Well this week I bought LOADS of books, leaving after all my time of saving offically poor. The majority of my money went toward E-books in preparation for my Amazon Kindle which I will be getting on August 1st for my birthday and well I just couldn't resist:
In My Mailbox: Part 1
In My Mailbox: Part 2
Other Posts:
Book Discussion: Controversial Issues in books
Challenge Updates:
To find out full information on my challenges and what books I have read in these challenges click here or if you are looking for my 2011 challenge click here.
E-book Challenge: COMPLETE
Vampire Challenge: 1/20
Summer Reading Challge: 13/25
2011 Reading Challenge: 31/55
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Participate in: The Blogger Behind The Book
I don't know many blogger's and have instead decided to create a hmmmm, I don't know what it is called.
Basically the idea is to have 7-14 book blogger's to answer some questions, about their life, the books they read etc.... so fellow blogger's and book lover's get to know each other, and hopefully more followers to your blog EEE!!!!!
To be in a chance of participating please email me at: onceuponabooknerd@hotmail.co.uk , the chance to become a part of this will end when 7 or 14 people have entered. I will then instantly get back to you, with more information.
These are the questions I am thinking of:
Basically the idea is to have 7-14 book blogger's to answer some questions, about their life, the books they read etc.... so fellow blogger's and book lover's get to know each other, and hopefully more followers to your blog EEE!!!!!
To be in a chance of participating please email me at: onceuponabooknerd@hotmail.co.uk , the chance to become a part of this will end when 7 or 14 people have entered. I will then instantly get back to you, with more information.
These are the questions I am thinking of:
- Name, Blog Name and Blog URL
- Age and Location
- An embarrassing picture of you
- What do you do in day to day life?
- Do you have any pets?
- Last song you listened to?
- What is your favourite food?
- How many books do you own (This can include E-books)?
- How many books to you plan to read at the end of the year?
- If you could be one author, who would you be?
- What book would you turn into a film?
- What is your favorite genre?
- Do you have any reading companions/friends?
- What is your favourite book?
- If you could kill any character who would it be and why?
- If you could write a book, what would it be called, about and maybe add a cover for it?
- If you could be any character who would you be?
- If you were stuck on a desert island which 3 author's would you take?
- Favourite film/movie based on a book?
- Favourite book cover?
- Which blogger do you look up to most?
- Are you surprised by the amount of reader's?
- What are your opinions on negative reviews?
- Have you received any ARC's, if so how many?
- Do you have a certain schedule for posts?
- Link us to your favourite review you have written?
Book Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Title: WintergirlsSeries: N/A
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Marion Lloyd Books
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 278
Special Features: N/A
Goodreads Average Rating: 3.95
“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.
Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.
In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.
This book was heart wrenching, emotionally and most importantly inspiring.
Book Discussion: Controversial Issues in Books
Controversial issues are and always will be quite a sticky subject, especially in the Young adult book market.
All Young Adult books include many different issues and obstacles the character's face, this doesn't just include book's such as those written by Sarah Dessen and Jennifer Echols, but also Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games series, or Maggie Steifvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls. Just some books use mythical creatures, instead of people.
Author's are constantly criticized because apparently they didn't deal with writing about issues such as self-harm or grief in the 'right' way, but is there honestly a right way?
No. Each person differs depending on their past and present experiences and what kind of person they were raised to be. For example two people going through the same thing, like the divorce of their parents will tackle this sticky situation in completely different ways, one may turn to drugs, the other an eating disorder.
I think it is wrong that a reader can criticize a book, for apparently being wrong without any proof or evidence to back-up their accusation. We don't know everyone in the world, we don't know how they deal with things, therefore we don't know if there is a possibility that at least one person in the world will act like that.
Also many writer's base character's on themselves or people surrounding them, such as Laurie Halse Anderson, who wrote Wintergirls, based on information she has received from her reader's and even had a specialist in treating patients with eating disorders to check over her manuscript to make sure all psychological deterioration was accurate. But I have read countless reviews on blogs and Goodreads, along with a number of other websites, where people have criticized Laurie's books for not being accurate or realistic, in the way main character Lia dealt with things.
I think it is about time for reader's to realise that firstly author's write for themselves and not other, and also the majority of writer's WILL obsessively RESEARCH about the issues their story is based on.
Thank you for reading, feel free to voice your opinion in the comment section below.
Also please suggest any book discussion ideas for me to write about.
All Young Adult books include many different issues and obstacles the character's face, this doesn't just include book's such as those written by Sarah Dessen and Jennifer Echols, but also Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games series, or Maggie Steifvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls. Just some books use mythical creatures, instead of people.
Author's are constantly criticized because apparently they didn't deal with writing about issues such as self-harm or grief in the 'right' way, but is there honestly a right way?
No. Each person differs depending on their past and present experiences and what kind of person they were raised to be. For example two people going through the same thing, like the divorce of their parents will tackle this sticky situation in completely different ways, one may turn to drugs, the other an eating disorder.
I think it is wrong that a reader can criticize a book, for apparently being wrong without any proof or evidence to back-up their accusation. We don't know everyone in the world, we don't know how they deal with things, therefore we don't know if there is a possibility that at least one person in the world will act like that.
Also many writer's base character's on themselves or people surrounding them, such as Laurie Halse Anderson, who wrote Wintergirls, based on information she has received from her reader's and even had a specialist in treating patients with eating disorders to check over her manuscript to make sure all psychological deterioration was accurate. But I have read countless reviews on blogs and Goodreads, along with a number of other websites, where people have criticized Laurie's books for not being accurate or realistic, in the way main character Lia dealt with things.
I think it is about time for reader's to realise that firstly author's write for themselves and not other, and also the majority of writer's WILL obsessively RESEARCH about the issues their story is based on.
Thank you for reading, feel free to voice your opinion in the comment section below.
Also please suggest any book discussion ideas for me to write about.
Saturday, 23 July 2011
In My Mailbox 10 Part 2 (17 books)
My In My Mailbox this week is going to be in 2 parts, Ebooks and physical books. Part 1 Click here
Books I recieved/bought:
Dark Secrets by Elizabeth Chandler (Dark Secrets #1+2)
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (Paranormalcy #1)
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3)
Uglies by Scott Westerfield (Uglies #1)
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini (Starcrossed #1)
Between the Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
Entangled by Cat Clarke
Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
Mercy by Rebecca Lim (Mercy #1)
The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong (Dark Rising #1)
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Radiance by Alyson Noel (Riley Bloom #1)
Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Raised by Wolves #1)
Die For Me by Amy Plum (Revenants #1)
Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz (Power of Five #4)
How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III #1)
In My Mailbox 10 Part 1: E-book Edition (72 E-books)
My In My Mailbox this week is going to be in 2 parts, Ebooks and physical books.
Part 2 Here
E-Books in no partcular order:
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Bite Me by Parker Blue (Demon Underground #1)
Try Me by Parker Blue (Demon Underground #2)
Fange Me by Parker Blue (Demon Underground #3)
Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles (Perfect Chemistry #2)
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K.Hamilton (Anita Black, Vampire Hunter #1)
Wither by Lauren DeStefano (The Chemical Gardens #1)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #1)
Enclave by Ann Aguirre (Razorland #1)
Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Rest in Alphabetical order:
A Kiss In Time by Alex Finn
Across the Universe by Beth Revis (Across the Universe #1)
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Before I Die by Jenny Downham
Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
Claimed by Lauren Barnholdt (The Witches of Santa Anne #1)
Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
Crank by Ellen Hopkins (Crank #1)
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain (The Dark Divine #1)
Darklight by Lesley Livingston (Wonderous Strange #2)
Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz (Touch #2)
Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Delirium #1)
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall #2)
Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz (Touch #1)
Diva by Alex Flinn
Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen
Falling Under by Gwen Hayes (Falling Under #1)
Flawless by Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars #2)
The Forbidden Game by LJ Smith
Forget You by Jennifer Echols
The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade (The Ghost and the Goth #1)
Out of Sight, Out of Mind by Marilyn Kaye (Gifted #1)
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Going too Far by Jennifer Echols
Gone by Michael Grant (Gone Novels #1)
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall #1)
InkHeart by Cornelia Funke (Inkheart #1)
InkSpell by Cornelia Funke (Inkheart #2)
Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder (Insider #1)
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han (Summer #2)
Lies by Michael Grant (Gone Novels #3)
Love Story by Jennifer Echols
Love You, Hate You, Miss You by Elizabeth Scott
The Fallen by Celia Thompson (The Nine Lives of Chloe King #1)
One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt
Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
Plague by Michael Grant (Gone Novels #4)
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars #1)
Siren by Tricia Rayburn (Siren Trilogy #1)
Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Take Me There by Susane Colasanti
Ten Things We Did by Sarah Mlynowski
The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Maze Runner #1)
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (Summer #1)
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain (The Dark Divine #2)
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia #1)
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses #1)
Waiting For You by Susane Colasanti
We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han (Summer #3)
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
When it Happens by Susane Colasanti
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Witch and Curse by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (Wicked #1+2)
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston (Wondrous Strange #1)
Book Review: Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
Title: Rules of AttractionSeries: Perfect Chemistry #2
Author: Simone Elkeles
Publisher: Walker and Company
Publication Date: 13th April 2010
Pages: 324
Special Features: N/A
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.34
When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.I had high expectation for this book, being the sequel to Perfect Chemistry it had allot to live up to, yet it didn't reach those extremely high expectations.
The book was really enjoyable, and instead of being a follow on book to Perfect Chemistry, it follows the story of Alex's younger brother Carlos. I liked the fact it didn't carry on because it is rare to find a book with this kind of storyline and for it to be good.
Despite having a similar kind of storyline, in some ways to Perfect Chemistry it also stands out as being different.
The book was quite humorous for me, for example the use of 'perky privates' to replace the word breasts, and other small thing's like this, which had the book not only enjoyable but also standout.
The characters:
The book is set in the perspective of two protagonist's: Kiara and Carlos.
Carlos is from Mexico and after getting in a bit of trouble at home, is moved to Columbus with his brother, Alex. He is portrayed as the typical bad-boy perfectly: stubborn, arrogant, good-looking and very egoist. He was a great and well developed character.
Kiara, is a school outcast with a half-cured stutter. She perfectly show's a large amount of traits from real-life outcasts. She tries to be unique, and ok with who she is, she doesn't care about her appearance, she gets nervous and develops a stutter, and most surprising of all has quite a skill of repairing cars.
The only character who annoyed me in the book, and did in fact cause me not to like the book is: Tuck, Kiara's gay bestfriend. Like many gay people who I have came across (BTW i am not being steroypical or in anyway homophobic) he is kind of in your face. He also is quite rude, and cruel towards Carlos, and I barely see a friendship between him and Kiara.
If this book wasn't the sqeul to Perfect Chemistry it may of been rated a five, but as I have said it had allot to live up to.
I give this book...
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