tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42701022263479959632024-03-13T12:09:46.138+08:00Shanny ReadsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-83089856091085048832015-02-10T13:59:00.000+08:002015-02-10T14:17:09.899+08:00Book Review: The Chimes by Anna Smaill <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About the book</h2>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24796411-the-chimes" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1422844432l/24796411.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b> Title: </b>The Chimes<br />
<b> Author: </b>Anna Smaill<br />
<b> Edition: </b>Net Galley E-Book<br />
<b> Published: </b><a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hachette.com.au%2F&ei=f3XZVLzCA8TVmgXwiICwCQ&usg=AFQjCNESxT7uWyr1eo1GNGsDoIWMmdqJhQ&sig2=jsNqk5SDtHl1ffaq4oUrJw" target="_blank">Hachette Australia</a>, February 10th 2015<br />
<b> Genre: </b>Adult, Fantasy, Standalone<br />
<b> My Rating:</b> 3/5<br />
<b> Challenge(s): </b><a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/reading-challenge-201415-clean-out-your.html" target="_blank">COYER</a>, <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/search/label/dive%20into%20diversity" target="_blank">Dive into Diversity</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24796411-the-chimes" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Chimes-Anna-Smaill/9781444794526" target="_blank">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Chimes-Anna-Smaill-ebook/dp/B00PRWKLGY/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1423537643&sr=8-9&keywords=the+chimes" target="_blank">Amazon</a></blockquote>
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<b>Blurb: </b><i>A mind-expanding literary debut composed of memory, music and imagination.
A boy stands on the roadside on his way to London, alone in the rain. No memories, beyond what he can hold in his hands at any given moment. No directions, as written words have long since been forbidden. No parents - just a melody that tugs at him, a thread to follow. A song that says if he can just get to the capital, he may find some answers about what happened to them.
The world around Simon sings, each movement a pulse of rhythm, each object weaving its own melody, music ringing in every drop of air.
Welcome to the world of The Chimes. Here, life is orchestrated by a vast musical instrument that renders people unable to form new memories. The past is a mystery, each new day feels the same as the last, and before is blasphemy.
But slowly, inexplicably, Simon is beginning to remember. He emerges from sleep each morning with a pricking feeling, and sense there is something he urgently has to do. In the city Simon meets Lucien, who has a gift for hearing, some secrets of his own, and a theory about the danger lurking in Simon's past.
A stunning debut composed of memory, music, love and freedom, The Chimes pulls you into a world that captivates, enthrals and inspires.</i></div>
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Review</h2>
I previously mentioned this book in a <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/netgalley-book-haul-stacking-shelves-4.html" target="_blank">Stacking the Shelve book haul</a>, and talked a bit why I picked it off Net Galley. Summarising that, I picked it because it was unlike any other fantasy I've heard of before. A reimagined London with memory and word replaced by music. It's also written by a debut author, Anna Smaill. What's not to get excited about? Here are my thoughts.
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The Good</h3>
A huge asset to this novel was the writing. <b>Anna Smaill has utterly beautiful writing. </b>The imagery, metaphor, synesthesia (the list goes on); it really <b>enraptured all of my senses</b> whilst reading. If you are someone who plays a musical instrument or has great passion for music you will love the writing that much more. She uses musical dynamics to describe how people move and talk or how things look - it's truly amazing and unlike anything I've read before. Here are some snippets from the book that give a sense of what her writing and the Chimes universe is like.<br />
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<i>"I hear oysters, and pasties. I hear melted four cheeses on granary loaf with pickle. I hear fox whelp apples by the bag, cider by the gallon."</i></blockquote>
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<i>"The trees are budding their new leaves and a thought comes into my head. They have a kind of rhythm in their upright trunks and their branches that start thick and then divide and get narrower and lighter and faster till they quiver in the air like breath past a clarinet reed. That is a rhythm you cans, not hear. Perhaps music happens elsewhere than in ears."</i></blockquote>
The last 20% of the book was were everything picked up and came together. There were a couple of <b>plot twists</b> I definitely did not see coming, as well as an <b>unexpected romance that was very well done </b>- no insta-love thank god.
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I definitely feel as though this book could have sequel, without giving anything away, I would be very interested in finding out what happens next...
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The Not So Good</h3>
The book had a very bleak and hopeless mood, right of the bat and carried nearly all the way through. As it said in the synopsis, the world is a place where no memories can be formed, so every day essentially feels exactly the same. I definitely felt this whilst reading the book but it was probably a bit too real for me as I <b>struggled a bit through the first 40%. It just felt too monotonous and repetitive</b>. As I mentioned above I was <b>eventually rewarded</b> but it took a bit too long to get there.<br />
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The main issue I had with this book was connecting with the characters and being immersed in the plot. I found myself <b>more enraptured by the words itself then the actual story line</b> so at times I struggled to pick the book up again or would have completely forgotten what had happened the last time I read it. I was very unsure about how I felt towards Lucien (one of the main characters). I kept on flitting back and forth between "oh so he's a good guy" and "wait no I think he's bad" and "okay nope he's good". I couldn't figure him out and it threw me off a bit. I didn't know whether I should be suspicious of him or trusting and probably <b>struggled with accepting his character </b>the most.<br />
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So Why Three Stars? </h3>
Though I had trouble relating to the characters and the earlier events of the book felt a bit repetitive, the plot definitely picked up towards the end, the premise of the book is truly one of a kind and the writing was beautiful!<br />
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My Recommendation </h3>
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I would recommend this book to those with a <b>musical background</b>, you will definitely get a kick out of Smaill's descriptiveness, as well as those looking for <b>a unique and delicate fantasy that still incorporates romance and a bit of action</b>. This book is due to be released today (10th of February 2015) so be sure to pick it up if it sounds like something you'd enjoy. </div>
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Let's Discuss!</h3>
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Do you play any musical instruments? What are some other fictional works (books or movies) you would recommend to music lovers? I would definitely put The Chimes on that list! </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer: This book was received for free via Net Galley, but this does not affect my opinion in any way and my review is honest as always. </span></i></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-47600737196008076882015-02-05T20:11:00.000+08:002015-02-05T20:11:10.132+08:00Happy Harry Potter Book Night! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How exciting! For those who don't know yet, today (the 5th of Feb) is officially Harry Potter Book Night! Hope you guys have had a magical themed day and managed to enjoy a read (or re-read) of your favourite Harry Potter book or movie and reminisced about your favourite moments. I'm going to wrap up the night with re-reading the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - if only I had a mug of butter beer to go with it!<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/72193.Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher_s_Stone" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327190600l/72193.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
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Here's a cliche question, but fun nonetheless: <b>What is your favourite Harry Potter book and why?</b> Book one will always standout for me as it introduced me to the amazing world of magic and Hogwarts. I particularly loved the Diagon Alley scenes. Let me know your favourite book in the comments and, if you ended up doing anything, tell me what you did to celebrate #HarryPotterBookNight!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfSLWmCrXVNYshIuShtc-VmwmSjhJpnQdP15AzhV-A06W7VgcEHTPwJygTK0Q3ecm2GnS2FOrkmuBVHqK36z3m6X3iwXLqL9zc-mOnh_WnvppRwKDGrTlk2f6yCQjvKByNyGqZTz28rY/s1600/http---signatures.mylivesignature.com-54492-393-6F3EFC98C8866041506B55A3D4D3BD94.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfSLWmCrXVNYshIuShtc-VmwmSjhJpnQdP15AzhV-A06W7VgcEHTPwJygTK0Q3ecm2GnS2FOrkmuBVHqK36z3m6X3iwXLqL9zc-mOnh_WnvppRwKDGrTlk2f6yCQjvKByNyGqZTz28rY/s1600/http---signatures.mylivesignature.com-54492-393-6F3EFC98C8866041506B55A3D4D3BD94.png" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-31104464325180948392015-02-01T18:24:00.000+08:002015-02-01T18:24:02.120+08:00Summer Book Haul | Stacking the Shelves [5] <br />
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This post is a part of <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/05/staking-shelves-official-launch.html" target="_blank">Stacking the Shelves</a>, a weekly book meme hosted over at <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/" target="_blank">Tynga's Reviews</a> where people post their weekly book hauls. Hauls includes physical books as well as any electronic or audio books. Join in if you're interested! Now onto my haul for this week.<br />
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I picked up a couple of hard copy books recently! This is quite rare for me ever since I got my Kindle but I'm super excited to be able to pop these on my shelf. Enjoy (:<br />
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<a href="http://cdn.kikki-k.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/g/e/getting_rea_about_having__it_all_blue_hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.kikki-k.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/g/e/getting_rea_about_having__it_all_blue_hero.jpg" height="355" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18126910-getting-real-about-having-it-all?from_search=true" target="_blank">Getting Real About Having it All </a>by Megan Dalla-Camina</div>
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<b>Blurb:</b> Grounded in the realities of the real world, by someone who lives there, this title is suitable for any woman who has ever groaned at the presumed impossibility of building and maintaining a successful career, a fulfilling personal life, health and happiness. </div>
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<b>Why I bought it:</b> Loved the idea of this book and thought it'd be a sweet and useful read. Also I loved this beautiful paperback edition from <a href="http://www.kikki-k.com/getting-real-about-having-it-all" target="_blank">Kikki K</a> (a line of stationary stores in Australia, though I think they're in Europe as well?). They have some other books in a similar line of work that I want check out as well. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20588698-not-that-kind-of-girl?from_search=true" target="_blank">Not That Kind of Girl</a> by Lena Dunham</div>
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<b>Blurb:</b> From the acclaimed creator, producer, and star of HBO's Girls comes a hilarious, wise, and fiercely candid collection of personal essays that establishes Lena Dunham as one of the most original young talents writing today.
In Not that Kind of Girl, Dunham illuminates the experiences that are part of making one's way in the world: falling in love, feeling alone, being ten pounds overweight despite eating only health food, having to prove yourself in a room full of men twice your age, finding true love, and, most of all, having the guts to believe that your story is one that deserves to be told.
Exuberant, moving, and keenly observed, Not that Kind of Girl is a series of dispatches from the frontlines of the struggle that is growing up. "I'm already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you," Dunham writes. "But if I can take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine will have been worthwhile."</blockquote>
<b>Why I bought it: </b>Despite the controversy I am a massive fan of Lena Dunham and her work. I love her HBO show "Girls", think she's a fantastic writer and can't wait to read her book! So pumped. Also I've been meaning to get more into non-fiction reads and this one definitely motivated me to do so.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21535767-the-great-zoo-of-china?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Great Zoo of China</a> by Matthew Reilly</div>
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<b>Blurb: </b>It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years.
They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world.
Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed.
A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time.
Among them is Dr. Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles.
The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong.
Of course it can’t…
GET READY FOR ACTION ON A GIGANTIC SCALE.</blockquote>
<b>Why I bought it:</b> I can't remember on whose blog I saw this book reviewed but it's been stuck at the back of my head ever since. When I saw such a pretty hard cover copy of it in stores I had to get it! So here I am with an exciting new read.<br />
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So those are the books I got this week! Very happy with the haul. What did you pick up this week? Let me know in the comments and be sure to link your STS. (:<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-40148166432083922472015-01-31T11:24:00.000+08:002015-01-31T11:48:18.756+08:00January 2015 Wrap Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi guys! This is a wrap-up of the noteable blog related and life events that happened in the past month. Hope you enjoy.<br />
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On the Blog </h2>
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January Books Reviews </h3>
<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-review-laurinda-by-alice-pung.html" target="_blank">Laurinda by Alice Pung</a> (3/5)<br />
<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/series-review-giver-quartet-by-lois.html" target="_blank">The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry</a> (4/5)<br />
<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-review-brief-wondrous-life-of.html" target="_blank">The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz</a> (3/5)<br />
<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-review-throne-of-glass-by-sarah-j.html" target="_blank">Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas</a> (4/5)<br />
<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-review-maze-runner-by-james-dashner.html" target="_blank">The Maze Runner by James Dashner</a> (4/5)<br />
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Favourite Read this Month</h3>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13519397-throne-of-glass" target="_blank">Throne of Glass</a> by Sarah J Maas </div>
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<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-review-throne-of-glass-by-sarah-j.html" target="_blank">Check out my review</a></div>
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Favourite Movie</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rzMC_D5eANeoUBez2FT_hAnjKNtfsl2YZ8lB98eRTf7ZNQQefd4CaYNm6__zYsk42KTG9bODDOLH6M7ySi3cpoZxHvGDcR9CQQe8kC5u5dhOSsAlHg8H3YxY08gj5oyRUPz_YOLuHWk/s1600/The+Imitation+Game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rzMC_D5eANeoUBez2FT_hAnjKNtfsl2YZ8lB98eRTf7ZNQQefd4CaYNm6__zYsk42KTG9bODDOLH6M7ySi3cpoZxHvGDcR9CQQe8kC5u5dhOSsAlHg8H3YxY08gj5oyRUPz_YOLuHWk/s1600/The+Imitation+Game.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084970/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">The Imitation Game</a></div>
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This movie is set during WWII and follows the story of famous mathematician Alan Turing as he attempts to crack the Germany Enigma Code in hopes of helping Britain win the war. This was an AMAZING movie. It was captivating for the entirety of the film and was very emotional. Every performance was on point. If you haven't watched it yet, what are you waiting for?!</div>
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Favourite TV show</h3>
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<a href="http://img2.tvtome.com/i/u/28c79aac89f44f2dcf865ab8c03a4201.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.tvtome.com/i/u/28c79aac89f44f2dcf865ab8c03a4201.png" height="355" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108778/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Friends</a></div>
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I don't really think I have to say anything to justify why I love Friends so much. It's a classic! All the characters are hilarious and their onscreen chemistry is great. This is probably my third time watching the series again, such a good one to marathon.</div>
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Favourite Blog Posts / Events </h3>
<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/top-10-recommended-booktubers-top-ten.html" target="_blank">My Top 10 Recommended Booktubers</a><br />
<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/international-giveaway-shanny-reads-1.html" target="_blank">My 1 month Blogiversary Giveaway</a> --> Only 1 more day before it closes! Get in quick to win a book of your choice.<br />
I also participated in a couple of <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/p/read-thons.html" target="_blank">Read-a-thons</a>, fair effort but could've read more!<br />
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Reading Challenge Update</h3>
I read and reviewed 4 books for COYER this month (all linked above). Throne of Glass went towards the Flight of Fantasy Challenge and Oscar Wao and Laurinda went towards the two Diversity challenges I've signed up for. You can keep up to date with my challenges via the progress bars in the side bar and read more about all of them <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/p/memes-and-challenges.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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In Life </h2>
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This month I went to Sydney for AIESEC Australia's national conference. AIESEC is a student run non-for-profit that's key purpose is leadership development. I've been involved with them since the start of last year and have loved my experience so far. Conference was so much fun! One of the best weeks of my life. Unfortunately I didn't take that many photos of the conference itself, but here are a couple of Sydney's skyline, the Darling Harbour region and a old train station we were at. I love Sydney and the people there so so much, can't wait till I go again. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-86980020889415208362015-01-29T22:28:00.000+08:002015-01-29T22:28:09.263+08:00Books I'd Love to Read With My Book Club | Top Ten Tuesday [5] <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten Tuesday is a book meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">The Broke and the Bookish</span></a>. Topics are picked each week and people share their lists with one another. Lists don't have to be 10! You can really do any number you'd like. To find out more and join in click <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">here</span></a>. This weeks topic was picking books we'd like to read with our book club (if we had one). I'm not involved in any book clubs but if I were it'd most likely be reading adult fictional stand-alones just because I feel like they'd be great for group discussion. Here are the three books (couldn't think of 10) I'd like to read in that situation! Click on the covers or book titles to be sent to their Goodreads page.<br />
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Book Club Reads: Adult Fictional Stand-Alones</h3>
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(in no particular order)<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4667024-the-help?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346100365l/4667024.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4667024-the-help?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Help</a> by Kathryn Stockett</div>
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<b>Blurb: </b>Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step....
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.</div>
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<b>Why I picked this book:</b> The Help is one of my all time favourite books and I would definitely love to re-read this with others as a group. It is a fantastic historical fiction novel, incredibly realistic and I would highly recommend it to everyone. It made me feel every emotion possible and is beautifully written. The movie adaptation was also AMAZING, one of the best I've seen.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1897586310"></span><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327144697l/3744438.jpg" width="196" /><span id="goog_1897586311"></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3744438-1984" target="_blank">1984</a> by George Orwell </div>
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<b>Blurb:</b> 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.'
Winston Smith works for the Ministry of truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. Despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, Winston and Julia begin to question the Party; they are drawn towards conspiracy. Yet Big Brother will not tolerate dissent - even in the mind. For those with original thoughts they invented Room 101 . . .
Ninteen Eighty-Four is George Orwell's terrifying vision of a totalitarian future in which everything and everyone is slave to a tyrannical regime.</blockquote>
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<b>Why I picked this book:</b> A modern classic I've been dying to read for some time now. Nothing better than discussing all the symbolism as a group and seeing how it has influenced the dystopians of society today.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24800.House_of_Leaves?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403889034l/24800.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24800.House_of_Leaves?from_search=true" target="_blank">House of Leaves</a> by Mark Z. Danielewski </div>
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<b>Blurb:</b> Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth -- musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies -- the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations, who not only found themselves in those strangely arranged pages but also discovered a way back into the lives of their estranged children.
Now, for the first time, this astonishing novel is made available in book form, complete with the original colored words, vertical footnotes, and newly added second and third appendices.
The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story -- of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams.</blockquote>
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<b>Why I picked this book:</b> I've heard so much about this one for ages now, the scattered formatting and creepy storyline definitely has me intrigued. I would love to read this and attempt to de-code it with a group of people! <br />
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Hope you enjoyed today's post. What's on your bookclub wish-list? Are you apart of any? </div>
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Sorry for the fewer posts this week. I've been busy and tired so just getting back into the swing of things. Happy reading! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-21184999237936173162015-01-22T03:00:00.000+08:002015-01-22T03:00:02.303+08:00Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About the book</h2>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6186357-the-maze-runner?ac=1" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375596592l/6186357.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b> Title: </b>The Maze Runner<br />
<b> Author: </b>James Dashner<br />
<b> Edition: </b>E-Book, 329 pages<br />
<b> Published: </b><a href="http://www.jacketflap.com/delacorte-press-books-for-young-readers-publisher-8150" target="_blank">Delacorte Press for Young Readers</a>, 2009<br />
<b> Genre: </b>Young Adult, Dystopian, Series<br />
<b> My Rating:</b> 4/5<br />
<b> Challenge(s): </b><a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/reading-challenge-201415-clean-out-your.html" target="_blank">COYER</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6186357-the-maze-runner?from_search=true" target="_blank"> Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=the+maze+runner&search=Find+book" target="_blank">The Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Maze-Runner-James-Dashner-ebook/dp/B00BFV1LZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421763158&sr=8-1&keywords=the+maze+runner" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790864/" target="_blank">IMDb</a></blockquote>
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<b>Blurb: </b><i>If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.</i></div>
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Review</h2>
I have been meaning to read this book for AGES. I remember after reading The Hunger Games many years ago when YA dystopian had blown up, so many people were talking about this book! It has been on my TBR list since then, and I finally got around to reading it. Let's see what I thought!
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The Good</h3>
<b>I liked the world building and setting</b> of the Glade and the Maze. Despite there being so many dystopian YAs out there, I thought this concept was quite original. The setting was painted really clearly and the Maze felt very ominous, dangerous and unpredictable. Very cool.<br />
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Furthermore, I thought Dashner did a good job at <b>describing what it would feel like to be in Thomas's or any of the other characters' position</b>. Though there was conflict between parties, with some characterised more unlikeable than others, as a reader you can still see where both sides are coming from. None of the characters can truly be labelled as the "antagonist" of the novel as they are all just fighting the real antagonists outside the maze who put them there in the first place. At the start I didn't couldn't really relate to them because I didn't understand were all their confusion and anger was coming from but once I got over this initial hurdle, I found myself liking many more of the characters.<br />
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I really liked how the potential <b>romance was not a major portion of this book</b>. One of my biggest pet peeves is a YA fantasy, dystopian, sci-fi, adventure whatever genre (other than romance of course) getting overshadowed by the love interest, or triangle or hexagon or what ever. Of course I don't mind at all if there is a relationship that develops, but I want it to seem natural and not just shoved in because the author felt like the book should have one. The relationship in the Maze Runner was definitely hinted but it wasn't pushy in any way and I'm actually genuinely interested to see how it progresses. I thought the moments that were shared between the two characters (kind of obvious who they are, but still I won't say it) were quite cute as well (:<br />
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This book was <b>filled with mystery</b>, by filled I mean FILLED, up to the brim from start to finish. There were so many things I was dying to find out about and it kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the book. Not that much was actually given away in The Maze Runner, so it definitely sets the rest of the series up. For that reason, I will definitely be checking out the sequels.
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The Not So Good</h3>
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Though the mystery kept my interested, it was <b>frustrating at times having so many loose ends</b> that weren't getting answered. To be honest, though the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, it still left A LOT of things very ambiguous, if not bringing up even more things to question.<br />
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<b>One of the things that kept on bothering me was why girls weren't sent to the Glade before Teresa </b>(the first and only girl set there)? Maybe they were afraid they'd procreate or something? And why, did the last person sent to the Glade have to be female? Did Dashner just decide on that to create a potential love interest in the book? Personally, I believe so, and if that's the case I think it was a bit of strange move. I don't know, something about just throwing a girl in there to create more of a "wow" factor didn't sit well with me. But hopefully, like many other questions, these get answered in future books.<br />
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Though the introduction of Teresa was a big game changer <b>she didn't really play much of a role</b>. I felt for the majority of the book she was just following Thomas around, giving him a smile and hopeful message when he needed it. You didn't really get to see her personality. It was disappointing and I hope she plays a bigger role in the rest of the series.
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So Why Four Stars? </h3>
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Despite being a bit slow to start up it was a <b>mysterious and page turning read</b>. Though there was a lot of unanswered questions you eventually realise that it wasn't because the other characters didn't want Thomas to know, it was because they themselves didn't understand anything either. It totally makes sense, and <b>made the book more realistic</b>, seeing as they've all been blocked off from the "real world". This really set a bleak and almost frightening tone to the book, and allowed me to connect with the characters more. After finishing The Maze Runner<b> I wanted my questions answered</b> so badly I immediately started reading the Scorch Trials, but forced myself to stop and go read some books from my review pile...I will be back!
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Movie Adaptation </h3>
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I'm sure most of you already know this, but the movie adaptation of The Maze Runner came out last year. I finished watching it recently and it was a decent movie. Thomas was played by Dylan O'Brien and I think he did a great job. There were a couple of other familiar faces as well, I thought all performances were good but like I said for the book, I wish Teresa got a bigger role. The Maze and most of the Glade was pretty much exactly how I pictured it but they changed A LOT of the facts and events of the book. I understand that there are necessary changes that need to be made to turn a book into a good movie, so I'm okay with most of them but when a movie ends up being really different from a book, and this bothers you, I doubt you will like this adaptation. Ignoring the fact it was adapted from a book though, I think it was a thrilling and fun movie and I can see a lot of people enjoying it. Box office wise the movie must have done well enough as the sequel, The Scorch Trials, is due for release sometime this year. I do plan to watch it after I've read the sequel.
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My Recommendation </h3>
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I gave The Maze Runner by James Dashner <b>4 out of 5 stars</b>. I would recommend The Maze Runner to <b>fans of young adult dystopians.</b> This is definitely right up their alley. <b>People who are tired of YA romances dominating the world building in books</b> will probably find this a refreshing read as well. This book is appropriate for a wide range of ages. There is moderate bloody violence. </div>
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Let's Discuss!</h3>
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I really enjoy watching book to movie adaptations, especially whilst the book is still fresh in my mind. I love seeing parts of the book come to life on screen, it's amazing! Sometimes I do get let down though, either when things aren't as I hoped them to be, or when too much of the book is changed. <b>How do you feel about watching movie adaptations of books?</b> Are you let down, or just enjoy watching them regardless?
Let me know in the comments!
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer: Photos are linked to their original sources. They are not mine. I created the header for this review myself. The background image is the movie poster of The Maze Runner. </span></i></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-4454595448255517442015-01-20T13:33:00.000+08:002015-01-20T13:33:00.059+08:00Top 10 Recommended BookTubers | Top Ten Tuesday [4] <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOqont6dL7Wr6VxCe_juhlI6WuQsK1zglJIxbYUzyxL-3PrZOFMbWAFp2HB2IeS3i7IBEPbP4xCpLpSNJWE2f8EC8wEiIC2cL_GcqoyhbYIz8OaiVE4GoqUZ1N8On-3HuXfvKRETL_e8/s1600/book+meme+top+ten+tuesday.jpg" /></div>
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Top Ten Tuesday is a book meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">The Broke and the Bookish</span></a>. Topics are picked each week and people share their lists with one another. To find out more and join in click <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">here</span></a>. This week we were allowed to pick any topic we wanted so I thought I'd do my favourite and most recommended BookTubers! I was watching book related Youtube channels way before I found the blogging side of things and still love watching all of these lovely people today. I hope you find some great video content and enjoy watching them as well! Click on the screenshots for their channel page.<br />
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Most Recommended BookTubers</h3>
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(in no particular order) </div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/booksandquills" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA13osB1zAw2rhezxeGyrSZQnDZH-1hq_t24kR6JvfwAC7wNSsI92yBlyl6wUYGJF-IlSt7kOFxf04v2rT3Dw6SCIxgurkg2V2V_JA0E0gPQXfNYFYXUAtmJ7TM8RUZ99FZY0cSrYPdcw/s1600/Booksandquills.PNG" height="409" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sanne from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/booksandquills/" target="_blank">Books and Quills</a></div>
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Sanne recommends some great books from a large variety of genres. She has a good mix of adult and young adult reads with a very active channel and plenty of reviews. Her videos are on the shorter side but they are always useful and interesting. I always trust her recommendations.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Jellafy/featured" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAueqWKJpkuFuMuWCfnx8dR5SlOR-8ladcTO6y22mLBgKr8_VOoLw4TzFiR6v_6VKrMR3_Ry6259UAgYykaMBo_H2BWTXNTPR-jIoNrYFflj0ffZjXNZQOmuMPtwq0Cl_oP0Rdnd9Iibs/s1600/jellafy.PNG" height="416" width="640" /></a></div>
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Jenny from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Jellafy/featured" target="_blank">Jellafy</a></div>
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Jenny primarily reviews young adult and is super fun to watch. Her videos are also short and sweet but the reviews are concise and straight to the point. She also does Legend of Korra discussion videos and some other creative book related videos if you're interested!</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ArielBissett" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUAdyG_Ifz3onlXOYAPD3eOBVjA1CQsbK3TxOhhGTaEDdYEgJ4sK_iR9YBzI35Pd87SPcwMqRT6HEmkjGjzdu5zmq2vuznrfIW8-djh-yfYTBc3FROsjFQaSV6uNOZF3mxCDAdjAnpFE/s1600/arielbissett.PNG" height="412" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ArielBissett" target="_blank">Ariel Bissett</a></div>
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My favourite thing about Ariel's channel is her amazing discussion videos. I always find them interesting and well put together. She definitely thinks outside the box and puts a lot of effort into creating quality videos. Ariel reads primarily young adult as well though I have seen some adult picks in the mix and I believe she is trying to branch out more with her reading. She also has a big passion for anime and graphic novels. </div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ChapterStackss/featured" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8erp7FV786iY5_v7Aox019-xtzWAtXfL0RWDzYSrWUsOmnjKthioBpgnQ0pLnvLAxVtXNISAUgEUB6Z8rfyHzjpWMgMTadoIQ4_txjTBL9UN-i3H335HRuS03B4UhbQGYf3GqquAEwc/s1600/chapterstackss.PNG" height="414" width="640" /></a></div>
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Katie from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ChapterStackss/featured" target="_blank">ChapterStackss</a></div>
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If I had to pick one all time favourite BookTuber it would definitely be Katie. She reads a lot of adult fiction which I LOVE, though she also does review young adult. Her book recommendations are always on point and never let me down. Her videos tend to be on the longer side but I don't mind at all! I always enjoy the content she puts out and she has fantastic book reviews and wrap-up videos. She has done some vlogging of her experience studying abroad in Spain which I found fun to watch as well. </div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/spiffinglycino" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy__J_lyA2Lx14pZZpmHQUUvxIFkTI3CEabv2KJkF8wpMdk50uTwZR5KRLMxgHdq-oD_OE3ZZID_-nWHh4JAUjvoSgNUCkJ8E4eO24-_uNe7-imd-bTiWRLv9tGaBwuDqu4p6M7Q9871g/s1600/choncey.PNG" height="414" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/spiffinglycino" target="_blank">Choncey Boddington</a></div>
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Not only do I love Choceny's accent but I also love her taste in books. She reads a lot of classics and adult literature and always has very profound things to say about them. I am interested in reading more classics so I always enjoy seeing her next recommendation. Choncey regularly posts very inspiring and diverse discussion videos, covering topics such as anorexia, feminism and more. She is very insightful and great to watch. </div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/astridthebookworm" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIOuw_1-y6vOOkUUi9_wJ8Qo4_n_2ag6qWF8HYbY3sgfkjfeVpLZoW_RYQRBfNWKayOAS5tXTqC_PxW8OVZ8hQYZi5XtD0E8aWVtmAtnYnVNGHJ6iKWyVM5wrdXc3_M5R1uf_mqqO0bs/s1600/elllen.PNG" height="402" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/astridthebookworm" target="_blank">Ellen Lundstrom</a></div>
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I believe Ellen is the youngest BookTuber of this batch but she still has some great videos and book recommendations. She reads a lot of classics for age which I found super impressive and love hearing about them through her. Her posting can be a bit sporadic at times, and though her videos are short they are always well put together and fun to watch.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MercysBookishMusings/featured" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjluEcwXe8ijNHgdeNHJfsJOn4ODD2Fg9009UMWTcb_GYyTod4dr5EKqIik66E0eqOkeHtD5zofYLJY8w04ixkxqX01wkBbcUqbBOTceYW7lisHr_2KJsf_P60sWZ4oVLTXyq6bLDKcUdc/s1600/mercys.PNG" height="416" width="640" /></a></div>
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Mercedes from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MercysBookishMusings/featured" target="_blank">MercysBookishMusings</a></div>
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Mercy reads a lot of unique books I've never heard of but her reviews are always well said and her recommendations are on point. She posts very often, is always eloquent and has great quality videos. I also love her accent!</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/PeruseProject" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEnOHr6ewMkS5ZQ7avJGrtXdyQPFJcVa7t8Ase13zGSnl4tumDgwdp1-XdDgntKblpfJ1icmr1nTEeE0FQV3ODve70DpZa1p4KGuJpzWUE6LCFVuerhn5FPL37tr3AQtO44DDRK4krn0/s1600/peruseproject.PNG" height="414" width="640" /></a></div>
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Regan from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/PeruseProject" target="_blank">PeruseProject</a></div>
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Regan has great taste in books and I always trust her recommendations. She reads a lot and posts reviews, hauls and other fun videos very regularly. She does read a mix of genres, including graphic novels, though I think she leans more to the young adult side of things. Lots of people trust her opinion and I've seen her single handily create hype for a book across the inter-web. Love her personality, she is a joy to watch! </div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/thereadables" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5c8i2hpu2QzDmP2xZkK0GsbV0nXQ6wjB5opiGRDKqRhGMWhejb18w8FURxfu9zPWF6K5nM2sfq2xgvfY1HQ-8mcCbAcHUilPVHpYjrBwbLpNQjRwCcFKetYSQZ0UXECsb50aouOiy_s/s1600/readables.PNG" height="442" width="640" /></a></div>
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Priscilla from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/thereadables" target="_blank">The Readables</a></div>
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Priscilla was one the first BookTubers I found and I still love her to this day. Though she took a break from BookTube for a few months in 2014 she is back and better then ever! She definitely has some of the best editing and special effects in her videos, it's obvious she puts a lot of effort into them. Her reviews are very in depth and she also includes spoiler discussion sections which is always fun if you've read the book. She's super creative with her videos and has some amazing content. Definitely check her out. </div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/SableCaught" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bpBQnualau2Y3IZLj9-FnRxnWmGsXAVPyqFt3ugwwJYDrN43rAQMyfU81Pw1T3_yPpMU6GGJQmcb00m2dIEl1h7viSqEps94fDSNoWEHqO4aqssdpDWcKQXFvsIRC8Pi5EdhE9Q4WPE/s1600/sablecaught.PNG" height="412" width="640" /></a></div>
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Stevie from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/SableCaught" target="_blank">SableCaught</a></div>
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Stevie is one of the most passionate BookTubers I've seen! She comes alive in her videos and the way she reads is totally captivating. I love her reviews, she reads a really diverse range of literature and they are always descriptive and informative. She also has some interesting discussion videos.</div>
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So those are my BookTuber recommendations! Let me know if you check any of these out in the comments below. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfSLWmCrXVNYshIuShtc-VmwmSjhJpnQdP15AzhV-A06W7VgcEHTPwJygTK0Q3ecm2GnS2FOrkmuBVHqK36z3m6X3iwXLqL9zc-mOnh_WnvppRwKDGrTlk2f6yCQjvKByNyGqZTz28rY/s1600/http---signatures.mylivesignature.com-54492-393-6F3EFC98C8866041506B55A3D4D3BD94.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfSLWmCrXVNYshIuShtc-VmwmSjhJpnQdP15AzhV-A06W7VgcEHTPwJygTK0Q3ecm2GnS2FOrkmuBVHqK36z3m6X3iwXLqL9zc-mOnh_WnvppRwKDGrTlk2f6yCQjvKByNyGqZTz28rY/s1600/http---signatures.mylivesignature.com-54492-393-6F3EFC98C8866041506B55A3D4D3BD94.png" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-81335260802422679172015-01-19T19:49:00.000+08:002015-02-02T12:29:13.386+08:00[CLOSED] International Giveaway: Shanny Reads 1 Month Blogiversary! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4EfuTpqhvcRf7mp_RFZku_u0sGAZE5a_89PWVfNxCZfTVF7tZg-dNKQ_HHPdah2gI0-I2K9fu2KDlsAvns4m6ePfPX5xtwUug-jO-iiif5y7xZzwzTTjCvOouXnGzeQ2ugcZsZAP0DA/s1600/NEVER+EVER+GIVE+UP.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4EfuTpqhvcRf7mp_RFZku_u0sGAZE5a_89PWVfNxCZfTVF7tZg-dNKQ_HHPdah2gI0-I2K9fu2KDlsAvns4m6ePfPX5xtwUug-jO-iiif5y7xZzwzTTjCvOouXnGzeQ2ugcZsZAP0DA/s1600/NEVER+EVER+GIVE+UP.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hi guys! My one month blogiversary is coming up next week, the 26th of January 2015. Since I'm going to Sydney for a conference before than and won't have as much access to my blog or social media in general I've decided to launch the giveaway early!<br />
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I know it doesn't sound like much, especially compared to those have been blogging for years but I'm super proud of how far my blog has come despite it all. I love how I can already see familiar people commenting on my posts and how supportive and lovely everyone is about the content I put out.<br />
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Originally I was going to wait for my first 50 followers but with some people following on GFC and others on BL or RSS I decided not to focus too much on numbers and instead on the time I've spent blogging. Therefore, in celebration of my first happy month I've decided to host a little giveaway! I know it's not much but just take it as a token of my appreciation.<br />
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Please read these rules before entering! Just to avoid future problems or confusion.<br />
1) One winner will receive <b><u>one book of their choice</u></b> from <a href="http://www.thebookdepository.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Book Depository</a> <b><u>up to and including the value of $18.00 (AUD)</u></b> - this should be enough for a nice hardback!<br />
2) The giveaway will be open for <b>two weeks</b> from <b>8PM 19th Jan 2015</b> to <b>12AM 2nd Feb 2015 </b><u>(</u>GMT +8)<br />
3) This giveaway is open <b>internationally</b> (or <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/help/topic/HelpId/3/Which-countries-do-you-deliver-to#helpContent" target="_blank">wherever The Book Depository ships</a>)<br />
3) Please be<b> over 18</b> or have your<b> parents permission</b> to enter the giveaway as I will be asking for your full name postal address in order to send you the book.<br />
4) You can come back and tweet out about this giveaway every day for another additional entry!<br />
5) Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with The Book Depository in any way.<br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="9d79889a1" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9d79889a1/" id="rcwidget_t38wqcs1" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script><br />
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Thanks so much for making me feel welcomed to this wonderful community and happy reading <3<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-87189427564918428312015-01-17T18:38:00.001+08:002015-01-17T18:38:35.950+08:00NetGalley Book Haul | Stacking the Shelves [4] <br />
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This post is a part of <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/05/staking-shelves-official-launch.html" target="_blank">Stacking the Shelves</a>, a weekly book meme hosted over at <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/" target="_blank">Tynga's Reviews</a> where people post their weekly book hauls. Hauls includes physical books as well as any electronic or audio books. Join in if you're interested! Now onto my haul for this week.<br />
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I got a bunch of titles from Net Galley recently! I will be providing the synopsis for each one and talking a bit about why I decided to request them. Just a quick disclaimer, though I got these books for free in no way does that alter my opinion on them. I will be planning to review these, but opinions will remain honest. Click on their covers or titles to be sent to their Goodreads page.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/809835.The_Red_Magician?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/netgalley-covers/cover54296-medium.png" width="126" /></a> </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/809835.The_Red_Magician?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Red Magician</a> by Lisa Goldstein </div>
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<b>Blurb: </b>Winner of the 1983 American Book Award, The Red Magician was an immediate classic.
On the eve of World War II, a wandering magician comes to a small Hungarian village prophesying death and destruction. Eleven-year-old Kicsi believes Vörös, and attempts to aid him in protecting the village.
But the local rabbi, who possesses magical powers, insists that the village is safe, and frustrates Vörös's attempts to transport them all to safety. Then the Nazis come and the world changes.
Miraculously, Kicsi survives the horrors of the concentration camp and returns to her village to witness the final climactic battle between the rabbi and the Red Magician, the Old World and the New.
The Red Magician is a notable work of Holocaust literature and a distinguished work of fiction, as well as a marvelously entertaining fantasy that is, in the end, wise and transcendent.</blockquote>
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<b>Why I requested it:</b> I love historical fiction, so I'm always naturally inclined to gravitate towards book of this genre. I also love fantasy novels and elements of magic realism. The Red Magician is set during World War II, one of my favourite periods of time to read about AND contains elements of magic and fantasy! What's not to love? Furthermore, this book is a modern classic and winner of a number of award so I'm super excited for what I'm in store for. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23523012-the-chimes?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/netgalley-covers/cover57444-medium.png" width="130" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23523012-the-chimes?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Chimes</a> by Anna Smaill</div>
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<b>Blurb:</b> The Chimes is set in a reimagined London, in a world where people cannot form new memories, and the written word has been forbidden and destroyed. In the absence of both memory and writing is music. In a world where the past is a mystery, each new day feels the same as the last, and before is blasphony, all appears lost. But Simon Wythern, a young man who arrives in London seeking the truth about what really happened to his parents, discovers he has a gift that could change all of this forever. A stunning literary debut by poet and violinist Anna Smaill, The Chimes is a startlingly original work that combines beautiful, inventive prose with incredible imagination. </blockquote>
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<b>Why I requested it:</b> I grew up playing piano and violin, though I don't play anymore I still appreciate and absolutely adore listening to music. The Chimes sounds like a wonderfully unique fantasy set in mysterious world. Can't wait to start this one, and seeing as that the author has a background in poetry and music, I'm hoping the writing will be just as beautiful! </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12831097-girls-night-in" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/netgalley-covers/cover56385-medium.png" width="132" /></a> </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12831097-girls-night-in" target="_blank">Girls' Night In</a> by Multiple Contributors </div>
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<b>Blurb:</b> Most girls know the best nights in consist of other girlie friends, a few bottles of vino (or devilish cocktail concoctions) and a good goss. A Girls Night In provides all this and more between the pages of its cover. A collection of short stories by 32 of the UK's most up-and-coming female authors, this intoxicating anthology is a heady blend of heartbreaks, highs and hit-and-misses. With each writer's distinct perspective and personal style flowing, no two stories are alike--although they all deal with a perennial theme: the battle of the sexes. Contributors include Marian Keyes, Lisa Jewell, Wendy Holden, Amy Jenkins and many, many more. Marian Keyes' "The Truth is Out There" is an unusual, screwball spin on getting over a broken heart--a young woman in the process of a break-up is unwittingly assisted by "a small, yellow, transparent creature who liked to be called Bib", with an eye for the ladies. Lisa Jewell's "Rudy" looks at affairs of the heart from a rare male perspective--the stalker--leaving many a reader, oddly enough, with a wry smile. Innovative, wacky titles abound to induce the reader in: "E-Male of the Species", "Dougie, Spoons and the Aquarium Solarium" and "The Seven Steps from Shag to Spouse". Whether you are drawn to a familiar writer or someone new, you can dip in and out of these tales at whim, gaining a taster of whether you could enjoy a full course of their longer fiction. Either way, raise a glass to toast this eclectic mix of authors united to raise funds for War Child. Proceeds--£1 from every book sold--will promote a Child's Safe Play programme in the Balkans and an educational programme in Rwanda.</div>
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<b style="text-align: center;">Why I requested it:</b><span style="text-align: center;"> I remember reading this book as a kid! So weird I know, not even sure if it was catered towards my age at the time but seeing this on Net Galley bought back a massive wave of nostalgia. Lovely seeing it all revamped for its 10th Anniversary and I'm so excited to get lost in a few short stories! Not actually a massive fan of chick lit or romance anymore, but I think a few short reads is just what I need. Great that sales go towards charity as well. </span></div>
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So those are all the books I got this week. What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments and share your STS post or haul! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-87611677528790770942015-01-16T13:55:00.001+08:002015-01-16T13:59:26.688+08:00Guilty for Multiple Copies of the Same Book! | Feature and Follow [3] <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi everyone! I will be participating in the Feature and Follow book meme hosted by Parajunkee of <a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Parajunkee's View</span></a> and Alison of <a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Alison Can Read</span></a>. This meme is a great way to increase your following as well as make new friends. Every week the hosts ask a question for you to answer and also each feature a blogger for you to check out. You can visit <a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/2015/01/01/newyears-hop/" target="_blank">any Feature and Follow post</a> on the hosts' blogs for more information. Now onto this weeks question!</div>
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<b>Question: </b>Do you own any doubles of your books? What led to getting that second…or third or fourth…copy? – <a href="http://jessica-agreatread.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Great Read</a></div>
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<b>Answer: </b>I had to check my shelf for this one but I was surprised to find out I actually own three copies of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1885.Pride_and_Prejudice" target="_blank">Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen</a>! I did read it a while ago and enjoyed it, but it wasn't a massive favourite of mine. I own all these copies purely by coincidence, had no idea I already had it sitting on my shelf. Guilty! Though the third book is actually an omnibus of all her complete novels, so maybe that isn't as bad? It's about time I re-read this classic though.<br />
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About the book</h2>
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<b> Title: </b>Throne of Glass<br />
<b> Author: </b>Sarah J Maas<br />
<b> Edition: </b>E-Book, 404 pages<br />
<b> Published: </b><a href="http://www.bloomsbury.com/au/childrens/" target="_blank">Bloomsbury Children's</a>, 2012<br />
<b> Genre: </b>Young Adult, Fantasy, Series<br />
<b> My Rating:</b> 4/5<br />
<b> Challenge(s): </b><a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/reading-challenge-201415-clean-out-your.html" target="_blank">COYER</a>, <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/p/memes-and-challenges.html" target="_blank">Flights of Fantasy</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15713880-throne-of-glass" target="_blank"> Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=throne+of+glass&search=Find+book" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Throne-Glass-1-ebook/dp/B008BJ3RP2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421384468&sr=8-1&keywords=throne+of+glass" target="_blank">Amazon</a></blockquote>
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<b>Blurb: </b><i>Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.
In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.
Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?</i></div>
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Review</h2>
I've heard very close to only good things about the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas and was so excited to start the first book. Though I did not give it a perfect rating, I was definitely not disappointed.
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The Good</h3>
I loved Celaena as a main character. She was a <b>strong female lead</b> and thought rationally throughout the book. There is nothing more annoying than a female lead whose head is way up in the clouds. You definitely get to see two sides to Celaena, the trained assassin versus a more feminine character connected with reading and music. Though I felt these juxtaposed a bit, and acted as quite a heavy contrast in parts of the book, it wasn't unbelievable. I'm sure plenty of people in real life have equally as contrasting identities or past-times. I thought this fan art did a great job at representing the dimensions of Celaena in one shot.<br />
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<a href="http://walkingnorth.deviantart.com/art/The-assassin-362420096" target="_blank"><img alt=" The assassin by walkingnorth" border="0" src="http://th07.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2013/089/7/c/the_assassin_by_walkingnorth-d5zrx4w.jpg" height="400" width="252" /></a></div>
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Maas's <b>writing was easy to read and very descriptive</b>. I especially loved being able to picture the elaborate ball dresses Celaena wore and the many rooms of the castle she resided in.<br />
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I also thought <b>the premise of the book was unique and captivating</b>. The competition that pitched train killers against each other was entertaining and fun to read about, though I do wish they had more of these scenes involving the other champions Celaena was up against. <b>The mystery involving the castle and certain characters kept me on the edge of my seat</b> throughout most of the book. Any loose ends were tied up nicely by the finale, but still left me wanting to explore the Throne of Glass universe in the remaning sequels. I don't think it had a massive cliffhanger ending (not necessarily a good or bad thing) but rather a more open ending that gets you excited for the adventures ahead.
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<h3>
The Not So Good</h3>
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Probably the biggest problem I had with this book was that I found it <b>a bit too perfect (and slightly annoying) that two of the first male characters introduced to the reader were both young and attractive i.e. potential love interests</b>. I just thought Maas could have done a little more world building before their appearance in the plot as at the start I was more curious about the setting and context than anything else. Also I think I could see that Celaena leaned towards one member of this triangle more than the other pretty obviously, but I do see opportunity for this to change in the future. I didn't find myself particularly attached to either of these relationships. I thought the <b>male characters felt like pretty typical archetypes</b> that I've seen before, whilst Caelena remained quite unqiue. I have yet to make up my mind to which couple I ship more! </div>
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I <b>didn't connect to many of the other side characters</b> either. As I said previously, I wished there had been more scenes with the other champions so I could have learnt a bit about them and their backgrounds. The antagonists were definitely very formidable and evil and though Caelena wasn't the only against them, I didn't form significant attachments to any of the other protagonists. Hopefully they'll be fleshed out more in the rest of the series. Despite this being said, it wasn't a massive issue for me as Caelena was such a fantastic lead. </div>
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<h3>
Character Showcase </h3>
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I thought it would be fun to start showcasing "celebrities" (actors, singers etc.) that I can see playing the main character in an onscreen adaptation, based on appearance and/or talent. For Caelena I though <b>Candice Accola</b> would be perfect. Most famous for her character Caroline Forbes on the Vampire Diaries (which I watched ages ago, but not any more). She's the perfect combination of girly and fighter in my opinion and I think her appearance fits the description of Caelena. I don't know if I'll be doing this showcase in all my reviews - maybe just for the ones I can really invision! </div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_775511972"></span><img border="0" src="http://www.celebzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/candice-accola-at-fashion-show-in-ny_1.jpg" height="400" width="276" /><span id="goog_775511973"></span></a></div>
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<h3>
My Recommendation </h3>
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I'm giving Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas a <b>4 out of 5</b>. I would recommend this book to <b>fans of young adult fantasies</b> that are accompanied with a love triangle or a plot line circulating a <b>competition pitching various fighters of different classes against each other</b> (kind of a similar thread as the Hunger Games). This book is appropriate for a wide range of ages. There is moderate bloody violence and mild sexual content. </div>
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Let's Discuss!</h3>
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Not sure if you noticed but I tried to add some more images and formatting to this review. I want to make my reviews easier to read and scan for specific points. Hopefully this helped break the content up a bit! How did you like the new format? Let me know, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have read the Throne of Glass series, did you enjoy the sequels? Be sure to keep the comments spoiler free for those who haven't read the books yet! </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer: Photos are linked to their original sources. They are not mine. I created the header for this review myself. The background image is the book cover of the novel reviewed. </span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfSLWmCrXVNYshIuShtc-VmwmSjhJpnQdP15AzhV-A06W7VgcEHTPwJygTK0Q3ecm2GnS2FOrkmuBVHqK36z3m6X3iwXLqL9zc-mOnh_WnvppRwKDGrTlk2f6yCQjvKByNyGqZTz28rY/s1600/http---signatures.mylivesignature.com-54492-393-6F3EFC98C8866041506B55A3D4D3BD94.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfSLWmCrXVNYshIuShtc-VmwmSjhJpnQdP15AzhV-A06W7VgcEHTPwJygTK0Q3ecm2GnS2FOrkmuBVHqK36z3m6X3iwXLqL9zc-mOnh_WnvppRwKDGrTlk2f6yCQjvKByNyGqZTz28rY/s1600/http---signatures.mylivesignature.com-54492-393-6F3EFC98C8866041506B55A3D4D3BD94.png" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-28667639737949684142015-01-13T12:23:00.000+08:002015-01-14T21:14:22.606+08:002014 Releases I Meant to Read but Didn't Get To | Top Ten Tuesday [3]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWnY5sd60-0efm25l9hKvAcsWsT-AAr3qXu8oUtD7_ft9jB-zzhxexfDM1FrpmBE90V8ioDukhpD2LFHCA6DU_z6eO93qw73bJ6LJkUWLFPcyFcDrdvgQcSV1QYu57XhwC3xSOVN_2ps/s1600/Palo+Alto+(1).png" /></div>
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Top Ten Tuesday is a book meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">The Broke and the Bookish</span></a>. Topics are picked each week and people share their lists with one another. To find out more and join in click <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">here</span></a>. Now onto this weeks list! There is quite a variety of books on this list. Click on the book covers for their Goodreads pages.<br />
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2014 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn't Get To</h3>
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Fiction</h3>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18214414-the-silkworm" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392577290l/18214414.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith</b></div>
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Private investigator Cormoran Strike returns in a new mystery from Robert Galbraith, author of the #1 international bestseller The Cuckoo's Calling.
When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days—as he has done before—and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.
But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives—meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.
When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...</div>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18498569-the-miniaturist" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392415313l/18498569.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton</b></div>
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Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam-a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion-a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters, and Sarah Dunant.
"There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed…"
On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office-leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.
But Nella's world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist-an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .
Johannes' gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand-and fear-the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?
Enchanting, beautiful, and exquisitely suspenseful, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth.</div>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20821299-the-book-with-no-pictures" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400873472l/20821299.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>The Book With No Pictures - BJ Novak</b></div>
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A book with no pictures?
What could be fun about that?
After all, if a book has no pictures, there's nothing to look at but the words on the page.
Words that might make you say silly sounds... In ridiculous voices...
Hey, what kind of book is this, anyway?
At once disarmingly simple and ingeniously imaginative, The Book With No Pictures inspires laughter every time it is opened, creating a warm and joyous experience to share--and introducing young children to the powerful idea that the written word can be an unending source of mischief and delight. </div>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18079719-grasshopper-jungle" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373059909l/18079719.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>The Grasshopper Jungle - Andrew Smith</b></div>
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Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the story of how he and his best friend , Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.
To make matters worse, Austin's hormones are totally oblivious; they don't care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. He's stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it's up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.</div>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17934370-the-undertaking-of-lily-chen" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408324947l/17934370.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>The Undertaking of Lily Chen - Danica Novgoroduff</b></div>
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Deshi Li's brother is dead--and unmarried. Which means that Deshi must find him an eligible body before the week is up.
Lily Chen, sweet as a snakebite, needs money and a fast ride out of town.
Haunted by the gods of their ancestors and the expectations of the new world, Deshi and Lily embark on a journey with two very different destinations in mind. They travel through a land where the ground is hard and the graves, where marriage can be murder and where Lily Chen is wanted--dead and live.</div>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143977-all-the-light-we-cannot-see" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413166411l/18143977.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>All the Lights We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr</b></div>
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Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.
Doerr's gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.</div>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18404427-china-dolls" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405290827l/18404427.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>China Dolls - Lisa See</b></div>
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In 1938, Ruby, Helen and Grace, three girls from very different backgrounds, find themselves competing at the same audition for showgirl roles at San Francisco's exclusive "Oriental" nightclub, the Forbidden City. Grace, an American-born Chinese girl has fled the Midwest and an abusive father. Helen is from a Chinese family who have deep roots in San Francisco's Chinatown. And, as both her friends know, Ruby is Japanese passing as Chinese. At times their differences are pronounced, but the girls grow to depend on one another in order to fulfill their individual dreams. Then, everything changes in a heartbeat with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Suddenly the government is sending innocent Japanese to internment camps under suspicion, and Ruby is one of them. But which of her friends betrayed her?</div>
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Non-fiction </h3>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20821018-rookie-yearbook-three" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404958928l/20821018.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>Rookie Yearbook Three - Tavi Gevinson</b></div>
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Rookiemag.com is a website created by and for young women to make the best of the beauty, pain and awkwardness of being a teenager. When it becomes tough to appreciate such things, we have good plain fun and visual pleasure. When you're sick of having to be happy all the time, we have lots of rants, too. Every school year, we compile the best from the site into a print yearbook. Behold: our Junior year!
In Rookie Yearbook Three, we explore cures for love, girl-on-girl crime, open relationships, standing for something, embracing our inner posers, and so much more. Featuring interviews with Rookie role models like Sofia Coppola, Amandla Stenberg, Greta Gerwig, and Kim Gordon, and a bonus section chock-full of exclusive content including a pizza pennant, sticker sheet, valentines, plus advice and contributions from Lorde, Shailene Woodley, Dakota and Elle Fanning, Grimes, Kelis, Sia, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer of Broad City, Haim, and more!</div>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20910157-yes-please" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402815435l/20910157.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>Yes Please - Amy Poehler</b></div>
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In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book is full of words to live by.</div>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20588698-not-that-kind-of-girl" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402816003l/20588698.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>Not That Kind of Girl - Lena Dunham</b></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">From the acclaimed creator, producer, and star of HBO's Girls comes a hilarious, wise, and fiercely candid collection of personal essays that establishes Lena Dunham as one of the most original young talents writing today. In Not that Kind of Girl, Dunham illuminates the experiences that are part of making one's way in the world: falling in love, feeling alone, being ten pounds overweight despite eating only health food, having to prove yourself in a room full of men twice your age, finding true love, and, most of all, having the guts to believe that your story is one that deserves to be told. Exuberant, moving, and keenly observed, Not that Kind of Girl is a series of dispatches from the frontlines of the struggle that is growing up. "I'm already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you," Dunham writes. "But if I can take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine will have been worthwhile."</span><br />
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Did you have anything similar on your list? Let me know in the comments!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfSLWmCrXVNYshIuShtc-VmwmSjhJpnQdP15AzhV-A06W7VgcEHTPwJygTK0Q3ecm2GnS2FOrkmuBVHqK36z3m6X3iwXLqL9zc-mOnh_WnvppRwKDGrTlk2f6yCQjvKByNyGqZTz28rY/s1600/http---signatures.mylivesignature.com-54492-393-6F3EFC98C8866041506B55A3D4D3BD94.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfSLWmCrXVNYshIuShtc-VmwmSjhJpnQdP15AzhV-A06W7VgcEHTPwJygTK0Q3ecm2GnS2FOrkmuBVHqK36z3m6X3iwXLqL9zc-mOnh_WnvppRwKDGrTlk2f6yCQjvKByNyGqZTz28rY/s1600/http---signatures.mylivesignature.com-54492-393-6F3EFC98C8866041506B55A3D4D3BD94.png" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-79255686704707022392015-01-11T20:31:00.002+08:002015-01-14T21:15:23.295+08:00This Week on the Blog | Sunday Post [2] <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFNKezqKp4b1ywvbe73V6q-uNhfYjvJghdrOpuHKHD6b4pQAIfoKIJa3BSLAnun0zqUB5WKEenWUMihik7iLS1ruwP3Vjn_pCUv-eK8fxE8Y-BwWC_VvSWL_0ZyySDq2tBJGYww1LYjU/s1600/2.png" /></div>
The Sunday Post is a weekly book meme hosted by Kimberly over at <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/" target="_blank">Caffeinated Book Reviewer</a>. Its purpose is for people to share news, summarise their blog's activity in the past week and showcase upcoming events. For more information click <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Blog Activity: Past Week</h3>
- Last Week's Sunday Post [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-meme-sunday-post-1.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Most Anticipated 2015 Debuts (Top Ten Tuesday [2] Book Meme) [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-meme-top-ten-tuesday-2-most.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Series Review: The Giver Quartet [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/series-review-giver-quartet-by-lois.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Top 5 Anticipated Movies for 2015 [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/bloggish-bit-top-5-anticipated-movie.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Feature and Follow [2] Book Meme [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-meme-feature-and-follow-2.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Book Haul and Meme: Stacking the Shelves [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-haul-stacking-shelves-3.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Book Review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-review-brief-wondrous-life-of.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
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Blog Activity: Upcoming </h3>
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<a href="http://www.becausereading.com/coyers-dusting-off-shelf-read-thon/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.becausereading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Dust-off-Shelves-1024x859.jpg" height="167" width="200" /></a></div>
- Bout of Books Read-a-thon Wrap Up<br />
- Dusting off the Shelves Read-a-thon<br />
- Book Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas<br />
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Challenge Update </h3>
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- Read 1 book for <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">COYER</a>: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz </div>
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- Diaz's novel also counted towards the <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">Diversity on the Shelf</a> and <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">Dive into Diversity</a> reading challenges<br />
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Fit Readers Update</h3>
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<b>Sunday 4th Jan: </b>20 min morning run, 45 min treadmill walk, 24 min walk at park, day 4 Blogilates abs<br />
<b>Monday 5 Jan: </b>30 min yoga, 30 min legs and cardio circuit, 30 min walk at park, day 5 Blogilates abs<br />
<b>Tuesday 6 Jan: </b>20 min yoga, 25 min LISS, day 6 Blogilates abs<br />
<b>Wednesday 7 Jan:</b> 30 min arms and abs circuit, 20 min yoga, 20 min walk at park, day 7 Blogilates abs<br />
<b>Thursday 8 Jan: </b>40 min of yoga, 35 min LISS workout, 30 min treadmill walk, 30 min walk at park, day 8 Blogilates abs<br />
<b>Friday 9 Jan:</b> 30 min yoga, 35 min LISS, 30 min full body circuit, 20 min walk at park , day 9 Blogilates abs<br />
<b>Saturday 10 Jan:</b> 10 min yoga, 45 min LISS, 15 min treadmill walk, day 10 Blogilates abs<br />
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To find out more about these challenges and Fit Readers visit my <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/p/memes-and-challenges.html" target="_blank">Memes and Challenges</a> page. </div>
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What happened in your week? Let me know in the comments or link your Sunday Post.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-48953621498936566442015-01-11T20:29:00.001+08:002015-01-14T21:16:05.064+08:00Kindle Book Haul | Stacking the Shelves [3] <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdULGlKOIA-mmrh2nR0ZPf91DlQCIDRIQmPftkLVJ7pu5PLumgyr39xEXjK0MKdl5zPsBRVbtlh5ZwvV1_5ZmrCWEAdEdeftgd6yjot4z25JkPjaLJdO1lKiUbXSEiXI6NjlsynS_ssE/s1600/book+meme+stacking+the+shelves.jpg" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/05/staking-shelves-official-launch.html" target="_blank">Stacking the Shelves</a> is a weekly Saturday book meme hosted over at <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/" target="_blank">Tynga's Reviews</a> where people post their weekly book hauls. Hauls includes physical books as well as any electronic or audio books. Join in if you're interested! Now onto my haul for this week. Click on their cover to be sent to their Goodreads page.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1629601.The_Disreputable_History_of_Frankie_Landau_Banks?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1420617430l/24187511.jpg" width="126" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22071887-this-night-so-dark?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400845036l/22071887.jpg" width="132" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24379103-crimson-night?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1420748839l/24379103.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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All the books I bought this week were e-books. At the time of purchase, all of these books qualified for the <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/reading-challenge-201415-clean-out-your.html" target="_blank">#COYER</a> challenge. It's not too late to sign up if you're interested in getting some more e-books read!<br />
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So those are all the books I got this week. What did you pick up this week? Link your STS post or just list your haul in the comments.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-4258640911773562602015-01-10T03:00:00.000+08:002015-01-13T17:51:54.039+08:00Book Review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About the book</h3>
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<b> Title: </b>The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao<br />
<b> Author: </b>Junot Diaz<br />
<b> Edition: </b>E-Book, 339 pages<br />
<b> Published: </b><a href="http://www.riverheadbooks.com/">Riverhead</a>, 2007<br />
<b> Genre: </b>Adult, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Magic Realism<br />
<b> My Rating:</b> 3/5<br />
<b> Challenge(s): </b><a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/reading-challenge-201415-clean-out-your.html" target="_blank">COYER</a>, <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">Diversity on the Shelf</a>, <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">Dive into Diversity</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5664311-the-brief-wondrous-life-of-oscar-wao">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=oscar+wao&search=Find+book">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Brief-Wondrous-Life-Oscar-Wao-ebook/dp/B002RI90E0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420804672&sr=8-1&keywords=oscar+wao">Amazon </a> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Blurb: </b><i>Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd.
From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fuku - the curse that has haunted the Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim.
Junot Diaz immerses us in the tumultuous life of Oscar and the history of the family at large, rendering with genuine warmth and dazzling energy, humor, and insight the Dominican-American experience, and, ultimately, the endless human capacity to persevere in the face of heartbreak and loss.
A true literary triumph, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao confirms Junot Diaz as one of the best and most exciting voices of our time.</i></span></div>
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Review</h3>
Despite the title, this novel is not about just one single character. In fact, it follows the story of not only Oscar but also many of his family members and his best friend. Each character lead their own unique life that had their moments, but at times were hard to connect to and not always understood.<br />
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The book, partially set in America and partially the Dominican Republic, took place during the rise, reign and fall of Rafael Trujillo, a former dictator of the latter. The Trujillo Era lasted around 30 years, starting in the 1930s, and was the formidable and hapless backdrop to the life of Oscar and his family. As I previously mentioned, the story followed not only Oscar, but also parts of his sister Lola's life, his mother's lifes as well as his best friend's. Oddly enough, whilst most of the book was told from the perspective of his best friend, Yunior (who called himself "the Watcher" and adopted the role of the narrator), Lola (his sister) told her story from her own perspective in first person as well. I'm not entirely sure why this was done, Lola was never introduced as the narrator so I found it somewhat confusing and unnecessary. Maybe the reasoning went right over my head.<br />
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This book was deeply ingrained in the Trujillo Era and Dominican culture. It utilised a plethora of Spanish idioms and words. This helped solidfy the character's identity and their connection with their ethnicity and nationality. It made them real. I don't know how many of you have read a book from the point of view of a character living in a foreign country or of a certain ethnicity and then never hearing about that country or culture ever again, but this certainly was not the case for Oscar Wao. Maybe to an extreme. Many of the numerous number of analogies and references drawing from Dominican culture went way over my head. At times I found it hard to understand exactly what had been said (I'm talking full Spanish phrases or sentences with no translation). One may argue that this isn't crucially important as I still understood the events of the book (I hope), the type of characters introduced and it did truly emerse me in their community, but, I still found it frustrating to not know what a character had said or meant at points throughout the book. It set the novel back for me a bit. There was the occasional footnote for the more obscure references, but even then I don't think this would have been enough for a reader (not me necessarily) that would have wanted to understand every reference made in this novel. They would need to read Diaz's work next to a Spanish dictionary and have Wikipedia pulled up on their computer.<br />
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Though the characters' life were definitely worth talking about I had trouble connecting to all of them. Oscar was my favourite of them all, he was the kindest and his hopeful wishes and dreams were sweet, albeit somewhat desperate and pityful at times. Lola and Beli were both strong and independent female characters but made decisions or formed opinions that I didn't agree with. Both women were very headstrong and driven (like mother, like daughter) but Lola too impulsive and reckless, Beli too closed minded and bitter in her older age. The back story that was slowly revealed regarding each of these characters was intersting and at times horrific. To an extent it helped me understand why they were such a way but still left me torn on whether I liked them or not. Unfortunately I didn't like Yunior that much either. He seemed like an alright guy at the start, trying to help Oscar out, but out of all the characters I'd say he accomplished the least and his story was definitely the most bland. I understand why Diaz chose him as a narrator, he fit in with the lives of the other characters well, but I wish he made him more likeable. All these characters were extremely flawed which made them seem more realistic, but as a trade-off not as easy to connect to. Of course I'm not saying I don't have flaws (I definitely do), but I just didn't find their personal struggles relatable. <br />
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The novel did an excellent job at revealing the oppression and tyrannical forces of the Trujillo government during their reign. When I first picked the book up, I had little to no idea what it was actually about, and was surprised to find it so wrapped up in the politics of the times. It is one of those books that teach you a lot about a particular period in history. One of the benefits of reading a great historical novel. I can see it being studied in classes or by individuals looking for greater insight into this period of time. But beyond the politics, it was also a story about the endurance of the human spirit. Characters experienced devestating loss, heartbreak, humiliation, physical abuse, ostracization and more, all whilst still holding onto straws of hope, the warmth of love or an europhic memory. Upon reflection, despite this book not being a favourite of mine and at times difficult to digest, the main message is beautiful and meaningful.<br />
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All that being said, this book is definitely not for everyone. <b>I would recommend it for those looking for a dramatic but realistic read that follows the story of a broken family and each member's quest in discovering their place in the world, or for those interested in a historical fiction deeply immersed in Dominican culture.</b> I personally don't even see myself re-reading it any time soon (though maybe when I'm older) but I definitely will be checking out more of Diaz's work, I have This is How You Lose Her sitting on my shelf.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-60903405379692638302015-01-09T17:18:00.003+08:002015-01-09T17:23:33.957+08:00Book Meme: Feature and Follow [2] <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi everyone! I will be participating in the Feature and Follow book meme hosted by Parajunkee of <a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Parajunkee's View</span></a> and Alison of <a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Alison Can Read</span></a>. This meme is a great way to increase your following as well as make new friends. Every week the hosts ask a question for you to answer and also each feature a blogger for you to check out. You can visit <a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/2015/01/01/newyears-hop/" target="_blank">any Feature and Follow post</a> on the hosts' blogs for more information. Now onto this weeks question!</div>
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<b>Question: </b>Do you have any fun collections (other than books)? - via <a href="http://readingwithstyle.blogspot.com/">Peace Love Books</a></div>
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<b>Answer: </b>Tea! I love buying and trying all sorts of tea. That would have to be the closest thing I have to a collection other than books. I think it's the perfect beverage to have whilst reading, watching TV, eating breakfast or just whenever I want to relax and and chill out. Got any recommendations?<br />
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Thanks for reading! If you're here on a blog hop, I'd prefer to be followed via RSS or Bloglovin' but GFC is fine too if that's what you like to use. Be sure to leave me a comment letting me know you stopped by! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-64444107940421430612015-01-09T03:00:00.000+08:002015-01-09T10:25:58.501+08:00Bloggish Bit: Top 5 Anticipated Movie Releases in 2015 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi everyone! I recently did a blog post on <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-meme-top-ten-tuesday-2-most.html" target="_blank">my top debut books for 2015</a> and had a lot of fun doing it so I thought I'd so something similar with movies. Please keep in mind these are following <b>Australian release dates</b>, some of these have already been released in other countries during 2014. One of these movies are novel adaptations and one is of a comic book. Unlike books I am a lot less knowledgeable or passionate about movies but do enjoy watching the occasional one. Though I'm sure some great independent films are coming out this year as well I don't know much about them, though I am convinced I will enjoy some good indie films too. Now that's all been said, here are my personal picks for the most anticipated movie releases for 2015 and a bit about why they're on my list. Click on the movie poster or title to be sent to it's IMDb page. These are in no particular order.<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395427/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5nF0meJ_eAmpS13k1Bj_lqRFfflytxQw6Xcvp2qhmaBYDMlZ4qu8HwIDEszn08mrUFVGssicJCmISXNsIxZ9tPhTGTSkCNu822reRPxvou6p6C6nwfWByGGki37vwA8AzaWVklg0F_o/s1600/avengers+age+of+ultron.jpg" height="320" width="231" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395427/" target="_blank">Avengers: Age of Ultron</a> directed by Joss Whedon</div>
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I love comic book and superhero movies, especially the Marvel franchise. Naturally, I cannot wait for the next Avengers movie! The first one was a lot of fun. </blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2848292/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo2hOzk1OqoYZmxtQ8nFJqbuMdViE8_3idnKd3IL-Sj84aNtcvrirbfBCGUj5AJgGz5seut_kSUtCsS3SHc-2ttLERoQgUnD0qNp9hwUVCd_K9H6AlaOHZreQFy6XDLo4sEHTj8t6M1-A/s1600/pitch+perfect+2.jpg" height="320" width="202" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2848292/" target="_blank">Pitch Perfect 2</a> directed by Elizabeth Banks</div>
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I thought the first movie was hilarious, the singing was good and Anna Kendrick was amazing! Rebel Wilson is also a star on screen and I love the fact she's Australian. I hope the sequel is just as good. </div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2802144/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiD2pSRPLNfaUr8Bi-lpxBAnhyxZKtF5uj7bx6BGBDHDh7OelVOtP_YM3Aoc-pV3jYP2aJuyyoj3qppx3n4aMU4-SVZK6KZCkCP-jDjZIRT9ZW7l4nRYAARrUpVIqW6vTRH-PPe1fHaI/s1600/kingsman.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2802144/" target="_blank">Kingsman: The Secret Service</a> directed by Matthew Vaughn</div>
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This one looks like British Avengers (even stars Samuel L Jackson) made up of normal people instead of super heroes. Looks action packed and full of cool tech-y gadgets. </div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084970/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOTJfiec7rlzHFXwtpQ2ddOiTeI5jfGfdl8xBvRRmoQXYKwkjekAkKHnlbaq9aFgkind9639zxK2hyphenhyphenIOBI-nGX4Eaw2wzJiE8dNxRj0AOH6sBNEo4nwzTfzwugy9VcimRuIFSyVLULjA/s1600/The+Imitation+Game.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084970/" target="_blank">The Imitation Game</a> directed by Morten Tyldum</div>
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I love Benedict Cumberbatch so much. He's such a brilliant actor. This movie is based on a true story set during World War II that involves the cracking of the Enigma code. The trailer looked awesome and I've already heard amazing things. Can't wait to watch this one! </div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951266/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140316100002/thehungergames/images/5/55/Mockingjay2_Movie_Logo.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951266/" target="_blank">The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II</a> directed by Francis Lawrence</div>
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Who isn't excited for this movie?! Can't wait to see how they bring the last bit of the series to a close on screen. I also love Jennifer Lawrence, she's so talented! </div>
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So those are my top 5 picks for 2015, what are yours? Let me know in the comments. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-87586549177704175072015-01-07T08:57:00.000+08:002015-01-07T19:32:19.969+08:00Series Review: The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About the series</h3>
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<b> Series Title: </b>The Giver Quartet<br />
<b> Book Titles: </b> The Giver (1), Gathering Blue (2), Messenger (3), Son (4)<br />
<b> Author: </b>Lois Lowry<br />
<b> Edition: </b>E-Book, 675 pages<br />
<b> Published: </b><a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/childrens">Harper Collins Children’s Books</a>, 2014<br />
<b> Original Publication: </b> 1993
<b> Genre: </b>Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian<br />
<b> My Rating:</b> 4/5<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/43606-the-giver-quartet" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Giver-Quartet-Lois-Lowry/9780544340978" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Giver-Gathering-Blue-Messenger-Quartet-ebook/dp/B00L7C99VQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420590619&sr=8-1&keywords=the+giver+quartet" target="_blank">Amazon </a> </blockquote>
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<b>Blurb for Book One: </b><i>Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.</i></div>
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Review</h3>
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The Giver Quartet is a series of four young adult dystopian novels; The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger and Son. The first book, The Giver was made into a movie in 2014 but I have yet to watch this. I ended up reading the entire series back to back on my Kindle all within a week and a half. For that reason I will be making this a series review, but don't worry, it will remain spoiler free.<br />
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After finishing the first book, The Giver, which won the Newbery Award in 1994, I was somewhat underwhelmed. It had a very typical dystopian storyline - a conforming society seemingly "perfect" on the surface but actually harbouring much darker secrets - but for me the plot was felt somewhat incomplete (this would change as I continued reading the series though).<br />
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The Giver was no doubt a captivating read and left me wanting to learn more about it's world with every page. Unfortunately my thirst wasn't entirely quenched as I wished Lowry fleshed out some of her characters a bit more, or extended some of the more enthralling scenes. When first being introduced to The Giver character I thought he would be much like Miyagi or Mr. Han from Karate Kid, this all knowing mentor that the audience could admire and foster a loving relationship for. Though I definitely found him to be a unique character he was quickly forgotten amongst all the other mystery present in the book and I hardly thought about him at all for the rest of the series. Don't get me wrong, he definitely was a crucial character for the rest of the series to kick off on, but I wish there would have been a greater opportunity for readers to connect with him. In my opinion there was nothing in The Giver that really set the book apart from any other YA dystopian I've read. (I should mention here that The Giver was published before dystopian literature became a popular trend, and during it's original publication it was considered to be an avant-garde text, in no way am I discrediting this literary achievement but in comparison to YA dystopian today, some readers that are "desensitized" to the dystopian conventions, myself included, may be somewhat disappointed by this modern classic.) As a book alone, I would have given it a rating of 3/5 stars. It was interesting enough and ended on a very open and suspenseful cliffhanger so I pressed on with the series.<br />
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From the second book onwards, things really started to pick up. The world Lowry created was much larger than I imagined. The remaining three books each followed a different, but equally as amazing characters, each solving their own mysteries and embarking on epic adventures. Having these colourful lives and stories intertwine and overlap over the course of four books was so much fun to read. I don't want to delve into too much detail regarding these characters or storylines as I definitely think they'd be even more amazing if you simply entered in blindly after reading The Giver. On top of that I would actually recommend reading these books back to back, I feel as though if you waited too long between them you would definitely feel lost and no longer as attached to the characters. For example, having the story of a side character in book one fleshed out in the final book and still being able to remember everything about that side character in the beginning really added to the character's development and my personal enjoyment.<br />
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I believe these books had potential to be much longer, there was so many things to explore and so much I was itching to find out about. Some of these loose ends or mysteries introduced in the first book were actually only given full closure in the final book. At times this was frustrating but by the time I read the fourth book, and everything came together, it blew me away and was definitely worth the wait. There were some side characters that I wish I knew the fate of, but unfortunately the remainder of their lives will always remain a mystery. Though the fourth and final book was flooded with eureka moments, I did find it much more choppy than previous novels. It just didn't flow as nicely. There was a very creepy antagonist (one that had not been clearly fleshed out in previous books) that made for some thrilling scenes but some parts, especially the ending, felt rushed and quite underwhelming, given the build up from previous books.<br />
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Despite the first book seeming like just another average dystopian, the sequels in The Giver Quartet added layer upon layer of depth to the universe, enticing mystery, loveable characters and brilliant settings. Though there were a few minor loose ends that were left to the reader's imagination, and a somewhat underwhelming finish Lowry has done a fantastic job in creating a rich and detailed world for readers to enjoy. <b>I would recommend The Giver Quartet to fans of YA series interested in a more classic dystopian or adventure novel that takes place in a layered world for them to explore.</b> If you are planning to read The Giver, definitely commit to the entire series, it's worth it!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-8196232741041648972015-01-06T14:57:00.001+08:002015-01-14T21:16:59.605+08:00Most Anticipated 2015 Debuts | Top Ten Tuesday [2] <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten Tuesday is a book meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">The Broke and the Bookish</span></a>. Topics are picked each week and people share their lists with one another. To find out more and join in click <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">here</span></a>. Now onto this weeks list. Not going to lie, I hardly knew any 2015 debuts until I did a bit of research via Goodreads! I've got a mix of adult and young adult releases, but couldn't reach a list of ten, so I just cut it down to my top adult debut and top five YA debuts. Click on the book covers for their Goodreads pages.<br />
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Most Anticipated 2015 Debuts</h3>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22748021-the-travels-of-daniel-ascher?from_search=true" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/netgalley-covers/cover53724-medium.png" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>The Travels of Daniel Ascher - Deborah Levy-Bertherat</b></div>
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A sensation in France, this is a story about literary deceptions, family secrets, and a thrilling quest for the truth
Who is the real author of The Black Insignia? Is it H. R. Sanders, whose name is printed on the cover of every installment of the wildly successful young adult adventure series? Or is it Daniel Roche, the enigmatic world traveler who disappears for months at a time? When Daniel’s great-niece, Hélène, moves to Paris to study archeology, she does not expect to be searching for answers to these questions. As rumors circulate, however, that the twenty-fourth volume of The Black Insignia series will be the last, Hélène and her friend Guillaume, a devoted fan of her great-uncle’s books, set out to discover more about the man whose life eludes her. In so doing, she uncovers an explosive secret dating back to the darkest days of the Occupation.
In recounting the moment when one history began and another ended, The Travels of Daniel Ascher explores the true nature of fiction: is it a refuge, a lie, or a stand-in for mourning?</blockquote>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18488397-under-a-painted-sky" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403719279l/18488397.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>Under a Painted Sky - Stacey Lee</b></div>
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A powerful story of friendship and sacrifice, for fans of Code Name Verity
Missouri, 1849: Samantha dreams of moving back to New York to be a professional musician—not an easy thing if you’re a girl, and harder still if you’re Chinese. But a tragic accident dashes any hopes of fulfilling her dream, and instead, leaves her fearing for her life. With the help of a runaway slave named Annamae, Samantha flees town for the unknown frontier. But life on the Oregon Trail is unsafe for two girls, so they disguise themselves as Sammy and Andy, two boys headed for the California gold rush. Sammy and Andy forge a powerful bond as they each search for a link to their past, and struggle to avoid any unwanted attention. But when they cross paths with a band of cowboys, the light-hearted troupe turn out to be unexpected allies. With the law closing in on them and new setbacks coming each day, the girls quickly learn that there are not many places to hide on the open trail.
This beautifully written debut is an exciting adventure and heart-wrenching survival tale. But above all else, it’s a story about perseverance and trust that will restore your faith in the power of friendship.</blockquote>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20345202-the-girl-at-midnight" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403891131l/20345202.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>The Girl at Midnight - Melissa Grey</b></div>
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For readers of Cassandra Clare's City of Bones and Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone, The Girl at Midnight is the story of a modern girl caught in an ancient war.
Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.
Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.
Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.
But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.</blockquote>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20757532-shutter" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403198824l/20757532.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>Shutter - Courtney Alameday</b></div>
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Horror has a new name: introducing Courtney Alameda.
Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat—a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She's aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera's technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever.
When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn't exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she's faced before . . . or die trying.
Lock, stock, and lens, she’s in for one hell of a week..</blockquote>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22009384-the-edge-of-forever" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418099028l/22009384.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>The Edge of Forever - Melissa E. Hurst</b></div>
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In 2013: Sixteen-year-old Alora is having blackouts. Each time she wakes up in a different place with no idea of how she got there. The one thing she is certain of? Someone is following her.
In 2146: Seventeen-year-old Bridger is one of a small number of people born with the ability to travel to the past. While on a routine school time trip, he sees the last person he expected—his dead father. The strangest part is that, according to the Department of Temporal Affairs, his father was never assigned to be in that time. Bridger’s even more stunned when he learns that his by-the-book father was there to break the most important rule of time travel—to prevent someone’s murder.
And that someone is named Alora.
Determined to discover why his father wanted to help a “ghost,” Bridger illegally shifts to 2013 and, along with Alora, races to solve the mystery surrounding her past and her connection to his father before the DTA finds him. If he can stop Alora’s death without altering the timeline, maybe he can save his father too?</blockquote>
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<u><strike><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17878931-red-queen" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411472322l/17878931.jpg" width="140" /></a></strike></u></div>
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<b>Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard</b></div>
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The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?</blockquote>
What are your most anticipated debuts for 2015? Let me know in the comments!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-41090943819496265832015-01-04T19:58:00.000+08:002015-01-13T10:06:14.777+08:00Book Meme: Sunday Post [1]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFNKezqKp4b1ywvbe73V6q-uNhfYjvJghdrOpuHKHD6b4pQAIfoKIJa3BSLAnun0zqUB5WKEenWUMihik7iLS1ruwP3Vjn_pCUv-eK8fxE8Y-BwWC_VvSWL_0ZyySDq2tBJGYww1LYjU/s1600/2.png" /></div>
The Sunday Post is a weekly book meme hosted by Kimberly over at <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/" target="_blank">Caffeinated Book Reviewer</a>. Its purpose is for people to share news, summarise their blog's activity in the past week and showcase upcoming events. For more information click <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Blog Activity: Past Week</h3>
- COYER Reading Challenge Sign Up [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/reading-challenge-201415-clean-out-your.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Top Ten Tuesday Book Meme [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/book-meme-top-ten-tuesday-1-2015.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Palo Alto by James Franco Book Review [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/book-review-palo-alto-by-james-franco.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- First Book of the Year 2015 Book Meme [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-meme-first-book-of-year-2015.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- 2015 Year Round Challenge Sign Up [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Feature and Follow Book Meme [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-meme-feature-and-follow-1.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Stacking the Shelves Book Meme and Haul [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-meme-stacking-shelves-2.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Bout of Books 12 Read-a-thon Sign Up [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/read-thon-bout-of-books-12.html" target="_blank">x]</a><br />
- Laurinda by Alice Pung Book Review [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-review-laurinda-by-alice-pung.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
- Take Control of Your TBR Pile March 2015 Sign Up [<a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/p/memes-and-challenges.html" target="_blank">x</a>]<br />
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I've also signed up for two COYER Read-A-Thons this week, <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/coyers-dusting-off-shelf-read-thon/" target="_blank">Dusting of the Shelves</a> and <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/scavenger-hunt-read-thon/" target="_blank">Scavenger Hunt</a>. I have yet to make a blog post about it so I will add them in here.<br />
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<a href="http://www.becausereading.com/coyers-dusting-off-shelf-read-thon/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.becausereading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Dust-off-Shelves-1024x859.jpg" height="167" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://www.becausereading.com/scavenger-hunt-read-thon/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.becausereading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ScavangerHunt-1024x1024.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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<h3>
Blog Activity: Upcoming </h3>
- Weekly Book Memes <br />
- The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry Series Review<br />
- Fit Readers Tracking Page<br />
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz Book Review<br />
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Challenge Update </h3>
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- Read 2 books for <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">COYER</a>: <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/book-review-palo-alto-by-james-franco.html" target="_blank">Palo Alto by James Franco</a> + <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/book-review-laurinda-by-alice-pung.html" target="_blank">Laurinda by Alice Pung</a></div>
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- Laurinda by Alice Pung also counts towards the <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">Diversity on the Shelf</a> and <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">Dive into Diversity </a>reading challenges<br />
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Fit Readers Update</h3>
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<b>Thursday 1 Jan: </b>30 min morning run, 40 min walk at park, 12 min yoga, day 1 Blogilates abs<br />
<b>Friday 2 Jan: </b>75 min treadmill walk, 40 min walk at park, day 2 Blogilates abs<br />
<b>Saturday 3 Jan: </b>30 min treadmill walk, 30 min yoga, 10 min arm workout, day 3 Blogilates abs<br />
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To find out more about these challenges and Fit Readers visit my <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/p/memes-and-challenges.html" target="_blank">Memes and Challenges</a> page. </div>
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What happened in your week? Let me know in the comments or link your Sunday Post.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-52631705851282206732015-01-04T03:00:00.000+08:002015-01-12T09:09:32.924+08:00Book Review: Laurinda by Alice Pung<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About the book</h3>
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<b> Title: </b>Laurinda<br />
<b> Author: </b>Alice Pung<br />
<b> Edition: </b>E-Book, 314 pages<br />
<b> Published: </b><a href="http://www.blackincbooks.com/">Black Inc</a>, 2014<br />
<b> Genre: </b>Contemporary, Young Adult, Australian<br />
<b> My Rating:</b> 3/5<br />
<b> Challenge(s): </b><a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/reading-challenge-201415-clean-out-your.html" target="_blank">COYER</a>, <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">Diversity on the Shelf</a>, <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/reading-challenge-year-round-2015.html" target="_blank">Dive into Diversity</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23514363-laurinda" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Laurinda-Alice-Pung/9781863956925" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Laurinda-Alice-Pung-ebook/dp/B00LSCEM94/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420274438&sr=8-1&keywords=laurinda" target="_blank">Amazon </a> </blockquote>
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<b>Blurb: </b><i>Laurinda is an exclusive school for girls. At its secret core is the Cabinet, a trio of girls who wield power over their classmates - and some of their teachers. </i><i>Entering this world of wealth and secrets is Lucy Lam, a scholarship girl with sharp eyes and a shaky sense of self. As she watches the Cabinet at work, and is courted by them, Lucy finds herself in a battle for her identity and integrity. </i><i>Funny, feisty and moving, Laurinda explores Lucy’s struggle to stay true to herself as she finds her way in a new world of privilege and opportunity</i></div>
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Review</h3>
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I found Laurinda to be a fun but meaningful read. It was very easy for me to identify with the main character, Lucy, as I too am a Chinese born and raised in Australia with parents who immigrated to here much later in their lives. I could relate to many aspects of how Lucy struggled communicating with her parents due to language or cultural barriers and the culturally insensitive assumptions made of her when meeting new people or making friends.</div>
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The antagonists of the novel, a trio of popular girls that were referred to as the Cabinet were closet racists, megalomaniacs and frustratingly unassailable, that is, until Lucy came into the picture. Their ruthlessness reign of tyranny at Laurinda reminded me a lot of Regina, Gretchen and Karen from the movie Mean Girls though a major difference was that the Cabinet was actually intelligent. They definitely were a formidable force in the book as they committed manipulative pranks with devastating consequences. Though at times I felt as though the power they held over the school was a bit unrealistic.</div>
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The romance in this book, though present, was very much background noise to Lucy's daily life. I wish this was developed a bit more as it felt like a loose end that never got tied up.</div>
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The big thing that fell through for me was actually the major plot twist. I am unsure why, but when I first finished reading the book I had not actually picked up on the twist. It was only until I rated the book on Goodreads, read some spoiler reviews (I enjoy doing this after I finish a book to see what people thought about events that transpired in the plot) and realised I totally missed the plot twist. I then went back and read snippets of the book to make sense of it, and well, not everything made sense any more. Re-reading a book after knowing the jaw dropping ending can be an awesome experience (e.g. Fight Club) but this was not the case for Laurinda. Some parts of the book just didn't make any sense to me anymore and I struggled to work out what had actually happened. Though the twist was definitely shocking, I don't think it was entirely necessary or it could have been executed better to avoid resulting in so many plot holes. As I keep my reviews spoiler free, I do not want to give too much away here so I will leave it at that. obviously don't want to give too much away here, as I keep my reviews spoiler free, so I will leave it at that.</div>
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<b>Laurinda is great for those looking for a diverse, contemporary read. I think it does a fantastic job at representing what life is like for a teenager Australian born Chinese and takes a clever and witty spin on the classic "Mean Girls" scenario.</b> It was definitely a unique book that I enjoyed, but the somewhat unnecessary plot twist took it down a few notches for me. Nevertheless I would still recommend it to others as it represented some aspects of my own life very well and from what I read from other reviews, the plot twist was not as disappointing for most.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-27139034741288934052015-01-03T19:27:00.001+08:002015-01-03T19:27:29.746+08:00Read-a-thon: Bout of Books 12 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Dt-RCy6E8_-oVOiHpNMmFD5U_eKL-apfgaUUt5gGFxdmVFPx5_5trsulqLt4uiCUi887jehNblY_72CjJPI2c0xYZ8c6K3up7a9p1H3Bppo2jwTdfqsrLcZSs5Df0sACGr_d89HMuVE/s1600/readathon+bout+of+books+12.jpg" /></div>
Hi guys! I will be signing up for the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon number 12. If you want a bit of information, here is the blurb as shown on the sign up page...<br />
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The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the <a href="http://boutofbooks.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bout of Books</a> blog. </blockquote>
Their are currently over 285 people participating in Bout of Books 12! Are you one of them? Let me know in the comments below. #boutofbooks<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-53183219450310676992015-01-03T15:04:00.000+08:002015-01-31T11:36:57.809+08:00Book Meme: Stacking the Shelves [2] <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdULGlKOIA-mmrh2nR0ZPf91DlQCIDRIQmPftkLVJ7pu5PLumgyr39xEXjK0MKdl5zPsBRVbtlh5ZwvV1_5ZmrCWEAdEdeftgd6yjot4z25JkPjaLJdO1lKiUbXSEiXI6NjlsynS_ssE/s1600/book+meme+stacking+the+shelves.jpg" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/05/staking-shelves-official-launch.html" target="_blank">Stacking the Shelves</a> is a weekly Saturday book meme hosted over at <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/" target="_blank">Tynga's Reviews</a> where people post their weekly book hauls. Hauls includes physical books as well as any electronic or audio books. Join in if you're interested! Now onto my haul for this week.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00KFDR032/ref=pe_1007802_166382322_TEM1CDP" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406640702l/22838650.jpg" width="126" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B007Y30722/ref=pe_1007802_166382322_TEM1CDP" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352261084l/16128504.jpg" width="132" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/Stone-Mattress-Tales-Margaret-Atwood-ebook/dp/B00MVNFCHK/ref=pd_sim_kinc_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EWE6N87J5F0CX0EKC3V" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419494839l/23249904.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00BLL68EO/ref=pe_1007802_166382322_TEM1CDP" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1384829721l/18846563.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00JGAD0N4/ref=pe_1007802_166382322_TEM1CDP" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400037328l/22084157.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00G65G02A/ref=pe_1007802_166382322_TEM1CDP" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1383578978l/13138635.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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All the books I bought this week were e-books. Most of these books, with the exception of Crown of Midnight, qualify for the <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/reading-challenge-201415-clean-out-your.html" target="_blank">#COYER</a> challenge. It's not too late to sign up if you're interested in getting some more e-books read this quarter. Either way they were all really cheap! Click on the covers to be sent to their Amazon page.<br />
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So those are all the books I got this week. What did you pick up this week? Link your STS post or just list your haul in the comments.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-83015094605224917932015-01-02T12:04:00.001+08:002015-01-02T16:36:11.517+08:00Book Meme: Feature and Follow [1] <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG3FZNJKf0dgUI_2HkLuCJctzBAPvls4IdM6gPhW6g3KFGpVV6oUGTbroCIBDoEAwGCae8m19U28vSlBY9TGvZl-bOwIg8CRPxAFp8xo5ypO-yWaVjdymLHwXxFv3PeIjLgRqeqYEYIEs/s1600/feature+and+follow+background+official_Fotor.jpg" /></div>
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Hi everyone! I will be participating in the Feature and Follow book meme hosted by Parajunkee of <a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Parajunkee's View</span></a> and Alison of <a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Alison Can Read</span></a>. This meme is a great way to increase your following as well as make new friends. Every week the hosts ask a question for you to answer and also each feature a blogger for you to check out. You can visit <a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/2015/01/01/newyears-hop/" target="_blank">any Feature and Follow post</a> on the hosts' blogs for more information. Now onto this weeks question!</div>
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<b>Question: </b>What was your favourite book of 2014 - or books if you can't name just one? - via AlisonCanRead</div>
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<b>Answer: </b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17320109-five-star-billionaire" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1376069906l/17320109.jpg" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3487420-the-graveyard-book" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377007460l/3487420.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Very different reads but both fantastic stand-alone books. Would highly recommend both of them! I wasn't book blogging at the time I read these so unfortunately I don't have a review for either of them, but take my word for it - they are both great books. Click on the covers to be sent to their Goodreads pages.</div>
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Thanks for reading! If you're here on a blog hop, I'd prefer to be followed via RSS or Bloglovin', but GFC is fine too. Be sure to leave me a comment letting me know you stopped by! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08993998387497499335noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270102226347995963.post-72511082599805928862015-01-01T16:53:00.000+08:002015-01-02T14:21:47.611+08:00Reading Challenge: Year Round 2015 Challenge Sign Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuw0VRM9PkHr8v89lPaimAhTo8RVQvygqaV_n-yxZ73L7qOUk9TMGPF4m_Kw1bAEcbx1wQZKneLnBxS5nhPcv8tbD7HYkvC8Qv0t9dEgqA5ucWx80wW6lzaavFJZJL9hevG9S9cXxxF0/s1600/reading+challenge+2015+sign+ups.jpg" /></div>
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Hi guys! Here are the year round challenges that I've decided to sign up for in 2015. They're all in this master post for convenience sake and to prevent spamming. Sign up too if you're interested if any of them! Take note that this post doesn't include challenges that don't run for the whole year (e.g. <a href="http://shannyreads.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/reading-challenge-201415-clean-out-your.html" target="_blank">COYER</a>). </div>
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<u>Prequel and Sequel Reading Challenge </u></div>
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<b>Purpose: </b>To read a number of prequels and sequels </div>
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<b>My Goal: </b>25-50 points - Amateur </div>
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<b> Host(s):</b> <a href="http://www.novelheartbeat.com/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Novel Heartbeat</span></a> and <a href="http://writergrrlreads.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Writer Grrl Reads</span></a> </div>
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<a href="http://novelheartbeat.com/2014/12/2015-prequel-sequel-challenge-sign-ups/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;"><b>Sign up here!</b></span></a> <span style="text-align: start;">(Open until 1st Dec 2015)</span></div>
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<img alt="2015TBR" src="http://i.imgur.com/xSWiAe6.png" /><br />
<u>TBR Pile Reading Challenge</u><br />
<b>Purpose:</b> To get through my TBR piles of any genre, length or format released in 2014 or earlier<br />
<b> My Goal:</b> 21-30 books - First Kiss<br />
<b>Host(s): </b><a href="http://evie-bookish.blogspot.ch/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Evie Bookish</span></a><br />
<b><a href="http://evie-bookish.blogspot.ch/2014/12/2015-tbr-pile-reading-challenge-sign-ups.html"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Sign up here!</span></a> </b>(Open until 16th Jan 2015)
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYA6_iEGFekQ0frYRDCnS-LtAHnCpzqhQciRnTBSWBg_a2EUNcLeN4-hlgeBv-3PPiGJswSYgzFWbJWGLxYYLe-kn_ikLU6-k1bKNvWSZzuW__a8KUCaUPpGhNMy-XJnFGWYz7zCsxTAE/s1600/fof_button.png" /></div>
<u>Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge</u><br />
<b>Purpose:</b> To read a number of fantasy books<br />
<b> My Goal:</b> 15 fantasy books<br />
<b>Host(s): </b><a href="http://www.alexalovesbooks.com/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Alexa Loves Books</span></a> and <a href="http://www.hello-chelly.com/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Hello Chelly</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.alexalovesbooks.com/2014/12/flights-of-fantasy-reading-challenge.html"><span style="color: #f6b26b;"><b>Sign up here!</b></span></a> (Open until 21st Jan 2015)
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFdDnp3xwiWXPEnySsSSWYGBJuWBvR5I4sVN2LLvLWtOEj1EFxQVrgChgSOMuIdzVGTEPdtaKptxoUfDRxWDApgZHCRGzEjs3uS1WBgrtBsBujuwP5MJ6TT9anVMre4zOQrDWpVfYYbfq/s320/2015+Translation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFdDnp3xwiWXPEnySsSSWYGBJuWBvR5I4sVN2LLvLWtOEj1EFxQVrgChgSOMuIdzVGTEPdtaKptxoUfDRxWDApgZHCRGzEjs3uS1WBgrtBsBujuwP5MJ6TT9anVMre4zOQrDWpVfYYbfq/s320/2015+Translation.jpg" /></a></div>
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<u>Books in Translation Reading Challenge</u></div>
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<b>Purpose: </b>To read a number of books that have been translated</div>
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<b> My Goal: </b>4-6 translated books - Conversationalist</div>
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<b>Host(s):</b> <a href="http://www.theintrovertedreader.com/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">The Introverted Reader</span></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.theintrovertedreader.com/2014/12/2015-books-in-translation-reading.html"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Sign up here!</span></a></b> (Open until 31st Dec 2015) <b> </b></div>
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<img alt="My Little Pocketbooks" src="http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k501/Mochagirlsread/96a09c0e-8cb7-4e73-b722-8ee037da3672_zps6fa8f55d.png" height="182" width="320" /><br />
<u>Diversity on the Shelf Reading Challenge</u><br />
<b>Purpose:</b> To read a number of books by authors of colour or about a main character of colour<br />
<b> My Goal: </b>1-6 books - 1st Shelf<br />
<b>Host(s): </b><a href="http://littlepocketbooks.blogspot.com.au/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Little Pocket Books</span></a><br />
<b><a href="http://littlepocketbooks.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/diversity-on-shelf-2015.html"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Sign up here!</span></a> </b><span style="text-align: start;">(Open until 31st Dec 2015)</span></div>
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<u>Dive into Diversity Reading Challenge </u></div>
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<b>Purpose: </b>To read a number of books that include diverse experiences; QUILTBAG, people of colour, gender diversity, people with disabilities and ethnic, cultural and religious minorities etc.</div>
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<b> My Goal:</b> 10 books</div>
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<b>Host(s): </b><a href="http://ratherbereadingblog.com/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Rather be Reading</span></a> and <a href="http://readingwishes.blogspot.com.au/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Reading Wishes</span></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://readingwishes.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/dive-into-diversity-challenge.html"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Sign up here!</span></a> </b>(Open until 31st Dec 2015)
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<img border="0" src="http://www.geekybloggersbookblog.com/wp-content/uploads/FitReaders2015.jpg" /></div>
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<u>Fit Readers Challenge</u></div>
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<b> Purpose:</b> To remain accountable for keeping fit</div>
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<b> My Goal:</b> To do at least 30 minutes of activity everyday</div>
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<b> Host(s):</b> <a href="http://www.geekybloggersbookblog.com/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">The Geeky Bloggers</span></a> and <a href="http://twimom227.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">That's What I'm Talking About</span></a></div>
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</span><b><a href="http://www.geekybloggersbookblog.com/fitreaders-for-2015-are-you-in/"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Sign up here!</span></a> </b>(Open until 31st Dec 2015) </div>
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What challenges have you signed up for in 2015? Let me know in the comments and good luck!</div>
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