Note: This time of year is always very busy for me. Last year, I hadn't really started blogging yet, so I was able to keep myself above the craziness. This year, I am. My blog is slightly inactive due to the holiday craze. Hopefully will return to the regular posting after the new year. :)

-Bri

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Cover redesign: Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

So, this is my entry for Princess Bookie's contest!


The original:


















Mine:


















I chose Wake Unto Me because I've heard a lot of good things about it, but I've never been too huge a fan of the original cover. I've been really excited to read it, but, had I seen it in a store, I probably would've picked up something else up.


Hope you all like this one!





Review - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs



Amazon Link
Goodreads Link

Page Count: 352 Pages
Overall Rating: 4 Stars



A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.


Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was...well, peculiar. Quirky.

I know this is superficial, but I'd like to touch on it just briefly. This novel is possibly the most well-designed book I've ever seen. Not just the cover - which, isn't my all time favorite, but I still adore. - but further than that, on the inside. I knew about the pictures already, but the letters and the other things, looked like actual scans of real letters. The handwriting never looked like a font to me.

The pictures did add a very interesting touch to it, giving it something unique without distracting from the story too much. I did find, however, that I was slightly reluctant to read it in public. The pictures are weird and will only make sense if you've read the book, so explaining it to a stranger who's sitting near you isn't particularly fun.

The story moved a bit slowly for me at first, but it picked up after a bit. I was kind of bored with it for a bit, but not enough to put it down. Mainly, I was just really eager to get to the exciting part, and that took a little longer than I would've liked.

This book switches styles in a strange sort of way. Sometimes it bothered me, sometimes it didn't. It was sometimes very straightforward and other times it was flourished with prose. Towards the ends, I'd discovered little gems that I had to bookmark, which is something I rarely do.

I don't know what it was about this one. I just can't put my finger on it. I really liked the book, but, at the same time, there was something missing for me and I don't know what that is. Because, the entire time I was reading it, I liked what I was reading, but there was always a vague sort of confusion in my mind, something that was gone and should've been there.

And maybe that constant state of confusion wasn't really confusion at all. Maybe that was my brain trying to figure out the splendid weirdness of this book. It was weird and it was supposed to be weird. And, I have to admit, I kind of love it for that. I admire the author for being brave enough to write a weird book, with weird characters and weird places and a weird story. It was a good thing, reading this book. I truly think it's made me change just a little in what I thought was weird before.

I saw this book by chance. I passed it while walking through the store. I'm fairly sure I hadn't read a single review for it, hadn't heard many people talking about it, but I wanted it enough that I ran to the isle (No, seriously. You people know I'm a strange little thing, myself. I run in the middle of stores, despite that people totally know me are there and can see me making a fool of myself.) and picked up my copy. I wanted that book enough that I had my dad loan me the 16 dollars to buy it, for about 25 minutes, until we got home and I had access to my own money.

I just don't even know. A lot of people would say the weirdness was too much for them, but I think it worked. I think it worked wonders for this one. The core of the book is strange and I really like that about it.

You've got to admit, the book will draw attention. I have several of my friends asking to borrow my copy, which, sadly, I don't think I will do, for fear that they'll move all of my placeholders and I'll lose my favorite little paragraphs forever. But you can bet that I'm going to look for it anytime I'm in a bookstore with any of them and I'm going to make them buy a copy. I will.

The end was different from most books I've read. It was slightly solemn, heavy and sad and all its own, but it was a hopeful ending, too. I feel like it leaves a lot open to the reader and could probably have a sequel, though I'm not sure if it will or not. I'll have to google and find out. And, while in some places I didn't like this ending, it felt right. It was right.

This book still has me thinking. I've not stopped wondering about it since I've finished it a while ago. I keep wondering about Jacob and Emma and all of the peculiar children. I keep wondering about Miss Peregrine and her home for children. I keep wondering about what will happen to all of them, if they'll make it out okay.

Most of all, I keep wondering how people would react if they found themselves in Jacob's place. I keep wondering about what they'd do.

And maybe that was the point of it all the while. To make people wonder.





Songs I listened to while reading:






Monday, September 26, 2011

Cover Reveal: Touch by Jus Accardo

Touch by Jus Accardo

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized.Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.A secret Kale will kill to protect.

Can't wait to see what you think of this one!




Sunday, September 25, 2011

IMM (20)


 In my Mailbox is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

This week I got...

Won:



































-Signed Copy of City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (Goodreads - Amazon)
-Signed Sweetly by Jackson Pearce Fail Invite (Goodreads - Amazon)
-Signed As You Wish by Jackson Pearce bookplate (Goodreads - Amazon)
-Signed Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce bookplate (Goodreads - Amazon)

Thanks to Mindy and Jackson! :)

What'd you get in your mailbox this week?


 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Challenging myself...

    Upon doing my Top Ten Tuesday yesterday, I realized that I am really, really behind on reading some great books. Well, books that everyone else thinks are great.
    I have a lot of books. Not nearly as much as some in this community, but certainly more than the average teenager. But I haven't read a lot of them.
     And that bugs me.
     I don't know how familiar any of you are with the youtube makeup community, because I'm really not that familiar with it myself, but a few days ago I stumbled upon something a lot of the girls do in order to use up makeup before it expires. Project Ten Pan.
     As I'm sure a lot of you can guess, they don't buy more makeup until they finish using ten things. And that gave me the inspiration to do this.

     

    This is, right now, for me. I don't mind people trying it out for themselves, but I'm not making it an event. I feel like managing something like that is only going to keep me from reading the books I want, and need, to finish in order to get to my five.
    Yes, I said five.
    I'm in school and have more things to do than read, as much as I'd like to just read. So five. I'm going to try and read five books before I can buy more.
    It's somewhat like a book buying ban, though that just sounds scary and so, I'm doing these in cycles. If I want to start it up again, I will. We'll see how smoothly this goes the first time.
     So, here goes. Five books from my TBR pile until I get anything else.

Rules (for myself and others):
  • You must finish five average-sized (or larger) books. Avoiding reading books that are much, much shorter. It's not fair to yourself if you're going to read tiny books to get closer to five.
  • Don't buy new books until you get to five!
  • Receiving books (gifts, RAKs, prizes, ARCs, etc.) is still okay as long as you are not paying for them.
  • eBooks are acceptable, so longs as they apply to the above rules.
  • Read books you already own. Buying them just defeats the purpose.
  • (Newly checked out) Library books are discouraged, but not banned.
  • You're allowed 3 emergency buys (books you've been DYING to get and now have the opportunity to get) per cycle.
  • You are allowed to buy books that aren't for you (gifts, prizes, RAKs.).
    These are mainly for me, since, as I'm typing this now, no one else even knows about this and I have no clue if anyone would even want to join, but, if you want to join, you can. Just follow the rules. I'll include a code for the button if anyone wants it, just in case.
     Here's to getting some books read. Good luck.









Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday (5)





Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the awesome people over at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's theme is:
 Top Ten Books I Feel As Though Everyone Has Read But Me

Yikes. Here goes.




10. Need by Carrie Jones

This one's not as commonly talked about, I guess. I own a copy, have for a while, but I ended up getting distracted by another book and I just haven't picked it back up. Maybe I'll try to join a readathon and get this one done then.








9. Matched by Ally Condie

A lot, a LOT, of people have read this one, but I just haven't heard anyone talk about it to the point where I feel like I absolutely need to read it. I've heard people say they "liked it" and even that they "loved it," but it feels like a hollow promise. No one's really given me a reason why they loved it.


Another one of my friends has read this and said it felt like she was re-reading some other dystopian books, which is not good.






8. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Yes, this is a sequel. Yes, the THIRD book comes out soon. No, I haven't read it yet. 

After I read Hush, Hush, I was kind of worried about the sequel. I didn't really feel like it needed another book and I was afraid that the second book would totally ruin the story for me. A friend of mine had the same fear. A different one has read both and agreed that it wasn't nearly as good.



7. Torment by Lauren Kate


Almost the exact same story as the above book. I liked the first one a lot, but I don't want to read it just yet, because I don't really feel like Fallen needed the sequel. Maybe it did a bit more than Hush, Hush, but I still don't think it needed one.












6. Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz


I want to read this one. The issue being that I can't get a my hands on a copy. I live in an eenie teenie little town. We don't have a bookstore. My selection amounts to the one shelf of old YA books at my library, my school library, which isn't much better, the book section of Walmart, and the occasional order off amazon, which this might not be the best idea to order, since my parents have to see what I'm ordering and the bikini cover is something I'd rather avoid explaining. I don't have an issue with the cover, but I don't particularly want to shove it in my parents' face, either. I'm waiting for an out-of-town trip to a bookstore. Haha. 

5. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand


Own a copy. Still want to read this one. Not really sure why I haven't gotten around to it yet.




Readathon book?










4. Paranormalcy by Kierstin White




Another book that I want to read, just can't get my hands on. It's on my ordering-offline list.














3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman


I own it. I just don't know why I haven't read it yet. 


I'm a procrastination queen. 














2. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins


It's on my ordering list, up next! PROMISE. Don't kill me.


















1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


Don't hurt me! I think Suzanne Collins is brilliant. I love her writing style, but this book just ended up making me... uncomfortable.


I've tried to read it several times now, but I put it down every time. I hope that I can either get into these or Suzanne will write something else that catches my attention.











Now, please excuse me while I go hide from many, many raving fans of these ten books. I'LL READ THEM, I PROMISE. 

















Monday, September 19, 2011

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday (4)



Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the awesome people over at The Broke and the Bookish.


This week's theme is:
 Top Ten Books I Read Because Of Another Blogger 


I'm not going to number these, because I couldn't in the first place. But here are ten of them.







Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Katie from Call Me Crazy brought me to this one! Loved it so much. 















Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins


Kare from Epic Booknerd got me to read this one. Not to mention, she sent me the copy I have. Thanks, Kare! :)






 .

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick


Momo from Book Over Boys talked me into this one! It was awesome.









Divergent by Veronica Roth


Among (MANY) others, Riley from Truthfully Fictional shoved pushed me into reading this one. THANK YOU SO MUCH. :)
















Bumped by Megan McCafferty


Lauren from 365 Days of Reading sold me on this one! Really interesting book.









Looking for Alaska by John Green

Other than nerdfighteria, Camille from Pieces of Camille harassed me into reading it. Yay for (friendly) harassment.







A Need so Beautiful by Suzanne Young

Kristi from the Story Siren's review got me to read this one. 









Beastly by Alex Flinn

I believe it was Zareen's review from Reach for the Books that really pushed me to read this.








Across the Universe by Beth Revis 

I can't really get all of them, but a few bloggers at a chat talked me into reading this one. Not sure which ones, though. Really sorry. 








I heart you, You haunt me by Lisa Schroeder


Katie from Call Me Crazy got me to read this one, too. 



















What books have you been talked into reading?





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