Thursday, December 2, 2010

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal
Beautiful Darkness is the continuation of Beautiful Creatures which I read sometime back. In my review of the first book, I really loved the paranormal elements in Beautiful Creatures and in Beautiful Darkness the authors managed to make the paranormal aspect of the book as good, if not better than the first one.

In the sequel, the book picks up almost immediately where the first book ended. Lena is distraught and unable to cope with the death of her Uncle, Macon. Her character changes drastically becoming darker, unpredictable and unreachable even to Ethan. Lena deals with her grief by pushing Ethan away and as much as Ethan tries to help, he is unable to connect with her and fears that he is losing her to the dark side.

Like the first book, I'm still not really into the romantic relationship between Ethan and Lena. Ethan still seems too obsessed with Lena and I personally think his love and obsession for Lena can be a bit overwhelming to read. Other than his obsession with Lena, Ethan's character and his role in the caster world is actually quite interesting to follow and I felt like I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out where Ethan fits in the order of the caster world.

There are also other characters that I love in the book making the book interesting to read like Amma (I absolutely love her), Marian, Liv, Link, Macon and Ridley and their presence makes the overall story more interesting. As I mentioned earlier, I love the paranormal aspect in the book and I felt that the sequel was so much better than the first. I love the magic surrounding the caster world and can't wait for the next book to be out to read more of it. The bad news? I probably have to wait another year before the next book is released... bleargh...

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Room by Emma Donoghue


Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: General Fiction

When I heard about Room I couldn't help but wonder if the book was in any way inspired by true events that happened in Vienna sometime back. Whether or not inspired by true events, this book has been receiving many positive reviews and was longlisted for the Booker prize and recently won the Hughes Novel of the Year Award which it rightly deserves.

In this amazing novel, the world of 5 year old Jack is limited to a 11-by-11 foot room in which his mother is being held against her will. Jack provides an amazing story of his experience living in a small windowless room. Through his narration, Jack details how his young mother survives being captive for seven years and her efforts in making things as normal as possible for her son with the limited resources available.

Jack's voice gives the story warmth and provides a unique, innocent perspective of the horror his mother experiences as a captive. The storyline and the characters captured my attention and got me hooked from the first page. I could not put this book down till the end.

I have much respect for Jack's mother in this book. Her strength and her ingenuity in making things as normal as possible for her son in the prison they call Room is admirable. Room also highlights the strength and goodness that would come from a strong mother and son relationship in such harrowing circumstances.

Room is a definite MUST READ. 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness


Author: Patrick Ness
Genre: Young Adult/ Science Fiction

Todd Hewitt knows nothing other than his life in Prentisstown. To his knowledge, Prentisstown is the only surviving settlement in the new world and that there are no female survivors after the natives called ‘Spackles’ releases a germ that kills all the women in the world. As a side effect of this tragedy all the men in Prentisstown are able to hear each others’ thoughts, a constant presence that Todd has come to know as ‘Noise’.

Nearing his 13th birthday, Todd discovers an area in the swamp where Noise is apparently absent. He informs his adoptive parents, Ben and Cillian of his findings and is suddenly asked to run from Prentisstown. In his journey to escape from the mad men of Prentisstown, he realises that things are not as they seem in his hometown and that there are other surviving settlement outside of Prentisstown.

This book is surprisingly.... GOOD. I was quite skeptical at first and maybe was turned off a bit by Todd’s Huckleberry Finn-like accent but by the third chapter I was hooked. The Knife of Never Letting Go had many action packed, near-death scenes that it kept me reading at the edge of my seat. The pacing of the story line and the tense action scenes reminded me somewhat of the Hunger Games.

My only grouse is the cliff hanger ending, which is just a way for the author to keep you reading (or buying) the next book in the series; The Ask and the Answer. Thank God I picked this up when all three books from the series are out on sale already or else I’d be one frustrated reader!

Monday, November 29, 2010

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Genre: Historical Fiction

The 19th Wife is a story about polygamy in America. There are two stories told in this novel; one based on a historical figure named Ann Eliza Young and the other based on a modern day murder mystery set in Utah. Both these stories tell the tale of polygamy and how each character is brutally affected by this practice.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading The 19th Wife. Despite having two stories in one novel, which could have easily gone astray, the novel was engaging from beginning till the end. In that respect, I salute the author for keeping both the story interesting despite making the reader focus on two separate storyline.

The characters are definitely memorable and after ending the book, I found that I wanted to know more about Ann Eliza Young as well as current polygamous practices in the US. Though polygamy is not a new theme (especially for us in Malaysia cause Malaysian Muslim men are allowed to practise polygamy here), I found the topic interesting especially when it is practised in such a modern and westernized country.

The 19th Wife is definitely one of the best novels that I have read in 2010 and I would highly recommend you give it a read.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

2011 Reading Challenge: Audio Book Challenge


One of the things that I'd like to explore in 2011 is the experience of using Audio Books. With that in mind, I've decided to join the Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner.

The 2011 Audio Book Challenge runs from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. I'm taking part in the FASCINATED level where I'm required to go through 6 audio books to complete the challenge.

Thanks Teresa for hosting the challenge! If you are interested to participate in this challenge, do visit her blog here.

I'll be listing my progress at the end of this post, so please do drop by from time to time to see how I'm doing:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

XOX,

Friday, November 26, 2010

Friday Finds: 26 November 2010


What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! This is a weekly blog event hosted by Should Be Reading.

Here's what I found this week:


"The Wish List" by Eoin Colfer
"The Zombie Survival Guide" by Max Brooks

Have you found anything interesting this week? Do share with us your finds.

In the meantime have a great reading week ahead y'all...

Thursday, November 25, 2010

2011 Reading Challenge: Off the Shelf Challenge


Yet another challenge that I am committing too but I think this should be a required challenge for me. I have so many TBR books piled on my shelf. I buy them faster than I can read them. So I thought 2011 would be the year where I try to save some bucks and actually read those books that I own.

I have approximately 200 books on my shelf that I have not read yet... Yes. Believe it... 200 books baybeh... Click here for the list of books I own on Goodreads if you are interested to browse my shelf. 

Anyway, I am participating in the Off the Shelf Challenge hosted by the Bookish Ardour. The challenge begins from 1st of January 2011 and ends on 31st December 2011. For this challenge, I’ve decided to participate in the TRYING level where I am required to read 15 books from my TBR pile. I won’t list selection of books cause I don’t want to over commit myself on what I’ll read next year. 

If you are interested to find out more about the challenge and the rules and regulations, please visit the Bookish Ardour’s blog here

Wish me luck!

I'll be listing my progress below:

1. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb

2. Daughter of the Empire, Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts

3. 

XOX,

Monday, November 22, 2010

Blankets by Craig Thompson


Genre: Graphic Novel

Blankets is a very unique autobiography of author Craig Thompson featured in an illustrated novel format. The novel is based on his experiences growing up in a Christian family, experiencing his first love and memories of spending time with his brother.

I’ve never read an autobiography in a graphic novel format before but the experience of reading Blankets is actually quite beautiful. Though the author and I quite possible have nothing in common, you can’t help but relate to some of the author’s experiences growing up.

One of the things that I related strongly to from the novel is of course, experiencing your first love as a teenager. It’s always so special and the way Thompson captures his first love is exceptionally memorable. However, Blankets is not just about first love, it’s a coming of age graphic novel that poses questions a lot of us asked during those strange adolescent years on love, religion and values in a path to understanding yourself.

I really liked Blankets. I dare anyone to read it and not relate to at least one of Craig Thompson’s experience while growing up. Blankets is exceptionally beautiful and a memorable reading experience.

2011 Reading Challenge: Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge



I'm signing up for my first 2011 reading challenge hosted by The Book Vixen. The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. For more details on the challenge, please visit The Book Vixen's Blog here.

For this challenge, I've decided to participate in the GETTING THE HEARTRATE UP level where I am required to read about 1-5 book more than I did in 2010. 

Wish me luck!

I'll be posting my progress below, so please do drop by to see how I'm doing!

1. Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare
2.
3.
4.
5.

XOX,

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Girl Who Could Fly


Genre: General Fiction/ Science Fiction
Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Piper McCloud lives a normal life with her normal Ma and Pa in a normal farm house...but really, Piper is far from normal. Since she was born, she has the ability to hover and as she grew older, she enhanced her ability so she could fly.

Piper's parents have tried so hard to hide Piper's ability from the other folks in town. However, one outing Piper accidentally shows off her skills. Now that her abilities are known to the public, a super-secret organization called I.N.S.A.N.E approaches Piper and offers to take her to a hidden facility where she is able to mix with other special children like herself. All seems fine at I.N.S.A.N.E in the beginning but after a while Piper suspects that not everything is as it should be.

I have to say that I found this book a bit odd but it was absolutely fun to read. I can't help but fall in love with the main character Piper. She may talk to much but she definitely has a heart of gold. Though this book is targeted to a younger group of readers, I think adults would enjoy Piper's adventures; I certainly did.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Never the Bride

Author: Paul Magrs
Genre: General Fiction/Mystery/Paranormal

Brenda has led a very long and difficult life and all she wants now is to lead a quiet uneventful existence as a Bed & Breakfast proprietor in Whitby. Brenda is very secretive of her past life that even her best friend Effie is unaware of her background. As much as Brenda wishes for the quiet, mysterious events seem to happen around her and somehow she and Effie are pulled into solving one mystery after another; making it impossible for Brenda to live the life she desires.  

Never the Bride is the first in the Brenda and Effie series. I like the concept of this book. A quirky tale of two ladies who are unwillingly pulled into the supernatural mysteries in the Gothic town of Whitby with classic characters such as Dracula and Mrs Clause revived and presented in a different light.

The book is a light read, it took me about a day to finish it. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy reading Never the Bride. It took a while for Brenda's past to be revealed and it came in bits and pieces which I found to be a bit frustrating. Each chapter seems to feature a different mystery for Brenda and Effie making it feel like there were too many things happening and also very disconnected as you jump from one mystery to another.

Thankfully the last chapter provides a clear picture explaining the connection between the mysteries but still I was slightly disappointed with the ending. The ending of Never the Bride also leads to the second book in the Brenda & Effie series, Something Borrowed. I actually have a copy of both books but Never the Bride is really not my cup of tea and I have no intention of picking up Something Borrowed to read... well at least not anytime soon. 

Monday, November 15, 2010

Her Fearful Symmetry

Genre: General Fiction

Her Fearful Symmetry is the second novel by Audrey Niffenegger, the same author who brought us The Time Traveler’s Wife (if you didn’t know already) which happens to be my all time favorite book.

In Her Fearful Symmetry, Niffenegger tells the story of Julia and Valentina, mirror twins in their 20’s who are completely inseparable and dependable on each other. Elspeth, the aunt of the twins dies from cancer and leaves them her apartment located in London. The twins were never aware of their aunts’ existence and this is because of the rift that had happened between their mother, Edwina and their late Aunt Elspeth. The reason of the rift is unknown to the twins but with the sudden inheritance, they decided to take residence of the flat in London.

I’m not going to go into details about the book because I quit reading Her Fearful Symmetry halfway. The central characters in the book, Julia and Valentina as well as the other characters featured just did not appeal to me. I felt the plot was slow moving and I was constantly wishing that something would happen before I quit the book. Overall, I felt the book wasn’t engaging and I had to put it away. Sorry but this book is just not for me.

Below are some of the other books I've read by Niffenegger, please click on title if you'd like to read my review:
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Three Incenstuous Sisters: An Illustrated Novel

Hopefully, I'll enjoy her next book better. In the meantime, happy reading everybody.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a weekly event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey


I’ve just picked up a graphic novel today titled Blankets by Craig Thompson. My brother read it sometime back and raved about how good it was when he finished reading it, so I thought I’d give it a try. It's been a good few pages so far. I think I can finish reading Blankets by tomorrow. If I do then the next book I plan to read would be The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff, which has received quite a number of great reviews so am hoping it’ll be a good read. 

Last week, I managed to read three books:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (click here for review), Never the Bride (click here for review) and The Girl Who Could Fly (click here for review). I have to say that I absolutely LOVED The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and highly recommend you read it if you haven’t already.

Have a great week ahead everyone. 

Muaks!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society


Genre: Literary/Historical Fiction

Juliet Ashton is a prominent writer made famous by her work Izzy Bickerstaff Goes to War during World War II. In January of 1946, Juliet receives a letter from a stranger who introduces himself as Dawsey from Guernsey who claims to have purchased a book once belonging to her written by Charles Lamb. Dawsey further explains that he is a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Curious by the name, Juliet writes back to find out more about the society and is pulled into the life of it's extraordinary members and their story during the German Occupation.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is such a unique book as the storyline, the characters involved are all revealed through a series of letters between Juliet, her closest friends and the group of people belonging to the society.

This book is funny and full of warmth and through the letters you learn about each individual and their experience; their bravery, love, loss and suffering during the 5 years the Germans occupied the Channel Islands. The letters written by each character carried such a realistic tone that you feel they really do exist. Reading the book I can't help but fall in love with each and everyone of them (well except for one: Miss Adelaide Addison).

I absolutely love this book and found it impossible to put down. A definite must read!

BTW, I did some research on Guernsey and I'd really love to go on a holiday trip there someday. The book made me fall in love with the island. Must start lobbying the idea to hubs soon... :D


Lotsa love,

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The History of Love

Author: Nicole Krauss
Genre: Fiction

The History of Love focuses on two central characters who lead separate lives and are unaware of each others existence.

Leo Gursky is Polish and in his youth wrote a book where he named the female character after the woman he loves. Having survived World War II, Leo moves to New York and lives his life in quiet existence as a locksmith after realising that he cannot live the life he dreamed of with the woman he loves. Now an 80 year old retiree, Leo lives a lonely life and does whatever he can to get noticed.

The second central character is Alma Singer, a fourteen year old girl who is named after a character from her parents favorite book, The History of Love. She sets out to investigate more about the book; The History of Love after her mother was hired to translate it. Her efforts lead to both her and Leo converging towards the end of the book.

Actually, there are a lot of characters involved in this book other than Leo and Alma that play a pivotal role to the storyline. You'd need to really focus on whats happening or risk losing track of how things ended up the way it did.

The History of Love carries an interesting mix of themes like love, loss, regrets and also the desire to be recognized or remembered. It took a while for me to appreciate The History of Love but what stood out most for me from the book was Leo's character. How the book ended for Leo haunted me long after I finished the last chapter of the book; it was heartbreaking and I can't help but feel sorry for him.

Overall, the History of Love was just okay for me. Other than the ending, I found it a bit of a struggle to read the book because there were too many things going on. I like my books simple I guess. The History of Love turned out to be just an okay read for me. 


Lotsa love,

Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday Finds: 12 November 2010


What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! This is a weekly blog event hosted by Should Be Reading.

Here's what I found this week:

Brains, Robin Becker
The Replacement, Brenna Yavanoff
Room, Emma Donoghue



I've been reading a lot of great reviews about Room and am quite eager to get a copy of the book to read. Anyway, I'm currently reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm enjoying the book tremendously and I'm only 96 pages in! Hopefully, I'll be able to have the review up by next week.

In the meantime, I hope that everyone will have a good weekend ahead and happy reading!

Ps, what do you think of my new blog design? Like it?

Lotsa love,

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Generation Dead


Author: Daniel Waters
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Young Adult

A strange phenomenon is happening to teenage kids in America; teenagers who die are not staying dead. More and more teenagers who die are coming back to life and American society now has to adapt to the existence of the living impaired.

The book revolves around Phoebe and her friends Margi and Adam. They go to Oakvale High School which was beginning to get a reputation for providing a good educational program for the living impaired; so much so that families with living impaired kids were moving into town and as such has doubled the population of the living impaired in the area.

Phoebe is somehow drawn to one living impaired student; Tommy Williams. He seems different from the rest of the living impaired kids Phoebe has seen; he’s gorgeous, funny and was even (briefly) part of the school’s football team. Her friendship with Tommy leads to friendship with other living impaired kids and becomes an eye opener for her in understanding their predicament and challenges to be part of today’s society.

Though Generation Dead is a book on zombies, it’s not the typical gore, eat your brains out type of book you should expect to read. It’s a book that although fun to read manages to address many complex themes like equality and acceptance for a minority group in today’s society.  

I loved almost all the characters in the book and thought that it had an engaging plot. Generation Dead was such a good read that I finished it within a day! Yes, it was that unputdownable. It had a fair share of romance, action and suspense. Definitely a recommended read and I’m looking forward to read the sequel: Kiss of Life.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Life of Pi




Author: Yann Martel
Genre: Literary Fiction

I’ve actually had Life of Pi on my shelf for the longest time. I pick it up once and quit a couple of pages in the first time and only managed to give it another try earlier this month. Life of Pi is a story about Piscine Molitar Patel (or Pi as he prefers to be called), an Indian boy from Pondicherry who survives a shipwreck and being lost at sea for more than 200 days. The uniqueness of this story is not only of his survival but that he had survived the ordeal with the company of a 450- pound Royal Bengal tiger.

The book is divided into three parts:

The first part tells of Pi’s childhood; how he grew up amongst animals seeing that his parents own a zoo; and how he found religion at such a young age (actually he found three religions and not just one and became a practicing Hindu, Christian and Muslim all at the same time).

In the second part, the ship Pi and his family boarded for their move to Canada suffers a shipwreck and Pi’s sea adventures begin with a unique group of survivors; a hyena, a zebra, a female orang-utan and a Royal Bengal tiger.

The third part of the book is Pi’s conversation with two maritime officials who seek to ascertain the cause of the shipwreck. He tells his story to the officials but they do not believe his version of the story. But as the officials dig deeper, they began to have a better understanding of Pi’s predicament and left a report stating Pi’s “story is unparalleled in the history of shipwrecks.”

It took a while for me to appreciate Life of Pi, especially the first part of the book. I thought that the pacing was slow but once I got into the second part, I found the book to be more interesting and carried on reading. I absolutely admire Martel’s writing style which was so detailed that it makes up for (what I felt was) a slow plot delivery. Martel’s writing was so excellent that at times I felt like I was on the same boat with Pi.

Overall, I found Life of Pi to be a good read, not excellent but good. Still, even though I found it to only be a good read, I'd recommend it to anyone. Life of Pi was an interesting read because it explores faith and the ability of the human mind to adapt and survive the worst ordeal a human being can handle. A definite must read.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Outliers: The Story of Success

Genre: Non-Fiction, Social Sciences

In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell studies the factors that could lead to a person’s success and even failures. In this book Gladwell provided excellent examples from rock & roll bands to professional athletes to successful lawyers and what factors contribute to their success or non-success.

This is actually the first book that I’ve read from Gladwell and I truly enjoyed reading it, so much so that I’ve made it one of my favourite reads for 2010. What I liked about the book is that the author managed to put across facts in an interesting way making it far from boring for the readers. I found the book to be very insightful. The strongest message one would walk away with after reading the book is that success is influenced by many factors from up-bringing to education, the state of the economy, the right opportunity and many more; no one can achieve it on their own.

I absolutely love this book and would recommend it to anyone. I’m also looking forward to reading other books from Malcolm Gladwell.

If you'd like to find out more about the author or any of his books, you can visit the official website here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?



It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a weekly event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey.

I’ve had a great reading week last week and managed to read three books that have been laying idle on my bookshelves for the longest time. Unfortunately, I just haven’t had the time to review the books yet for my blog.

Anyway, last week I read: 
  1.  Life of Pi, Yann Martel 
  2. Generation Dead, Daniel Water
  3. The History of Love, Nicole Krauss

This week, I’ve decided to read yet another book that has been on my shelf (like forever); Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I’ve just started reading it this morning so hopefully it will be an enjoyable read. I’ve read really mixed reviews on the book and it seems like you’ll either hate the book or love it. 



Anyways, have a good reading week ahead everybody!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Friday Finds: 5 November 2010



What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! This is a weekly blog event hosted by Should Be Reading.

 
Only two books caught my eye this week. First is Joshua Ferris’s The Unnamed which I came across randomly online. I’ve read his first book, Then We Came to the End and I really loved it, click here if you'd like to read my review. I’m hoping that the second book would be as good as his first.

 
I also came across many reviews on Cassandra Clark’s Clockwork Angel. The book looks interesting just that I read somewhere that I have to read The Mortal Instruments Series first in order to understand Clockwork Angel better. I’m not sure if this is true seeing that a Clockwork Angel is meant to be the prequel to The MI Series.

Anyway those are the two books that caught my attention. There are two book sales happening in KL this week and I’ll probably have more finds to share in the next post.

In the meantime, have a great reading week y'all. 

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The Walking Dead


I seriously can’t wait for the premiere of The Walking Dead on the 5th of November! I absolutely love, love, love zombie flicks. The series was released on Halloween in the US and apparently received great response. I can’t wait! I can’t wait! I can’t wait!!!

The Walking Dead premieres this Friday at 11pm on FX HD (Astro Channel 726). Woohooooo! If you haven't seen the trailer, here it is:


Ps- apparently there were zombies spotted around KL to promote the premiere. Anyone seen them?  

Monday, November 1, 2010

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a weekly event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey.

This week I’m reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Truthfully, it’s my second attempt at reading Life of Pi. The last time I picked it up, I had to quit halfway; not because I didn’t find the book interesting but just that the environment then was not conducive for me to concentrate on the book fully.

Anyway, my second attempt at reading the book looks more promising than the first and I am enjoying the book much more than before. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish Life of Pi by the end of this week. In the meantime, I hope everyone will have a good reading week!

Muaks!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

It's Monday! What are you reading?

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It's Monday! What are you reading is a weekly blog event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey

This week I am reading, The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. I’m only a few pages in but the book looks promising :)

Last week, I managed to read two books (which is outstanding for me since I normally only do one book a week): I read Shiver from Maggie Stiefvater (click here for review) and The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker. Lucky for me both the books that I picked up were really great reads. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County made me cry so by my standards that makes it a perfect ten, LOL! Anyway, both books are highly recommended.  

Have a great week everybody!
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