I saw this feature on a couple of other book blogs I follow and I thought I'd give it a go. Basically, I will be showing 2-3 different covers for the same book and discussing the merits of each of them.
The first book for this feature is Across the Universe by Beth Revis:
Cover 1
Hardcover
Cover 2
Paperback
Cover 3
Redesign
Personally, I love the original, hardcover image. The colors, stars, and text are all so amazing. The redesign looks a bit too sci-fi for me. The book may be sci-fi, but it also much more. The paperback is also beautiful, but I just think the hardcover is stunning. Let me know what you think about the covers in comments!
Wow.... that was a book-filled week. So in this past week I completed three books. I finished Paper Towns by John Green in two days, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo in one, and Every Day by David Levithan in one. Unfortunately, I won't be able to keep up this amazing pace for all of summer because I have summer school starting up next week, as well as volunteering starting in two weeks, but it was amazing to get these three books off my TBR (only to be replaced with five more... thanks Goodreads Recommendations system....). Let me know how your summer reading has been going so far in the comments!
Summer is finally here. FINALLY! The very first thing I did today was watch the Fault in Our Stars with my friends (yes, I cried... GUS!!!!!), then I went to the library and picked up some books that have been on my TBR for ages. I won't be reviewing all of these books because most of them have been reviewed to no end by every. single. booktuber. and. blogger. ever... but I will be reviewing my favorites and any book I feel I have something interesting to say. Here's what I got: Every Day by David Levithan Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (FINALLY) Across the Universe by Beth Revis Ahhh, now I feel better. TIME TO READ! <3
AHHHHH. Okay, so I would just like to apologise in advance. I won't be able to update this blog very often during the next few months because I will have a lot of studying / homework / finals / projects / reading for school / etc to finish. I will be updating this website periodically however. My biweekly emails will also be on hiatus until June. I will make up for my absence over summer! I promise! <3
I am currently reading Banished by Sophie Littlefield. For those of you who don't know, it's about this 16 year girl named Hailey who lives in a pretty run down with her grandmother who is a drug dealer and just smokes all day and her 4 year old foster brother, Chub, who has a developmental disorder. And their dog Rascal. She is literally at the bottom of her school's social scale. But it turns out that she has a gift. She can heal people and maybe even bring them back to life. As she is starting to find this out, a lot of insane stuff starts happening to her. No spoilers though!
I absolutely LOVE this book so far. I picked it up last night at 10 PM and I've had about 4 hours of solid reading and I'm almost done with the book (it's 305 pages). It is such a fast read and I think it is so amazing.
I am sorry that I have not updated Goodreads / Twitter / this blog all this week. My finals are coming up and I do not think I will be able to update any of these very much before then.
Welcome to the new year! I have a lot of great stuff planned for this website, but for now, let's just do a regular update.
My TBR tower is growing larger and larger every single day. Currently, my TBR list on Goodreads has 92 books in it. *-* I've narrowed down that list to the 8 books I will try to finish this January. Here we go!
1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck ✓ Now, I'll admit, I actually have to read this for school, but it has been on my TBR list for a while now and school is just making me read it... so yeah.
2. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway ✓ While I'm reading a classic, I might as well get this one out of the way as well.
3. Ink by Amanda Sun ✓ I already started this book in December and I am still stuck at 1/3 through it. The story is getting so amazing and I can't wait to finish it already.
4. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card My friend has been bugging me to read this book for a while now, so I think I finally will. He even gave it to me for Christmas. *hint hint*
5. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl ✓ I haven't seen the movie yet and I really want to finish the book before seeing it.
6. Looking for Alaska by John Green I love John Green's books, but somehow I haven't read this one yet. Time to get started!
7. Intrusion by Ken MacLeod Ever since Alex Day mentioned this book in one of his vlogs I've wanted to read it. It has such an amazing premise!
8. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender This book has an awesome premise as well. Imagine being able to sense the emotions of the person who made the food you eat!
For those of you who don't know, my goal is to read 175 books this year, so hopefully I will be able to finish more than just these this month!
I seriously cannot believe 2014 is only a day away. Where did 2013 go!
There are abviously more books coming out than just these, but these are the ones I'm most excited for or heard the most hype about.
So, in order of most anticipated to least:
Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer Release date: February 4
For those of you who know me, you know that one of my favorite series of all time is The Lunar Chronicles. For those of you who don't know, the series is kind of a retelling of our favorite fairy tales: Cinder was Cinderella, Scarlet was Little Red Riding Hood, and Cress is Rapunzel. But, they are so much better because they take place in a futuristic world where there are cyborgs and there are evil Lunars who live on the moon... oh it's amazing. I can't wait for Cress to come out so I can see what happens to all of the wonderful characters.
Also can't wait for Winter, the fourth book coming out in 2015. I'm kind of obsessed with this series, can you tell!
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson Release date: January 7 Laurie Halse Anderson (author of Speak and Wintergirls) is one of my favorite authors of all time. Her writing style and amazing story lines are just so captivating, so of course I am excited for her new novel coming out January 7th.
This novel is about a girl, Hayley, who has been moving around a lot with her dad after he returned from service in Iraq. The story deals with her dad's PTSD and Hayley's struggles with him and trying to have a normal life at school.
It just sounds so captivating and amazing. I can't wait to get it and I'm glad the release date is only a week away!
Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss #3) by Stephanie Perkins Release date: March 13
Come on guys... this is Stephanie Perkins. Of course she is going to be on this list. This is the third book in the Anna and the French Kiss series and I am so excited for it. They are also changing the covers for the entire series to look like this one, instead of the original, and in my opinion cuter, ones.
Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door were such amazing reads. I cannot wait to see what happens next! This will also be the last book in the series because Stephanie Perkins is moving on to write a horror novel for 2015. o.O
The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #3) by Michelle Hodkin Release date: June 10
Now, I'll admit, I haven't actually started the Mara Dyer series, but I currently own all the books and am planning on reading them all this spring.
I have heard so many amazing things about this series and this author. The supernatural, paranormal elements of this book make it one that I really think I'll enjoy. The creepiness appeals to me as well.
Also, the whole waking up in a hospital don't know who I am thing runs pretty closely with an idea I'm having for a short story or book.
A review on the first book in this series is definitely coming soon!
I am about 1/3 of the way through Ink by Amanda Sun and I wanted to give you all an update on what I think so far.
This book is amazing so far. My favorite part of it has to be the fact that it takes place in Japan. Amanda Sun completely threw us into the culture and language of Japan, much like Katie, and that gives the book such a realistic connection. I love the little bits of culture that show up and Sun's use of Japanese to give the book an authentic atmosphere.
At this point, I am very intrigued about Yuu Tomohiro. I want to know what is going on with him and Bleached Hair and the kanji paintings. The suspense building up is just amazing!
I can't wait to finish this novel and see what happens at the end. I'll keep you all posted.
Christmas is only a few days away, but I thought I'd post a wishlist up of my favorite books on my "to-read" list. My list on Goodreads is well over 50 books (it doesn't even include every single book, like entire series), so I actually want to read a lot more than that. So, it was pretty hard to narrow it down to these.
1. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (first off, points for the awesome author name!). This book is a really cute romance novel about first love. I've read a lot of reviews saying it was amazing, so I'm excited to read it.
2. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I have wanted to read this ever since the movie came out (I haven't seen it yet). It has such an awesome premise and I just adore supernatural novels, so this definitely deserves a place on this list.
3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. This just sounds like such an interesting adventure story. Also, it may be a tearjerker (oddly enough, this wins it extra points) because of the whole 9/11 thing. I can't wait to read this one.
4. The Blood of the Lamb by Peter De Vries. This was put on my list after I saw a video in which John Green related it to his book The Fault in our Stars because it also includes a girl living with cancer. I absolutely loved TFiOS, so hopefully this will deliver.
5. The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn. This has been on my to-read book for, quite literally, forever. I am totally intrigued by the idea of bar code tattoos and how society really only thinks of each person as a number. The fact that everyone needs to have one makes it really interesting. I also love dystopian novels, so yeah.
6. Intrusion by Ken MacLeod. I want to read this book for the same reasons as The Bar Code Tattoo. I just love dystopian novels. This book revolves around the idea that there is a pill that can reverse genetic defects in children while they are still unborn, but a mother refuses to take the pill. The question arises of whether or not she is neglecting the child or not.
Let me know in the comments what books are on your Christmas wishlist / must read list!