It’s Monday, what are you reading? Meme

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 03•11

This is such a perfect meme for me this week since the whole reason I am doing meme week is I am reading WAY TOO MANY BOOKS right now and needed some time to get stuff finished.


So… It’s Monday, October 3rd. What am I reading?
– Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
I have been in the process of reading this book for weeks now! It’s not that it’s a bad book, in fact I’m enjoying it so far. I just can’t seem to find the time. Bit of a bummer since this was the big hype YA title for the end of the summer, and I’m trying to make a point of being a little more up to date on what the big titles are. *sigh* maybe next time.
– Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent
I ordered this book from Chapters and it showed up, so I started reading it. Rachel Vincent’s Shifters series is one of my favorites, so I just couldn’t wait to see what her next spin on the UF genre would be. So far, realllly good! <3
– Lies by Michael Grant
This is a series I have really been enjoying. Such a cool concept, and so one day when I wasn’t in the mood for any of the other books I was working on, I picked this one up. Now I’m hooked and struggling to find time for it.
-The Lens and the Looker by Lory Kaufman
A cool series that I was sent for review. A bit of a deadline on this one so I keep needing to make time for it. Really enjoying it so far. It’s about teenagers from the future being sent to ‘history camps’ in order to deal with bad behavior. The idea is to make them see how hard life was in the past in order to get their own lives back on track.
-Hounded by Kevin Hearne
I was about half way through this book and I left it at home. Bah! So I will have to go back to it when I visit my famjam for thanksgiving.
-A Clash of Kings
I don’t know what possessed me to start reading this now when I have so much else going on, but I did, and I’m loving it so far. I’m just going to have to find a good break point and leave it for a week or so while I make some progress elsewhere.

Not to mention a slew of textbooks I should be slowly working my way through. Eep!

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Vampire Academy- Richelle Mead

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 02•11

Synopsis: St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever. -Goodreads

Review: I recently decided to reread these books because the last two books in the series made me fall in love with these books all over again. It has been a few years since the first time I read these books and I have to say… Vampire Academy did not disappoint!

Rose is such a dynamic character, someone who could really be a role model. Granted, she is far from perfect but she’s kick-ass, funny and incredibly loyal. It was very cool, going back to book one and reliving how Rose’s character started out. The rest of the characters that make up the world of St. Vladimir’s are all pretty fun to read as well.

I think Richelle Mead did a great job of introducing the VA world. Rose and Lissa have been away for a few years so there was a great premise to slowly introduce everything to the reader without going into exposition overload! It’s a really well developed universe with a really creative spin on what a vampire is. I love that there is a clear line between good vampire and evil vampire. If you haven’t read these books yet, it’s a must read for any YA lovers!

Seriously, no complaints here which is rare for me. This was a great start to a great series!  Check back every Sunday, each week I will post a review for the next book in the Vampire Academy series! Next week, Frostbite!

Rating

 

 

 

Second Opinions
@ Fabulosity Reads
@ The Book Hookup
@ On a Book Bender

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One month until NaNoWriMo!

Written By: Kellie - Oct• 01•11

That’s right, folks! Just one more month until November, which we all know and love as National Novel Writing Month. I’m actually really excited for this year! I’m living in a bigger city which just might mean I actually get out to some pretty cool write-ins.

I have two stories I have been toying with so this months plan is to pick one and come up with at least part of an outline. In a perfect world I will actually have it really fleshed out (which for either story there is no excuse not to as they’ve both been floating around in my head for upwards of four months) so I go into each day of November knowing what I’m going to write.

For anyone who may not know yet… National Novel Writing Month is actually an international event where writers from all over the world each work to write their own 50,000 word novel in 30 days. There are no winners, and no prizes. Just a really rewarding experience with a great community. Plus, it’s a perfect writing kick in the pants for those of us (me! me!) who need it sometimes.

Are you participating in Nano this year? Do you have something planned already or are you winging it?

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How Blogging changed my life

Written By: Kellie - Sep• 30•11

Inspired by Parajunkee’s Blogging Changed my Life post.

How blogging has changed my life… An interesting question. Blogging (specifically book blogging) has been such a fantastic experience so far. It is so much fun to be able to share my passion with so many people who are as weirdly obsessed with books as I am. Even better that I can find other bloggers who like exactly the same kinds of books as I do. Being the internet dork that I am, I really don’t know how I didn’t get into this years earlier. Anyways, being the list dork that I am! A list!

– I have gotten to genuinely interact with some of my favorite authors. Yes, you can look at it is I just had a few back and forth emails followed by an email interview. OR you can look at it as MY FAVORITE AUTHORS ACTUALLY RESPONDED TO MY EMAILS AND THEN I GOT TO INTERVIEW THEM! It’s mind blowing, such an honour and so much fun!

– It has been said by every book blogger out there, but the community is just incredible. There are so many great book bloggers out there with genuinely interesting things to say. Love it!

– Free books!

– The chance to read books before they actually come out! So cool!

– Expanding my book horizons. Even within the genres I usually, I have now read so many books I never would have considered before, and loved them! Of course, now my book shelves are full with stuff I haven’t gotten to yet. I’ll get there. One day!

– I now have a perfectly good excuse to ramble about books on a regular basis.

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Half Brother- Kenneth Oppel

Written By: Kellie - Sep• 30•11

Synopsis: For thirteen years, Ben Tomlin was an only child. But all that changes when his mother brings home his new “baby brother” Zan – an eight-day-old chimpanzee. Ben’s father, a renowned behavioral scientist, has uprooted the family to pursue his latest research project: a high-profile experiment to determine whether chimpanzees can acquire advanced language skills. Ben’s parents tell him to treat Zan like a little brother. Ben reluctantly agrees. At least now he’s not the only one his father’s going to scrutinize.

It isn’t long before Ben is Zan’s favorite, and Ben starts to see Zan as more than just an experiment. His father disagrees. To him, Zan is only a specimen, no more, no less. And this is going to have consequences. Soon Ben is forced to make a critical choice between what he is told to believe and what he knows to be true — between obeying his father or protecting his brother from an unimaginable fate. -Goodreads

 

Review: This book is right up my alley, I really wonder why I didn’t read it sooner. Family drama, chimpanzee’s, sign language and science, all wrapped up in YA fiction. Sign me up! That being said, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.That’s the downside of expectations I guess.

While the main character Ben definitely came off as a believeable teenage boy, I found myself having difficulty relating too him. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve never been a teenage boy or maybe that I’ve never had a chimpanzee living in my house but that shouldn’t have been a problem, I should have been 100% behind the character anyways. If I can get into the head of a serial killer, wizard, mermaid or schizophrenic then a teenage boy really shouldn’t be that much of a stretch. I found myself reading the story, rather then being truly engaged in it. Ben frequently stated that the chimpanzee his parents brought home was like his little brother but sometimes his feelings seemed to lack real depth.

That being said, there was an innocence to this novel that you really don’t see much of anymore. Likely because it is set in the seventies, but this books reads a little more like the teen books I grew up with than the sometimes angsty, frequently dark teen books we read now. The romance is fumbling and awkward rather than legendary and undying. Ben’s parents are real people rather than never present or freakishly lenient. At one point Ben writes a piece for his English class using only words Zan knows in order to show that Zan really does understand the world around him and the words he’s using. It’s really touching but his teacher only gives him a C and tells him to stop messing around. Bah!

While the story itself is hit and miss, the part that is really well done is the issue behind the story. Kenneth Oppel does a good job of showing both sides of the coin. Pro animal rights and pro animal testing for the benefits of human health. Personally, I’m firmly on the animal rights side of thing and can’t say that I felt any understanding who only thought of Zan (the chimpanzee) as a test subject or experiment, both sides were represented and that’s something.

While this book didn’t quite reach the potential it had in my head, it was a refreshing read and is obviously not a subject that’s covered very often. If you have a strong opinion on animal testing you should definitely pick this one up as it’s sure to get you thinking.

Rating:

Second Opinions:
@ I was a Teenage Book Geek
@ Feeling Fictional
@ Bob’s Book Blog

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Update (09/29)

Written By: Kellie - Sep• 29•11

So, September has been a slacktastic blogging month for me. This whole going back to school thing is always more work than I think it’s going to be. I’m loving my Event Management program (still working on combining this and books), volunteering at a SpecFic Colloquium (??) in a couple of weeks and meeting some great people… but I need to find some time to read and I reallllyyy need to get back into the habit of blogging. Going into Nano soon, I need to get into some good habits :)

Anyways, I hope you all had a great September and I will be seeing a lot more of you soon, I promise!

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Random Riggs

Written By: Kellie - Sep• 27•11

Synopsis: 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.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows. –Goodreads

Review: This book was weird, refreshing and overall… really, really cool! I noticed this book at work because you could tell from looking at it on it’s side that there were pictures inside this book. Pictures? Inside a YA novel? No way! So of course, I peaked and what I saw was so random and bizarre there was just no way I wasn’t bringing this book home with me

This story is accompanied by at least a dozen creepy, old fashioned pictures. Each picture is mentioned directly in the book so you know exactly what each one is supposed to be showing you. It’s such a cool idea and really made this book stand out from the pack. YA is such a rapidly growing genre that it takes a lot of work and ingenuity to get your book noticed and apparently a creepy floating girl on the cover does the trick.

The romance in this book was really refreshing. Even though Jacob is sixteen, and a mature sixteen at that, there is still an innocence about his and Emma’s relationship. It’s cute, and really nice to watch unfold. That sense of wonder is evident through this whole book and leaves you feeling more like you’ve read a modern fairytale than just another YA fantasy. Even the bad guys, who are barely actually in the book leave you feeling like you should be looking over your shoulder… just in case.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the story was lacking. At times the prose felt a little too wordy, and at others it felt like there should have been more explanation or background. I think, mostly, I would have liked to have seen a stronger supporting cast. With the exception of Jacob and Miss Peregrine, I didn’t feel like I really knew any of these characters which for me is always hugely important.

Heads up, it does end on something of a cliffhanger but I think it worked for this story. Sometimes, you just have to wait and see what the great unknown has waiting for you! So, overall… great book! It was weird, and I loved it! This one is perfect if your feeling like you have been reading a lot of the same lately and need to step out of the bubble a bit.

Rating

Second Opinions
@ Mocha Latte Reads
@ The Book Zone (For Boys)
@ Bewitched Book Worms

 

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Interview: Anne Bishop

Written By: Kellie - Sep• 23•11

So, this may be my biggest blogging thrill so far… It’s my first ever (but hopefully not last), Anne Bishop Interview! Originally this was planned for favorites month but now it’s a bonus to help ease the transition into the colder weather. So, without further ado…

Kellie– What has your favorite thing about being a writer so far?

Anne Bishop– Tagging along with a group of magical people who can’t exist in this world but feel like they could, and anne bishop interviewwatching them laugh and love and struggle to overcome the dangers they face. My other favorite thing is building the fantasy world and the excitement that comes when small pieces click into place and suddenly there’s a place that I can visit.

Kellie– For you, what is the most difficult part of the writing process?

Anne Bishop– I find the last stage of revisions the most difficult because that is
when all the blurry parts of the story have to be polished so that the words
become invisible and the story shines through.

Kellie– If you hadn’t been able to write professionally which career would you have
chosen for yourself?

Anne Bishop– I’ve worked in the advertising business as a proofreader for a lot of years. Most professional writers have a day job because it takes a long time before you can make a living from your writing. I still put in a few hours at the day job, but I am very fortunate that I’ve reached a point where I can devote most of my working hours to writing.

Kellie– How did you know it was time to leave The Black Jewels world and characters behind?

Anne Bishop– There is a sense that the characters have nothing else to share for the time being, that the heart needs time to process whatever has happened in the story. When I reach the point when I have vague ideas but no real sense of a story, then it’s time to move on and explore other kinds of stories.

Kellie– Is there any part of the Black Jewels universe you wish you had been able to explore more thoroughly?

Anne Bishop– No, because stories don’t have to be linear. If an idea begins to intrigue me and gains enough substance to be a story, I can explore it regardless of when it happened in the Blood’s history–or future.

Kellie– I’m so excited that your next book will be set in Ephemera and cannot wait for Bridge of Dreams to come out. It has been a few years since you’ve visited Ephemera–what was it like going back into that world?

Anne Bishop– Ephemera is always a challenging world to write about. I listened to the audio books to get reacquainted with the world and characters. That was fun because hearing the story made different bits pop to my attention than when I read it. And because so much of Bridge of Dreams takes place in a new landscape, it was pretty easy to settle back into that world.

Kellie– How did you decided which character to delve into for this book? Why Lee?

Anne Bishop– Stories can simmer in the background for years, so I tend to circle around every so often to see if anything is happening with the world or characters I’ve created. When a story is ready for me to actively work on shaping it, it resonates for me. I had told Sebastian’s story and Glorianna’s story. Lee seemed the logical choice as the main character of the next Ephemera book, and when I started thinking about a story for him all kinds of possibilities opened up. But it turned out that this is also Danyal’s story and Zhahar’s story, and Lee is the bridge between the old and the new.

Kellie– And finally, what are you working on now? Will you continue to go back to series you’ve worked on in the past or is there something new brewing?

Anne Bishop– I’m currently working on the first book of a new dark fantasy series that has a contemporary setting even though it isn’t Earth. It’s fun to play in a world that has televisions, cars, bookstores and coffee shops, as well as
vampires, shape shifters, prophets and regular humans. So far I’m having a lot
of fun because I’m never quite sure what the Others are going to do until I
type the words.

Kellie– Thank you again, Anne. This was really such a highlight for me! Plus this new contemporary dark fantasy sounds like it could be something pretty spectacular… I’m excited!

You can visit Anne on her website, here.

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Top Ten Books Everyone Has Read… Except Me!

Written By: Kellie - Sep• 20•11

Alright, this week’s category is going to be hard for me because this is something I have specifically been working on this year, getting the BIG titles off my TBR list. None the less… here goes!

1. The Night Circus- Yes, this one is pretty new but it is getting such fantastic hype and I am rarely on top of the latest book craze… and I would like to be! This one is getting bumped to near the top of the list. I just might even buy it tomorrow.

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Okay, I’m probably never going to read this series as it doesn’t sound like my cup of tea but I have been tempted to try it out just to say I have. Too many other books I would rather read though. Not a bad problem to have.

3. The Iliad- This one has always been near the top of my books everyone should read list, even though I have never read it. I have always been interested in Greek Mythology and maybe for a change I should get my info from a source rather than Xena. Maybe.

4. A Song of Ice and Fire books 2 through 5- I HAVE read the first book in this series, which only puts me on par story wise with everyone who has seen the TV show so far. Not that impressive, Kellie. Not that impressive. The first book was everything I had been told it would be so I need to find the time to keep going with this series.

5. The Mortal Instruments Series- I tried it, had trouble getting into it and never came back. I still mean to though. If I have learned nothing else from all of these series I read after the hype was long past, it’s that they’re usually hyped for a reason and I’m probably missing out on a great read.

6. Anything by Ellen Hopkins- These seem a bit intense for me, but are hugely popular. Maybe I’ll try one one day??

7. Blood Bound (Rachel Vincent’s… I’ve read Patricia Briggs’s)- Another new title but one I am dying to read. She’s one of my favorite authors so no excuse not to read a new title from her in a genre I love as soon as I possibly can.

8. Bloodlines- So much hype, so much fail on my part. I meant to read this the week it came out and still haven’t gotten there. I’m not a huge fan of the MC for this new spin-off series so it’s hard to get excited about it. I’m still pretty sure I will love it once I read it though.

9. Under the Dome- I’m not usually a huge Stephen King fan but I have heard a lot of good things about this book and the premise sounds like exactly my kind of book. It’s pretty huge and intimidating though. They’re turning it into a TV movie so I need to make sure I read it before that happens or I’ll never get there.

10. Nightshade- I own it… I just haven’t gotten there yet.

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Mad Skills- Walter Greatshell

Written By: Kellie - Sep• 20•11

Synopsis: Unconscious for fourteen months after a debilitating accident, Maddy Grant awakens at the Braintree Institute, where scientists have successfully implanted her with a radical technology designed to correct her brain injury. But Maddy is more than cured. Her intellect has been enhanced to process information faster than a computer-an ability that’s sending her emotions into overdrive.

To monitor her condition, the institute sends Maddy to the nearby village of Harmony, where she will be free to interact with the community. But Braintree’s scientists are not only monitoring her behavior, they’re modifying it, reprogramming her personality to become someone else. A killer. -Goodreads

Review: Maddy Grant had an accident, an accident that should have killed her outright. Instead, it caused a severe brain injury that even a year of treatment could barely improve on. So in a last ditch hope and a prayer move, her parents allowed the Braintree Institute to perform a radical new procedure that gave Maddy the brain of a super computer. Cool, right?

This book starts out really well, setting up the accident, the recovery and the superpower like side effects. Then, when we are just getting to see what Maddy can do with her new brain (which for me, was the entire pull of the book), things start to get really weird. It quickly becomes Maddy vs. Braintree and she’s not really using her super brain to stop them. Instead, she’s hallucinating a talking raccoon, dreaming about murdering people and hanging out with well… I wont tell you, but I will say I saw it coming and I don’t really see the point.

Maddy starts out as a typical teenage girl, practically stereotypical, so it’s interesting seeing how new ‘Super Maddy’ reflect back on her old self and the things that used to be important to her. It’s something everyone can relate too, just on a less extreme scale. But once things start to get weird I felt like I was struggling just to follow the storyline, let alone actually connect to any of the characters.

I think the missing of connections had something to do with a lack of emotion in the writing. At one point Maddy is having a heart to heart with her parents, basically about things they’re greatful for. They’re all sitting there talking, just discussing things calmly, or so I think. Then at the end of the conversation the author throws in that they’re all weeping, and it just seems so out of place. Before that statement there was no real indicators of an emotional buildup, it was just there. It just didn’t feel genuine.

On the other hand, the adventure part of the story was well written so if that is what you primarily look for in books, I actually do recommened it. This book reads more like a sci-fi action movie (I probably would have loved it as a movie) than a multi-layered novel so it just wasn’t for me, but I’m sure for some people out there this book was several levels of awesome.

Rating

 

 

 

Second Opinions
@ The Big Thrill
@ Night Owl Sci Fi

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