TAG: Goodreads

My current boyfriend (then, friend), knowing my love for reading, told me a few years back (~2009/2010) that I should join Goodreads. But I didn't take his advice until December 2012 and I absolutely love it. I don't use it as a social networking tool but for organizational purposes. As a result, it's like my diary in books and I don't add friends. I realize that sounds odd, but if I want to know what my friends are reading/they want to know what I'm reading, I'd rather just have a conversation about it. That may change in the future but not anytime soon.

I got this tag from a blog I follow, Behind Green Eyes, and it's a fun one. If you want to do it too, go for it! And let's get into it..

CONTEMPORARY | Collection: The Fault In Our Stars (John Green)

As with many book lovers, I have a book buying problem. I try to relieve it with library loans, but that only solves a small portion of the problem.

A large part of my book buying craze stems from the desire to collect- and that desire cannot be extinguished from the library.

I love collecting different editions of books. First printings of first editions are fun. And whenever a publisher decides to change the covers of books? My money goes straight into their pockets.

(That said, I do draw the line at paying hundreds for first printings.)

This post in particular, if you can't already tell from the title, will be the start of a new series all about my book collection, starting with my collection of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I have been a fan of John's for many years and can't resist the temptation when his books are released in newer, different covers. I will probably do posts involving his other books in the future.

**disclaimer: Before I go further, I want to add the disclaimer that I'm not trying to show off in any way. All these books were purchased over the course of years. I did not pay obscene amounts for any of these books and, even if I did, it is ultimately my decision on what to spend my earned money on. Thank you for your cooperation on this matter. ;)

CONTEMPORARY | Review: Me Before You

My first contemporary-focused week!
I'm surprised it's taken me so long to do one, but here it is at last.

And to start it off I have a book review for Jojo Moyes' Me Before You.
Me Before You is a contemporary, romance novel that I had been meaning to read for quite some time. It's received rave reviews on Goodreads.
Now, if you read my Which is Which guessing game, than you already know how I feel about this book-thoroughly disappointed and unsatisfied. This book gave me a serious case of "did-I-read-the-same-book-as-everyone-else"-ism. But if you stay tuned, you'll get a more in-depth explanation about why I feel the way I do.

Unfortunately, this will be one large review of why I think this book was horrible.

**ALL MY BOOK REVIEWS ARE SPOILER FREE

Title: Me Before You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Genre: Contemporary > Romance
Pages: 480
Released: January 5th, 2012
Links: Amazon | Goodreads

My rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars


DESCRIPTION (courtesy of Goodreads)

"Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.
 
What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.
 
 Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.
 
What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time."

Which is Which: A Book Guessing Game

Today I have (what I hope) to be a fun, short guessing game.
Here is how it will go: I will showcase two books-one I really like and one I really don't like. It's up to you to guess which is which. I thought it'd be a fun way to quickly mention a well-loved book as well it's opposite.

For today's books, I have Jojo Moyes' Me Before You and Annie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's These Broken Stars.

Me Before You (Moyes) is a contemporary adult novel of romance and life.

These Broken Stars (Kaufman, Spooner) is a space novel of survival and romance.

One of these I really enjoyed, and felt incredibly sad to have finished. The other, I felt myself wanting to gag nearly all the way through.

Which is which?
Keep reading to find out (and feel free to put your guesses, whether correct or incorrect in the comments).

Also, I like to keep everything SPOILER-FREE so everyone can enjoy!

CHILDREN'S | Lists: If You Love Your Children #2

I don't usually put up posts this late, but my body's reaction to the rise in temperature has been to vegetate. And now that the temperature has dropped, I can bear to be closer to my computer. 

Today's post, as you can see from the title, is a continuation of a series I started back in March. (If you want to see If You Love Your Children #1, you can find it here).

In this particular series, I go over some children's books that I recommed-ones I would personally purchase if/when I have my own children. I try to get a mixture of illustrated, elementary, and middle school books, but some posts will be uneven according to what I've been finding.

And, lastly, even if you don't have kids, and you just love children's book such as I do, then you can still get something out of these.

So..let's get into it!

CHILDREN'S | Rave: The Riverman

Few things in life can supply equal joy of reading amazing middle school books. Even if you don't typically read children's chapters books, I would recommend you stay tuned for this particular one. Aaron Starmer's Riverman is one of the best children's books I've read in a long time.

WARNING: This novel does contain violence (guns) and some sexual innuendo. I would reserve this book for mature middle schoolers and above.

And I also must warn you that this review is mostly going to be one massive rave, lacking the structure I normally strive for. But I can't help it. I'm just too excited.


**ALL MY BOOK REVIEWS ARE SPOILER FREE

Title: The Riverman
Series: #1 of the Riverman Trilogy (?)
Author: Aaron Starmer
Genre: Chldren's/YA Fantasy
Pages: 320
Released: March 18th, 2014
Links: Amazon | Goodreads

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars


DESCRIPTION (courtesy of Goodreads)

"Fiona Loomis is Alice, back from Wonderland. She is Lucy, returned from Narnia. She is Coraline, home from the Other World. She is the girl we read about in storybooks, but here's the difference: She is real.

Twelve-year-old Alistair Cleary is her neighbor in a town where everyone knows each other. One afternoon, Fiona shows up at Alistair's doorstep with a strange proposition. She wants him to write her biography. What begins as an odd vanity project gradually turns into a frightening glimpse into a clearly troubled mind. For Fiona tells Alistair a secret. In her basement there's a gateway and it leads to the magical world of Aquavania, the place where stories are born. In Aquavania, there's a creature called the Riverman and he's stealing the souls of children. Fiona's soul could be next.

Alistair has a choice. He can believe her, or he can believe something else...something even more terrifying."

FANTASY & SCI-FI | Review: Ready Player One

It's been so long since I've posted..yadda yadda..been busy....empty promises....

And now that that's out of the way, I have a new review on an older book, Ready Player One. I went into this book (as a non-gamer) knowing that a large part of it's appeal would be the references. That aside, I'm very drawn to dystopian books, and this was no exception. I knew the references could very well go over my head- but hey, so much in my day-to-day life does. Heh. Okay. Let's get into the review.

**ALL MY BOOK REVIEWS ARE SPOILER FREE

Title: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Genre: Science Fiction > Dystopia
Pages: 372
Release date: August 6th, 2011
Links: Amazon | Goodreads

My rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars


BOOK DESCRIPTION (courtesy of Goodreads)

"It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?"