“Wild stays out” – Tana French

I’m soooo close to being finished Broken Harbour by Tana French! This is the longest it’s taken me to finish a book for a while, but life has just been a jumble of emotion and chaos lately. I’ll have a post about it when I actually finish the last 30 pages.

I’ve been reading a lot about read-a-thons lately, and now that I have a Kindle on top of the bajillion books sitting on my shelf, I figure I should maybe do one or two to try and empty out the shelves. I signed up for the Wicked Wildfire Read-a-thon. Will you sign up too?

Also, just wanted to thank all of my readers! I hit over 3000 views a few days ago. You guys are the best! <3

Final Link Up: The Reveal!

I’ve spent the last few weeks getting to know the lovely Jessica from Living La Vida Holoka. This was my first blogger swap, so I was a little nervous. Lucky for me, she had done one before and was more than happy to show my the ropes! I can’t believe how much in common we had, the co-ordinators of this blog swap did an awesome job! After talking for a few weeks, we sent out our packages. I was so excited when I got my package in the mail, I was like a kid on Christmas. I flew through the house looking for scissors, or anything sharp I could find to open it.

This is what I got:

 

The book titles: Water for Elephants (SO EXCITED!!), 1940 (already finished it!) and Knit for Comfort (she got to know me oh so well hahaha, <3 knitting).

She also sent me a pretty bookmark that says Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake, as well as some cute coffee stickers, and the lovely little cherry card.

My cat also enjoyed the package.

 

Overall, this was a great experience, and I definitely want to participate in another swap in the future. It was great to make a new blogger friend, as well as get to know some other bloggers through the weekly link ups!

Link up #6

This week’s link up is super exciting! I’ve loved reading since I was a child. My parents read to me when I was very young, and by kindergarten I was reading well above my grade level. Needless to say my book obsession started young! Trying to think of my favourites is tough (as usual, haha) but at least a few have popped into my head.

1) Charlotte’s Web
This book has been one of my favourites since I can remember. I know I saw the movie a million times, and when it was redone with Dakota Fanning I couldn’t resist watching it. The book is just so easy to read, and teaches such a great lesson about believing in yourself that every child should read it!

2) Number the Stars

I remember reading this book in grade school and falling in love with it. A young girl risking her own life to help her best friend (who is Jewish) was such a shocking book to read so young, but I never forgot about this book. I could never remember the title and searched for it forever, until one day at placement at an elementary school I saw it sitting on the shelf and immediately wrote down the title so I could reread it now!

3) Any Walt Disney Book. Ever!

 

I remember having the entire Disney collection in those giant books, but this one was by far my favourite. I watched the movie until it didn’t work anymore, and read the book until it was falling apart. The Jungle Book is definitely still my favourite Disney  movie ever.

4) Little Women

Last but not least, I loved Little Women growing up. This along with Little House on the Prairie were probably the books I read over and over.

Guess that wasn’t so hard after all!

What were your favourite childhood books?

“But what are our stories if not the mirrors we hold up to our fears?” – Wally Lamb

This past weekend was a long weekend here in Canada. I spent the first half of the weekend working, then relaxed the rest. I saw the new Star Trek movie (amazing! You need to watch it!), reading and enjoying the half decent weather.

I finished the saga that is I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. It is an amazing read. Yes, it is very long, ending after 900 pages, and it can be somewhat slow, but I would describe it more as elaborate than slow. There is a story within the story, with one story jumping back and forth from the future and the past. Dominick is such a well-rounded character, that I felt like I grew up with him and Thomas (his brother.) Throughout the book, I felt that I knew all the intricate details of their lives, that I was a member of their social circle.

This book makes you smile, makes you cry, and it makes you so angry you want to throw the book. This book is so well written, that 900 pages doesn’t seem like enough. I don’t know what else to say without ruining the book, but for those of you who have never heard of this book, it tells the story of twin brothers, one with schizophrenia. One day, the twin with schizophrenia chops off his hand. The story continues and describes the “normal” brother’s reaction and quest to get the proper care for his brother, all the while trying to deal with his own inner demons and find out who their father was. READ IT!!

I almost finished a second book this weekend, that I received from my lovely book swap partner. I have about 40 pages left. 1940 by Jay Neugeboren is the story of Hitler’s doctor, who receives special treatment and moves to America. It’s somewhat of a slow story, written from two different points of view, but it is very intriguing, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Link up #5

Deciding which character crushes to mention in this week’s link up was definitely a tough decision! I feel like most of them are the typical, mainstream choices, but let’s be real, who (secretly or not to secretly) doesn’t have a crush on these characters?

#1 Gale Hawthorne

When it comes down to Peeta vs Gale, it’s always been Gale for me. I know Peeta is all romantic and blah blah blah, but Gale is just so dreamy and badass. Sorry Peeta!

#2 Jacob Black

Despite Jacob never having a chance with Bella, he’s always been my favourite of the two. Bella is crazy for choosing Edward! I distinctly remember being in the theatre for Jacob’s first post-werewolf topless scene, pretty sure the entire audience swooned and cheered. Reason #74758 why Edward sucks!

#3 Augustus Waters

Sorry there’s no dreamy male actor for this one ladies, but the character in the book is so romantic, headstrong and funny that I had to include him in the list. P.s. if you haven’t read this book, you probably should, you will fall for Gus too!

Who are your character crushes?

Link up #4

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do the 3rd link-up because I was out of town, I’ll make sure to put extra effort into this week’s post! This week we were given 5 questions to answer about book covers. Here goes!

1) Do you judge a book by its cover?

I’m going to have to go with yes on this one. I refuse to buy books when they have covers advertising the movie version of the book! I hate that. I’m more likely going to pick up a book that has an intriguing cover than one that simply says the title, or something simple like that.

2) How important is cover design to you?

Hmm… I’d say fairly important, but if I’ve heard good things about a particular book, I’ll still pick it up regardless of the cover (unless it has a movie picture, then I’ll wait until I can find a non-movie version.) I think I only own a maximum of 2 books that have movie covers and that’s because they were gifts. I don’t willingly pick those up haha!

3) Share your favourite book cover.

I’m going to cheat here and show you more than one, sorry!

I love how abstract this one is, however, I feel like it really has nothing to do with the book, and makes the book appear a lot more light-hearted than it is.

This cover is intriguing, don’t try to tell me you don’t want to read this book after looking at this picture! I also feel like it suits the book perfectly. P.s. if you haven’t read this book yet, you NEED to! It’s hilarious.

I haven’t read this book yet, and I love this author, so I was going to by this book regardless of the cover, but I think this is my favourite cover. It’s so haunting.

4) What book surprised you most, despite its unappealing cover design?

Another tough question, I have 2 picks.

This book is amazing! It’s horrific, but amazing. The cover tells you none of this. The cover makes this book child-like and more upbeat than it should be.

Another hilarious book, but can you tell from the cover? No. The cover makes this book appear drab, and as a serious memoir. It is neither of these and deserves a much more appealing cover!

5) In your opinion, what makes a book cover intriguing?

Well, definitely something abstract that draws you and makes you wonder. I personally prefer pictures that take up the entire cover, not something small like above on The Glass Castle. Colour is also very key! Nobody likes black and white, haha!

What are you favourite book covers?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link up #2!

This week’s link up asked us to list the 5 books that we think every young woman needs to read. It took me a little while to think about which books impacted me the most as a young woman, and which ones would have the same impact on others as well.

1) Go Ask Alice – Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks)

I read this book years ago, when I was just beginning high school. It’s a book that most teens can relate to, the trouble in high school, drugs (the presence of them), mean girls, and so forth. It kind of tells you what  not  to do in real life. The story is somewhat horrific, but an eye opener, especially for those headed down a dangerous path.

2) Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

I’ve loved this book forever, Scarlett O’Hara is such a strong-headed woman, I think every young woman should look up to her.

3) The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison

This heart-wrenching book can help you realize that society’s idea of beauty isn’t always right. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, and should not have to have blue eyes and blonde hair to be deemed beautiful.

4) Lucky – Alice Sebold

I’m beginning to see a depressing pattern with my books.. This book is the author’s memoir. She tells the story of her being raped, how she survived, and how it changed her life.

And last but not least…

5) Love my rifle more than you – Kayla Williams

This American’s soldier’s memoir is so empowering.

What books have changed your life?

Officially not a student!

Today is a special day, today I wrote my last exam of college. Meaning I have finally finished my degree and diploma and am not a student anymore! Six years of postsecondary is long enough for me! The thought of not going back to school in September is scary, but welcome.

I went to Toronto this week to visit my best friends. Here’s a couple photos from the past week or so.

Little baby booties for my friend’s baby

I walked 4km to get this badboy. Beartrap tea is delish!

Now that school’s done I can start reading classics I’ve never read!

What are you reading this week?

Link up #1

As you can see from my sidebar, I’ll be taking part in this Book Swap hosted by a bunch of great bloggers. For this first link up, I have to make a huge decision. What are my top 3 favourite books? I have way too many favourites to choose from, oh man!

Okay, one of my top three definitely has to be The Likeness by Tana French

My best friend actually lent me this book after I suggested she read In the Woods by the same author. This book is about a detective going undercover as someone who stole her identity. It’s such an eerie and captivating book, I powered through all 466 pages in 2 days.

On to my second favourite now, I’d have to say The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.

This book is one of few that I’ve read over and over again. The temptation and romance in this book is captivating, just such a good book!

And last but not least, my third pick is Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat.

This memoir is the heart wrenching story of a teen in Iran struggling to survive.

What are your top 3 picks?

 

 

 

“Not leaving: an act of trust and love, often deciphered by children”

I  just finished reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It’d been sitting on my shelf forever, but after seeing a few different bloggers rave about it, I decided it was finally time to pick it up and give it a chance. I was captivated from the start. I stayed in the bathtub until long after the water had gone cold reading this.

I especially like how it is told from the point of view of death, who comes into contact with the book thief (Liesel) a few different times. The way it’s written is really interesting, I guess that could be because it’s technically a young adult book. Anyway, I love love love this book!

I know I just keep rambling on and on about this book, but its very rare that I finish a book and just sit there, relishing the book. You need to read this book!

The book is like an onion, there are so many little stories and minute details that layer and weld together to define the characters and give them the depth that makes you fall in love with them. At thw beginning I wondered why there were so many asides, but eventually I came to look forward to them, that little detail that makes you feel like an insider, like you’re part of the story.

Just my cat and a book.