To Read November 2014

This month is full of assignments and exams and the end of uni, so who knows how many books I'll get through. But I just thought I'd share some books I hope I'll get through.

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins (Editor) and many other YA authors including Rainbow Rowell, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Gayle Forman etc. 

I'm so excited to read this! Some of my favourite YA authors (Rainbow Rowell, Stephanie Perkins, among others) have written for this anthology of holiday stories. I couldn't wait for this book to be published/in stock in Australia, so I purchased it online. This is another example of how frustrating the America/Australia divide is, I need these books ASAP, and at an affordable price, and preferably paperback. Okay, thanks. [GOODREADS]

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

So excited to read this. This book is a dual narrative following a real life girl writing a novel (my dream) and the character she is writing in the novel. I don't know much else, but I've heard positive reviews for it. I've read Uglies and Pretties by Scott Westerfeld, and wasn't super impressed, but I can't wait to start reading this. I purchased this copy from Big W for $14, a total bargain. This paperback is also so much nicer than the hardback I saw while I Was in America. That was so expensive and SO HEAVY. [GOODREADS]

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This is a must read ASAP. The hype around this book and the movie that was just released is incredible, and I need to get to this book. [GOODREADS]

US & Canada Book Haul 2014

I went to America and Canada for three weeks! It was such an awesome trip, and of course I came home with many books. So I thought I'd run through them for you!

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I purchased this really pretty children's classic edition from the New York Public Library gift shop. Such a lovely shop for book lovers. 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

Purchased from Strand Books (12th St & Broadway) aka my favourite bookstore probably in the world. Have been wanting to buy this book for awhile, check out my short review in my October Wrap Up.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson 

A quick purchase from Indigo Books & Music at Toronto's Eaton Centre. I don't know much about this book other than that it's a contemporary YA, which sounds pretty good to me.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Since reading We Were Liars (one of my favourite books this year) I have been itching to read/buy some more of E. Lockhart's novels to see if they're any good. This one was on the shelf at Strand Books so I picked it up. Lockhart's books are no where to be found in Australia (only We Were Liars, of course).

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

I know, I purchased a book by an Australian author in America. Whoops. I've been meaning to pick up this book for awhile now, especially seeing as the sequel, The Rosie Effect, was released last month. When I saw this in the Paperback New Releases at Strand Books I couldn't put it down. However I definitely like the Australian orange cover better than this one.

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

Another E. Lockhart book I picked up from Strand Books, I believe this is part of a series, and I'm interested in reading it. 

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

I've seen the beautiful cover of this book on Goodreads before, and it definitely caught my eye when I saw it on the shelf in Strand Books. I think this is a contemporary book as well, don't know much else. 

September Girls by Bennett Madison

This one I purchased at the Brooklyn Book Festival which was happening while we were in New York on the 20-something-th of September. This book was for sale at a stall for a local bookstore in Brooklyn, I'm not sure of the details, but it sounds pretty good. A good summer read, so hopefully I get through it this summer.

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas

An obvious choice. This book is the second in the Throne of Glass series, the first book of which I read this year. This book was another one I'd been looking out for for awhile. However it doesn't match my copy of the first book AT ALL which I kind of regret, and eventually I will have to fix up my series so they all match. This was also from Strand Books (can you tell that I love Strand??).

Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

I bought this at Strand Book's Central Park kiosk/pop up in the south-east corner. I've been thinking of purchasing this for ages, and since I work in a bookshop, I thought it'd be a fun read. I've actually read the first chapter or so of this (on the subway home that day) and it's really interesting! I love the reading, from the author's biography in the first pages I knew it would be a great read. Can't wait to get back to this book.

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

Another book that I really wanted to buy. In particular, Four had to be purchased in America so that it matched my other editions (I have the hard copy Insurgent and Allegiant). But I didn't really want to pay an exorbitant amount for it (like many bookshops wanted for a hardcover book), so I waited. I actually picked up this copy from the Yale Bookstore in New Haven when we visited. They had 30% off new releases at that time and I was able to get this book, at a regular price! Bargain!!

October Wrap Up 2014

I'm back! I've been very slack in my posting lately, but I feel like I just haven't been interested in posting anything, and because a blog is supposed to be fun and not a chore, I just.. haven't! But now I'm back and hopefully I'll be posting many more things in the coming months, including some travel posts as I'm going on Exchange to the University of Leicester early next year.

But for now, here are all the books I read in October 2014!

The Red Shoe by Ursula Dubosarsky
★★★★☆

The Red Shoe is a really unique Australian book that I had to read for University this semester for my Children's Literature course (Little Book Owl is also completing this course and has reviewed the same books). Dubosarsky's book is set during the Cold War, in particular, the Petrov Affair in 1954. It is an interesting story about three sisters who are facing different problems and coming to terms with an event that disturbed the family several years ago. As this mystery comes to light, the reader begins to link the actions of the past and the present to create an engaging novel. [GOODREADS]

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
★★★★☆

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me... is Mindy Kaling's second biographical memoir. It is a hilarious compilation of stories/essays from her childhood, her big breaks in Hollywood and time on The Office. I am a huge fan of The Mindy Project and love her humour, this book was nothing different. I can't wait to read her next book, and hopefully it includes some anecdotes from the set of The Mindy Project, I'm sure it'd be just as hilarious. [GOODREADS]


Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
★★★★★

I don't know, this is more like a 4 1/2 book. Flipped is the story of Bryce and Juli and their "friendship". The book flips between their perspectives between the two in alternating chapters, giving the exact same events from each character's perspective. I really liked Van Draanen's use of the perspectives, and thought it was a unique take on this narrative device. It was interesting to note the differences in thoughts and intentions in relation to different events, and see the character progress to a somewhat unsatisfying ending. Overall I really enjoyed the book and watched the film. [GOODREADS]

Take Me On (Pushing the Limits #4) by Katie McGarry
★★★★☆

Take Me On is the fourth book in McGarry's contemporary series. This one follows the story of West and Haley. West is the older brother of Rachel who was the main character in the third book, Crash into You. This book had the usual great romance that McGarry is great at writing, the star-crossed lovers from different sides of the track story plays out exactly how you would expect it. Also did I mention this book is about kickboxing? Yeah, I know. Wasn't a big fan of all the fighting and training, but if you can ignore that, there's a pretty good book sitting right there. I'm sure this series will continue forever. [GOODREADS]

The Fire Eaters by David Almond

★★★☆☆

The Fire Eaters is kind of one of those books where not much happens. This is another book I read for university. Basically it's set in 1962 where the Cuban Missile Crisis is occurring, and threatening those worldwide. The story follows 'Bobbie' a young boy living in England during the time. It follows his relationship with the new boy in town, his old friends, the girl he likes and a strange man who can eat fire. The story is more about his personal growth and community and family than any real action, and at times I found it quite boring. However it was a very short book and quick to read. [GOODREADS]


The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
★★★☆☆

This book is the story of twenty different people. I know that sounds like a lot, but a lot of the perspectives are very quick and some are in verse. All twenty people attend the same high school, and the book details their interactions with each other and romantic interests. I didn't really enjoy this book too much, as I felt like there were too many voices and I didn't really understand how they were connected until I had to move onto another perspective. This is probably the type of book where a second, more in depth reading would be better. [GOODREADS]

Total read count for October: 6
Total for 2014: 61

June Wrap Up

This post has just been sitting here unpublished for months. So I thought I'd just post it, at the time I put quite a bit of effort into it, I just never finished it. So, if you're interested, my June Wrap Up. In October.

So June was a very busy month for me, I had all of my uni assessments due in the last couple of weeks which was super stressful, because I'm not the most organised person. Somehow they were all completed, and I somehow was able to read some books at the same time.

The first book I read this month was:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
★★★★★

 No, I am not a complete idiot. I *have* read TFIOS before. This was my third time reading the book as the movie was released this month! *Angel choir sings*. The book is amazing, the movie is amazing. If you haven't read/watched it yet (I would recommend you read it first, as always), you definitely should. Definitely one of the best books of our generation. And, just randomly, I hate the title stylised as TFiOS. I'm looking at you, John Green. [GOODREADS]

Book Review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Attachments ★★★★★ 
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publication Date: 14 April 2011
Publisher: Orion
Page Count: 357
IBSN: 9781409120537
Bookshelves: Contemporary, Favourites

More Information:
Rainbow Rowell | Rainbow Rowell Twitter | Goodreads | Book Depository

Summary:
Set in 1999, Attachments is the story of Lincoln, who has everything in his life going wrong. He's still living at home with his mother, has no love life to speak of, and to top it all off - reads people's emails for a living. Lincoln works in IT at a newspaper, monitoring the use of the email system by the employees. It is through this routinely disturbing job that Lincoln reads about Beth and Jennifer, two friends who talk about everything in their lives over email. Reading these emails, Lincoln feels as though he's friends with them, but as time passes it becomes more and more awkward to introduce himself.