Top Ten Tuesday (5)

Each week the folks over at The Broke and the Bookish host a Top Ten list based on a certain bookish topic. Other bloggers are able to join in and post their own top ten answers. Here are my answers to:

Top ten unread books that have been on my shelves the longest:

Pretty covers lure me, and intriguing blurbs hook me. I think I've lost track of how many books I've brought that are now gathering dust on my shelves, slowly turning yellow with age. I'm sure I'll get to them... Eventually. Warning: there are a lot of series on this list. What can I say, I like to buy the second - and often third book - just in case I really like the first and don't want to wait. Shame about the whole "haven't even read the first" part, though.

1. CITY OF BONES, CITY OF ASHES, CITY OF GLASS, (The Mortal Instruments #1-3) by Cassandra Clare.
2. MARKED, BETRAYED, CHOSEN, (House of Night Books #1-3) by P.C and Kristen Cast.
3. WHILE I LIVE, INCURABLE, CIRCLE OF FLIGHT, (The Ellie Chronicles #1-3) by John Marsden. A sequel series to THE TOMORROW SERIES.
4. TOUCHING DARKNESS, BLUE NOON, (Midnighters #2&3) by Scott Westerfeld
5. TERRIER, BLOODHOUND, (Beka Cooper #1&2) by Tamora Pierce. 
6. VAMPIRE ACADEMY, (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead. 
7. IRONSIDE, (The Modern Faerie Tales #3) by Holly Black. 
8. EXTRAS, (Uglies #4) by Scott Westerfeld. 
9. EVERNIGHT, (Evernight #1) by Claudia Gray.
10. THE FINAL WARNING, (Maximum Ride #4) by James Patterson.

Waiting On Wednesday (5)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming books whose releases are being eagerly awaited. Bloggers are encouraged to join in and post about the book(s) they're looking forward to reading. Here is mine: 

SCARLET, by A.C Gaughen

Expected publication: February 14th 2012, by Walker & Co.  

Synopsis: Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance. Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

Review: The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson

Title: THE NAME OF THE STAR (Shades of London, #1)

Author: Maureen Johnson

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Publication Date: September 29th, 2011

Synopsis: The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. 

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Review:


The short of it: I feel like I wanted to like THE NAME OF THE STAR more than I did. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy it, to an extent, but it wasn't everything I was hoping for. The characters were generally engaging, the small hints of romance were just enough, and the Jack the Ripper aspect was well thought out and researched. Unfortunately one of the main themes of the novel - the obvious ghosts - is what lessened this novels likability for me. 


The semi-long of it: The first half of THE NAME OF THE STAR reads very much like a Contemporary, with Rory moving from another country to attend boarding school in London, making new friends, crushing on a guy, and generally getting used to a whole new way of living. It also seemed a lot stronger than the second, perhaps because the hints towards who the "new" Ripper later in the novel were were all too plain for me. That said, I really did enjoy the Jack the Ripper Has Returned aspect of the book. It was eerie, and most importantly, it was interesting. Some of my favourite parts of the novel were when we were experiencing the attacks through others eyes, and the growing tension as the dates coinciding with the original Ripper murders grew closer.


And then the ghosts came a long. I like ghost stories, I do. I was even reading this in the perfect environment for a ghost story: it was raining, there was thunder. But something was... off. I can't really explain it. Maybe I've been watching too many ghostly television shows lately, but I knew who each ghost was, even before they were revealed. When Rory began to see the ghosts - after an unfortunate choking incident - I wasn't surprised. Then again, that is the whole point of the novel, isn't? With this new ghostly sight, Rory is also exposed to The Shades, an organization founded by persons higher on the pecking order who select those who have come close to death and can now see ghosts. They are, of course, the secret ghost police mentioned in the synopsis. Thus a whole new group of characters is introduced, but at this point I was left wishing the novel would return to how it was: the new girl at the boarding school who can see ghosts, with more focus on the supposed "return" (read: copycat) of Jack the Ripper.


[SPOILER]One thing I will say that surprised me was the actual identity of the "new" Ripper. And no, not that he was the ghost whom Rory had seen hanging around the school in the first few days she was there, but who he was prior to his death. It all made sense, and tied things up neatly with a bit of added thrill at the end.  
I do give props to Maureen Johnson for her writing, and her characters. The writing was easy to read, it flowed well, and in some parts I genuinely laughed. Reading THE NAME OF THE STAR made me want to read other books written by her. All in all, THE NAME OF THE STAR is a book that I would read again, even if it wasn't quite as amazing I thought it would be, and I look forward to reading the rest of the novels in this series.


Rating:

Add on Goodreads | Purchase at The Book Depository / Amazon 

Top Ten Tuesday (4)

 Each week the folks over at The Broke and the Bookish host a Top Ten list based on a certain bookish topic. Other bloggers are able to join in and post their own top ten answers. Here are my answers to:

Ten books I read that were outside of my comfort zone 
(but was glad I read them in the end):


CHILDRENS/YA:

1. HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, by J.K Rowling: Before I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone I was very much "Oh no, I only read books that have girls as the main character." What can I say, I was young, and boys had cooties. But when I did eventually pick it up, I was suffering from severe boredom - and a little pain after having my finger slammed in the door - at one of my family birthday parties. Needless to say the cover intrigued me, and I thought, "Oh, what the heck. It's this or Goosebumps again:

2. UNEARTHLY, by Cynthia Hand: Before Unearthly I was never a very big fan of the Angel trend that was going around. So when I checked this out from the library I was pretty much thinking: "Oh, this will be... interesting." I didn't think I would like it, but boy was I wrong.

3. LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI, by Melina Marchetta: I'm going to let you all in on a little secret: prior to reading Looking for Alibrandi I didn't really like Contemporary Young Adult novels. But all my friends were raving about this one, so I gave it a go and loved it to pieces.

4. SO MUCH TO TELL YOU, by John Marsden: One of those books that you read for school, and figure that you'll hate it. I soon learned that John Marsden is a brilliant writer, and So Much To Tell You is an amazing, touching novel.

5. UGLIES, by Scott Westerfeld: It seems really rather silly when I think back to the reasons I told myself that this book wasn't one that I would enjoy. In many ways it was because it was futuristic, and at the time I hadn't read anything like it. I'm very much a person who gets comfortable in one genre. 

OTHER:

6. THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY: There were three books, they were all large. My brother liked it, and boy books had cooties and were boring, right? Oh, young me, aren't you glad you were wrong?

7. PET SEMETARY, by Stephen King: I was never one for Horror novels, but my parents were always saying how much the movie adaption freaked them, so I figured I would check it out for myself. Of course, I always like to read the book first. The book scared me (and I loved it). The movie? Not so much.
8. THE BRONZE HORSEMAN, by Paullina Simons: This one is difficult for me to explain. I suppose I was a little dubious because I'd never really read such a moving novel before, nor one set in such horrific times. Certainly not one that the crept under my skin and stayed with me for so long after I had finished reading it. 

9. VANISHING ACTS, by Jodi Picoult: This was actually the first of Jodi Picoult's novels that I had read at the time, and I wasn't expecting to enjoy it very much. Crime, and law and such things were never really "my thing", but once I had the book in my hands - thanks to my sister - and read the synopsis I was pretty much hooked. 

10. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith: "What do you mean you added zombies to a classic? Are you insane, Seth Grahame-Smith?! ..Oh, but the cover is rather fantastic, even if I don't like zombies. Maybe it won't be so bad."

Off the Shelf (4)

"Off the Shelf" is a post dedicated to sharing which books I have chosen to add to my To-Be-Read list that will hopefully be read and reviewed over the coming week. Occasionally I will also feature books that I won't be reviewing, but will be reading anyway. All summaries are from Goodreads.


No new books were added to my TBR pile, unfortunately. I went out yesterday with the hope to add a few coveted titles to my list - PARANORMALCY, NIGHTSHADE, and WITHER, among others - and didn't find any of them. I did however, manage to find many copies of SUPERNATURALLY and WOLFSBANE. Excuse me while I go and grrr at only being able to find the second novel in a series. It reminds me of when I first wanted to read Twilight and could only ever find New Moon. 

Anywho - I'm still in the middle of reading SISTERS RED, and WICKED LOVELY, whilst a review of THE NAME OF THE STAR waits to be tweaked slightly and posted.  Oh, and there's NaNoWriMo which takes up so much time, there's little left for reading.

The Book I Am Most Grateful For

The amazing Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe and the soon-to-be published A Million Suns, is hosting a super awesome giveaway. Not only is it awesome, but it's big. Really big. Someone will win 19 signed YA books, including an ARC of A Million Suns, a box of Turkish Delight - yum -  and a bunch of great swag. All you have to do to enter is blog about the one book you are most grateful for. For more info here's a link to the original post. Here's my answer:

I have read a lot of books. Wow, what a surprise, right? Every book I have read has shown me something new; a new world, a new era, a new way of thinking. I re-read a lot of books, too. There are always ones that I go back to, because I love them. Nevertheless, it took me awhile to find the one I am truly most grateful for. Really it shouldn't have taken so long, it was staring me in the face that whole time. And that book is:

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, by L.M Montgomery 

Anne of Green Gables is the one book that I can read, over and over again, and always feel like I'm going back to an old friend. The feisty little red haired girl, with her big words and limitless imagination filled my childhood with beautiful memories, and showed me the way to other children's classics.

Most importantly, Anne taught me that it was okay to have big dreams; that sometimes they might even come true. She showed me that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet. That kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think, and that you'd find it easier to be bad than if you had red hair. People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is. (I blamed my hair colour for a lot of things, too).

In many ways, I read so much because of Anne of Green Gables. I'm always on the quest for a new story that I revel in and adore as much as I do whenever I take the time to re-read Anne. Because after all...

"I doubt I shall ever time to read the book again -- there are too many new ones coming out all the time which I want to read. Yet an old book has something for me which no new book can ever have -- for at every reading the memories and atmosphere of other readings come back and I am reading old years as well as an old book." -- L.M Montgomery.

Waiting On Wednesday (4)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming books whose releases are being eagerly awaited. Bloggers are encouraged to join in and post about the book(s) they're looking forward to reading. Here is mine: 

STRUCK, by Jennifer Bosworth

Expected publication: May 8th 2012, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR

Synopsis: Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her. 

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities, populated by millions of homeless. Downtown is a wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the attendees drawn to the destruction by a magnetic force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power in the wake of the disaster, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing prophecies. They know she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the worse storm that is yet to come. 

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but he’s hiding a more sinister truth. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must unleash the full horror of her strength to save them all.