Follow Friday!

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list.
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

I've been enjoying a long week of no school! I have to say that I've enjoyed this week and I'm not really looking forward to going back to school.

What are your new years book blogging resolutions?

Comment more. I think that's one thing I want to do more of. Book relating things would be to read more books.

Top 10 of 2010

Here are my top 10 books of 2010!! Some books were released this year, others were released last year and some of the books were released many years ago! The last one was my favorite! All links go to Goodread.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

This was a book that I really enjoyed. There were some things that happened that made me think of similar things that had happened in my life a few years ago. I loved Anne's character, especially since she was just acting the way she was! It's was a really good book that I recomend to others.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This was one of those books that made me think of the world that we live in. It talks about some things that are still happening even though this book was published a long time ago. Everyone should definitively read it!

 

  

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

I know this book was published last year but I read it this year. It's no wonder that I loved this book since I love fantasy! I loved the world that Cinda Williams Chima created and can't wait to read The Exiled Queen.

Fire by Kristin Cashore 

I loved this book! I loved how Fire was a character who fought for what she believed in. She had to deal with what others thought of but she didn't give up. Who doesn't like it when the heroine doesn't depend on others?

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

I loved how this book was different than most. It's told from the perspective of a boy and that alone could make me love it. It's not the only thing though, I loved the characters and the writing doesn't show that two are writing the book! It really was a good book!

The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins

I can't believe that it took me such a long time to read this amazing book! Maybe it was because I had been hearing so many good things about it that I didn't want to be disappointed. It didn't matter because this book was simply great!

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

This book was one that I was most looking forward to this year. Let me say that I loved it! Simone Elkeles is simply an amazing writer. Plus we get to read about hot boys who speak Spanish! An added bonus is that I can understand perfectly what they're saying without having to look it up!

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

All my life I've heard of Edgar Allen Poe but I had never read a book that used him. This was a unique book that made me want to know more about him and read more of his poems. And Varen! I loved that he wasn't the typical boy that are in most books! I can't wait to find out what happens next!

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

I love when authors write books with magic in them. So this was one book that I couldn't wait to read. It had everything that I like: magic and a handsome wizard! I loved how the relationship between Sydelle and North changes from hate to love!

Last Sacrifice Richelle Mead

The whole series really but I thought I should just put the last book. Since I first read Vampire Academy I knew I would love the rest of the books and I'm happy to say that I did. Everything about the books is great! The characters, the plot and everything else it has! I can officially say that it's my second favorite series, after Harry Potter of course!

So what do you guys think? =)

Dark Flame by Alyson Noel

Title: Dark Flame

Author: Alyson Noel

Published: June 2010

Pages: 320

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis: At the start of this mesmerizing new installment of the Immortals series, Ever is helping her friend Haven transition into life as an immortal. But with Haven drunk on her new powers and carelessly putting them all at risk, their friendship becomes more and more strained. At the same time, Ever delves deeper into magick in order to get control over her enemy Roman and free Damen from his power. But when the spell she casts on Roman backfires, she’s bound to her deadliest enemy. Frantic to reverse the spell the moment the moon enters a new phase, she finds her efforts are fruitless—there’s a strange, foreign pulse coursing through her, one that propels her toward Roman. Desperate to break free of this terrible curse before Damen or the twins can discover what she’s done, she turns to Jude and delves deeper and deeper into dark magick, ultimately risking everything she knows and loves—including Damen.

It may include spoilers from previous books and this one!!

Review: I feel that the story is being dragged on too much. The book book starts off with Ever trying to explain to Haven what has happened. She of course doesn't really care what happens and wants to use her powers for selfish things. Throughout the book Ever continues to make terrible choices and not trust those that she should be trusting.

Sometimes I feel like punching Ever. She makes some of the worst mistakes that she could possible make. All throughout she keeps keeping secrets from Damen, secrets that make things worse than they already are. She wants to find the antidote and obsesses so much on it that her actions turn out to hurt herself and others. I was glad to see that at the end of the book she had changed her way of thinking.

The ending was something that kind of shocked me but at the same time I could see it coming. It complicated things even more than they already were but I just think that the thing about not being able to touch is just getting too much.

I will keep reading this series because I really want to know what happens. This book wasn't the best out of the whole series but I'm hoping that the books will get a bit better.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge Activity #9: Easy Christmas Activity

For this activity this is what we're supposed to do:

1. Since today is the 25th, turn to page 25 in the book you are reading right now.
2. Count down the page to line 25 and tell us what the sentence says. If there is a partial sentence or word in that line you can leave it out. If you don't have 25 lines on your page just choose the 7th line (2+5=7).
3. Be sure to post a picture of your book along with your sentence

I'm reading Dark Flame by Alyson Noel and Accomplice by Eireann Corrigan.

"Face the fact that my aunt/legal guardian is falling hard for my history teacher." - Page 25

"It was just an offhand comment, hushed in the rest of the well-behaved riot brewing around us." - Page 25

Follow Friday!

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list.
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

What are you plans for this fabulous day?

I will be helping my mom cook and then eating. We'll have family over so I think it'll be a good day!

If you're visiting, make sure you leave your link and I'll make sure to visit your blog!

Holiday Break Reading Challenge Activity #7: Busting Bookshelves

For this activity we're supposed to show our bookshelves. I've been wanting to do this for a while so I was happy to do it. I only have one bookshelf that is small but I think I may need to get another one.

Here is a picture:

Books on the first shelf:

Books on the second shelf:

Books on the third shelf:

Books that don't fit and have to be on a chair:

The top of my bookshelf:

The top one is how it usually is and the one at the bottom is what is under the plastic hat. It's all the swag I have.

I actually keep my books well organized (most of time!). They're in ABC order by authors' last name so I guess my bookshelf isn't as messy!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Published: 1960
Pages: 323
Rating: 5/5
Summary: One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many distinctions since its original publications in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize, has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie. Most recently, librarians across the country gave the book the highest of honors by voting it the best novel of the twentieth century.

Review: When I first started reading this book I didn't know what to expect. I had heard a lot of this book and knew that it had been banned in some places.

I didn't really understand the beginning but as I read I started to understand what the book was about. This book covers a lot of what was happening in the country during the 1920s and 1930s. We get to see how the people of Maycomb county don't treat the people of color the way they should. All book is basically going the story of how Jem broke his arm.

The narrator is a little girl named Jean Louise that goes by Scout, who is the sister of Jem and daughter of Atticus. Even though she was so small she knew that what others were saying about her father was wrong and wanted to stand up for him. At the time that the book takes place it isn't common for girls to act the way that Scout does but I'm sure if people were doing the wrong things they were doing I would've acted like she did.

Jem was a good brother. He was sometimes mean to Scout but in the end he was always looking out for her. Since he was bigger he understood more of why the people reacted the way they did even if he didn't agree with them. All through the book he goes through changes and at the end the reader can see that he will become a great man just like Atticus.

Atticus was the one that made the story the way it is. He had to stand up for what he believed in. Others in Maycomb talked about how he was just ruining himself for helping an African American, even his family. I think that he showed how there were some people who weren't in agreement with what most people thought but at the same time they couldn't do much to change things even though they tried.

This was an amazing book that had much in it. It talked about so many things that may still be happening today in this country even after so many years. I liked how at the end Atticus was willing to do what was right even if it meant his family would be affected. This is definitively a book that I think everyone should read.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge Activity #6: Waiting On Wednesday

Today's activity is a Waiting On Wednesday post. WOW is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that you can't wait for.

Goodreads Description: When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.
 
It sounds like a very good book with a girl who is willing to fight. It definitely sounds like a book I would read!
 
I have a question: does anyone know if the official cover is the one with the silver font or the the one with the pink?

Holiday Break Reading Challenge Acitvity #4: Find a new blog

For this activity we're supposed to find a new blog. I was looking through the Book Blogger Hop links and came across this one. It's Midnight Bloom Reads and it's run by Liz. I really like the background and of course the header!

Make sure to stop and visit her blog if you haven't already!

If you want to know more about the Holiday Break Reading Challenge you can just click here!

Holiday Break Reading Challenge Activity #1: Goals

So I just found this challenge and decided that it was something that I would really benefit from. It runs from December 17, 2010 through January 2, 2011. If you would like to find out more about it you can just click here.

The first activity is to set some goals. Here are some of the things that I really want to do:

• Read More!!
• Seriously guys. I haven't been reading much and I'm hoping that this break will help me to read more books.
• Since I'll be reading some books (hopefully!) I would like to write some reviews and not wait until I forget something.
• Put my reviews on Goodreads. I haven't been doing this lately so I'm hoping that I'll be able to do it.
• Update my blog!

If anything else comes I'll make sure to put it here!

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday

Book Blogger Hop is a fun meme hosted by Crazy For Books. Enter your link and go hop around other blogs that are out there, ready to be discovered!

Since this is the last week of school for the year, I haven't been doing much! Hopefully I can get some reading done in the next 2 weeks of no school!

What do you consider the most important in a story: the plot or the characters?

Well, when I pick up a book the plot is something that makes me want to read the book. Once I've started reading it, I think it's important that the book has good characters.

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list.
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

Carmel is studying web design... What did you study in college, or are currently studying and did it lead to your current 9 to 5 or are you doing something totally different?

I can't really answer that since I'm still in high school! I don't really know what I want to study, hopefully I'll find out soon!

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Title: Last Sacrifice
Author: Richelle Mead
Published: December 2010
Pages: 597
Rating: 5/5
Summary: Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules.

She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir Princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardian to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose- for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back… and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your life is about saving others, who will save you?

It may contain spoilers from previous books!!

 
Review: I've read all the books on the series before this one so was really excited when I finally got my copy and started reading!

The book starts off just days after where Spirit Bound ended. Rose has had to be in a cell where she is waiting for her trial to take place. Soon she escapes with the help from others and goes on a journey to do something that is very important. During this journey many things happen that change the way things are.

As always Rose is someone who doesn't let anyone take control of her. She hates not doing anything and decides that she must help Lissa get her vote at Court. I loved her throughout the whole book! Some of the things she did may not have been the best things but that's just the way Rose is.

Lissa has to stay at Court and deal with the things that are going on there. She's also trying to find out who killed the Queen to clear Rose's name so she can return. While she's at Court things happen that may actually benefit others.

Dimitri. What can I say about him? I loved that he was so much more in this book than in the last one. He has to go through many stages to get to the point where he forgives himself for the things that he did in the past.

I've never been a big fan of Adrian, though I have to say that he was becoming a better person. He was there when Rose needed him and helped her through many things. The conversation he had with Rose at the end was kind of sad, especially the way he left.

I loved the ending, especially since it had its happy side as well as a part that wasn't so happy. Richelle left a few question that I hope will be answered in the spin-off series. Overall, the book (and the other books in the series) was amazing and definitely one that everyone should read!

In My Mailbox (32)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. I'm so happy that I got one of the books I was most waiting for!

Bought:
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

For Review:
The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday

 

Book Blogger Hop is a fun meme hosted by Crazy For Books. Enter your link and go hop around other blogs that are out there, ready to be discovered!

This whole week I've been waiting so it could be Friday and get my very own copy of Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead!! I didn't want to get the day it came out so I could enjoy it and so that I actually did my homework!

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list.
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

Do you have an under-noticed author that you think we should all know about?

Well, I read a lot of books by authors who I consider people know about but there are some that I think people don't really know. One of them is John Flanagan. He writes the Ranger Apprentice series and I think they are really good books!

If you're visiting, make sure you leave your link and I'll make sure to visit your blog!

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Title: Animal Farm

Author: George Orwell
Published: 1945
Pages: 139
Rating: 4/5
Summary: A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality, thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned-a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible. When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell's masterpiece have a meaning and message ferociously fresh.

Review: The book starts off with the animals on Manor Farm Old Major gives the animals a lecture on the way they are being treated. This leads the animals to have a rebellion against Mr. Jones.

The animals all have different personalities. Some of them think that they are doing something good while others think that it's a waste of time. The pigs are the ones who tell others what to do while they sit back and do nothing.

I know that this book represents the Russian Revolution (you can thank my English teacher for this). I could see how Napoleon was treating the animals unfairly ad how it seemed that none of the animals felt this. Throughout the whole book the animals had to do what they were being told and slowly everything changed.

I liked how the book ended, showing what was really happening. I think it showed how the animals had fallen into the same steps that the humans had, which is something that they didn't want to. This was a really unique book considering the character are animals who are in charge of themselves.

In My Mailbox (31)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. I'm glad that for the last 2 weeks I've gotten some books!

Bought:

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

For Review:

Through Her Eyes by Jennifer Archer

What did you get this week?

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday

Book Blogger Hop is a fun meme hosted by Crazy For Books. Enter your link and go hop around other blogs that are out there, ready to be discovered!

This week has been kind of busy since my dad is going to Mexico. Thankfully I had some time to finish a book! I'm actually proud of myself that I managed to finish it!

What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?

I actually can't think of one! I'll pretty much enjoy every book that I read. Some books more than others but I still enjoy them. =)

 

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list.
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

What do you do besides reading / reviewing as a hobby??

As a hobby? Well, I don't do much but I do play golf. I don't do it often but I really enjoy it!

If you're visiting, make sure you leave your link and I'll make sure to visit your blog!

Annexed by Sharon Dogar

Title: Annexed
Author: Sharon Dogar
Published: October 2010
Pages: 332
Rating: 4/5
Summary: What was it like hiding in the Annex with Anne Frank? To be with Anne every day while she wrote so passionately in her diary? To be in a secret world within a world at war--alive on the inside, everything dying on the outside?
Peter Van Pels and his family have lost their country, their home, and their freedom, and now they are fighting desperately to remain alive.
Look through Peter's eyes.
He has a story to tell, too.
Are you listening?

Review: I love historical books and even more if I know that it actually happened.
 
This book is basically what happened while they were hiding to survive but in the point of view of Peter van Pels. It goes through the 2 years that they spent hiding and what he thought. Keep in mind that the book is fiction and that things inside the book didn't actually happen.
 
We may all know the story of Anne Frank but I think was a very creative idea to write a book from Peter's point of view. It gives you an idea of how everyone may have had a different perception of what they were going through.
 
There are pages where Peter is talking to you. He's commenting about something that might have happened and how they may not have know that something might have happened. I thought that these little things made the book much more interesting.
 
I enjoyed this book a lot. Even though I know all of this may have not happened, I think most people would enjoy it. Since I hate when things don't turn out happy I didn't really enjoy the ending but I have to say that it was interesting the way the author did it.
 
I was sent this book for a honest review.