Books I Read This Week

Willow by Julia Hoban

Genre: Young Adult
Source: Library
Review: Still writing.

Seven months ago, Willow was driving the car that took both her parents' life. Stricken with this event, she finds solace and refuge with a metal blade.
Cutting is the only way for her. She is unable to stop, as it gives her an escape, though temporary. And then she meets a boy named Guy, and maybe -- just maybe -- he can teach her how to change everything.

The Midnight Escape by Alice W. Flaherty
Genre: Non-Fiction/Psychology
Source: Gift from someone
Review: Still writing.

This is an interesting non-fiction book that is written by a neuroscientist and a writer. The book is mainly about 'the drive to write, writer's block, and the creative brain.' The author looks into this with her research connecting writing&emotion, and writing&brain.



The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure Young Adult
Source: Purchased
My Review: Read it over here.

This is the final book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The long-awaited battle against Kronos and his army is finally here.





Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston
Genre: General Fiction
Source: Library
My Review: Read it over here.

Ted and Elinor is a couple in crisis. They have been through two years of unsuccessful fertility treatments after another. All the stress, heart break, disappointments, and pressure makes their marriage seem like a job. Eventually, everything starts to fall apart between them. But Elinor never expected that her husband will ever cheat on her and resort to an affair with someone else.

I started on:

The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fantasy Young Adult
Source: Purchased

I am halfway through this book, but felt the need to skip it for now. It's not exactly because I wasn't enjoying it, but maybe I wasn't feeling it just yet. I am definitely looking forward to picking this up again though.

Currently Reading

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Genre: Children's Fantasy
Source: Library

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There you have it for this week. I only managed to read 4 1/2 books, but hopefully next week I'll have more time to sneak in some more! How about you? Thanks everyone and happy reading!

Changing previous post!

So if you read my post before this, I listed the books that I read the past week and what I am currently reading. I realized that Sheila of One Persons Journey Through A World of Books already had that meme called "It's Monday! What are you reading?" Ah.. oh well! :) I'm going to head over and delete that entire post, but post a new one with almost the same content. Thank you to Jennifer and MarceJ for clearing that up for me.

hop, hop, hop!

Welcome to my blog! If you came here from the Book Blogger Hop over at Crazy-for-Books, thanks for visiting! I'd love to check your blog out as well, so please leave your link here if you can :)
By the way, you still have 2 days to enter my contest, where I am giving away TWO items! Check it out over here if you'd like! Thanks everyone, and happy Friday!

Happiness Sold Separately

Synopsis: Ted and Elinor is a couple in crisis. They have been through two years of unsuccessful fertility treatments after another. All the stress, heart break, disappointments, and pressure makes their marriage seem like a job. Eventually, everything starts to fall apart between them. But Elinor never expected that her husband will ever cheat on her and resort to an affair with someone else.

Review: Having read and liked Lolly Winston's novel, Good Grief, I picked up this book and expected that I would enjoy this one as well. For starters, I liked the premise. Even though it has been done multiple times before, the author does a great job showing its complex sides by giving it a new twist. It's not the typical, 'husband cheats on wife with hot & attractive mistress,' because in this novel, it's not only the married couple's point of view that is showed, but the mistress's as well -- a very interesting take.
Another good thing about this book is that it is a fast read. It is also, as expected, very well-written. The author writes in a way that her readers get to sympathize and empathize with the characters and their situations. And for a character-driven book, I believe this is crucial. Though I did like and root for most of the characters, I feel as if the author failed to develop them more. To me, they were still the same people as they were from the first chapter. There's no growth or maturity. Now I don't know if I like that very much. If you read Good Grief, I have to admit the character and plot development there was much cleaner than in here.
Another negative aspect about this book is its ending. I will warn you now, if you do not like ambiguous endings, you should probably skip this. I for one, was left a bit unsatisfied. I felt as if there was so much build up in the story and then -- bam -- it's done. There was no chance to give a more 'proper' or appropriate conclusion. As I think about this though, maybe that is the point of the novel -- that there's always loose ends and no perfect endings. I do get that, and I appreciate the author's purpose, but maybe like I said, the ambiguity was just not for me.
To sum up this review, I have to say that overall, this is a good read and is well worth the time. For me, I did not like the ending. Maybe if the author tweaked and changed it more a bit and gave more of a direct conclusion.. maybe it would have been better.

Wannabe Writers (1)

I just discovered this wonderful meme, so this will be my first time participating. I'll be looking forward for next week's topic/questions.
Wannabe Writers is a meme by Sarah @ Confessions of the Un-Published. It's a place where writers can ask questions, share stories, and get feedback. Click to find more about how it works here.

Where I am in the writing process:
Beginning. Mostly though, I am still outlining. How I wish I could sit down and write for hours, but unfortunately, this week is not allowing me. I can't wait for Saturday, when I usually have the whole day to myself and can focus more on getting things done.

My current problems:
No big problems for now, but I guess the main one as of this week is actually finding the time to write. I know I have to and want to make time, as there is no other way, but like I said, it's a bit of a struggle. My other problem is trying to form the main character. I don't know the answers to these questions just yet; Who is this person? What is she like? What is she all about? Or maybe it's a he..? I am still on the 'deciding stage' and though I am nervous about this, I am also feeling very optimistic and excited as well.

Sarah's questions this week:

"Character descriptions. How do you describe a characters appearance? And how do you work it into a story without making it sound fake? How much is too much? Why can't I just say "she had blue eyes blond hair" the end? And where do you work it into a story? When your MC (main character) first meets said character? And where do you work this in for your MC? And do you even need to work this in for your MC?"

The best advice I have heard regarding this is the old saying, "Show, don't tell." I feel as though a whole chapter describing how the character looks is unnecessary. I don't want a story -- whether I'm reading or writing -- that has an entire paragraph dedicated to an About Me: What I Look Like segment. I feel as if there is a way to let the readers "see" who this character is and what he/she looks like, without going overboard with the details.
However, I don't want to sound like a hypocrite here, because believe me, I have trouble in this area as well. My main problem would definitely be consistency.
All I know though, is that I try to be as subtle as I can, by offering the reader/audience more than just basic information. Ultimately, what I aim for is for me to be able to let them see for themselves, and for them to create their own images.

Top Ten Picks: Worst Books You've Ever Read

Note: First of all, this post is completely subjective, and I'm already apologizing for the lack of explanation for some of these books. I did this on purpose and have only written a sentence or two, as I am trying not to go overboard with my complains here -- though I might have ended up doing that anyway ;)
Second, I'm not here to disrespect or offend anyone. Seeing as this as a bit of a 'touchy' subject for some, I hope you know these are simply me being very honest about my opinions. After all, we are entitled to our own, right? If I offend anyone, sorry, but that is not at all my intention. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear what you have to say!

Top Ten Picks is a feature here in this blog where I would be posting just about that -- my top 10 picks! Every week, there will be a different and specific topic given. I will then choose 10 of my picks from that given category, create the list, and post them up here!
For this week, I will be listing the worst books I've ever read. So without further adieu, here are my picks, in no particular order:

Top Ten Worst Books I've Ever Read

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
- Hmmm.. If you have the time, please read my "review/rant" here.

2. Citizen Girl by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

- This piece is _________ <-- insert bad adjective/word here. Seriously, there is nothing good about this book, at least to me. I would never ever recommend this to anyone. I'd hate for them to suffer with such a terrible story with terrible characters and mediocre writing.

3. The Madison County by Robert James Waller
- Oh gosh, this is quite funny. I remember a time when my friends and I would pass this book to each other, saying, "You have got to read it! It's horrible!"

4. The Soddit: Or Cashing In Again by A.R.R.R. Roberts

- Let's see what we have here.. a supposedly humorous book making fun of the LOTR series... Now I'm all up for parodies, but when it fails to capture the essence of what it's making fun of, and ends up ridiculous instead, well.. yeah.. I guess this is self-explanatory.

5. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

- This is an odd pick for me. I believe Ayn Rand is a great writer, and I believe people should try to read this at least once. I guess this is just one of those books that you either like or you don't. Unfortunately, I'm the latter. I thought it was boring and the characters were not interesting/redeeming/intriguing/well-developed in any whatsoever.

6. Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard
- This is the epitome of a long and boring book. I think it put me to sleep a couple of times in the past.

7. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
- *bring out the pitchforks! jillian's a twilight hater!*

Okay, first of all, I don't hate Twilight. I do however, hate the undeserved hype that it's getting. I think that is what truly irks me the most! Second, I'm not simply "hating" on it. I read all of them, and while I still don't see anything special about them, I have to admit they were tolerable enough. They were very painful to read, especially with the cliche and corny writing, but I guess it wasn't that painful. However, Breaking Dawn, to me, was just terrible! Actually, terrible is kind of an understatement. The ending of the book was shoved towards the readers -- without explanations or reasons or anything. The writing is mediocre as I have already mentioned, and I see no redeeming qualities whatsoever about Bella. In fact, in my opinion, she is one of the most -- if not the most -- dependent, annoying, needy, self-centered, narcissistic character ever made. Am I supposed to like her? And also..

Warning: Complains may contain SPOILERS

• What is with the whole Jacob-Renesmee thing? Seriously!
• So Bella's a vampire and all of a sudden, she's what, superwoman?
• The ending: No battles, no fights, no deaths? All that preparation for just a boring conversation?! Talk about anti-climactic!
• Who names their kid "Renesmee?!" Please tell me.
  

8. Coma by Robin Cook
- First thing I said when I finished reading this? "You've got to be kidding me..."
This is a book that started off with a lot of promise. It was 'kinda good.' Unfortunately, the ending made everything all go downhill. Sure, Robin Cook can write. Also, the premise is very intriguing. The main character is likable enough. But come on.. what is with that ending?!

9. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

- Maybe it's just me. I really don't like self-help books. This one, especially, was just too much. This is one of those books that preach to no end, and tell you what do or what not do with your life. This is one of those books that say stuff like, "When you're sad, you're not really sad. You just think you're sad.. blah blah blah.." or stuff that don't even make sense like "You look at the burger and you want it, but the truth is, you don't really want it." Oh goodness.

10. Anything written by Ann Coulter
- Seriously, have you ever read her non-fiction books? If you have, I think you know exactly why she is here.

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There you have it for my picks for this week!
Again, if you would like to join in, all you have to do is:
1. Do a post similar to this, listing all your answers. You do not have to include pictures or descriptions, but if you would like to do so, feel free!
2. Please sign the Mr. Linky box below with the specific URL of your post.

Can't wait to hear what you all have to say!

a little history on novels that started my book addiction..

Growing up, I was lucky enough to have had parents that supported my love for reading. Though I can not pinpoint the exact age I was when I first started becoming a bookworm, I know for a fact that I was very young then -- around six or so. I still remember the times when my grandparents would take me, my siblings, and my cousins to the bookstore, telling us that we could pick any book we wanted. This happened once or twice a month, and every time, it felt like Christmas.

I am reminded of these fond memories and books while I was at work last week, organizing the shelves in the small library. I saw a couple of classic children's books that I used to love, but what really caught my attention the most were the chapter books. These were the ones that challenged me when I was younger and were the ones that made me feel like a real "grown-up." After all, these were my first real "grown-up" books. Here were just five of my favorites:

What were your favorite books when you were growing up?

Today's Inspiration

This is probably one of the most random posts I have -- and there's been a lot, so this must be something ;) Anyway, it's crazy blogging in the morning. I usually don't, since there's no time during the day, but today is an exception because.. well, it's my day off! I feel incredibly lucky (and excited!) since it's Monday and all and I never really get three day weekends. Even when I'm actually stuck with a lot of errands to try to accomplish today, I surprisingly kind of like it. It's a lot better than laying in bed all day -- which I did yesterday, go figure.
Later on today though, after all the errands, I plan to go to a cafe by myself, drink coffee and tea, read a book, and maybe even get some writing done. Now don't get me wrong, I looovee being around people; friends, family.. It's just that sometimes, it's also nice to treat yourself and have some alone time outside. This plan, at least to me, sounds like a dream just about now. Here's me wishing you either have a productive or relaxing day -- or hopefully maybe even both!

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When I 'previewed' this before publishing, I realized how truly random and odd this post is. Ahh.. please bear with me, haha. Again though, have a great Monday -- with lots of 'you' time or reading time, hopefully? Oh, and speaking of, I'm curious, what book are you devouring these days? I'm reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare right now, about 1/4 through it. Honestly.. I still don't know what I think of it. Have you ever read this? What'd you think of it..?