in my mailbox.

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme from Kristi from The Story Siren where we get to feature books that we have gotten this week.

For review:

• Tighter by Adele Griffin - thanks to Random House
  

Bought used/bargain books:

• Beauty by Robin McKinley
• Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - so excited to get this! It is BRAND NEW, for only $3!
• 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
• Fairest by Gail Carson Levin
  

What books did you all get this week?? Link up. And let me know if you have read or are planning to read anything that I got this week. And as always, happy reading!

Beauty by Robin McKinley

Genre: Fairy tale re-telling
Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:This was a lovely fairy tale re-telling for sure! I immediately fell in love with the story of Beauty and the Beast all over again. This is mainly because the author, Robin McKinley, was able to re-create an old, familiar tale with such respect and honesty while still being able to add her own personal touches to make it his own. One example of this would be what she did with Beauty's characterization. Her personality and ways were so on-point; I honestly would not change a thing the author did while re-creating her as a character.

Her prose, also, was quite fluid and flowed effortlessly. I just wanted to read her writing all day and all night, never wanting to stop. I just knew I wouldn't get bored. I also loved the fact that it was perfectly paced - fast enough not to get bored, but slow enough for the readers to appreciate what's going on.

However, there were a few misses for me. At times, I felt as if the author followed too closely to the original tale of Beauty and the Beast. I understand that this is a re-telling and not a "re-hashing," but I sort of expected some kind of freshness and newness to it. I felt like I was reading the short tale instead, all over again, and didn't feel like I was getting anything new from this version.
I also have to say that while Beauty's characterization was great, I thought the Beast's was lacking a bit. I felt like the story went by too quickly - too fast that as a reader, I wasn't able to fully see why we should fall in love with him.

Overall though, despite the minor flaws, I still enjoyed this book a lot. It was such a nice change to read something like this - I literally felt like I was a kid again, reading a classic fairy tale. And just for that, I have to say what McKinley did was superb. After all, at the end of the day, it's the reading experience that truly counts the most.

Thanks to Allie and La Coccinelle for recommending this to me.

where did the bookstores go?

I've talked about this troubling issue a couple of weeks ago - that there are no longer any bookstores near where I live. The closest ones to me (and there's only two of them remaining) are about an hour drive away - definitely not a place I could just visit randomly.

Now I don't even buy books. I rarely do. But to be honest, what I seek and love about bookstores is the experience itself -- actually going in the shops, feeling somehow comforted by being surrounded by shelves and shelves of books. Sometimes, it's just nice being in a bookstore; I think everyone can agree with me - whether you're reading, just hanging out inside, killing time, window shopping, or actually doing some book buying.

I miss being able to do all those. It's bad enough now as it is, but what worries me is the possibility of not having any resources for books at all in the future. Libraries are also having trouble, and so this supports that worry even more. And to think that I live in a fairly big city with other surrounding areas with a huge population.

So now I wonder, is/are your area(s) having this problem too? What do you think about this "crisis?" How do you feel about the possibility of zero book resources in the future? Let me know what you think!

hop hop hop!

Welcome to my blog! If you came here from the Book Blogger Hop over at Crazy-for-Books and Follow Friday from Parajunkee's View, thanks for visiting! This is where I talk, rant, rave, and gush about all things, books!

This week, Jennifer asks, "If you were given the chance to spend one day in a fictional world (from a book), which book and would that place be?"
I wrote about my favorite and not-so-favorite fictional places here, but I think it's a tie between Rivendell (from LOTR) and Hogsmeade (from HP)!

And Parajunkee asks us to put down five quirky things about you.
1. I watch make-up tutorials from Youtube at night to make me sleepy.
2. I hate book creases and folds but don't mind dog-earing.
3. I like putting deli turkey in sweet potato mash.
4. I like to pretend to do some online shopping when I want some retail therapy. I put everything in my "shopping bag" but never actually check out.
5. I own 6 different copies of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - my favorite novel in the Classics genre. I still continue to collect more.

I would love to check your blog out as well, so please leave your link here if you can. Also, visit me on Twitter! Happy Friday, everyone!

rank the HP novels.

I think everybody knows by now; the Harry Potter series are my favorite books of all time. - how many times do you have to keep saying that, Jillian? LOL.
They were after all a huge part of my life growing up, and are pretty much what made me into the reader that I am now. But I do have to say that even though I love them all like crazy, I have ranked them from favorite to 'least' favorite in my head. Secretly, of course.

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7 - The Chamber of Secrets - Don't get me wrong; I really enjoyed this one too, but of course, if I had to rank them in order of favorites, this would be the last simply for the reason that it was the "least" entertaining of them all. Also, I didn't find Ginny at all engaging for some reason at that time. I didn't think she was valuable or significant (LOL!) so it sort of made me wonder why it focused a lot on her too.

6- The Order of the Phoenix - To me, this felt more like a much-needed filler to provide the different back stories and character backgrounds. It also showed a lot of important foreshadowing, so I get that it is a huge part of the series. However, it just wasn't, shall we say, as charming as the rest of the books. (Also, I kind of hated Cho Chang!)

5 - The Goblet of Fire - There were so many awesome things going on here - The Yule Ball, the Tournament, the newly added characters, Cho Chang, Cedric Diggory, Victor Krum, Fleur Delacour... so exciting and incredibly entertaining novel! I was debating whether or not to put this before The Sorcerer's Stone because I truly enjoyed this one so much, but for the reason I'll state for #4, is why I put The Goblet of Fire in 5th place instead.

4 - The Sorcerer's Stone - This technically should be #1 by default, since it is the one that started it all. This was basically the reason that I fell in love with the series. It was the book that set the bar after all. And the discovery of a new series that had the potential to be epic was enough reason to really love this one.

3 - The Half-Blood Prince - Snape was definitely one of my favorite characters in the series. Without him, the entire series just wouldn't be the same. I would hate him, and then love him, and then hate him, and then like him... it was confusing, but it was fun. He was a very important part in the series, and The Half-Blood Prince truly allowed the readers to see that. I loved this book too because I thought it showcased the trio's growth and maturity, after everything that happened in The Order of the Phoenix.

2 - The Prisoner of Azkaban - Lupin. Sirius Black. The Marauder's Map. The beginning of Ron and Hermione's "bickering/hints of romance in the future," Hogsmeade. Pettigrew. Buckbeak. Time travel. The epic confrontation towards the end!
We also get to learn so much more of Harry's background and the Potters' history, plus this was the first book I enjoyed Hermione's character! Oh I really did enjoy this book so much! Anytime I crave for some HP reading in my life, I pick this one. It could be my #1 pick depending on my mood, really. Haha.

1 - Deathly Hallows - Rowling did a spectacular job satisfying every single Harry Potter fan out there with this perfect conclusion. Deathly Hallows answered every question I had, and showed me scenes and events that I wanted to see. As soon as I finished this book, I already knew this had to be hands down, my favorite book in the series, simply because it held so much meaning and value. It was emotional, exciting, entertaining, sad at times; it just was a great end of an amazing phenomenon.

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Okay, your turn! Rank the HP books according to your most favorite-least favorite - if there was even such a thing as "least" favorite, haha. I loved them all, and it was pretty hard to rank them, but I think this is quite accurate. Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Genre: Fiction - science/fantasy, thriller

Rating: 5 stars

Review: Growing up, I was surrounded by dinosaurs. Dinosaur books, toys, figurines, inflatables, computer themed games... mainly because my brother was a huge dinosaur 'enthusiast'. He was only 5-6 or so and he had every single dinosaur name embedded in his head - literally every dinosaur from A-Z. So it was a given that I became somehow interested in them too. When I first saw the film adaptation of this novel as a kid, I was half terrified and half in love.

Years later, I finally managed to read the book by Michael Crichton. I have no idea why I waited this long, but I got to say my first reaction after finishing it was - WOW. It was awesome, awesome, awesome. And yes, better than the movie!

As a reader, I was so excited and entertained that I did not - would not - put the book down. I'd be up late at night reading this one, and couldn't stop.
As a reviewer, it was a dream for me to read. The story line was highly original; as original as any plot line can be. The story had a great mixture of science, action, drama, and adventure and I absolutely loved all these aspects equally. The writing - superb. The only thing that I can think of that might turn other readers off, even though I actually enjoyed those parts, were the detailed explanations of scientific and genetic technology.

Another great thing I loved is that even though we all know the story here is 100% impossible, it didn't seem like a nutcase, if that makes sense. It was still actually believable. That I have to say, is fiction at its best. The author, Crichton, has created a story that have lasted through the years since its publication, and that I believe will continue to astonish future readers as well. Having said that, I highly recommend this novel - definitely one of the best books I have ever read.

Recommendation of the Week: The Forgotten Garden

Genre: General Fiction

When I Read It: 2009

Initial impression: What a beautiful cover! It was what initially attracted me to this novel. It felt a bit like Jane Austen-like, so I was sold. I also was very intrigued with its complex synopsis on the back cover.

Why I Loved It: It's a lovely story, to put it simply. The characters, plot line, and their development were flawless. And the overall feel of the writing was just great; it seemed like such a rich and classic tale - very reminiscent of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It did also have the same Gothic-like aspects from Jane Eyre, which I especially enjoyed as well.

Who would most likely like/love it: Any reader who enjoys a good story that seems to follow some aspects from the Classics and fairy tale re-tellings.

If you've read this book, let me know what you thought of it.

For my official review for this book, click here.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 4.5 stars

Review: I got this book for myself last year for my birthday, May 24, as a gift to myself. However, I didn't get to read it until the past week, and I have to say how happy I am I finally picked it up.

First of all, I really enjoyed the plot line. It's something I haven't heard of before, and it truly was interesting to read about. And the main characters were awesome, especially the main protagonist, Katsa. She is now officially part of the list of strong female characters that I love, along with Katniss, Hermione, and Annabeth Chase.
As for the writing, I thought it was pretty solid; it was entertaining and engaging, and the character and plot development were great. None seemed forced.

While there were very few instances that I thought were a bit anticlimactic, to be honest, I didn't even mind that much just because it was such an entertaining novel. I enjoyed it immensely, and had fun while reading it! I am also definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series, and as far as recommendations go, I highly suggest you check this one out. It's a really enjoyable story full of epic adventures, great action, and strong characters. If it sounds like it's something you'd enjoy, then read it! 4.5 stars!