Friday Reads: January 31, 2014

All my books are packed because I'm moving tomorrow.  Lucky for me, my kobo ereader is still out and I even have an app on my phone to read.

Although I won't continue with Shatter Me by Tehereh Mafi (because it's a physical book), I'm going to continue/ try to finish  The Edge Of Never by J.A Redmerski.

I did purchase a lot of ebooks this week so I'll probably fly through this book to get to those.  I like to have only one physical and one ebook going at a time. 

What do you plan on reading this weekend?

Happy reading!

Sarah

Book Review: Alice In Wonderland (Graphic Novel)

Alice In Wonderland (Graphic Novel)

Written by: Rod Espinosa

Publisher: Dark Horse

Release Date:  February 18, 2013

Pages: 128

Description:

Lewis Carroll's classic tale Alice in Wonderland is adapted to comics by Rod Espinosa (The Courageous Princess, A Christmas Carol: The Night That Changed the Life of Eliza Scrooge).

The curious Alice follows a flustered white rabbit to a magical land of talking animals, evil queens, and enough riddles to strain any logically inclined brain. It's all here: a hookah-smoking caterpillar, a mad hatter, potions to drink, cookies to eat, and a Cheshire cat. Alice discovers that Wonderland may be a fascinating place to visit, but you don't want to live there...

My Thoughts:

I decided to add this to my Kobo e-reader and read this rather quickly.  I've never read a graphic novel before.  I really enjoyed this!  The images and colors were great as well as the story.  I actually laughed/ chuckles at a few places.  This version of Alice In Wonderland was enjoyable.  I recommend this as a light, fun, fast read.

Book Review: Zombie Blondes by Brian James

Zombie Blondes

Written By:  Brian James

Publisher:  Square Fish

Release Date: May 11, 2009

Pages:  256

Description:

From the moment Hannah Sanders arrived in town, she felt there was something wrong.
     A lot of houses were for sale, and the town seemed infected by an unearthly quiet. And then, on Hannah’s first day of classes, she ran into a group of cheerleaders—the most popular girls in school.
     The odd thing was that they were nearly identical in appearance: blonde, beautiful, and deathly pale.
     But Hannah wants desperately to fit in—regardless of what her friend Lukas is telling her: if she doesn’t watch her back, she’s going to be blonde and popular and dead—just like all the other zombies in this town. . . .

My Thoughts:

I found this book on bookoutlet.com at a pretty decent price and let's face it, the cover.. The cover definitely was a factor in me picking up this book and of cores because it's about zombies.

I knew this was a more middle grade book and I still wanted to read it.

This book is mostly about the fact that Hannah's been moving from town to town and wants to fit into the popular crowd. Despite her first friends Lucas always warning her to stay away from the cheerleader blondes, she doesn't listen.

I find the book drags on about this with not much mention of zombies in a way you would expect.  Just saying a few "off things" there are about these girls.  It's not until near the last 4-5 chapters where we see action with the zombie as you'd somewhat expect.  I was kind of disappointed.  I did really enjoy the end I the book.  To me though, it took too much boring to get to the fun part.

I have to keep in mind this I meant for a much younger audience than me.  I think if I had read this when I was younger it would have received a better rating from me.

I ended up rating this book 2 out of 5 stars on goodreads.

Book review: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Shut out

Written by:  Kody Keplinger

Publisher:  Poppy

Release date: September 4, 2011

Pages:  273

Description:

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling...

My Thoughts:

I went into this book not reading the description.  I assumed it was about a girl making it on the boys football team and the hardships if guys not wanting her on the team.  Instead it was about a girl tired of the rivalry between the football team and the soccer team because it affected her relationship with her boyfriend.

I very much liked the concept of the sex strike involved in this story and the scenes in the library/ scenes with cash.  This was a great story in seeing how. The girls came together and all the boys came together despite their status/team in the school. I thought it was entertaining.

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads.

This is my second book by Kody Keplinger (the first being The Duff). I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.

Book Review: Never Fade

Never Fade

The Darkest Minds #2

Written by: Alexandra Bracken

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Release Date: October 15, 2013

Pages:  507

Description:

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster. 

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. 

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

My Thoughts:

Initially, I didn't care for this book but that changed. I started this book in November 2013 and ended up finishing in January 2014.

My first impression was "wow this is kind of confusing". (Which lead to me putting it down).  I don't like having unfinished books.  So in January I started reading it again and loved it!

I don't want to give away any spoilers so all I can say is.. go get it!  Once we get situated in the story it's very interesting and action packed. We get to meet new characters and meet up with some old friends. Its a great story with a satisfactory continuation. I can't wait to see how this trilogy ends.

I started this book rating it as a two or three stars but in the end it was a four stars book for me.  The first few chapters before the journey begins made me lower my score.  I think that if I were to reread this, which I know I will, I know I'll love this book even more.

Friday Reads: January 24, 2014

Well this week I've been packing my stuff to move so I haven't been reading much.  Last weekend I started reading Shatter me by Tehereh Mafi. I only got half way through so I'm planning on finishing it this weekend.  If I succeed, I plan on starting the sequel, Unravel Me.

What are you reading this weekend?

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Friday reads: January 17, 2014

I started having a cold on Saturday night and not feeling well all week.  I haven't had a chance to finish Zombie Blondes yet. Ugh!

I still have a lack of energy but I do want to try and push through this book and finish it before Monday.

I'm really thinking of either picking up Shatter Me or the spyderwick chronicles or even a Percy Jackson book.

I'm really leaning towards Shatter Me.

What do you plan on reading this weekend?

Happy reading!

Sarah

Bout Of Books 9.0 wrap up

The Bout Of Books 9.0 read-a-thon is officially over.

I want to thank Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal for creating this neat read-a-thon.   It was definitely low pressure.

I didn't end up participating in the challenges or even in the conversation on twitter. I feel kind of bad about that because I didn't have the full experience of this read-a-thon and didn't enjoy it as much as the summer booktube-a-thon.

The Bout Of Books 9.0 read-a-thon was a success! I managed to read 2 books and start a 3rd and read a total of 607 pages!  That is definitely more than I usually read in a week.

How did you do during the read-a-thon?

Happy reading!

Sarah

Read-a-thon update #7

No reading today. :( I'm sick.

Progress on the week:

Total pages: 607

Books finished: 2

Read-a-thon update #6

Saturday I continued reading Zombie Blondes by Brian James.

I only ended up reading up to page  41. I didn't read too much due to some family time.  Also, this book isn't all that interesting so far.. I expected more but I'll still continue and finish it but it will be a slow read I think.

Total pages read today: 33

Total pages read: 607

Books finished: 2

Read-a-thon update #5

Hello!

Friday I got to start the day fresh with a new book to read.  I was originally planning on reading The Archived by Victoria Schwab but changed my mind at the last minute.

Instead I chose Zombie Blondes by Brian James.

Unfortunately, because of work, I didn't get to read much of anything. I ended up reading the first 7 pages. Yup 7 pages ha ha oh well.

Total pages read so far: 574

Books finished: 2

Read-a-thon update #4

Good morning!  Today, I'd like to share my update for Thursday.

I only read 73 pages of Shut Out by Kody Keplinger.  Although the amount isn't as high as I'd like as a count for the day, I finished a book!

I'm not sure what to read next.  Possibly The Archived by Victoria Schwab.

How are you doing so far with the Bout Of Books 9.0 read-a-thon?

Happy reading!

Sarah

Pages read today: 73

Pages read in total: 567

Books finished: 2

Read-a-thon Update #3

On Wednesday, I didn't get to read very much.  I continued with  Shut Out by Kody Keplinger.  I read from page 106 - 200. Not a whole lot but like Bout Of Books said:

Total pages read today: 94

Total pages read:494

Books finished: 1

Read-a-thon update #2

Ok so first off, I wasn't going to officially join the Bout Of Books 9.0 read-a-thon. However, I just did and am officially #728!! Amazing how many people joined. There's even more on YouTube that joined but never officially signed up like I did at the beginning. Wow!

Anyway, onto my update for day 2.

I finally finished Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken! Now I never have to talk about it again!  I completed from page 351 to 507.

I then moved on to Shut Out by Kody Keplinger.

I looked over onto my bookshelf and saw it was a much shorter book and chose it.  I also loved The Duff. Another book I read from this author just a few months prior. I read half the book this morning up until I had to go to sleep. (106 of 273) The joys of working overnight.  

pages read today: 262

Total pages read: 400

Books finished to date: 1

Read-a-thon update #1

Hello!

This first day of the read-a-thon started for me at 4:30 am. I read for most of the day but got interrupted by a serious family matter.  It became a scary day for me.  So even though I set out to finish Never Fade, well that didn't happen.

Today I ended up reading 138 pages! That's more then I thought I did the the little amount of time I had to read.  I'm excited about that.  The other thing, I finally picked book #2 for this read-a-thon.  I choose to read Shut Out by Kody Keplinger.  I really enjoyed her book, The Duff.  So I'm glad to read this light hearted book next.

Total pages read:  138

Books finished: 0

Happy reading!

Sarah

Bout Of Books 9.0 Read-a-thon TBR

I haven't officially joined the Bout Of Books 9.0 read-a-thon.  However, I'm still participating.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm also not making a TBR (to be read list) because I'm not sure what I want to read.  I do wan to read shorter books though. Books roughly 300 pages or less.  That way I feel accomplished during a read-a-thon and get my count up for my 100 books goodreads challenge for 2014.

I plan on doing reading updates throughout the week. See you tomorrow.

Happy reading!

Sarah

Friday Reads: Jan 3, 2014

What is Friday reads?

I found out it was a hashtag that was started on twitter.  It is where everyone would tell each other what they would be reading on Friday and throughout the weekend.

For this weekend, I just plan on continuing and finishing Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken. 

Is is the second book in The Darkest Minds trilogy. I'm around 120 pages in at this point. I've heard it starts to pick up at this point and just gets better. We'll see.

What are you planning on reading this weekend?

Happy reading!

Sarah

January TBR

For 2014, I have a goal of reading 100 books/novellas. In order to succeed I need to chose 8-9 books a month. Here are my choices this month.

For starters, I want to continue/ finish Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken. I started this book when it was first released.  The start was rather slow and I decided to move on to other books for a while. I think I'm ready to finish it now.

After, I plan on moving on to:

- Snow White by Jacob Grimm. Book illustrated by Camille Rose Garcia

- Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Illustrated by Camille Rose Garcia.

- Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver

- Delirium

- Pandemonium

- Requiem

- Delirium Stories : Novellas that go with the trilogy.

- Annabelle

- Hana

- Raven

- Alex

If I can succeed, that would be 10! Yes,I count novellas in my total.

What do you plan on reading this month?

Happy Reading!

Sarah