Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Geek Girl Witter: Is Every Longer Book Longer Than Shorter Books?




Okay, I admit the title might be a tad bit boggling. But that's just my state of mind after two big tests (History and Geography, right after one another lest we could regain our sanity). What I mean is that to me, some shorter books take longer to read and feel longer than certain longer books. Somewhat better but still not pefect, huh?



Last month, I read We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. It's a relatively short book, tiny on the outside, 228 pages on the inside. Yet, it took three days for me to read it even though I spent a respectable amount of time reading in those three days, I wasn't alone, other reviewers agreed that it felt longer than it actually was.

Then there is The Book of Ivy, a brilliant dytopian I just finished. Now, this one is - while not giant - a thicker piece of my collection. It has a total of 304 pages - 400 in Kindle Edition -, yet I plowed through it in one and a half day. Despite barely having time to read.

I, personally, put it down to the pacing whatsoever. If the pacing is fast, I'll read faster. It's like, instead of me taking up the words, the story drags me on. Then again, The Book of Ivy can't really be labeled fast paced. Not for the majority of the book. Here comes in the size and type of the font. I know, it might sound strange first, silly even, but there are some fonts my eyes process easier than other. And of course, with bigger fonts, I don't have to strain to be able to make out the letters.

There are other, more marginal aspects that have an impact on my reading pace, such as, my mood, how tired and/or sleepy I am, the nature of my surroundings, etc., but I find these two above the most influental. Anyway, I used regard it as a sort of "race". I felt I was less if I read slower than other bloggers. Dumb me. Now, I know it's about fun. It's not a competition. Same with the numbers. And since I realized this, I enjoy both blogging and reading so much more.


What influences your reading pace?

Rethought: How to Handle Negative Reviews about your Fav Books?

Rethought is a weekly feature here, on Rebook424, where I discuss bookish and not so bookish topics.


Sometimes, when I obssess over a book very much, I like to look up reviews about it. Okay, let's rephrase that. I'm more likely to look up reviews about books I'm obssessing over. I know, reviews are primarly for helping us decide whether a certain book's worth our precious reading time or not, however, since the people in my proximity don't often read the books I do, I love seeking out fellow fans and then fangirl together. Because it's an awesome feeling to talk out every little adorable detail, isn't it?

But what if in lieu of another fan, I stumble upon somebody who wasn't far as fond of the book as I was? Well, that can put me off pretty badly on occassions. I tend to be quite blinded to a book's flaws once it wins me over, while the less-fan folks not only point out these wrongs, but they do it reasonably which makes it even worse as I can't help but start to notice and admit what they brought up against the book. 


Honestly, I think both reactons are normal and common. If we adore something, we are more lenient on its mistakes and the other side, who can think clearly and objectively, finds the problems. It's normal and I believe both opinions are needed in order to get a whole picture about something, in this case a book. Yet, this hypothesis doesn't help when the occurence kicks in.

So what to do to avoid this mini break-down from out favorites? The easiest way would be to not read reviews about them. But of course sticking our head in the sand is not an option under any circumstances. Not when a so-called "minor" bookish problem like this is concerned (because bookish problems are not minor, duh), or a more severe incident such as an inconvenient misunderstanding is. I have to confess, I haven't figured out a working procedure yet. I usually try to just not take it to my heart and forget about it. After all there's no accounting for taste. But in reality, it's not that easy. I can't help, but - as I've already said - start noticing what they reviewer pointed out and it hits especially hard when the book indeed has many faults. However, in most of the cases I still can enjoy it. If it's not full of those wicked faults of course, but still. And in fact, I even gain some advantage from the negative review; it brings me back to the ground and so I can give you more accurate, less biased opinion about the book.


Let's discuss!


What about you? Does it put you down if other are less enthusiastic about a book you fall for? If so how? What's your suggestions to prevent/cure it?

YA Book Releases Next Week (July 28th - August 3rd)


Kalona's Fall: A House of Night Novella

PublisherSt. Martin's Press
Publication date7/29/2014
Series: House of Night Series , #4
Pages160
Age range: 13 - 17 Years

Synopsis:

With more than 12 million books in print, rights sold in almost forty countries, and more than three years on The New York Times bestseller listreaching as high as #1the House of Night series is an international publishing sensation. Now, the excitement continues as the Cast mother-daughter duo shares the back stories of a few of the House of Night's most importantand mysteriouscharacters.In KALONA'S FALL, the shadows in Kalonas past will finally come to light We will learn about the winged immortal's secret history and discover how he went from being the Goddess's Warrior and Guardian to her enemy and betrayer. Did Darkness taint Kalona as it did Neferet, or has the powerful immortal always preferred power over honor, and control over faith? This novella will be crucial to fans' understanding of Kalona, before his role in the explosive final installment of the House of Night, REDEEMED coming in October 2014

Amazon  I  Barnes&Noble + Nook  I  Kobo  I  Abebooks  I  TBD  I  IndieBound

Participating in 2014 Book Blogger Summer Reading Program!


summer-reading-logo-clear-background


   




What a coincidence that just today was I thinking about how to do reading during the summer. I ususally always read on the bus and metro, and in school breaks and I read very little if anything at home. Now, the problem is that I don't travel a lot during the summer nor do I go to school (which is definitely not a problem at all in fact) therefore there's the question when to read? Or rather, how to get away from the computers tight grip so I can read? However, with finding this challenge, I'll have to figure it out, and I'm so happy to do so.

Moreover, there are many books on my TBR list that I've wanted to read for ages, but there was always something else. In resolving, I put my summer list full of these books, so no escape for me anymore. :D

And finally, participating in a challenge is something I've wanted an planned to do ever since I became a book blogger. It's on my Book Blogger Bucket list. So yaaay!!!

Bottomline: It's gonna be so much fun! And if you want to join, check out Katie's blog.



June






The Lady Astronomer  21947452  18775248    15839932    10507293 






July 






 19004793   12812550   19194602    Reason to Breathe (Breathing, #1)
21524224    13418925


20637448    16101128



August


Opposition (Lux, #5)
21948123
186212001021534921845621     

18759524      17158976




(Sorry for the messed up picture arrangement. Sometimes I just can't tame blogger.)



Cheers




Sunday Post #9





The Sunday Post
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme



Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Next Week YA Book Releases (May 26 - June 1)






The Girl with the Windup Heart (Steampunk Chronicles Series)
I'm so excited about this week's releases! There are such books on this list like City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare and Take Me On (Pushing the Limits #4) by Katie McGarry. Can't wait to hold them in my hands. ^^






Publisher
Harlequin
Publication date5/27/2014
Series: Steampunk Chronicles Series , #7
Pages400
Age range14 - 17 Years



Synopsis:





1897 London, a final showdown is about to begin

London's underworld is no place for a young woman, even one who is strong, smart and part-automaton like Mila. But when master criminal Jack Dandy inadvertently breaks her heart, she takes off, determined to find an independent life, one entirely her own. Her search takes her to the spangled shadows of the West End's most dazzling circus.

Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison, and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks under the hellish torment, The Machinist will claim his powers and control of the Aether itself, and no one in either world will be safe—especially not Finley Jayne and her misfit band of friends.

Finley plunges headlong into the Aether the only way she knows how, by temporarily dying. But she cannot parry The Machinist's maneuvers for long. To defeat him for good, Griffin will have to confront his greatest fear and finally come face-to-face with the destructive power he wields.

1897 London, a final showdown is about to begin

London's underworld is no place for a young woman, even one who is strong, smart and part-automaton like Mila. But when master criminal Jack Dandy inadvertently breaks her heart, she takes off, determined to find an independent life, one entirely her own. Her search takes her to the spangled shadows of the West End's most dazzling circus.

Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison, and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks under the hellish torment, The Machinist will claim his powers and control of the Aether itself, and no one in either world will be safe—especially not Finley Jayne and her misfit band of friends.

Finley plunges headlong into the Aether the only way she knows how, by temporarily dying. But she cannot parry The Machinist's maneuvers



Pre-order viaBarnes&Noble + Nook  I  Amazon  I  Abebooks  I  The Book Depository  I  Indigo  I  Kobo  I  Alibris  I  iTunes  I  IndieBound


#IReadYA - I'm in! + YA recommendation

Hi y'all! Happy I Read YA week! Some of you might have anticipated it as much as I have, but for you whom didn't know about it, this is a little celebration of our beloved Young Adult genre (not indeed a genre more like a group of age for books, but that's too long to fit the sentence comfortably) organized by This is Teen. It's from May 19th to 23rd and ones who participate create fun posts about YA books every day during it. You can follow it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Instagram or all, OR you can join the fun like me.

I'm a day legging behind, boy was last day busy, but I'm not deterred by that and I'm going to post yesterday's post here and join today's challenge on Twitter.

Sunday Post #8 + Book Haul












The Sunday Post
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme



Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

7001102
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication:  October 6th, 2009
Series: The Maze Runner
Pages: 375 (Paperback)
             329 (Kindle Edition)
             374 (eBook, Hardcover)


Add to Goodreads
Purchase viaAmazon
                           Barnes&Noble
                           Kobo
                           iTunes


Synopsis:



Imagine waking up one day in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. And no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids -- the Runners -- venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit from this hellish place. So far, no one has figured it out. And not all of the Runners return from their daily exertions, victims of the maniacal Grievers, part animal, part mechanical killing machines.

Thomas is the newest arrival to the Glade in this Truman-meets-Lord of the Flies tale. A motley crew of half a dozen kids is all he has to guide him in this strange world. As soon as he arrives, unusual things begin to happen, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's unable to make sense of the place, despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. What is this place, and does Thomas hold the key to finding a way out?



Rating   

YA Book Releases Next Week (May 5 - 11)

Only EverythingPublisherSimon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date5/6/2014
Series: True Love Series , #1
Age range12 years
Pre-order: Barnes&Noble  I  Amazon







Synopsis:






High school romance is tough—even for a bona fide love goddess. Can Cupid succeed as a mortal matchmaker?
When Eros (aka Cupid) is expelled from Olympus for defying Zeus after falling in love with Orion, she is banished to what she believes to be hell. We call it New Jersey. If she ever wants to go back to the comforts of her old life, she will have to find love for three couples—without using her powers.
Eros, now calling herself True, immediately identifies her first project in Charlie and believes finding him love will be a piece of cake. Charlie is new at school and eager to break out of his old image of band geek, so it’s lucky for him when he falls in with the right crowd on his first day. But music is still his passion. That is, until he meets Katrina...
Katrina is floundering after the death of her father and takes refuge with a boy who, while not entirely supportive, will be there when she needs him, unlike her mother. Too bad True thinks any girl Charlie talks to is perfect for him. Can she get out of her own way and help Charlie and Katrina connect, or will she be stuck in New Jersey forever?

Top Ten Tuesday (3) - Top Ten Books If You Like Doctor Who


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. It features a different topic every week, when you can share your Top Ten Books in the certain aspect.

Sunday Post #5



The Sunday Post
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme



Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Hyped Books I Haven't Read (Not On My TBR list)













Yesterday I posted the hyped books (meaning: books that most of you know because they are all over the web-world and most of whom have read them are fond of them) that I haven't read, but on my TBR list. I promised that I'll post books that are NOT on my TBR list and here they are. (It doesn't mean it's a bad book [there isn't really such thing anyways] it just means that it didn't pique my curiosity/not my thing)



793399
Add to Goodreads


6068551
Add to Goodreads




5056084
Add to Goodreads



18660669
Add to Goodreads




8709527
Add to Goodreads



6644117
Add to Goodreads




So these are the ones. Though it can change yet. I'm open if you would willing to try to convince me. :)

ARC Review: On the Edge of Humanity by S.B. Alexander

I just signed up to Book Blogging a few weeks ago and started looking for ARCs instantly (as well as for challenges and memes). I soon found one that seemed rather intriguing, a vampire story. I'm usually a bit cautious with vampire stories, because I do love them, but there are only a few really good one, however, since it's not the kind of ARC that comes before publication, it actually was published in 2012, I could read a few reviews on Goodreads. Most of them were quite content, the uppermost one said she wasn't a fan of vampire stories but had loved this one. Well, unfortunately I can't share the love.



Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires
Publisher: - (Indie)
Publication: December 28th, 2012
Series: Vampire SEALs
Pages: 324

Format: eARC
Source: Book Blogging

Add to Goodreads

Purchase via: Amazon
                            Barnes&Nobles
                             Nook
                             Kobo
                             Book Depository


Synopsis:



Sixteen-year-old Jo Mason is lost in a world where traipsing from one foster home to another is normal. She hates her life, she hates school and on most days, she hates living. If it weren’t for her twin brother Sam, she may already be dead.

Her normal world shifts one hundred and eighty degrees when she discovers her own blood tastes like candy and her eyes change colors like a mood ring. On top of that, her eyesight seems to be failing when she spies an otherworldly man sporting bloodstained canines trying to strangle a cop. The developments are shrouded when Sam goes missing between Anger Management class and History class.

She’s called to the principal’s office to meet Lieutenant Webb London, a Navy SEAL who is part of a secret team of natural-born vampires. His mission is to protect the twins from an evil cartel, but he’s too late. With Jo now under his protection, his team searches for Sam.

However, finding and rescuing Sam from the evil cartel may be the easy part. Jo learns she carries a dormant vampire gene that, if activated, could save him. As her normal world fades even more, pushing her closer to the edge of humanity, Jo must decide if her human life is more important than her twin brother.

With time as her enemy, she struggles to make a life-changing decision for both her and Sam.



Rating 

How Do I Pick My Readings?

It's not an easy exercise to decide whether to add a book to our already 100+ TBR list or which book to get off it next. I myself have over 200 books waiting for being read and sometimes it would be great to just read all of them at the same time, but unfortunately that would not be a good idea for several reasons. :) It's just that there are so many intriguing books and we have to pick one or two tops, furthermore by the time we read it the list has thickened with ten more! So have do I fish one of the Goodreads sea?




1. I read the synopsis:








Never would have guessed, have you? :D Of course I start with reading the synopsis and try to decide whether the story is interesting for me or not. It's an important step for me, but I never choose only based on this, especially that there are some very scant ones.



2. I read a positive and a negative review








It's very important not to read only one side. The best is to read as many review as possible and necessary to get the whole picture, but if I'm lack of time, I always at least read a longer positive and negative review, looking for aspects such as:



- What did they like/dislike in the book?
- How was the world building?
- What were the characters like?
- Was the author's style/writing good?




Every person is different and there are traits that don't bother some people whereas it do others so I also take thoughts on how much a trait would bother or not bother me.




3. I seek out an excerpt








Lately I've always read if I found an excerpt from the book and I did spare myself from a book I wouldn't have liked. Because although the first pages do not tell you how suspenseful the plot would be, yet you can conclude certain things, for instance the author's writing's style which is, at least for me, is a relevant aspect, and it definitely tells you about a bit how good the book can be expected to be. Moreover, you learn some useful information like; whose POV the book is in? All in all, this is something I would recommend you to do.




What about you? How do you pick your next reading?