Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is an intriguing dual story about a dozen intersected lives. The dual story lines are rather confusing at the beginning of the novel, but eventually they begin to separate into two distinct stories right about the same time that they begin to interweave with each other. This is one of my friend's favorite books--like most favorite book of all time--so there was, y'know, hardly any pressure when I was reading this. And at first, I didn't really like it, so I was worried about having to tell her. However, it did begin to draw me in. I enjoy tortured characters and oh boy is Jellicoe Road full of them. It was a little tricky to learn the Australian slang. I had a few moments where I had to reread the lines a couple times to figure out what was going on. Overall, I quite enjoyed it. It didn't jump onto my favorite books list, but it was very touching. Favorite Quotes: "Is a person worth more because they have someone to gri...

Hello Lovelies!!  So this week is a fill-in-the-blank week and the topic is Top Ten Books if you liked X.  I'm going to use a few of my favorite shows so this is a bit of a getting to know me week as well. If you like... Gossip Girl (as a TV show or a book) then try ... Pretty Little Liars! (Mystery and Girl World!) Community then try... Hyperbole and a Half. (LAUGHS. Oh god, I got a side ache from laughing.) Breaking Bad then try...The Knife of Never Letting Go (Now trust me on this. Who's a good guy? Who's a bad guy? Why are the good guys acting like bad guys?? It's all about the character development on this one.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer then try... Vampire Academy. (Sassy girls and vampires. Sure in one the sassy girls are killing vampires and in the other they're protecting them, but over all it's quite similar.) Warm Bodies (the movie) then try...Reboot (zombies maybe plus feelings!) Pride & Prejudice (the movie or the b...

Hello Lovelies! I'm applying for a scholarship through Direct TV that requests I write a blog post about my favorite type of technology. And let met tell you guys, the internet is it. But Hayley! I can hear you protesting. That's not really a type of technology! Surely they didn't mean the internet. Well, lovelies, I'm taking my stance. The Internet is by far my favorite type of technology. If I was writing on a piece of papyrus with my own blood and it was still going into the internet and I could see other things coming out of the internet, I would be happy. I love connecting with others. I love meeting friends around the world through what we have in common. I've been making friends through the internet since probably seventh grade. I had a few pets on Neopets. I had a fanfiction account on fanfction.net. I had a Myspace page before most others at my school had heard of Myspace. My parents have always been concerned about the amount of time I spend on the int...

I only got 22 pages in to this book before deciding it wasn't for me. I just didn't feel any sort of connection. And since I'm sort of trying to make my way through as many books of mine I can in the next three months, I don't have time for a book I don't connect with. I'm kind of bummed because I really enjoyed Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire  is the first New Adult genre book I've read. I was a little surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did! I was expecting it to be a little too heavy on the romantic build-up and too light on the actual relationship bit, but McGuire does a pretty fair job of balancing the two. I did read it in two days, so I was obviously caught up in the story, but I don't feel like I have a lot to say about it. I didn't like the ending. Like at all. I thought it was terrible. But I would definitely recommend this book to someone looking for a light read that gives you butterflies.

The Selection by Kiera Cass  is a fantastic mix of a falling in love story and political intrigue. When I first heard of this book, I thought it would be similar to Ally Condie's Matched which I didn't particularly enjoy. However, I'm not gonna lie--the cover got to me. I kept seeing it around and it's such a great cover!! I found out my friend owned a copy, and she agreed to loan it to me. I really enjoyed it! I'm a little surprised I liked it as much as I did because it's frequently compared to The Bachelor (a show I don't really like) and The Hunger Games (which I loved! but couldn't see how this could be similar). I can definitely see the similarity to The Bachelor but not so much to the Hunger Games. I think the only reason it's compared to the Hunger Games is that it's set in a dystopian future United States. Other than that the similarities are frankly non-existent (or I guess the fact that she's selected from a "random...

Perfect by Sara Shepard is a great addition to the Pretty Little Liars story line. Perfect sees us rejoining Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer after they believe A has died. They aren't being harassed by texts, and their lives, while still on rocky ground, seem to be turning around. Of course, that relief doesn't last long. I find it really hard to review these books because I don't want to ruin any surprises. And these books just pack surprises in at every chapter. I love this series. I  devour the books--and while they might not be literary genius--frankly I don't ever see a line that I think ooooh I got to mark that line--the books are entertaining. I can't wait to read number 4! Prequel Sequel Challenge Points: 32 + 2 = 34!

TW: self-harm Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn was definitely a novel outside of my normal reading habits. Camille Preaker is the protagonist of this novel--she's a cutter who recently finished a stay at a mental health institution. She's gone back to work and as one of her first major assignments, she's sent back to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri. There's been two little girl murdered and Camille's editor wants to be the first "major" newspaper in on the story. Camille does not have a good relationship with her family. Frankly, Camille does not have a good relationship with herself. She's stopped cutting, but she's turned to alcoholism instead. Camille has no respect for her own body--I mean, I am all for doing what you want with your own body, but only when it isn't a choice made with a self-destructive intent. Camille takes drugs and sleeps with people with the intent to hurt her own body. I wasn't a fan of Sharp Objects. I d...

A Monster Calls is another example of Patrick Ness' magnificent as a writer. Ness begins the book with an introduction stating that the idea for this novel came from (sadly now deceased) Siobhan Dowd. The book centers around Conor, a young boy whose mother is slowly dying from cancer. He's visited by a monster in the middle of the night, but Conor is not afraid. He's afraid of a different monster but one who he refuses to talk about. The new monster is the yew tree in his backyard--Cernunnos who in traditional Celtic lore is a symbol of nature and animals, but I think Ness was probably referring to the Neopaganism view of Cernunos as a symbol of the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Cernunnos tells Conor that he will tell Conor three stories and after that Conor will tell him a story. Each story reflects a situation occurring in Conor's own life. Conor is the only one who can see his monster, so the people around him think he's reacting more or less typicall...

Reboot by Amy Tintera  is an exciting new look at a genre I had written off. Let's face it--sometimes we have things. Like y'know, things that we love (vampires!) and things that we dislike (zombies ughhh) but occasionally there will be exceptions to those rules. Reboot is definitely an exception to my general rule. But let me be honest. Reboot isn't your typical zombie story. There's a startling lack of braaainnss and a surprising surplus of human emotions. Really, the only zombie like bit of Reboot is the fact that all the "reboots" died and then came back some time later. Reboots are supposedly victims of a disease which infects the living humans and then--if they're young--brings them back to life after they've succumbed to it. Adult reboots aren't allowed. They're killed on-site, apparently crazy. But even without "adults" reboots have a sense of hierarchy. Those that were dead longest have the most seniority, and Wren-1...

Hello Lovelies! It's been a zany few weeks for me so I'm just jumping back in as best I can. And this TTT (as always hosted by the Broke and the Bookish ) is one of my favorites! I adore books, but I'm a fangirl at heart, and I love things related to books almost as much as the books themselves! So without further ado, here's a round-up of Ten Things Book Related Which I Would Like to Own THIS  super cool book weight which is clear--meaning you can read through it--and capable of holding down pages on a sunny but breezy day. And hey--for only 20$ I might actually invest in this someday!! Why WOULDN'T I want a snitch necklace? This particular version is available here on Etsy  and it's currently on sale! In case anyone's looking for gifts for my August birthday ;) Not to over load you guys with my devotion to HP, but come on, who wouldn't find this shirt inspiring?? There's lots of other great options at their website . A tea b...

The Dragons of Blueland by Ruth Stiles Gannett  is the last book in the My Father's Dragon trilogy. This book follows the newly released baby dragon home where he finds that his parents and siblings have been backed into a cave by some human hunters. Boris (YES THE BABY DRAGON'S NAME IS BORIS. I might have squealed a little bit by how cute that was when I read it) returns to his friend Elmer to get help in releasing his family. I loved this series. It's quick but delightful. Elmer is inventive and caring and a great role model for kids. I can definitely see myself reading this to any future children in my own life. I'm keeping my entire set of the series. Middle Grade March Count: 19 Prequels and Sequel challenge: +2 and +10 for completing a series = 32 points total! Who was Ferdinand Magellan by Sydelle Kramer  is an excellent middle grade biography. It follows Ferdinand Magellan's life from birth to death, although it primarily focuses on hi...