In order to not give away any spoilers, I'm not going to explain my choices. If you've read them, then you'll understand. So in no particular order (except for number one), here they are:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Title: Life Before Death Author: Matt Frend Source: from author for review
Goodreads Summary: There’s something you need to know - there's more to life than living. This is the conclusion a young woman arrives at following a soul-searching road trip across Australia. Mandi and her friends including Timbo, a young man from Wardaman country, travel through the wilds of the Northern Territory, exploiting what they see as an unjust law – and grow a crop of cannabis. Their spirited ride through late-twentieth century Australian counter culture involves run-ins with the authorities, collaborating with bikers and seeing the underground side of life. Then an event occurs which gives Mandi an insight into the other side of life itself, and provides her with a message. A message, which for Mandi, resolves the ultimate unknown – why are we here?
My Thoughts:
I have mixed feelings about this book. The writing in this book is amazing. But the story moves very slowly and there almost seems to be no point to the novel. While the lack of moving plot made it take me a long time to get through this book. The conversations between Mandi and her best friend Robyn are always interesting and very thought provoking. And there are plenty of these conversations throughout the book that kept me reading despite the slow pace. This book is full of quotes that I have circled so that I'll remember later and great writing, but the actual story seemed a little lacking. However, if you are someone who is into metaphysical and philosophical conversation, this is a book that I would recommend. Just don't go into it expecting a light read and fun plot.
I was tagged by TheDaydreamer3 in this book tag so here it goes:
The Rules:
You must post the rules.
Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.
Tag eleven people and link to them on your post.
Let them know you've tagged them!
TheDaydreamer3's Questions:
1.Who was your last book boyfriend and why? Ron Weasley. He was my first book boyfriend, and I've yet to find someone who can take his place. He may very well be the only book boyfriend for me.
2.What is the last 5 star book you read? Angle Evolution by David Estes (review here)
3.If money were not an issue, what would you buy yourself at this very instant?
A house with a giant library that I could read, blog, and vlog in comfortably. And of course with every book I want to read.
4.What is your favourite movie? A Knight's Tale
5.What is your favourite song this week? I love Luke Conard and Landon Austin's cover of Skyscraper.
6.A book you've read at least 3 times? I've read all the Harry Potter books more than three times. I don't think there are any other books that I've read more than twice though. Unless maybe it was for school. I prefer to read new books when I can.
7.What Tv Shows are you currently watching? Glee, Lost, Doctor Who, Teen Mom, Teen Mom 2, Dexter, Californication
8.Do you like spoilers (Not major one.)? No. I usually don't even read the summary on Goodreads or on the back of the book before I start reading a new book.
9.What's your favourite Genre? Young Adult Fantasy
10.What book/series got you hooked on reading? I bet you're expecting me to say Harry Potter since I've mentioned it twice already, but actually is was Black Star, Bright Dawn by Scott O'Dell.
11.Why did you start blogging? I started my first blog just for my family about wedding plans and such during the year before I got married. (That blog no longer exists). I started my current personal blog in May as a place for me to get my thoughts and connect to the blogger community since I was already reading other blogs at this point. I started this blog in December, because I read a lot and I really wanted to start writing book reviews but they just didn't seem to fit with my personal blog.
My Questions:
1. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring five books with you, what would they be?
2. What's a favorite quote from a book you've read recently?
3. What is your favorite thing about writing a book blog?
4. What is your favorite title to a book ever?
5. What is your favorite cover to a book ever?
6. What book are you most looking forward to reading right now?
7. If you could live in the universe of any book, which one would you choose?
8. Eff, Marry, Kill: three characters from books you've read.
9. What's your favorite book to movie adaptation?
10. What's your least favorite book to movie adaptation?
I order a lot of my books online through either the Amazon or Barnes and Nobles marketplace. One of the major authorized sellers on Barnes and Noble is SuperBookDeals. I bought two books from them on December 26. I have not received them yet. In the process of trying to find their phone number, since they don't respond to e-mails, I found out that this is not an uncommon occurrence. So I thought I would pass this warning on to the rest of you in case you shop in the markplaces like I do. DO NOT use this seller. Chances are, you will never receive your order.
In time for Valentine's Day, I made a video about ten of my favorite love stories from books or tv shows.
The video is in response to Jillian(the other American from Two Americans One Aussie)'s video about her top ten favorite love stories. Check out her book blog here.
I've written my first good novel, the first one that I really want to get published. After considering all my options, I have chosen to self-publish. Of course, this is an expensive project. So I've started a Kickstarter Project to help raise the money to achieve this goal. I need to raise at least $2,000 for this project to get funded. I'd love it if you could help me out. There are some pretty awesome rewards for donating. Interested? Check it out here.
To read a synopsis and excerpt from the novel, click here.
Q: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kick ass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male?
The most important part of a book for me is the character development. If the characters are complex and realistic that will put a book much higher up on my favorite books list.
