Sunday, October 21, 2012

My Books in Colour (7): Too many books!


MBiC is a fortnightly post book haul feature, and is inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where my idea came from.

~~~~~

20th of October 2012 ~ Notes

I couldn't help myself and I regret nothing. This is one of the few times I've ever actually purchased more books than I acquired by other means, but it was worth it.

From Monday I'm off to a psychiatric hospital for my mental health nursing placement. I'm freaking scared. Someone who'd already been to this place was given a sensor belt that would sound an alarm if you were lying down (i.e., that someone was attacking you). Well, it should be an interesting two weeks anyway.

...Onto the books!


Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy), click on images to zoom in, all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap




For Review

Thanks to...
Allen & Unwin, Bloomsbury, Random House
(Lara, Sonia and Dorothy, respectively <3)




  1. Breathe (#1) - Sarah Crossan - 11/10/2012 - unsolicited?
  2. The Diviners (#1) - Libba Bray - 01/11/2012 - accepted
  3. Shine Light (#3) - Marianne de Pierres - 01/11/2012 - unsolicited
I can't confirm whether what is inside those beautiful covers are equal for 1 and 3, but I'm reading 2 (The Diviners) right now and it's simultaneously just so amazingly creepy and enchanting... this is a BEAST of a book, which is why it's taking more than a week to finish off. I still have to get Burn Bright (book #1 of 3) and I'm hoping to tackle the trilogy in the summer holidays.

Bought

  1. Annexed by Sharon Dogar
  2. The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
  3. Slide by Jill Hathaway
  4. Pan's Whisper by Sue Lawson
  5. Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
  6. Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris
(2) was acquired through Basement Books [BB]; all others were through All Books 4 Less [AB4L]. For all 8 books, I think it was around $43 total. Not bad... not bad at all. I can't even pick out one that I want to read above the rest! Help me choose. ;) It's great when they show up in the remainder store for $2-5!

I also got two adult books, which are shown in the overall photo, but not in the montage just above. Atonement ($5 - AB4L) and The Language of Flowers ($2 - BB), both I've been wanting to read for AYYYY-HAGES (read that like Norbert from The Angry Beavers).

Won

Thanks to the crazy Saz & Hachette! This book--this book! Has been so well received. I love the spine of this one and the concept of Slated... I just want to know more right now!



Q: What is your favourite bookshop?

I think this has been growing for years, but I'm definitely an online shopper. I rarely ever go to the shops, though I absolutely LOVE spending as much time as I possibly can just browsing through the shelves. I just love doing my research before I take the plunge and buy something. The one major drawback is those FREE SHIPPING* (when you buy $$ or more) hooks.

Anyway, I'm going to have to say my ultimate favourite bookshop is Better World Books. They have great prices (rarely, even better than The Book Depo), they have free shipping AND they work for a greater cause. I can't say I've bought too many books from the shop, but I'm always impressed by their speedy delivery and quality packaging.


Happy reading everybody! Comment below.
Share with me what books you got! :)

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

[Review] Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala


Author:
Holly Cupala
Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 03/01/2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 300
Source: Bought


Violence Sexual ContentProfanity

My Rating:
Amazing!

* On Goodreads I have this posted as 4/5 but I've since bumped it up, mentally. Cupala's sophomore novel moves like a dream, or maybe more like a nightmare, but it has a lucidness to it that's hard to ignore and it still has a hold on me even though I read this book at the beginning of this year.

** I really thought I'd posted this review already, since it wasn't on my to-review pile and I'd already written a review on Goodreads. Ah well. I highly recommend this book. I can see myself re-reading this in the future, call me a masochist (I mean, I re-read If I Stay each year!).

My thoughts

Holly Cupala really enunciates the effect that words can have.

Joy Delamere is suffocating--from the parents who dismiss her with empty words, from the older brother who doesn't have any more words to say to her, from her friends whose words are disapproving and distanced. Most of all though, is Asher's words. His controlling personality means that Joy doesn't need to make her own choices, but that also means that with every word Asher utters, Joy loses a little bit of herself.

DON'T BREATHE A WORD emanates power and strength, while also having resonances of helplessness and fearfulness.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday (3): Authors in Contemporary YA


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

I only ever participate in these when I find the topic really interesting. This week's topic is "Top 10 favorite authors in X genre". I've chosen Contemporary YA, since it's the genre I feel I know the most. I included the books that I have read by each author (in the contemp YA genre), with links to my reviews. All these authors listed in the top ten are on my auto-buy list.


Top Ten Favourite Authors in Contemp YA
(in no particular order)

  1. Holly Cupala [Tell Me a Secret & Don't Breathe a Word]
  2. A.S. King [Please Ignore Vera Dietz, among others]
  3. Kirsten Hubbard [Like Mandarin & Wanderlove]
  4. Jay Asher [Thirteen Reasons Why]
  5. Stephanie Perkins [Anna and the French Kiss & Lola and the Boy Next Door]
  6. Hannah Harrington [Saving June & Speechless]
  7. Laura Buzo [Good Oil & Holier Than Thou]
  8. Tara Kelly [Harmonic Feedback & Amplified]
  9. Jandy Nelson [The Sky is Everywhere]
  10. Gayle Forman [If I Stay & Where She Went]

There is also John Green (The Fault in Our Stars), Lauren Oliver (Before I Fall) and Natalie Standiford (How to Say Goodbye in Robot) that I just have to mention.


  Now how about you? 



Wednesday, October 10, 2012

No Shades of Grey

So I just got home from an interview (so nerve-wracking!) and so I've been relaxing recovering and browsing around and came across this list.


Here are a few others, off the top of my head. 


Can you think of any other purely black/white book covers?


Sunday, October 7, 2012

My Books in Colour (6) - Book Haul


MBiC is a fortnightly post book haul feature, and is inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where my idea came from.

~~~~~

7th of October 2012 ~ Notes

This book haul will be my third last of the year: one more for October (in a fortnight), and another in December when I finally get my proper summer holidays. I talk about that a bit more in the Netgalley section of this post... it's not looking pretty, folks.

Anyway, I got SO MANY GREAT BOOKS! I always have so much fun making these book haul posts, because I get to remember what I've received over the weeks and the initial excitement comes right back to me. :) Even better than that is seeing other peoples' book hauls... I just love to share the excitement!

MBiC minus the Netgalley grabs


Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy), click on images to zoom in, all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap


For Review

Thanks to...
Hachette, HarlequinTeen, Penguin and Random House (via the author!)


  1. The FitzOsbornes in Exile (#2) - Michelle Cooper - 13/03/2012 - accepted
  2. The Lost Prince (#1) - Julie Kagawa - 23/10/2012 - unsolicited ARC *
  3. Orphan of the Flames (#2) - H.L. Dennis - 01/10/2012 - unsolicited
  4. The Mark of Athena (#3) - Rick Rjordan - 01/10/2012 - unsolicited *
A big big BIG thanks to Michelle Cooper. I absolutely LOVED A Brief History of Montmaray (my review) and so I'm looking forward to read on with The FitzOsbornes in Exile. I'm too far behind in The Iron Fey series to take on this spin-off series, so The Lost Prince is up for swap. Same with The Mark of Athena (though that cover's pretty intense). I'm actually kind of interested to see where Orphan of the Flames goes. I just hope I don't need to read the first book to understand everything.

Netgalley

Thanks to...
HarperCollins Australia & Penguin Australia!


Note: A Ring Through Time does not have a cover.
I have every intention of reading all of these books, but life is looking pretty hectic until December. After exams mid-November I have clinical placement for two weeks at a nursing home. I suspect I won't even have the energy to do any blogging (or reading) from 22nd October onwards, til 8th December. Ack! I just depressed myself.
Bought

  1. Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale
  2. The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
  3. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory McGuire
  4. Eon by Alison Goodman
  5. Collected Folk Tales by Alan Garner
  6. The Selected Works of Edgar Allan Poe
1 was acquired through The Book Depository. 2-6 was through AllBooks4Less, to the total of $31~. I always knew I'd get a copy of Someone Else's Life. Same with Eon and The Demon King. I saw the others through just randomly browsing through the sales listings, and if you total up to $30+, you get free shipping. But I'm glad I did add those other three titles to the shipping basket--they all sound fascinating!


Q: Has your taste in books changed since you started blogging/became a member of Goodreads/in the past few years?
Before I started blogging I had a very narrow view on different genres and would stick to what felt right to me. I'm still not the biggest fan of paranormal, but I would never have guessed that I'd become so enamoured with the fantasy genre.


Happy reading everybody! Comment below.
Share with me what books you got! :)

Friday, October 5, 2012

Live chat with Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass)


Have you read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas yet? I just (finally) posted my review, so go check that out.

Anyway, Sarah J. Maas's face will be on your computer screens:


Sunday 7 October
7am Australian Eastern Standard Time*
(4pm New York time, 9pm London-time)

Just go over to the official 'Throne of Glass' facebook page (here), like the page and find LIVESTREAM. I'm pretty sure that's where it'll be held.

Here's the live chat event page, if you want to keep yourself updated.





* Remember, daylight savings, guys!
** If you've read the novellas (and loved them), express that you want a print release bind-up! I bet it's going to happen eventually but if the publishers KNOW that there's interest then BAM! We get ourselves the four novellas, bound. Coolio. (I know there are already people asking, but the more the merrier!)

[Review] Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas


(#1, Throne of Glass)
Throne of Glass | Untitled


Author:
Sarah J. Maas
Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 02/08/2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK
Pages: 404
Source: For review (thanks Bloomsbury!)


Violence Sexual ContentProfanity

My Rating:
Amazing!

Summary:
Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.


In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

My thoughts

I may not have been one of the thousands of Sarah's fans on Fiction Press back when this book was still in its early stages, but that does not mean that this book release was just like any other. I was bouncing-off-the-walls EXCITED for this. I generally only let myself get really pumped up for a couple of book releases per year, and Throne of Glass took the cake in the debuts department.

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