Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

 
 
For those of you who don't know "Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to let others know which book you are anticipating and can't wait til it comes out to read it.
 
 
Cloud Atlas
Paperback, 509 pages
Published August 17th 2004 by Random House
          
Synopsis:
 
A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation—the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.

In his captivating third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity’s dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us.
 
Why I am Waiting:
 
I know this book has already come out but I saw the movie this past weekend and I just have to read the book. I am waiting for the book to arrive in the mail. My plan is to read it with my brother and we are going to listen to the audiobook. The movie was so good I just need to share my waiting for the book to arrive in this weeks meme. I really need to read the book soon. =]
If you haven't heard of the book or movie I definitely think you should check it out.

Also I forgot to mention Happy Halloween to everyone and I hope you all have a safe night.

Also Don't forget to enter my Giveaway that is going on. =]
Link me up in the comments to your WoW pick. =]
Thanks for visiting and Happy Reading.
-Michael
 


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Kick-Ass Heroines

 
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They love to share lists.
 
 
1) Tris Prior (Divergent)- Tris is totally kick-ass from the start. She leaves her family and then gets strong and tough and helps do what is right in her society. She definitely grows over time an decides to fight back.
 
2) Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games)- She gives up her own life for her sister and then instead of just giving up she fights for it. Then she fights even more against the society she has grown up in. She is an awesome kick-ass heroine.
 
3) Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)- Of course, I need to mention Hermione. She is the brightest witch of her age and a know it all which is her best quality.  She helps save the wizarding world along with her friends, which we all know, without her help, it would have been near impossible to do so.
 
4) Cinder (Lunar Chronicles)- She is an outcast in a world that is totally different from our own. She fights for love and what she believes in. She is an incredibly smart cyborg and can fix just about anything, totally kick-ass.
 
5) Pressia (Pure)- She lives in a world that is totally distoyed and different. She has a baby doll's head for a hand. She fights for what she believes in.
 
6) Amy (Across the Universe)-She wakes up after being frozen and has to figure out the mysteries and lies aboard a spaceship heading for a new earth. She fights against everything and almost being killed.
 
7) Lexi (The Near Witch)- A witch takes her sister and she needs to fight to find her. She is brave and really smart and help the town of Near.
 
8) Scarlett and Rosie March (Sisters Red)- Both these sisters are totally kick-ass. They fight Fenris aka werewolves to help save the innocent girls lives and the story is based on little red riding hood.
 
9) Gretchen (Sweetly)-Based on Hansel and Gretel, she is brave and completely helps a town find out what is happening when a bunch of girls go missing. Some bad things happen in the end but she is really kick-ass.
 
10) Celia and Lo (Fathomless)-Based on The Little Mermaid, both the girls help figure out the mystery of girls living in the ocean. Even through all the complication they fight for what they believe in the end.
 
 
Thanks for Visiting =]
Leave a link to your Top Ten in the comments and I will come check yours out.
Happy Reading
-Michael
 
 

Monday, October 29, 2012

Cover Reveal Monday

Here are two awesome covers that were revealed this week.
 
Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy, #2)
 
I haven't read the first one in this series yet. I have heard very good things about it and I can't wait to read it. =] They have awesome covers.
 
The Kiss (Witch & Wizard, #4)
I have read the first book of this series. I really need to catch up considering this is the 4th one that will be coming out. I really liked the first one, so I can't wait to get caught up in this series.
 
Hope you guys enjoyed these cover reveals.
 
 
Thanks for Visiting
and
 
Happy Reading. =]
 
-Michael


Sunday, October 28, 2012

570 Follower Giveaway =]

Hi guys,
 
Like I said earlier this week here is my giveaway for reaching 570 Followers. =]
 
You must be a follower either through linky, email or GFC to enter the giveaway.
 
This giveaway will last two weeks and I am giving away one book to one lucky winner.

If I get past 650 Followers I will giveaway two books.
 
I am giving away either, any one of the 5 Penguin Breathless reads books or a book of your choice from The Book Depository for up to a $15 value.

The Innocents (The Innocents, #1)Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)Black City (Black City, #1)OriginFalling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms, #1)

or

Any Book Up to a $15 Dollar Value at the
 
Giveaway Info and Rules:
Must be 13 years or older.
***Since this is a Follower Giveaway you must be a Follower of The Bookshelf Review and Follow through either GFC, Linky, or Email.
***International Giveaway as long as The Book Depository ships to your country. Link to Check Here.
Ends Monday, November 12, 2011 at Midnight =]
Winner has 48 hours to respond to prize notification email. If winner fails to respond, a new winner will be selected.
Winner will be selected by Rafflecopter.
I am not responsible for loss or damage of prize while in transit.
This is my second time ever using The Book Depository to ship the winner the book they want so it might take longer to ship because The Book Depository takes a couple weeks to ship.
Hope you guys enjoy this giveaway, Have Fun and Go Enter the Giveaway. =]
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Announcement

Just wanted to let you guys know that my posting on here might be hindered just slightly especially with a lot of major holidays coming up.
 
Plus work and school are going to start getting very busy very soon.
 
I am going to try my hardest to keep up with the blog but there might not be as many posts as there has been.
 
I do though have some things planned on here.
 
I have a review I still need to write and post.
 
Then, this weekend I plan on having a Giveaway to honor my followers and my blog reaching up to 570 Followers. I am so excited  about that.
 
Hope you guys keep tuning into my blog and forgive the not so many posts.
 
Have an amazing and awesome day.
 
Thanks so much for Visiting. =]
 
-Michael

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel

 
For those of you who don't know "Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to let others know which book you are anticipating and can't wait til it comes out to read it.
 
The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #7)
Hardcover, 224 pages
Expected publication: November 13th 2012 by Amulet Books
 
Synopsis:
 
Love is in the air—but what does that mean for Greg Heffley?

A Valentine’s Day dance at Greg’s middle school has turned his world upside down. As Greg scrambles to find a date, he’s worried he’ll be left out in the cold on the big night. His best friend, Rowley, doesn’t have any prospects either, but that’s a small consolation.

An unexpected twist gives Greg a partner for the dance and leaves Rowley the odd man out. But a lot can happen in one night, and in the end, you never know who’s going to be lucky in love.
 
 
Why I am Waiting:
 
These books, by a really talented writer and drawer are just brillant and absolutely hysterical. I think everyone should read them especially children because I think they encourage reading. They will certainly not bore anyone especially the parents. Get these books and read them along with your children or just buy them for yourself because I think they are really that good.
 
 
Link me up in the comments to your WoW pick. =]
 
Thanks for visiting and Happy Reading.
 
-Michael


Thursday, October 18, 2012

YALSA's Top Ten Teen Books


teens' top ten















2012 Teens’ Top Ten Winners
 
 
 
1). Roth, Veronica

Divergent. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. 2011.
(978-0062024022). Abnegation (selfless), Erudite (intelligence), Candor (honesty), Amity
(peace), or Dauntless (brave): where would you fit? Beatrice lives in a society where she must choose either to remain with her family’s faction or set off towards independence and her beliefs. And what happens when the unity between these factions begins to fall apart?

2). Green, John

The Fault in Our Stars. Penguin Group/Dutton Juvenile. 2012. (978-0525478812). Hazel and Augustus meet and forge a relationship at a support group for kids battling cancer. As Hazel and Augustus struggle with the “side-effects of dying,” they come to learn the strength of wishes, the complexities of long human lives, and the wondrous ways of the universe.


3). Lu, Marie

Legend. Penguin Group/Putnam Juvenile. 2011. (978-0399256752). June, a fifteen-year-old military prodigy, is hunting Day, the outlaw she believes is responsible for her brother’s death. What will happen when the two meet and discover the government is corrupt?



4). Riggs, Ransom

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Quirk Books. 2011. (978-1594744761). When Jacob was little, his grandfather would tell him stories of the
fantastical children’s home where he grew up and the seemingly magical kids who lived there with him. When his grandfather is killed, Jacob sets out to find the home where these children lived, unearthing a magical secret and uncovering his true heritage.

5). Dessen, Sarah

What Happened to Goodbye. Penguin Group/Viking Juvenile. 2011. (9780670012947). Ever since Mclean’s parents divorced, she has lived in four towns in two years – each time taking on a new persona. Mclean expects to leave Lakeview in six months, but soon finds that she doesn’t want to – she just wants to be herself.


6). Revis, Beth

Across the Universe. Penguin Group/Razorbill. 2011. (9781595143976). Cryogenically frozen centuries ago, Amy and her parents are on their way to a new planet aboard the spaceship, Godspeed. Unplugged from her cryo chamber, Amy discovers she has been awoken 50 years early, in a failed murder attempt. With Elder, the future leader of the ship, by her side they are on an adventure filled with murder, lies, dreams, and stars.


7). Meyer, Marissa

Cinder. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends. 2012. (978-031261894). A futuristic retelling of the classic Cinderella, Cinder, a cyborg and talented mechanic, lives with her cruel stepmother and two stepsisters in the plague-ridden New Beijing. Soon after meeting Prince Kai, Cinder must find the truths of her past, which may help to save the future.


8). Stiefvater, Maggie

The Scorpio Races. Scholastic/Scholastic Press. 2011. (9780545224901). Every November, the beaches of Thisby come alive with the Scorpio Races. The water horses are vicious, the terrain is treacherous, and death is likely, but the reward can be beyond anything you could imagine. Puck Connolly is racing for her family, Sean Kendrick for his passion—but only one can win The Scorpio Races.

9). Forman, Gayle

Where She Went. Penguin Group/Dutton Juvenile. 2011. (9780525422945). This sequel to Gayle Forman’s If I Stay is narrated by Adam, Mia’s ex-boyfriend. Shortly after the devastating accident that killed Mia’s family, the talented cellist moves to New York, where an accidental meeting brings them back together.


10). Cabot, Meg

Abandon. Point. 2012. (978-0545040648). Pierce has experienced death before and barely escaped. When she moves from her old town to a town called Isla Huesos - Island of Bones - for a new start, she realizes that death wants her back. Can she escape death once again?


-List taken from http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten and
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/teenreading/teenstopten/2012TeensTopTenNominations.pdf

Some really amazing books made this list. Some of them I have read and have thoroughly enjoyed and some of them I still need to read and can't wait to read. I have read Divergent, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Across the Universe and Cinder. I have read four out of the ten, that is pretty good in my opinion. Hope you guys check these books out and read their synopsis. They all sound so amazing. =]


Thanks for Visiting
 
and
 
Happy Reading. =]
 
Leave me a comment on which one of these books you have read and are must reads.
 
-Michael

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: Fox Forever by Mary E. Pearson

 
For those of you who don't know "Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to let others know which book you are anticipating and can't wait til it comes out to read it.
Fox Forever (Jenna Fox Chronicles, #3)
Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: March 19th 2013 by Henry Holt and Co.
 
Synopsis:
 
Locke Jenkins has some catching up to do. After spending 260 years as a disembodied mind in a little black box, he has a perfect new body. But before he can move on with his unexpected new life, he’ll have to return the Favor he accepted from the shadowy resistance group known as the Network.

Locke must infiltrate the home of a government official by gaining the trust of his daughter, seventeen-year-old Raine, and he soon finds himself pulled deep into the world of the resistance—and into Raine’s life.

Mary E. Pearson brings the story she began in The Adoration of Jenna Fox and continued in The Fox Inheritance to a breathtaking conclusion as Locke discovers that being truly human requires much more than flesh and blood.
 
Why I am Waiting:
I read both the first and second book in a row when I found out about this series and the premise completely pulled me in. I loved both of them and now I can not wait to finish the trilogy. If you haven't checked this one out yet I definitley recommend it to you. I hope I can get my hands on an ARC. Here is dreaming. =]
 
Link me up in the comments to your WoW pick. =]
Thanks for visiting and Happy Reading.
-Michael


Friday, October 12, 2012

Follow Friday(24)

Gain New Blog Followers
 
Follow Friday is a weekly blog hop event hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.
This week's Question is:
 
Q: What book do you think would make a great Halloween movie? Please explain in graphic detail of goriness...
 
 
The book I pick would have to be...
 
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
 
Cover Image
 
With all of the creepy pictures of kids doing amazing things. How could you not want to turn this into an awesome Halloween movie. It would be absolutely perfect for one. The only thing missing would be the gore. But that is okay with me considering my favorite Halloween movie is Hocus Pocus.
 
 
P.S.
CAPTCHA: If you have CAPTCHA word verification enabled on your blog, please take it off. It makes it much more difficult for readers to comment. Please look at Alison's CAPTCHA Eradication Post to learn how to get rid of it.
Link me up to your Follow Friday's and I will be sure to follow you back.

Thanks for Visiting and Happy Friday =]

-Michael

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Review: Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Sweetly (Fairytale Retellings, #2) 
(Click Picture to Add to your Goodreads)
Hardcover, 310 pages
Published August 23rd 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
 
Synopsis:
 
As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear, too.

Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.

Life seems idyllic and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past -- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone -- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls every year after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival, and looking to make Gretchen its next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is.

Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry.
 
My Thoughts/Review:
 
For some reason, I didn't think I would like this book. I don't know why, I really loved Sisters Red, the fairytale retellings companion book to Sweetly. Maybe it had to do with the synopsis on the jacket cover. I mean it mentions a candy maker and the whole twin missing sister thing. For some reason it didn't draw me in as much. Boy was I wrong to think I wouldn't really like this book, I loved it. It has the same amazing qualities as Sisters Red but in its own unique qualities. I really loved every single thing about it. The aspects I loved was the missing twin that disappeared, the move to the amazing small town, the awesome candymaker, learning how to shoot a gun, etc...

Sweetly is another amazing installment in Jackson Pearce's writing career. She is just absolutely awesome. Her videos are amazingly funny and her books are even more fantastic. If you haven't read a book by Jackson Pearce, what are you waiting for, they are all must have reads. It is like Jackson takes the time to actually think about each word she is writing and what impact it might have on the reader. She is an absolute brillant story teller that has come up with a world that comes to life on the pages.  Even though there is danger on every turn of the page I didn't want to leave the place she created. That is why I love all of her book so far.

The characters in Sweetly were amazing. Gretchen, the main character, had an amazing voice and was so compelling. I loved watching her grow throughout the whole entire story and how she moved past what happened and how she became stronger and a whole different person. The background characters were also compelling. I loved Ansel, Sophia Kelly and Samuel. They were all unique and brought there own personalitites to the story. I also really liked the setting. The small town of Live Oak was so pituresque and I didn't want to see it go. All of the scenes in the story were well thought out and I loved the direction it went in. Another thing I should probably mention which might be kind of spoilery was that I didn't really think this book would include the Fenris that are a main point in Sisters Red. It was a shock to me but it totally made sense and completed the book. The whole story and plot points were really thought out and had an overall togetherness that made me really love this book. The ending and the clues definitely lead into some aspects of the plot in the next book and I can't wait to get started on it. I would definitely suggest this fairytale retellings series to absolutely anyone. I really can not wait to read more from Jackson Pearce. She is an awesome writer and I will read anything she puts out.
 
Overall, I give this book:
 
Intensive, amazing, pull-you-in fairytale of a read. =]
5 out of 5 Stars
Links to Check it Out:
 
Thanks for Visiting
and
Happy Reading. =]
-Michael

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Cover Reveal: Phoenix(Black City #2) by Elizabeth Richards

Black City comes out November 13th and I can not wait for it. Recently, the cover for the sequel Phoenix was just released. Before I get to that, let me remind you about the cover and synopsis for Black City. =]
 
Black City (Black City, #1)
Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication: November 13th 2012 by G.P. Putnam's Sons BYR
 
Synopsis:
 
A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.
 
 
Okay now here is the awesome cover for Phoenix, the sequel to Black City. =]
 
 

Expected publication: June 2013 by G.P. Putnam's Sons BYR
 
 
Isn't this cover absolutely stunning. Both of them are awesome but this one looks fantastic. I really can not wait to start this series. Click the links to add them to you Goodreads. I already have. =]
 
Thanks for Visiting
 
Happy Reading
 
-Michael
 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Book Trailer Thurday

 I have done this a few times in the past but Book Trailer Thursday is just what it sounds like.
Below are a few trailers/videos I have found this week that are book related that I wanted to share. Hope you enjoy the video/trailers I post. =]
 
 
 
 
 
Beta by Rachel Cohn Book Trailer
 
Hope you enjoyed the Videos/Trailers. =]

Happy Reading.

Thanks for Visiting

-Michael

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: The Twelve(The Passage #2) by Justin Cronin

 
For those of you who don't know "Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose is to let others know which book you are anticipating and can't wait til it comes out to read it.
 
 

Hardcover, 705 pages
Expected publication: October 16th 2012 by Ballantine Books
 
Synopsis:
 
The end of the world was only the beginning.
In his internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed novel The Passage, Justin Cronin constructed an unforgettable world transformed by a government experiment gone horribly wrong. Now the scope widens and the intensity deepens as the epic story surges forward with . . .

THE TWELVE

In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned—and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.

One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind’s salvation . . . unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved, and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man’s extinction. If the Twelve are to fall, one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.

A heart-stopping thriller rendered with masterful literary skill, The Twelve is a grand and gripping tale of sacrifice and survival.
 
Why I am Waiting:
 
I read The Passage about the time when it came out and I have been waiting just about forever for the sequel to come out. Ugh It has been a very long wait, more than 2 years waiting for this book. So now the waiting is almost over and I really can't wait to find out what happens. To tell you the truth is has been so long that I sort of don't remember what happened in the first one. I might have to do reread. lol. =]
 
 

Link me up in the comments to your WoW pick. =]
 
Thanks for visiting and Happy Reading.
 
-Michael


 


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: "Old" Books That Shouldn't be Forgotten About.

 
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They love to share lists.
 
I don't know if I can pick ten but I will try to think of as many as I can.
 
 
1) Harry Potter Series- This one is totally obvious. Everyone should read it and no one should ever forget about it.
 
2) Narnia Series- I have only read half of this series but I still love it and love the movies. This is another one that everyone should read and should never be forgotten.
 
3) The Giver- I read this book a year ago. It is a very unique dystopian classic that everyone needs to read and I hope it is never forgotten about.
 
4) To Kill a Mockingbird
 
5) Lord of the Flies
 
6) Fahrenheit 451
 
4-6 are classics that I read in high school and I am so glad that I got to read them. They are wonderful books that have an awesome message and stood the test of time. Everyone should be required to read them.
 
7) Eragon Series- This series ended last year and I still haven't finished it. I really need to get on that soon. This is definitely one I will never forget and everyone should read.
 
That is all I have for this Top Ten. I can't think of anymore. I am sure there are some aweome ones out there that I haven't read yet. Link me up to your Top Ten so I can see your lists. =]
 
Thanks for Visiting =]
 
Leave a link to your Top Ten in the comments and I will come check yours out.
 
Happy Reading
-Michael