Books are better than pants: Book Blog

Long Time No See

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 15:29:00 +0000

School sucks. Well it's not that bad but sometimes it takes over your private time as well and then it's just crappy. So I hope to post some reviews and other things this year but my top priority is passing my exams and starting university next year. This means I have to study a lot and that doesn't leave enough time to properly read.

Bluh. That's all I can say at the moment, so I'll close with some pictures of my beautiful new bookcase :) More photos and other cool stuff on the Facebook page from Books Are Better Than Pants.

Monday without Moaning

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:35:00 +0000

I spent most of the day lying in the sun, just heavenly. Vacation is the best!
I finally passed my car theory exam, so double the happiness.

I started reading Anna and the French Kiss today which is the perfect summer book. You're just sitting in the sun and daydreaming about Paris. There aren't a lot of beter combinations possible unless the involve ice cream.

Reading Shadow of Night Will be continued but I'm still considering what to read next...
I got a giftcard for my birthday so I can buy a book. Any suggestions? Tell me in the comments!

Sunday Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:10:00 +0000

This week went by so fast! Vacation really messes up your sense of time.
Today I celebrated my birthday with my family and some of my friends. It was a lot of fun although I shouldn't have eaten do much cake... especially considering we played our football match of Death afterwards :P
I went to see the Dark Knight Rises on Friday and it was glorious. So awesome and sad at the same time.

As for reading I finished the Gargoyle, Pandemonium and Looking for Alibrandi. I'm halfway done with Shadow of Night.
We're currently attempting to move back to our own house and that's why I haven't read as much as I would have liked.

Review of the Gargoyle is posted and the reviews of Pandemonium and Looking for Alibrandi are coming.

I hope you had a great weekend!

PS. My laptopscreen died Friday and I don't have enough money to buy a new screen at the moment. This means that I'll have to write my posts on my tablet which goes a lot slower... sorry for the inconvenience :(

Review of The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:45:00 +0000

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Description from Goodreads:

A young man is fighting for his life.
Into his room walks a bewitching woman who believes she can save him.
Their journey will have you believing in the impossible.

The nameless and beautiful narrator of The Gargoyle is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and wakes up in a burns ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned. His life is over - he is now a monster.

But in fact it is only just beginning. One day, Marianne Engel, a wild and compelling sculptress of gargoyles, enters his life and tells him that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly burned mercenary and she was a nun and a scribe who nursed him back to health in the famed monastery of Engelthal. As she spins her tale, Scheherazade fashion, and relates equally mesmerising stories of deathless love in Japan, Greenland, Italy and England, he finds himself drawn back to life - and, finally, to love.

Opening Quote:

Love is strong as death, as hard as hell. Death separates the soul from the body but love separates all things from the body.

Review:

When I was a kid, I devoured historical novels. While the other girls where mostly playing with barbies, the scenery of my childhood consisted of the imagined battlefield in the 100th year war between England and France, or travelling to the Indians on a merchants ship or the fantastical world of a futuristic Greenland after the ice has melted and women rule the land. In short: I was and still am a huge history nerd.

So the parts I loved best about this book were the glimpses in the past as told by Marianne. Sometimes they were about the past lives of her and our nameless narrator or the stories of Marianne's various friends. The setting of the tales vary from Japan to Iceland to 13th century Germany. For those who love history I certainly recommend this book.

The once beautiful (or so we are told repeatedly) main character of the book is scarred for life after a horrible accident. He was speeding in his fancy sports car while drunk and high and drove off a cliff. Most of his body is burned and it's still the question if he will get most of his bodily functions working again. While he's lying in the hospital he gives us an objective description of the burn which he researched, everything is told with a certain distant to it. Between the updates of his condition, he tells about his terrible home life. His mother died giving birth to him and it only went downhill from that point on. He's a good learner so he did finish High School, but afterwards he went from modeling to pornography. Now he's 35 with his own production company and makes decent money until the unfortunate accident.

As he tell us: "I'm not a nice person." and doesn't want to be healed. I could empathize with that since he was suffering awful pain and could never get back to the old him. Although he himself is aware that the past him and his past life wasn't that awesome. He's seriously contemplating suicide and has it all thought out until a strange women comes into his life. She tells him stories and reveals later that they were once lovers and that she was waiting for him all along. He thinks she's insane but still craves her company. Slowly through Marianne and with the help of the psychologist and the physical therapist he starts caring about life again. The road to redemption is not an easy journey but he's at least trying to get there.

I liked Marianne a lot as a character and you're constantly trying to figure her out. Because she's such a mystery, I couldn't really identify with her but her stories were great and so interwoven with details.

In the end I could have been more invested in the main characters but the awesome history made up for it.

4 stars

Monday Moaning

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:36:00 +0000

Weekend is over but I still have vacation.

Oh Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh :D

The weather sucks and the rain keeps pouring down like the second Flood is coming. So tonight I'm going to sit in a nicely heated and dry theater and watch 21 Jump Street. The trailer looks funny and the reviews are good, so I expect some good laughs :)

As for my reading this week, I'm still busy in Shadow of Nights which I think is awesome so far.

When I finish that one I'm going to continue in Game of Thrones -also awesome-.
And also I can't wait to finally start The Knife of Never Letting Go. A dystopian where everybody can hear everybody's thoughts. The premise alone sounds really creepy and I've heard great things. It's supposed to be a nail-biting series which every dystopian fan should read.

What are you reading this week? Tell me in the comments!

Sunday Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 18:54:00 +0000

So since my reading ban has been lifted -by me- I attacked my book mountain like a rabid dog. I finished Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver on Wednesday, I liked it better than the first book in the series, Delirium, but still the series simply isn't for me.

Next up was Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta on Tuesday. It was the only book she has written that I hadn't read yet. Just like the rest of her work it was awesome. You do notice that this was her first novel at some places but the narrator, Josephine Alibrandi, was one of the most relatable characters I've read in a while :)

On Friday, late in the night, I finished the Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. The story was very unique and I was constantly wondering where the story would go. You were kept on the edge of your seat until the ending. Review is currently being written.

I started Shadow of the Night by Deborah Harkness yesterday and I'm liking it a lot. Hoping to finish it tomorrow.

Video I loved

TV's best I love yous *swoon*. Good memories <3

Stacking the Shelves #3

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 18:59:00 +0000

Rules

Create your own Stacking The Shelves post. You can use my official graphic or your own, but please link back to Tynga’s Reviews so more people can join the fun!
You can set your post any way you want, simple book list, covers, pictures, vlog, sky is the limit!
I am posting Stacking The Shelves on Saturdays, but feel free to post yours any day that fits you.
Visit Tynga’s Reviews on Saturday and add your link so others can visit you!

Visit other participants link to find out what they added to their shelves!

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (Bought)

I was so happy that I found this one in my bookstore. This a perfect vacation book, thick, full of magic and rich history interwoven with an exciting plot. I devoured the first book in the series: A Discovery of Witches, last summer vacation and I've already started this one.

Four Ways to Forgiveness by Ursula K. Le Guin (Bought)

I've been looking for this book for years and found it recently in a thrift shop. I may have let out a little scream and my day couldn't be ruined afterwards ;)

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Bought)

Classic that has been recommended to me a lot, so when I found a hardcover edition in the thrift shop I couldn't stop myself from buying it.

Salome and other Plays by Oscar Wilde (Bought)

Oscar Wilde is awesome, and this was a cute bound edition of some of his plays.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (Bought)

We already own the entire series in Dutch and English, but when I leave the house I want them in English for my own. So far I've got one, two, seven and now three. Harry Potter books are forever <3

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind (Birthday gift)

My boyfriend (who loves everything fantasy) gave me the Dutch edition of Wizard's first rule for my birthday. It's a big one and I think I'm saving this one until

Before I Die by Jenny Downham (Bought)

Bought the Dutch version of Before I Die. It's about a girl who knows she is going to die in four months and makes a to-do before I die list. I've had my fill of cancer books for a while but the reviews are good and the premise sounds interesting.

Aaaaaaaaand I'm back!

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 12:16:00 +0000

After my more than a month long break due to exams, my vacation now has finally started :D

I have a lot of reading to catch up to and I can't wait to dig in the mountain of books that have been waiting for me. Quitting reading for an entire month sucked and next time when I take a break I will at least have some pre-written posts lined up.

For this vacation I'm making an epic list of awesome books to read. Some have been waiting on my shelf for over a year :O First part will posted today. Also new edition of Stacking the Shelves is coming tomorrow ;)

This resembles my to-read list a lot

What have you been up to? Tell me in the comments :)

Let the reading begin!!!

Sunday Apologies

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sun, 27 May 2012 20:50:00 +0000

School is sucking out my life one exam at a time.

I'm really sorry I haven't been posting this week and I probably won't in the upcoming one. :(

I haven't finished one single book this week and I'm drowning in homework.

So apologies again and I hope I will be able to finish at least one book this week and get on with blogging!

xxx

From demotivational.com

Monday Moaning

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:23:00 +0000

Well let's start with the good thing today. The sun is shining :)
That's pretty rare over here and a lot of people were sitting outside in the sun during break time.

So much studying!!!

As for my reading I'm halfway done with Pandemonium and I will finish it tomorrow (I really really hope so).

I have this really thick book (900 page) I need to read for Dutch Literature class so that interferes with my normal reading. It's not bad but it takes a lot of time to get through.

It took a long while...

Other ones I'm still reading are the Gargoyle. I also want to start Looking for Alibrandi later this week. I've been anticipating that book for more than a year :)

Sunday Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:30:00 +0000

And once again I'm studying on sunday. My family is going to see the Avengers later and I have to stay home :(

Made cupcakes with my family on thursday, They were delicious ^^

This week was a little slow on reviews and I haven't read much unfortunately.

I do expect to finish Pandemonium tomorrow so that review will be coming soon.

I did some short reviews on the books I read in the vacation. I liked them all a lot, so check them out!

Links I've loved:

A compilation of films that were released in 2011. I'm a huge movie fan and I could identify almost every movie in the clip. Many awesome movies and a few I didn't like so much overall a good selection :)

“Dysfunctional Families”: On YA and Responsible Parenting
Article on Cuddlebuggery. It's astounding how little parents are involved in the lives of their children in YA books, especially because your parents have a huge influence on your life.

New episode of Game of Thrones tomorrow *starts fangirling*!

Stacking the Shelves #2

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:56:00 +0000

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted over at Tynga's Reviews. This way I can show all the new awesome books I bought and received :D I didn't expect to do this meme this week since I had very little money. But it turned out to be not such a bad week at all. Actually it was a really good book week!

I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
Got this for only two euros ($2,50) in a pretty hardcover edition. Many people love it and the movie is apparently good too. That doesn't happen often..

White Hot by Sandra Brown
Sandra Brown writes great Romantic Suspense. Read this one a year ago and I really liked it. Found it on the market also for 2 euros.

The giver by Lois Lowry
I was at the American Book Center tuesday. I had never been there before and it was love at first sight.
I was walking around with a huge smile on my face and I screamed a little bit (inside my head) every time I saw a book that I'd been wanting forever (which was an awful lot :P).

Ironically I was broke

So luckily in the bargains section I could buy the Giver with my very limited money (3,99 in euros). It has won a bunch of prizes and it's one of the early dystopian books marketed to teens. I'm a huge fan of the genre so I'm curious :)

Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
The only Marchetta book I didn't own yet. My aunt gave it to me for my birthday but it only arrived weeks ago. If I didn't have any homework I would have finished it already but for now it's stalled until next week :(

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Got this from my aunt for my upcoming birthday (in two months). I love the shit out of Vonnegut and his books are kind of my bible. I own about 9 books of his and I can't wait to read this one and be amazed by his wisdom.

That was Stacking the Shelves for this week. Have you read any of the books I received? And did you get any books you really wanted? Tell me in the comments! :)

Quotes I love About Love

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:30:00 +0000

“It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, so long as somebody loves you.”
― Roald Dahl, The Witches

“To conceal anything from those to whom I am attached, is not in my nature. I can never close my lips where I have opened my heart.”
― Charles Dickens

“A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”
― Elbert Hubbard

“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”
― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

“Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
"After all this time?"
"Always," said Snape.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever.”
― Alfred Tennyson

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach”
― Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.”
― William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.”
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
― Dr. Seuss

“Sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are.”
― Markus Zusak, I am the Messenger

“The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy that loves you.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

*Crying*

Shorts Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:40:00 +0000

Some short reviews on books I've read in the past few weeks and whether you should read them ;)

Room by Emma Donoghue.

Jack is five, and excited about his birthday. He lives with his Ma in Room, which has a locked door and a skylight, and measures eleven feet by eleven feet. He loves watching TV, and the cartoon characters he calls friends, but he knows that nothing he sees on screen is truly real - only him, Ma and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits that there's a world outside... Told in Jack's voice, Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible. Unsentimental and sometimes funny, devastating yet uplifting, Room is a novel like no other.
I try to read a lot of modern literature to improve my English. Some of them are pretentious, plotless and overly descriptive just for the hell of it but some are really great. This was one of the good ones. I was very invested in what would happen and I think Donoghue has taken an original story and made it her own. Sometimes it was hard to read but by writing this entirely from Jack's POV, it keeps it simple and a bit naive. Although when it comes to happenings like these I don't mind being naive at all. 4/5 stars

Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb

Detective Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a senseless crime—an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. This is Peabody's first case as primary detective—good thing she learned from the master.

But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she's all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and-while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound—she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn't take long to realize they're both crooked—guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve's husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down—knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret.

There are over 33 books in this series and still I'm not tired of them. Kick-ass cop Eve Dallas and genius billionaire Roarke are still one of the best characters Roberts has ever created. And I've read a lot of them. This story takes another turn than usual because instead of solving a homicide, Dallas and her team have to take out a group of rogue cops. You really feel like you know them and their interactions are very funny.

4.5/5 stars

Good Omen's by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Pratchett (of Discworld fame) and Gaiman (of Sandman fame) may seem an unlikely combination, but the topic (Armageddon) of this fast-paced novel is old hat to both. Pratchett's wackiness collaborates with Gaiman's morbid humor; the result is a humanist delight to be savored and reread again and again. You see, there was a bit of a mixup when the Antichrist was born, due in part to the machinations of Crowley, who did not so much fall as saunter downwards, and in part to the mysterious ways as manifested in the form of a part-time rare book dealer, an angel named Aziraphale. Like top agents everywhere, they've long had more in common with each other than the sides they represent, or the conflict they are nominally engaged in. The only person who knows how it will all end is Agnes Nutter, a witch whose prophecies all come true, if one can only manage to decipher them. The minor characters along the way (Famine makes an appearance as diet crazes, no-calorie food and anorexia epidemics) are as much fun as the story as a whole, which adds up to one of those rare books which is enormous fun to read the first time, and the second time, and the third time..

The very dry humor makes this book for me. I love absurd humor á la Monty Python and Fawlty Towers and this has the same tone. It doesn't make a lot of sense but it sure is amusing. I really hope they will make a series out of this as long as it is done right. It's not for everybody but you should definitely give it a try :) 4/5 stars

Also I NEED this shirt :P

Review of Cross My Heart by Katie Klein

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:03:00 +0000

3 stars

True love can blossom in unexpected places. This is Jaden pretending not to notice. . . .

Jaden McEntyre and Parker Whalen are a wrong fit from the start. Jaden is driven and focused, Harvard Med School within reach. Parker has a past—a reputation—and the rumors about his mysterious habits abound. So there’s no reason why, when they're assigned to work together on a project in English, they should discover they have anything in common, or even like each other, and they definitely shouldn't be falling in love.

As they bond over Edith Wharton’s tragic novella, Ethan Frome, the “bad boy” vibe Parker plays begins to dissipate. Soon, Jaden finds herself shedding her own “good girl” image: sneaking around to be with him, confiding in him, and ultimately falling hard for this leather-wearing, motorcycle-driving loner who plays into the rebel stereotype.

Still, Jaden can't shake the feeling that there's more to Parker than he's letting on. He's hiding something from her, and discovering the truth means reconciling the Parker she's grown to love with the person he really is. Because it's possible that his life inside the classroom—everything Jaden knows—is one, massive lie.
*blurb from Goodreads

Review

It wasn't bad but I wasn't satisfied either.

The author said in an interview she decided later what would be Parker's secret and it shows. The ending is underdeveloped and it doesn't make any sense. It kinda ruined the rest of the story for me, which was sweet if what cliche. Props to the writer for taking a classic book I didn't know yet, instead of Romeo and Juliet, The Scarlet Letter or Wuthering Heights which are usually used.

What bothered me for example was (spoiler!) Parker who was supposed to be an undercover cop who scouts high school for drugs. So how does he go about that? Does he try to mingle with the students? He doesn't. He acts like an arrogant and unsocial bastard. He doesn't socialize and just sits there for a year and does nothing besides getting good grades. Just because he rides a motorcycle and is wearing a leather jacket doesn't mean the drug dealers will come running to him!!!(end spoiler)

It just didn't make any sense and it pissed me off. I understand it's fiction but that doesn't mean rational thought and common sense are excluded. Also I read it on kindle and the editing was just bad.

As far as self-published books go, this one wasn't bad and if you can't care if stories are logical, you're in for a good read.

For a nice Good Girl/Bad Boy story I would recommend Perfect Chemisty by Simone Elkeles.

Monday Moaning

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:17:00 +0000

I'm so tired and I feel like crap. Just 2 more days until I have a long weekend again. The last few months of school are stacked with tests because teachers can't plan, so I have weeks of studying ahead -.-

So my reading is a little slow lately :(

Still reading Game of Thrones and Persuasion.

Started Pandemonium and got up ahead with the Gargoyle. I really like it so far, I haven't read anything like it before :)

I hope I can get some more reading done when the weekend starts.

Now I'm off watching the new Game of Thrones episode ^^

Sunday Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:04:00 +0000

Happy Mother's Day!

I made my mother a brunch together with my little sister :) She is one of the best people alive on this planet and there is nobody like her <3

My reviews

Gone Gone Gone by Hannah Moskowitz. Loved it.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Good romance, bad dystopia.

Links I loved

15 Young Adult Fiction Properties That Could Be The Next 'Twilight' Or 'Hunger Games' | The Playlist

Young-Adult books that have been optioned for movies. Movies based on books are often tricky and I often don't like them or think that they fall short of the brilliantness of the book ;)
I still have to read many of the books on this list, but if they can make the movie work that would be great because wonderful stories among them (sadly sucky ones too).

Maurice Sendak, 1928 – 2012 - Chronicles of a Book Evangelist
After Maurice Sendak died I've read a lot of memories people have from reading his books and how he impacted their lives. He was truly a wonderful person. In the Dutch newspaper there was also an article about him and an column about how they made the dutch translation way to cutesy. She called to complain to the publisher but it turned out that the founder of the publisher was the one who wrote the translation... Awkward. I really hate it when they mess up translations, it ruins wonderful books. Another reason why I quit reading translations from English.

"I said anything I wanted because I don't believe in children, I don't believe in childhood. I don't believe that there's a demarcation. 'Oh, you mustn't tell them that. You mustn't tell them that.' You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it's true. If it's true, you tell them." -Maurice Sendak

TheTruthIsViral
This is one of the reason I adore the internet and the digital age. These old, famous photos have been restored and color has been added. It has an interesting effect. Especially the 'mushroom' of the atom bombing looks tropical...

Video of the week

So so beautiful. The cinematography perfectly fits with the music.

Review of Delirium by Lauren Oliver

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:14:00 +0000

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

3,5 stars

Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author ofBefore I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice. --Jessica Schein *blurb from Goodreads

Review

I liked it but I didn't LOVE it. My problems mostly came from the how it works as a dystopia. Paolo Bacigalupi (who wrote the YA dystopian: Ship Breaker) says it a lot better than I ever will.

"Dystopias should be insurgent. They should force readers to question who they are, what their society is like, and what they take for granted. A good dystopia will illuminate the horrors right before our eyes, and one can hope that if it does its job well, it will create empathy and humanity in world that is sorely lacking."

So while they've got the horror part locked down -never feeling too much- it doesn't deliver on critisism on society. Why is love dangerous? I mean sometimes it really sucks but it isn't a threat. Mysogony, misandrie, dicrimination, homophobia, racism are just one of the few problems that society faces today. Loving people to much and going crazy isn't one of them.

Regardless I mostly enjoyed this book because it felt like an ode to Love. And I love Love :P
I may be a sarcastic, cynical person but also a total sucker for romance and everything that goes along with it. A few of my favorite poems by Romantic poets were mentioned like "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day' by Shakespeare and 'How do I love thee, let me count the ways' by Elizabeth Barett Browning.

I liked Lena and her actions were understandable regarding her circumstances. Oliver writes feelings very well and I like the writing a lot. I would still recommend it. It works good as a teenage romance but a lot less as a critisism of today's society and without all it's machinations that make dystopias so great.

The sequel, Pandemonium , is up next week because it ended with a terrible cliffhanger (why must writers do this?).

Have you read Delirium and what did you think about it? Tell me in the comments!

Bonus: Poem 43 By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints!---I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!---and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Simply Beautiful!

Quotes I love about Life

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:36:00 +0000

I adore quotes, I write them down everywhere and some have really helped at the suckier days of my life. So I'd like to make a few favorite quotes posts around life, love and books :) Because as Michel de Montaigne says: “I quote others only to better express myself.” With many of these quotes I have a special band so I'll try to explain myself as good as possible.

“I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.”

This is a quote from the Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It's one of the best books I've ever read that has a great emotional punch told from the point of view of Death set during the Second World War. Everytime I read this post I get a little teary eyed. How with all the awful things that happen on this planet, there still are good things too.

“Life isn't fair, it's just fairer than death, that's all.”

― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

This reminds me on bad days that life isn't perfect and sometimes it fucking sucks. But you just need to keep going and it will be alright again.

“Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”

Kurt Vonnegut is a great writer and philosopher, who really inspires me to be a better person.

“Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself; I am large -- I contain multitudes.”

― Walt Whitman

I contradict myself all the time. I'm glad Walt says it's okay.

“When you say too much about anything important. it always ends up sounding so much more trivial than it is. Words trash it.”

—Megan McCafferty

This is so true. Especially with books and movies, hard to explain what's so fantastic. So I just force my friends to read and watch what I loved ;)

Also how do you explain the love you have for your family, friends or books. I'm not a poet or even a writer, so I'm not even going to try. Actions, not words, count.

“Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren’t. I’m not surprised some people prefer books.”

—Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot

I'm not the best people person. But I've learned to understand them better by reading books and just by listening.

“Adolescence is best enjoyed without self-consciousness, but self-consciousness, unfortunately, is its leading symptom. Even when something important happens to you, even when your heart’s getting crushed or exalted, even when you’re absorbed in building the foundations of a personality, there comes these moments when you’re aware that what’s happening is not the real story. Unless you actually die, the real story is still ahead of you. This alone, this cruel mixture of consciousness and irrelevance, this built-in hollowness, is enough to account for how pissed off you are.”

― Jonathan Franzen, The Discomfort Zone

This quote struck me lately as very true. I hope it will change in time.

“I would always rather be happy than dignified.”

― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

I behave like an idiot half of the time, so this is reassuring :)

“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”

—Harlan Ellison

This bothers me a lot. I respect your opinion. But with no facts or evidence to back things up there is no way I will take you seriously. This is a huge problem in politics or even how people act around each other.

“Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.”

-Henry Miller

Because if you put yourself above other people, there isn't any point to your intelligence and fantastic cultivation.

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”

In a few words Elie Wiesel manages to capture the essentiel truth. That the most terrible situtions don't change because nobody cares, because they look another way, because the only interests that matter are their own.

So that were my favorite quotes about life at this moment. Next week: Quotes I love about Love.

What are your favorite quotes? Tell me in the comments!

RIP Maurice Sendak

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:41:00 +0000

As everybody probably knows by now, Maurice Sendak, the children's book author of Where The Wild Things are, has passed way this morning. Unlike most of his fans, I only met Maurice a few months ago. Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Show (great show) interviewed him in his house. It's one of the best interviews I've ever seen and he's been one of my favorite people ever since. He inspired many people and his mark on the world will be lasting one.

For your viewing pleasure, the fantastic Maurice Sendak!

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Rest In Peace, dear man.

Monday Moaning

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:22:00 +0000

I hate Mondays!

The first day of school after the vacation is always terrible. Your mind still thinks it's vacation but your teachers tell you otherwise. Had my driver's license theory exam and failed... for the second time -.-
Felt like an idiot...

Now after a full day of homework, baby sitting and tutoring. Sitting on my ass and enjoying the new episode of Game of Thrones. If you aren't watching this yet... you should! ^^

Tyrion's awesomeness is unlimited.

Still reading book 1 of Game of Thrones which isn't going as fast I would want it to go.

Also started Delirium by Lauren Oliver that I'm loving already :)

Furthermore reading the Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. It has a strange gruesome attraction and I'm fascinated and repulsed at the same time.

Continuing Persuasion, didn't make a lot of progress, will make up for it this week.

More reviews are coming so stay posted!

What will you be reading this week? Tell me in the comments!

Credit tyrion gif: strange spanners: Explosion of Game of Thrones Awesome

Review of Gone Gone Gone by Hannah Moskowitz

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sun, 06 May 2012 20:42:00 +0000

Gone, Gone, Gone

by Hannah Moskowitz

5 stars

It's a year after 9/11. Sniper shootings throughout the D.C. area have everyone on edge and trying to make sense of these random acts of violence. Meanwhile, Craig and Lio are just trying to make sense of their lives. Craig’s crushing on quiet, distant Lio, and preoccupied with what it meant when Lio kissed him...and if he’ll do it again...and if kissing Lio will help him finally get over his ex-boyfriend, Cody. Lio feels most alive when he's with Craig. He forgets about his broken family, his dead brother, and the messed up world. But being with Craig means being vulnerable...and Lio will have to decide whether love is worth the risk.

*blurb from Goodreads

The gif that describes it all ;)

Credit

Review

Craig is a fifteen year old boy who loves his animals more than anything. But now a burglar broke in, his animals have all escaped and he feels more lost than ever. Lio is in love with Craig but Craig isn't over his ex-boyfriend Cody, who lives out of state.

Words fall short when I try to describe this book. It's the best feeling to get after finishing a book but not necessarily good when you try to write a review about it. I'll give it a shot anyway because this book is too good not to read.

For me reading is mostly about feeling. Some books resonate with you and others don't. What I loved about this book that it perfectly captures the feeling of being in love, not just love but unrequited love. The wanting that turns to aching because you want to be with somebody so badly that it hurts. To want to touch, to completely inhibit that person. Yes, I could relate very well :)

Written from two first person POVs, you get to know the thoughts of Craig as well as Lio. Their problems are very complicated and I think Moskowitz showed other people's motivations really well. Nobody is just the bad guy, there is a reason that's usually from misunderstanding. You see Craig and Lio slowly growing to each other and it's a beautiful thing to witness.

Since I'm still young and I can barely remember 9/11 -also I'm not American- this gave me a whole new insight to the aftereffects. Over the years I've learned more about it but I will never really understand how it changed America. This book portrays the fear and the confusion very well. I didn't know about the shootings in D.C. and I can't imagine how it must have felt. It's not an easy subject to tackle but I think Moskowitz did it both respectfully and honest.

The characters are believable and it never feels forced. A new classic that will stay with you for a long time.

Short

Moskowitz writes an earnest and understated story of two lost boys on a journey to find what they need and get what they want.

I'd never read any books by Hannah Moskowitz before but now I'm certainly reading the rest of her books.

Sunday Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:33:00 +0000

Since I didn't do anything in the past two days since I got home, I have to do all my homework in one day. God bless procrastination...

So I had a birthday yesterday, I ate too much cake :) I should really start running again but I keep putting it off. Tomorrow my vacation is over and I have to go to school again -.-

Luckily I've got some great books to read and to review.

This week I reviewed Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens which I didn't like and I'm still working on my review of Gone Gone Gone by Hannah Moskowitz...

Links I've loved:

Youtube video on Procratination . This describes it perfectly :)

Birth of a Book. I think I just teared up a little bit ;P

The new Dark Knight Rises trailer came out. I'm ridiculously excited for this movie. Christopher Nolan is a genius!

Article about the sexual submission in a.o. The Fifty Shades of Grey book and how apperently some people think that the succes Fifty Shades is the ulitmate proof that women secretly want to be dominated all the time... Now I'm not a fan of the book but that's just stupid.

Favorite quotes of the week:

“I quote others only to better express myself.”

—	Michel de Montaigne (The Complete Essays)

“Human minds yield helplessly to the suction of story. No matter how hard we concentrate, no matter how deep we dig in our heels, we just can’t resist the gravity of alternate worlds.”

—	How humans became the storytelling animal. (via explore-blog)

“Not to get all philosophical, but what is reality anyway, when no two people can ever see the same thing in exactly the same way? Reality is a lot more subjective than people like to think it is.”

—	Jessica Darling, in Megan McCaffery’s ‘Second Helpings’ Bonus A picure from time gone by. This is the Vienna Opera Court around 1902. (Credit)

Stacking the Shelves #1 part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Sat, 05 May 2012 16:58:00 +0000

Now for part 2 of Stacking the Shelves hosted over at Tynga's Reviews. I posted Part 1 yesterday. Clicking on the book name will lead you to the bookpage on Goodreads.

So here we go. :)

Bought in Vienna, Going Bovine by Libba Bray (YA)

It has won Printz Award in 2010. It's supposed to have absurd humor and is recommended for fans of Dounglas Adams (who wrote Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). I love both so I think this will be a book for me.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (YA)

I love Rick Riordan. He writes books suitable for many ages with lots of humor. This is the book in his new Heroes of Olympic series that came out in 2010. It's set in the same world as the Percy Jackson books but now with different Protagonists, Jason, Piper and Leo. I read this book a while ago and it's just as good as Percy Jackson, glad to finally own it in print.

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning (Urban Fantasy, PNR)

Found this at the airport at a ridiculous high price for a mass market paperback but still couldn't resist. The Fever series written by Karen Marie Moning is one of the most addicting series out there. Although there are five books, it should be seen as one continuing story. This is the last book(5th) and it's awesome. Once you start the first book Darkfever you'll be sucked in and won't be able to sleep until you finished the last book. Highly recommended!

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty (YA)

I read this in February and it was a revelation. I've been wanting to write a review of it but I haven't found the words yet.. I adore it and I see many re-reading in my bookfuture. Jessica is like my book soulmate.

Stacking the Shelves #1 part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Roos) — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:49:00 +0000

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted over at Tynga's Reviews.

I want to do this meme every 2 weeks on Friday to show the new books I've bought.

Later I'd like to do this in a vlog but I'm still experienting with that, I do want you guys to actually understand what I'm saying. :P

My stack from these 2 weeks is a lot larger than usual because I got more salary than expected and went to Vienna where I robbed the bookstores (just kidding...). Basically my self containment flew out the window the moment I saw I could spend some more this month. To avoid creating a monster post I divided it in two parts with another post coming tomorrow.

First one up is Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb a.k.a. Nora Roberts. The In Death series contains now over 34 books and I'm still not tired of the amazingness of the kick-ass couple that is tough cop Eve Dallas and billionaire genius Roarke. The secondary characters are also great and Robb has really made this futuristic world come alive for me. I do recommend to start with the first one in the series, Naked in Death, where Eve meets Roarke for the first time when he's suspect in a gruesome murder.

Good Omens, the baby made during a collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett in the 1990's. Bought this on the airport. I already own the Dutch version but wanted it in English too. It's a very funny book but hard to get through in Dutch. Re-read this in one day and the English version reads so much better. The dry and absurd humor never fails to make me laugh out loud. I haven't read any of them separate but both American Gods and A touch of Magic are waiting on my bookshelves already. It may not be for everyone but if you like Douglas Adams for example, you should give it a try!

I found Pandemonium in the English Section of the bookshop in my town. Finding a YA book there is a miracle in itself and the fact that it didn't feature vampires made me buy it immediately just to send a sign to the bookstore -and God- that they should be buying these books. While I haven't read the first one (which I bought earlier this year) the reviews have been great and else I'm sure I can trade them with someone who will appreciate them. Also Lauren Oliver seems like a cool person :)

Gone Gone Gone by Hannah Moskowitz. This arrived in the mail today and I couldn't be happier. I was fan-girling over this book earlier and I've already started reading it. I don't think I will sleep tonight but who cares!

Second Part coming tomorrow. What did you buy in the last couple of weeks? Or have you read anything on my shelf? Tell me! :)