Chapters Outting June 2018

I've been really digging Chapters featured books sections, I feel like they're trying to mimic the merchandising strategy of the New York Amazon Book Store. Soooooo much different than Walmarts Books section lol

First of all I love the top Staff Picks for Comics. I typically don't look through the comics section but featured here was nice.

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life
by Twyla Tharp sounds really interesting to keep the creative mind humming.

The Wolf (Under the Northern Sky #1) by Leo Carew looks like it has potential. 

Uprooted by Naomi Novik looks really really good!

That's all folks <3

Reading Adventure's June 2018

I mean... DOES IT GET BETTER THAN THIS?! I had such a relaxing, calm stroll through the park today and found this hidden gem of a reading spot. The sun was like bath water, with a cool soft breeze that made the willow branches gently sway. The water fountains made light calming currents in the pond as the dunks splashed around to keep themselves cool.

I sat beside the tree in the last picture while reading Tad Williams' To Green Angel Tower Part 1. Such a heavy book but I find that time flies while reading it. I read a whole chapter! Which is saying a lot because the chapters are huge lol. I left when the bugs were really starting to crawl on my legs.

Walmart Outting June 2018

I rarely shop for books at Walmart but I was pleasantly surprised at their YA Recommended Reads end cap... alas most of these books are below a 4/5 rating on Goodreads...

FTW Added to TBR:

- Always and Forever By: Jenny Han series (but I already added this series to my TBR after my Chapters outting...)

Above 4/5 on Goodreads but still MEH...

- Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe
- Save the Date

All in all Walmart really needs to step up their Recommended Reads selection...

Bookstore Outting June 2018

One of my most favourite things to do is to walk around Chapters and find endless amounts of books to add to my never ending TBR list heh... 

Bottom right Tempest and Slaughter look like a really good book!!! But I'm going to read Alanna: The First Adventure By: Tamora Pierce first because I like to read everything in proper order. But wow Alanna was published in 1983 I have a lot of catching up to do...



The Hazel Wood By: Melissa Albert has such a beautiful cover omgz! The story sound cool too - mysterious, fairy-tale, dark, super-natural.
Everless By: Sara Holland - time is currency. Sold.

The Last Namsara By: Kristen Ciccarelli - Dragons and Dragonslayers. This is the riskiest book to add to the TBR list as there's not many reviews, but will give it a fair shot.

There's a Chapters Book Club?! Awesome! Out of the three books to read I'm going to read Hopeless By: Colleen Hoover. lol Hoover remind me of Raph Wiggum from The Simpsons "Miss Hoover... I ate my red crayon... 'cause the blue one's make me sick..." bahahahaha

The book on the top right looks interesting, Children of Blood and Bone. Magic, Princes and Princesses, Souls... I'm sold lol I hear it's a huge book though.

Second row from the bottom A List of Cages By: Robin Roe seems decent. An ADHD kid in highschool reunites with his foster brother and tries to help him but it could cost them both their lives. Emotional rollercoaster much? Sign me up I suppose lol

They both Die in the End By: - Oh boy I can feel the tears dripping down my face already, we all know this one's going to be a tear jerker just by the title lol. The book takes place on one unforgettable day...

Ugh Heartless By: Marissa Meyer - I did not enjoy this book at all WHY IS IT HERE!? WHY OH WHY!?

Diminished By: Kaitlin Sage Patterson - A rare few are singleborn in each generation, and therefore given the right to rule by the gods and goddesses. When one twin dies, the other usually follows, unable to face the world without their other half. Those who survive are considered diminished. INTERESTING. Another risky time investment as there's literally only 200 reviews on Goodreads.

Also decided to add To All the Boys I've Loved Before series and Shattered Realms series.

Throne of Glass By: Sarah J. Maas

★★★★☆

Goodreads

This book was surprisingly good :) It wasn't quite your typical teen fantasy novel.

It had good character development. Maas really goes into the minds of each character to see their point of view, not just the main characters, which was interesting.

There was more romance than I thought that there would be, almost as much as the Lux series. It was sort of like a teen version of a pilot to Game of Thrones almost, but where Game of Thrones meets Hunger Games.

I really liked the main character, she's quick and witty with spice to her, she isn't afraid to speak her mind. The only reason why I didn't give it 5/5 stars was because Maas is lacking slightly in the writing, needs more poetry to the words, more descriptions, less dialogue.

Started: Sept 13, 2016
Finished: Oct 3, 2016

The Sell By: Fredrik Eklund

★★★★★

Goodreads

I'm a new real estate agent so this book was really informative for me.

I love Fredrik's personality and I love how he's not afraid to show it.

He gives great advice in the book about real estate, business, relationships, and how to be professional.

He really focuses on social media and specifically Instagram which I thought was interesting.


Started Reading: July 22, 2016
Finished Reading: Sept 5, 2016

Lux Opposition By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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★★★★☆

Goodreads

This book was fun to read always keeping you at the end of your seat wanting to read more, except I was a little disappointed at the ending, I was expecting a big twist or something surprising and it was exactly what the reader was anticipating, predictable. I feel like Armentrout tried doing this with Daemon almost dying in the end but I just knew he'd make it out alive.

Out of all the books I found this book to genre out into more of a romance rather than a teen fantasy which is fine but it's just a different feel that the other books to me. I wanted there to be more story behind the origins since they are the most powerful being "like gods". And this was the only book that didn't have a focus on a crystal, like onyx (quartz was also in the first book), obsidian, opal (the 4th book origin had the fire opal). I would have liked a new crystal to come out into play in the last book.

*SPOILER ALERT*

I found Ethans death to be anticlimactic since he ran away and got shot in the back, it wasn't a fight, it was lame. I also felt that the characters Dee, Luke, Beth, and Dawson were really put in the back burner the last half of the book, to more so focus on the romance between Kat and Daemon.

I loved the part with the Arum, and you go underground into their home and meet their leader, and just how characteristic the Arum are. I'm glad Armentrout explored this in the book since the Arum were really in the first and second book and have kind of been on the back burner since the Origin were introduced.

The part where her mom died was actually really sad and the way Armentrout described how Kat felt was dead on, no pun intended. I felt Kat's pain and fury.

And come on it should have ended with Kat and Daemon having a baby or at least preggo :P

This book made me lol on multiple occasions, with parts like oh crappy shit on a stick. I liked the references into real life like Harry Potter and Starbucks.

Started Reading: July 22, 2016
Finished Reading: Aug 4, 2016

Hatchet By: Gary Paulsen

.

★★★★☆

Goodreads

Best survival book I've ever read (2nd is the hunger games).

I enjoyed imagining what life would be like stranded in the middle of forest and lakes.

Brian seemed to learn very quickly about everything he did, whether it be catching fish or making a camp, etc. But maybe Paulsen just wanted to keep the story short and to the point.

I find it pretty unbelievable that Brain explored the plane on day #54... 54 days of just hanging out with yourself with nothing to do but survive.. you're bound to be curious of what's in the plane aren't you? My feeling is that Brian subconsciously did not want to be rescued, he saw his life back at home, and "the secret" as baggage and he didn't want to deal with it, and here he was in the middle of nowhere making a life for himself, it was an ego boost, and he didn't want to leave it. But also maybe subconsciously he knew that he wouldn't survive the winter.

Started Reading:
Finished Reading: July 21, 2016

Can You Keep a Secret? By: Sophie Kinsella

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★★☆☆☆

Goodreads

This book had it's up's and downs, and there was a big down near the end. The book is 95% dialogue which I can understand because I knew it was a girly type of book, but it didn't require much talent from the author. There are a few funny moments though.

The book starts out decent, simple story of a girl on a plane and accidentally tells a business man all her secrets, then he ends up being the CEO of her company. Then they start dating each other and at the end he does an interview on tv telling the world that she is his new target market and tells all her secrets... then he apologizes to her and of course she forgives him, and only forgives him because he gives her one of his secrets....

Started Reading:
Finished Reading: July 21, 2016

The Outsiders By: S.E. Hinton

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★★★★★

Goodreads

Man oh man what a good book. I guess that's why they call it a classic. There's so many things I liked about it, the fact that we're all the same, maybe just grew up in a different place, different parents, but when it comes down to it we all are the same deep down. It was interesting seeing how a group of boys can grow up under unfortunate circumstances yet be so strong, loyal and always looking out for eachother.

This part of the book blew me away:
“Rat race is the perfect name for it,' she said. 'We're always going and going and going, and never asking where. Did you ever hear of having more than you wanted? So that you couldn't want anything else and then started looking for something else to want? It seems like we're always searching for something to satisfy is, and never finding it. Maybe if we could lose our cool we would.”
― S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

And the ever famous Frost poem in the book:
“Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down today.
Nothing gold can stay."
- Robert Frost

I really liked Jonny's meaning of the poem:
"I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep that way, it's a good way to be.”
― S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

Started Reading:
Finished Reading: July 8, 2016

Origin By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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★★★★☆

Goodreads

This book was like the climax to the whole series and I really liked it! Betrayal, deaths, plot twists galore.

Big questions are finally being answered and unexpected things are happening.

I've haven't read through a series so fast since Maze Runner and Hunger Games.

Started Reading:
Finished Reading: July 4, 2016

Opal By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

.

★★★★☆

Goodreads

I really enjoyed this book. There was always things happening, some expected but most unexpected.

I love the romance between Katy and Daemon, and the growth of their relationship.

I almost feel like Daemon just watches out for Katy because he doesn't want to die since they're linked, which makes it either unromantic or mysterious.

Yet again in this book you don't know who to trust. I would have thought the Luxen would have more abilities at this point, such as go through doors or something as they are light, and where ever light is they could be. I suppose Armentrout does this to humanize the aliens more, but then it lacks in fantasy.

Started Reading:
Finished Reading: June 13, 2016

Dune By: Frank Herbert

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★★★☆☆

Goodreads

A classic science fiction novel with a world of imagination. The writing was bad in the beginning but you get use to it through the book.

There are so many characters and each character has so many names so it gets confusing. One person has a name for war, name as a lover, name as a son, first name, last name... etc.

I love the concept of how the people treat water as if it's gold, they talk about killing someone to take their water, or if someone cries it's a huge deal because it's shocking someone would spend their water.

The story is constantly shifting and moving which keeps it interesting. Sometime's there would be huge plot wholes and time jumps and you wouldn't know it until after.

There were a couple deaths near the end of the book and it was only mentioned in passing, wasn't written on how they died, when, how, etc. just as a piece of news...

I love the powers of the Bene Gesserit, so manipulative and strategic yet scary and mysterious.

I also liked the crysknife and the rules behind owning one.

Started Reading:
Finished Reading: June 6, 2016

Rapture By: Lauren Kate

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★★★★☆

Goodreads

Wow this series really picked up with this book! The first couple books were very slow, and this book was like BOOM so much story so much character development, it was pretty good!

Of course I have my issues with it, some plot holes, but overall I enjoyed the book.

I especially liked the last quarter where the whole series makes sense. I was scared that the ending was just going to be simple and predictable but it was dense with story.

Started Reading: March 8, 2016
Finished Reading: April 8, 2016

Passion By: Lauren Kate

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★★★☆☆

Goodreads

This book was very different than the first an second book in the series. It dragged on a lot but the ending was decent.

Started Reading: Dec 29, 2015
Finished Reading: Feb 14, 2016

The Art of War By: Sun Tzu

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★★★★★

Goodreads

This book is basically a manual for war strategy, it's very text book.

Sun Tzu takes every possible situation and shows how you can be victorious.

Started Reading: Feb 10, 2016
Finished Reading: Feb 10, 2016

Looking for Alaska By: John Green

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★★★☆☆

Goodreads

Enjoyed this book as much as J.D. Salinger's 'Catcher in the Rye'. Greens writing and narrator style is very similar to Salinger's. It's funny, as I look at John Greens goodreads page right now he actually has J.D. Salinger as his #1 influence.

I enjoyed some discussions on life's philosophies, like the labrynth.

My fav quote is: “Jesus, I'm not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they’re gonna do. I’m just going to do it. Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. ... You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.” 

It's a balance between being a visionary and being a realist, don't just have ideas, put them to action and that to me is escaping the labyrinth.

Started Reading: Feb 4, 2016
Finished Reading: Feb 10, 2016

Onyx By: Jennifer Armentrout

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★★★☆☆

Goodreads

Great sequel to Book #1 Obsidian. The first book was about the introduction to the characters, and to the Luxen race.

This sequel has more character development as the characters go through confusing times trying to figure out mysteries about the DOD and who they can trust.

Some good twist and turns, but some were predictable.

Started Reading: Jan 22, 2016
Finished Reading: Feb 2, 2016

Outwitting the Devil By: Napoleon Hill

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★★★★★

Goodreads

Great book about overcoming fears and anchors that hold you back in life.

Talks about what you should not do when accomplishing success.

I believe that the devil didn't actually speak with Hill, but I feel like Hill was smart in marketing and structuring the book in this way, applying the knowledge and wisdom he took from his life of interviewing successful people.

Started Reading: Dec 29, 2015
Finished Reading: Jan 21, 2016

Brisingr By: Christopher Paolini

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★★★★★

Goodreads

Love the Eragon series.

I can tell that Paolini's writing skills are getting better and better as the books go by.

Love the fantasy, character development and a few twists and turns in the book. Sometimes the book dragged on, but besides that I love love looooooved the book.

Started Reading: July 20, 2015
Finished Reading: Dec 16, 2015

Obsidian By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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★★★☆☆

Goodreads

Instead of the typical vampire/werewolf love story this is something a bit different. I love the mysterious bad boy flare.

Started Reading: July 19, 2015
Finished Reading: Aug 2, 2015

Insurgent By: Veronica Roth

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★★☆☆☆

Goodreads

Man this book took me forever to read, I kept getting bored and reading other books in between.

Sure there were some good parts but overall it was just MEH.

I thought a lot of the things that happened were pretty redundant.

Started Reading:
Finished Reading: July 18, 2015.

The Name of the Wind By: Patrick Rothfuss

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★★★★★

Goodreads

This book is added to one of my favourite books of all time. This book is the definition of the joy of reading. The way Rothfuss writes is so engaging and you just get lost in it. I can't wait to read the next one!
Started Reading:
Finished Reading: July 15, 2015.