my thoughts on: INSURGENT by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

published 2012, Harper Collins

click here for the synopsis

This sequel to Divergent did not disappoint... but I can't say it was equal to or better than its predecessor, either.

To its credit, the ending of this Roth novel once again had me gripping my seat with nervous, inexplicable anticipation. It was action-packed, intense, and OH-MY-GOSH the very last page literally made me gasp, my mouth went into a O-shape and my hand slammed over it.

Anyway, let's talk about the other parts of the book.

The Divergent Tag! {video!}

On the weekend I filmed the Divergent Tag with my sister!!! 

Questions: 

1)Which faction would you most likely choose to be in?

2)Which faction would you least likely choose to be in?

3)Which character did you most like/identify with the most?

4)Which character did you like the least?

5)What was your favourite moment?

6)What was your least favourite moment?

7)If you had the power to cast one character, which character would you cast and who would you choose to play that role?

8)Do you think Summit can pull it off?

9)What are your top predictions for the next book Insurgent?

my thoughts on: the lover's dictionary by david levithan

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

published 2011, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

click here to read the synopsis

This is a novel written in the format of a dictionary. Dictionary entries for words, listed in alphabetical order and pertaining to the romantic relationship between two people. The concept of writing a story in the style of a dictionary is really unique. I can appreciate the difficulty one would be faced with having to create a narrative within the restrictions of a certain format. David Levithan did it superbly. Superbly.

Book Blog Do's/Don'ts : Formatting (my preferences)

These are just a few things I look for on the home page when I'm visiting a book blog for the first time and I want to gauge whether or not I should bother following. 

(NB: this post is similar to the post I did last December entitled Book Blog Pet Peeves. It covers different things though.)

1. CONDENSE THE HOME PAGE: Please don't make me scroll down the page for yonks and yonks in order to look for certain info/widgets. This probably means the size (or quantity) of your posts need to be reduced. Use jump breaks so I don't have to scroll through long posts, or limit the number of posts that show on the home page to about a dozen. Otherwise it's just way too much content for a first-time visitor like myself to look through.

2. ARCHIVES: Have them somewhere I can find them easily! I want to know what kind of posts you put out - some book bloggers do a crapload of reviews, some only post about books they are pining for, some tend to mainly post about books they have bought, and some bloggers post a lot about the publishing world. The easiest way for me to see what sort of stuff you like to write about is to have an archives widget that allows me to see post titles, not just dates. 

3. I LIKE PRETTY THINGS: But don't over do it. I respond well to things that entice me visually. However, too much of anything is a bad thing, so if you want a fancy background, don't use lots of bright colours or too many graphics. It's possible to have funky or ornate backgrounds but you can mute the tones so the focus is still on the content. Also, when I see an awesome header I'm more likely to follow the blog. Possibly shallow of me, but nevertheless true.

4. DON'T OVER BUTTON IT: Too many banners and buttons will give me a headache! Promoting friends/challenges/contests is A-okay with me, but don't sacrifice the integrity of your blog for any reason - whether it's for showing everyone how active you are or for getting a couple extra entries in a giveaway. All I'm saying is, as long as it's important to you and aligns with the purpose of your blog, it's alright. But if you really must have a lot of buttons down your sidebars, think about the placement of them.

5. BLOGROLLS: I like to see your blogroll. Especially if you're an Aussie blogger - there are less of us, so it's interesting to see which other Aussie bloggers you like.

Well that's about it for this round of Arielle-whining-on-about-book-blog-stuff-as-if-it-would-actually-help-someone-ha-ha-but-really-it-makes-her-sound-so-critical-who-is-she-anyway?

image source: cherryblossomgirl

my thoughts on: I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

Bantam Press, 2012

click here to read the synopsis

I've literally just finished reading this book a few minutes ago and all I have to say about it right now is: 

WHY can't my life be a Sophie Kinsella novel!??? 

Just, why not??

And from looking on Goodreads I just realised this is the first SK novel I have read since last year! Why has it taken me this long? I have a small pile of SK novels on my bookshelves sitting there unread. 

Oh my gosh. I just loved this story SO SO MUCH. (the extra intensifier is warranted, I swear!)

my thoughts on: "free four" (divergent novella) by veronica roth

Free Four: Tobias tells the story

by Veronica Roth (2012)

{free to read online here}

What a yummy bite of literature! To feast on that just brought back all the intense and amazing feelings and memories of reading Divergent for the first time last year. 

This is a very short piece - only 15 pages long, and at first I was going to rate it only 4.5 stars because I kinda wished it was longer but then I realised that it didn't leave anything to be desired - it achieved the objective as perfectly as Four throwing knives at a target board. The scene that was written was chosen perfectly - it was like Roth knew her readers needed to know what was going through Four's head in this scene. 

By the way, the novella takes place in the scene where the initiates are doing knife training, and Tris takes Al's punishment which means she gets knives thrown at her head by Four/Tobias. It was altogether just awesome. If you haven't read it yet, and you're a Divergent fan, then what are you waiting for??!

Being inside Four's head throughout this scene just rendered me even more enamoured of him, if that is possible. Getting to read his thought process made me even surer than I was before that I would be in the Dauntless faction too (which is what all the quizzes have told me), although to be precise Four isn't only Dauntless. 

As soon as I'm finished with the books I'm currently reading, I need to re-read Divergent ASAP and then get into Insurgent already! 

Have you read the e-novella yet? What did you think? 

Also, what faction would you be in? You can do the aptitude test on Divergent's fb page here.

my thoughts on: The Lying Game by Sara Shepard [review]

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

published 2010 by Harper Teen

click here for synopsis

This is the second book I've read by Sara Shepard. The first was Pretty Little Liars, which (years ago) Harper Teen put online to the public to read for free, and I just gobbled that one right up. Glued to the computer screen until I'd finished the whole thing. 

The Lying Game was not a far cry from that experience.

Let me just begin by saying how GOOD a writer Sara Shepard is. One of the best in terms of plot development and she knows how to write a good cliff-hanger. And I know that she knows she knows how to because she does it in every single chapter. It's one of the main reasons why I finished this book so fast. (I'm a really slow reader in case you weren't aware - one example of this is that I've been reading A Game of Thrones for almost a year and I'm only half-way through..)

my thoughts on: Beauty by Robin McKinley [review]

Beauty by Robin McKinley

published 1983

click here for synopsis

Perfect heroine.

Even more perfect hero. 

Amazing minor characters to surround and enhance the awesomeness of Beauty and the Beast.

A wonderful tale to read aloud to children.

A magical retelling that tugged at my heart strings. I already had a thing for Beauty and the Beast (favourite Disney film of all time), and I have always adored delving into the unreachable fantasy of magical places, enchantments, and fairytale characters to amplify and promote pure love. 

There were lines in this book where I had to re-read them over and over just for the pure joy of re-experiencing the awesome intensity of feelings that were evoked. (e.g. the end of the quote below)

I cried a fair bit. I'm lame like that, and I will be the first to admit it. 

Roses are my favourite flower. 

Beauty is a pure, true, classic and magically wonderful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. 

It is beauty in the living body of literature.

I'll read this to my children and children's children...

And what better compliment could an author receive than that?

Snippet:

At the edge of sleep it seemed that the breeze returned, and something cool was put on my hands so that the pain slipped away like a thief in shadow. The gentle whistling and sighing of the breeze resolved itself at last into words, but I was too near sleep to hear much of what was said, or to be certain that I was not listening to a dream. There were two voices. The first said: 'Poor child, poor child. I feel for her sadly. If only there were some way we could help her.'

The second voice said, 'But there isn't, dear. You know that. We do our best, but she must find her own way.'

'I know. But it seems so hard.'

'It does, and it is; but cheer up. She is a good girl, and he loves her already. It will be alright in time...'