Visual Inspiration (2)

Happy Sunday :)

I have exams on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, then I'll be packing all Friday and whisked off in a plane to Dubai on Friday night. I'll probably be a little MIA next week. 

Next post may be coming to you from Houston, TX! 

Hope everyone's had a good weekend, here are some pictures to inspire you through next week. 

(Images sourced from: weheartit.com, stylescrapbook.com, designsponge.blogspot.com)

Day 3 of the 30 Day Book Meme: MY FAVOURITE SERIES

I decided to participate in this feature because I'm a new born book blogger and this'll hopefully help you get to know more about me and what books I like! 

Day 01 – The best book you read last year

Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times 
Day 03 – Your favourite series 


This one was pretty tough to decide on, so I brainstormed a little list to break it down to just one series. Harry Potter, Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, and The Hunger Games Trilogy were all up there on my shortlist but only one can be named My Favourite Series so....

BRITNEY SPEARS "Hunger Games" (PARODY)

This is so hilarious...

I laughed everytime Peeta sings "I'll bake you pies!"

New on my bookshelf

The only Borders store in Western Australia (in Perth CBD) was having their 40% off sale, and I think I found out about it pretty late because so much stuff was gone! Yesterday after my math exam I went into the store and I ran (ermm.. walked briskly?) down the escalator to the MG/YA section and could only find ONE thing I wanted to buy....

Review: Entangled by Cat Clarke

Title: Entangled
Author: Cat Clarke
Genre: Young Adult 
Rating: 4 stars!
Format: Paperback, 375 pages
Release Date: January 6, 2011
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 987-1-84916-394-1
Source: Bought (from The Book Depository)
Other Details: Currently on my Swap-List




Description:
The same questions whirl round and round in my head: 
What does he want from me? 
How could I have let this happen? 
AM I GOING TO DIE? 
17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got there. As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see? Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here? A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendships and electrifying attraction.

My Thoughts.. 


Grace sees him. 
Sitting on the swing in the park. She doesn't want him around for this. Grace walks over, intending to talk to him, to get him to leave before she kills herself.


Entangled is a deeply emotional story of a girl who has some really bad things happen to her. 
Grace is writing this book, in this weird white room where all she's left with are pens and three whole reams of blank paper. She tells her heart wrenching story of how she came to the point of suicide, of the months of deceit that led up to that night in the park.

Day 2 of the 30 Day Book Meme: BOOK THAT I'VE READ MORE THAN 3 TIMES

Day 01 – The best book you read last year
Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times

This book is in my Favourites list (obviously I wouldn't read something more than 3 times if it wasn't a favourite!) and although I have many favourites I don't actually read them over and over. This one, however, I have read repeatedly only because I was introduced to this book at a young age and its magic has always stayed with me. 

Review: Two Lives... One Diary by JM Array

Title: Two Lives... One Diary
Author: JM Array
Genre: Young Adult 
Rating: 2 stars :(
Format: E-book, 52 pages
Release Date: November 26, 2010
Publisher: Smashwords
Source: Won via Candace @ Candace's Book Blog


Description: 
Robert has never had a dream before. On his 18th birthday everything changes and he starts to dream. Because this is an unusual experience for him, he decides to have a dream-diary. Soon after that, he realizes that his dreams are directly connected to his real life. Suddenly, he finds himself living two lives…yet he only has one simple diary. 

My Thoughts: 

I have to be honest. Two Lives... One Diary just wasn't for me. It's a little book - only 50 pages long but I wasn't able to finish it. The thing that put me off wasn't the story (the concept was good) or even the characters (albeit they were maybe a bit underdeveloped). It was the writing that was the deal-breaker for me. I skipped to the epilogue which stated that the diary had not been edited at all, but I'm not sure that is valid reasoning. The story was written in Robert's 1st person POV in diary format. For me, it was under par... even amateurish. :( Which I absolutely hate to admit. But that's how I feel. 

But I was really happy to hear that other people really loved it! The book's page on the Smashwords website has only 5 star reviews, so I'm really glad some other girls enjoyed it when I couldn't. 

Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Young Adult 
Rating: 4 stars
Format: Paperback, 341 pages
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Publisher: Hodder
ISBN: 987-0-340-98090-3
Source: Bought (from Dymocks)
Other Details: Currently on my swap-list


Description: 


What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world’s most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last. Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

My Thoughts:

This was a book very much about death but even more so about life.

I was going to give this only 3 stars, but what pushed it higher was Lauren Oliver's amazing writing. She has a way of making the simplest of things sound cool, innovative and different. Her writing is a beauty to behold, but the storyline wasn't bad either!

FAIREST OF THEM ALL : Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Fairest Of Them All is a new weekly (maybe fortnightly or monthly) thing I made up a few hours ago, where we get to compare the different covers of the same book. Whether it's UK vs US vs AUS or even foreign-er than that, like we're doing today. 

Sounds fun... maybe?

(I know this is already sort of a popular meme of a different, more boring title, but I wanted my version to have a cool name! ;) If you know of the pioneer, feel free to link me up and I'd be happy to give them the credit for the idea)

This week: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

To be honest, the model featured on the generic British cover didn't really 'wow' me whatsoever... but the girl in the Dutch version seemed to embody Samantha Kingston much more realistically. Plus I like that she's kinda upside down! 

The French cover is a little blah but I quite like the Slovakian cover for some reason...

Even though the British cover is the one we've grown to know and love, my vote for the fairest of them all goes to the Dutch cover.

Which is your favourite?

(All cover images sourced from: http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com)

Day 1 of the 30 Day Book Meme: THE BEST BOOK I READ LAST YEAR

Memes are fun! Well, some of them are at least. 

That's why I've decided to participate in this one! I stumbled across the 30 Day Book Meme when I was googling book memes today. 

I'm not going to be able to do each day consecutively, not just because I have exams in the next 2 weeks and I'm going to The States for 5 weeks after that but because I want to come up with good, substantial answers for you! :)

If you've done the 30 Day Book Meme before/are currently participating, please link me to yours so I can have a peak? Thanks!

---------------------

Day 01 – The best book you read last year 

Last year I didn't actually read that many books, probably 30 or even less. But of the books I did read, most of them were so amazing they quickly hopped on board my All Time Favourites list. I mean, 2010 was the year I read Harry Potter for the first time. HARRY POTTER. My friend Jess made me read the first HP book so all credit to her! 


However, in amongst the craze of HP... and also discovering the world of The Shopaholic, Becky Bloomwood via Sophie Kinsella, there was one stand alone novel, by an Australian author I might add, that somehow had me reeling for weeks after I'd finished it. 

Review: The Ylem by Tatiana Vila

Title: The Ylem (The Ylem Trilogy, Book One)
Author: Tatiana Vila
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Format: e-book, 184 pages
Release Date: Nov 23, 2010
Publisher: Smashwords
Source: Won via Candace @ Candace's Book Blog






Description:

When Kalista moves with her father to the town of Ruidoso, she doesn't expect her quiet life to change. That is, until she meets mysterious Tristan, who not only increases her heart rate but seems to have a connection with her. Bizarre dreams start crowding her mind, but when she stumbles upon an ancient book she realizes there might be a reason to them. The book wraps a secret, a secret she's part of... 

 My Thoughts..

This was another book I won from entering a competition and I'm so glad I did because The Ylem captivated me from the beginning. I finished the whole book in one afternoon. I mean, who doesn't love a nice urban fantasy/paranormal romance?

Review: Chasing Odysseus by SD Gentill

Title: Chasing Odysseus (#1 in the Hero Trilogy)
Author: SD Gentill
Genre: Young Adult Adventure
Rating: 4.5 stars!
Format: Signed copy, Paperback, 370 pages
Release Date: March 7, 2011
Publisher: Pantera Press
ISBN: 987-0-9807418-6-5
Source: Won from a competition (Romi @ Where the Writer Comes to Write)


Description: 
1st book in the exciting new Hero adventure series for young adults. Four young heroes in a quest against myth, magic...and betrayal.

1 girl, 3 brothers... 4 daring young heroes...

Treachery, transformations and a deadly quest.

A thrilling adventure of ancient myth, monsters, gods, sorcerers, sirens, magic and many evils...the fall of Troy and a desperate chase across the seas in a magical ship...

Hero and her three brothers - Mac, Cad and Lycon go on this exciting and dangerous quest to prove their murdered father's honour, the betrayal by King Odysseus and the loyalty of their own people to the conquered city of Troy.

My Thoughts:

I was so excited when I found out that I had won this book in a competition at Romi's blog Where the Writer Comes to Write because I knew straight off that this was my kind of book. Chasing Odysseus incorporated so many of my favourite elements -

Visual Inspiration (1)

Happy Sunday, everyone! 

End of semester exams are coming up really soon, and so is my Chasing Odysseus review! 

In the meantime... here's some visual inspiration to lighten your day ;)

Images sourced from: weheartit.com, fashionsquad.com, thecherryblossomgirl.com, atlantishome.com, tumblr.com