Top Ten Books I Had Strong Emotions Over

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. You can find upcoming topics at their Top Ten Tuesday page.

1. Shadowland by Alyson Noel
I was so frustrated by the time I got to the end. I wanted to scream at Ever for being so stupid. I really wanted tear the book up but it was a library book (at least I didn't waste any money on it).

2. If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
This book was such a mind f***. It messed with my head and confused me to no end, but I loved it. It's one of my favorite reads of the year.

3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Spoiler: The scene when the villagers are singing their made-up, creepy  nursery-type rhyme about the Blackwell murders while they vandalize and burn down Merricat and Connie's home sent shivers down my spine. One of the most haunting moments ever.

4. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
There are times when I really connect with a character and can feel all of her emotions. I connected in this way with the narrator, Mrs. de Winter. I felt for her during her embarassing moments and the times she felt so lost and out of place. The mystery of Rebecca also really took hold of me. I had never been so caught up and so invested in a mystery plot line before. I just had to know what was up with the former Mrs. de Winter.

5. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
This book had my emotions going haywire. I really felt for the characters and the hardship and tragedy they were going through, and I was so angry at the officers who were putting them through all of that.

6. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
This book was like some kind of crazy, paranormal soap opera. I was literally yelling out loud at the characters, wanting to guide them away from their misguided choices.

7. Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham
I HATED Mildred, more than any other character in all of the books I've read. She was so selfish and evil. I hated her so much that I couldn't even finish the book, despite the fact that I was reading it for a research paper in my English class. I still ended up making an A on that paper though--I just used Sparknotes to learn what happened in the last 1/4 of the book. :)

8. The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
This book was so funny! I laughed out loud through the whole thing. I really, really love Molly. Her scenes were the best, particularly the one where she greets her husband at the door completely naked and wielding a huge sword because she thinks she's a warrior princess.

9. Viy by Nikolai Gogol
This is actually a short story in The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol. It gave me nightmares for days.

10. The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella
I am very susceptible to a character's embarrassment and I feel just as mortified as the character when she finds herself in a humiliating situation. Well, Becky Bloomwood found herself in many, many embarrassing situations, and my face was red with empathy for her the entire time I was reading this series (at least up until book four--Shopaholic and Sister was disappointing for me and I decided that I'd had enough of Bloomwood's antics).

Readathon Wrap-up

 I completed my first readathon!! I didn't make to the end, though. I conked out at the end of Hour 21 as soon as I had finished Anya's Ghost. Still, I think I did pretty well for my first time. I put in about 14 hours (I started the readathon a little late), and I met my goal of three books.


I won a mini-challenge (The Friendship mini-challenge in Hour 15 hosted by Li @ A World of Paper Hearts). She's giving away a surprise(!) book where friendship is a central theme. Can't wait to receive it!
I was also one of the random readers picked to win one of the prizes from Dewey's prize list in Hour 23. I was already in bed by the time that announcement came up so it was a nice surprise this morning. I chose Crusade by Nancy Holder. Sounds like a good one!


End of Event Survey
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
--I would say Hour 19 was the worst for me. I still had over 100 pages to go for The Sea of Monsters, and I had expected to finish the book three and a half hours earlier. I was worried I would fall asleep before even finishing book 2!
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
--Charlotte's Web and Anya's Ghost were great books that I sped through.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Readathon for next year?
--I think it would be helpful to use the Mr. Linky more often during the Readathon to see who is participating when. Maybe have it every 4-6 hours or so. That would make it easier for Readers to bounce over to different blogs and check out what's going on and it would make it much easier for Cheeleaders as well.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year's Readathon?
--I can't compare this one to past readathons because this was my first time participating, but I thought it was run really well. The hosts did a wonderful job.
5. How many books did you read?
--Three
6. What were the names of the books you read?
--Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan, and Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
7. Which book did you enjoy the most?
--It's too hard to choose between Charlotte's Web and Anya's Ghost. I'm calling it a tie.
8. Which did you enjoy the least?
--I guess The Sea of Monsters. I enjoyed it, but it took way longer to get through than I was expecting.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year's Cheerleaders?
--I wasn't a Cheerleader.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Readathon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
--I will definitely be participating again. I will very likely be a Reader and I'm thinking I would like to give Cheerleading a shot too.

October 2011 Readathon

**Instead of making a new post for each update, I'll just be adding my updates to this post throughout the day**

I'm so excited to be participating in the readathon for the first time! I wanted to keep this readathon as fun for me as possible, so the first step in that was to not force myself to get up earlier than I wanted to. I don't function too well in the A.M., and I also had to work on a couple of things for class that I procrastinated on, which is why this post is going up kind of late. I'll try to make up for my late entrance by sticking it out until the wee hours of the morning tomorrow and see how close I can make it to the end of the readathon.

I went grocery shopping yesterday in preparation for the readathon, so here's the list of snacks I bought (I wish I could show a picture but my phone is so outdated that I can't transfer photos to my computer anymore--I expect to get a new phone for Christmas, though):

Chef Boyardee Spaghetti (for lunch)
White Cheddar Rice Cakes
Caramel Apples w/ Nuts
Veggie Plate
Vanilla Coke
Hint Flavored Water
Lipton Black Tea
Celestial Seasoning's Madagascar Vanilla Red Tea

Hour 7 (technically Hour 1 for me)
Pages Read: 51
Book Started: Charlotte's Web

I think I'm going to focus on finishing Charlotte's Web before I do any mini-challenges or anything, but I'll see.

Hours 8 & 9
Pages Read: 103

I took a little break and had a late lunch, or "lupper" as my family calls it. I should finish Charlotte's Web in the next hour.

Hours 10-12
Pages Read: 84
Book Finished: Charlotte's Web
Book Started: The Sea of Monsters

I got distracted during hour 10 and most of hour 11 as I was visiting other blogs (FYI--Princess Bookie is having a bunch of giveaways all day today). I also ate one of my caramel apples, and if you didn't know this already, let me tell you that it is impossible to eat a caramel apple and read at the same time.
I did one mini-challenge in hour 11, which was the book trailer mini-challenge hosted by Quirky Girls Read. I chose the trailer for The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland because I thought it was very beautifully done.

Hour 13


Mid-Event Survey
1.What are you reading right now?
--The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
2.How many books have you read so far?
--Just one
3.What book are you most looking forward to in the second half of the readathon?
--Anya's Ghost, and I hope I can read at least part of The Body Finder too.
4.Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
--None. I just holed up in my room all day. :)
5.Have you had many interruptions?
--Surprisingly, no. All of my suitemates left a few hours ago, so I've had the place to myself for a while.
6.What surprises you most about the readathon, so far?
--I can't say that I've had any surprises so far. I've been trying not to spend too much time online because it tends to eat up the whole hour and I get no reading done. I guess you could say that's a surprise. You can stay awake for the entire readathon and get no reading done if you get too caught up in what's happening online!
7.Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the readathon next year?
--Hmmm . . . not that I can think of. I think the readathon is run really well.
8.What would you do differently as a Reader if you were to do this again next year?
--I might get up early and try doing the readathon from Hour 1 that time, see how much of a different that makes in my experience of it. 
9.Are you getting tired yet?
--No, but that's because I didn't get up until noon. :)
10.Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders?
--Well, this is my first year participating, so I don't think I have the experience yet to give tips, but I will share some tips that other experienced readathoners gave me--have lots of snacks, pick short and easy books to read, don't feel you have to finish the book you started but go on to another book if the one you are currently reading isn't holding your interest, take a break (or two or three or however many you need) so you don't feel overwhelmed, and most important of all, keep it fun!!

Hours 14-17
Pages Read: 110
Mini-Challenges: Feed Me, Seymour hosted by Fancy Terrible, Friendship hosted by A World of Paper Hearts, and Song-Identity hosted by Taiwandering

Rereading mini-challenge hosted by The Bluestocking Society
Top Favorite rereads of all-time:
1. Ella Enchanted (favorite middle-grade book-I can devour this one in a couple of hours and it never gets old)
2. I Am Charlotte Simmons (a college-aged protagonist I can really connect with, except for her shallowness)
3. So Many Books, So Little Time (my stand-by to help get me out of those awful reading slumps)
4. An Alchemy of Mind (combining neuroscience, travel, and nature--three of my favorite things :)
5. The Great Gatsby (The imagery in this book is beautiful--I love getting lost in it)
6. The Twilight Saga (I've read this series a dozen times and I'm still not tired of it)

Hours 18-20
Pages Read: 210
Book Finished: The Sea of Monsters
Book Started: Anya's Ghost

Hour 21
Pages Read: 121
Book Finished: Anya's Ghost

Well, it's nearing 5am here and I am exhausted. I think I'm going to call it a day and end my readathon time here. I finished three books, which was my goal! Yay! Now, I need to get some sleep because I have a five page paper to write that's due on Monday.

It's been fun! I look forward to joining in on the next readathon. :)

Re-Readathon (Nov. 18-20)

Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner is hosting a Re-readathon from November 18-20 when participants will spend the weekend rereading books they loved. I was really excited to hear about this because, if you read my last Why I Love Wednesday post, you'll know that I have been dying to reread Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers trilogy, and this re-readathon is a perfect excuse to do it! This readathon is a casual, go-at-your-own-pace kind of a deal. If you're interested in participating, click on the first link and sign up there using the Mr. Linky at the bottom of that post.

Top Ten Books I Bought Because of Their Covers or Titles

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. You can find upcoming topics at their Top Ten Tuesday page.

Top Five Books I Bought Because of Their Covers:

 

Top Five Books I Bought Because of Their Titles:

No Matter How Much You Promise to Cook and Pay the Rent You Blew It Cauze Bill Bailey Ain't Never Coming Home Again: A Symphonic Novel by Edgardo Vega Yunque (I saw this book at my favorite used bookstore and I couldn't resist buying it. I've never seen a book with a title this long. I still haven't read the book yet, even though I bought it years ago when I was still in high school.)

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore (I read this right away when I got it in the mail, and it did not disappoint. It's freakin' HILARIOUS!)

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe (The cover is pretty awesome too. I'm honestly not sure if I bought it more for the title or for the cover. It might be a tie.)

The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico by Sarah McCoy (Technically, I didn't actually buy this book but won it in the first-reads giveaways on Goodreads, but I'd say that 70% of the reason I entered to win was because of the title. It turned out to be one of my favorite Goodreads wins, though that may have had something to do with the fact that the author also sent a box of Puerto Rican goodies along with the book :D )

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson (Alright, I didn't buy this book either-I checked it out from the library-but how could you not be curious enough to pick up this book after reading the title?)

My Readathon Pile!!

  

 

Soooo excited for my first readathon!! It's just a week away now!

I plan to start with Charlotte's Web and end the read-a-thon with Anya's Ghost (I figured a graphic novel would be the easiest book to read after being up and reading for hours), but that's as far as I have planned. I'm still unsure what book I'd like to read after Charlotte's Web, though I'm leaning towards The Sea of Monsters. I am a slow reader, so I'll be proud of myself if I just get through those three books, but I'll do my best to get through all six.

Review: Starstruck

Title: Starstruck
Author: Cyn Balog
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 256
Where I Got This Book: Own
Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads Summary: Gwendolyn "Dough" X doesn't think she has much going for her—she carries a few extra pounds, her family struggles with their small bakery in a town full of millionaires, and the other kids at her New Jersey high school don't seem to know that she exists. Thank the stars for her longtime boyfriend, Philip P. Wishman—or "Wish." He moved away to California three years ago, when they were 13, but then professed his love for her via e-mail, and he's been her long-distance BF ever since.

At the beginning of her junior year, though, Wish e-mails that he's moving back to Jersey. Great, right? Well, except that Dough has gained about 70 pounds since the last time Wish saw her, while Wish—according to his Facebook photos—has morphed into a blonde god. Convinced that she'll be headed for Dumpsville the minute Wish lays eyes on her, Dough delays their meeting as long as she possibly can.

But when she sees Wish at school, something amazing happens. He looks at Dough like she's just as gorgeous as he is. But Wish is acting a little weird, obsessed with the sun and freaked out by rain. And the creepy new guy working at the bakery, Christian, is convinced that there's more to Wish's good looks than just healthy eating and lots of sun. He tells Dough that a mark on Wish's neck marks him as a member of the Luminati—an ancient cult of astrologers who can manipulate the stars to improve their lives. Is Wish and Dough's love meant to be—or are they star-crossed?

My Thoughts: I needed a book that I could read in one day (it was the last day of Fall Break before I had to go back to school), and this book fit the bill being around 250 pages and having a paranormal romance story line, which I can always devour quickly. I enjoyed the different paranormal twist about using the stars to influence how others see you. There isn't another paranormal YA novel that I know of that has this same story line, so I liked that it was unique in a genre that tends to follow one trend for months and beats it to death until you're begging for something new.

With that said, I did have a couple of complaints about this book. For one, I thought Dough was way too obsessed with her weight. Every single thought she had dealt with her insecurities about her body, and that is no exaggeration. You couldn't read a single paragraph without her mentioning her "dimply thighs". Of course I can understand a teenage girl being weight-obsessed, but Dough thought of nothing else except how fat she was and how worthless that made her when compared to her gorgeous boyfriend. She should have had more depth than that.

I also had a problem with how the "mystery" of Wish's sudden transformation from geek to god was discovered (I know that there really isn't a mystery surrounding Wish since his secret is given away in the summary, but still). It felt like such a cop out. A teenage boy named Christian happens to get hired at Dough's family bakery at the exact same time Wish moves back, he happens to be from California where Wish just moved from, and he happens to have also dabbled in the magic of the stars. Christian actually knew what Wish was up to after seeing him just once from a distance. I mean, really? Did it all have to happen so fast? The entire book takes place in just a week's time because everything was figured out so quickly.

All in all, I thought Starstruck was a rather mediocre read that served as decent entertainment for one evening. The characters weren't very memorable and the story felt too rushed, but I'd still call it an okay read. I never had a desire to set it down; it kept me turning the pages. I'm still interested in reading Balog's Sleepless because I've heard great things about it from trusted bloggers. I just hope the characters and the story in that book are more fleshed out than they were in Starstruck.