Lists

The Weirdest Top Five Books from 2014 List You’ll See

I managed to read, including comics, 125 books in the year 2014. Not all of them were published in 2014, in fact fuew of them were but this list is based off books I read, and here they are.

So here are my top reads from 2014, in no particular order. They were even fun, or they hurt, or reminded me of a happier time in my life.

kingdom of scars

Kingdom of Scars by Eoin Macken

This book is extremely well written, and reminded me of how tough adolescence can be, while giving me an insight as to what it might be to grow up in a different class climate, and what it’s like for boys growing up as well. It was not the easiest of reads, but it was a coming of age tale I just know I’ll go back to again and again.

outlander1

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

This book and the sequels reminded me of how easily you can become engrossed in a book. Or a series. This was one of the best written, best researched books I’ve read in a long time. The story telling was excellent, the characters and scenery leaping from the page into mind.

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Band-Aid for a Broken Leg by Damien Brown

This is a book that reminds me that maybe I as a person don’t do as much as I could to help those outside of my family and social circle. It was an inspiring read that I still think about almost daily.

My life as a white trash zombie by Diana Rowland

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

This will make some people arch an eyebrow, or even turn away in disgust. But amongst my trying to read world class literature, and more non-fiction this was the book that reminded me that reading was supposed to be enjoyable and fun. The characters are flawed, in the best possible way and this is a series I’ll no doubt visit again and again.

FANGIRL_CoverDec2012

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This was a book that hit close to home, because I’ll admit, this is the character closest to me, only I’m not hauling in any boyfriends any time soon. It’s well written, clever, angsty, fluffy and fun. Rainbow Rowell is a master of writing.


This year, in 2015 my goal is to read 80 books.

Let’s see if I can’t savour my books a little longer, and take a step outside every so often. Let’s see if I can read more classics, or if it’s the year of the supernatural once again as 2014 yielded a list containing more vampires, werewolves, skinwalkers, time travellers and fae than any year before.

All I know is that I’ve got a lot of books on my shelves that still haven’t been read and they too should take up some valuable real estate in my imagination.

Lists · Reviews

Two Books That Are Gonna Hurt: In the Cold & Kingdom of Scars

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you’re doing well, enjoying your candy, your classic and not-so-classic horror movies, hiding under the cover reading THAT novel. You know the one, the one that makes you shiver, makes you quiver, makes the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up and then when you’ve put it away infiltrates your dreams.

Now normally around this time of year, I try to read something scary, or horrific. I try to find books that make me want to turn the page as quickly as I can and simultaneously make me not want to, so I can hold onto that feeling of fear for just a little bit longer.

This year however, I found myself not doing so. I didn’t even pick up a vampire novel until last night. Strange isn’t it?

Instead I read two books that hurt, and when I say hurt, I mean you care so deeply, so infinitely about these characters that you wish you could take care of them yourself.

Continue reading “Two Books That Are Gonna Hurt: In the Cold & Kingdom of Scars”

30 Day Challenges

Book Challenge Day 7

Day 07 – Most underrated book

uglies_new-coverThis one might be one of those ones that I’m just completely missing the point. I only know one other person who has read the book and subsequently the series that I am about to mention.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Maybe it’s just that I don’t know the right people but I feel like this book and the series behind it is extremely underrated.

Maybe it’s because in the young adult world dominated by Katniss’ and Tris’ there isn’t too much room for the Tally’s of the world. Maybe this book isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Maybe the fandom just isn’t as vocal but these books deserve more attention.

 

 

Book List 2014

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Extras (Uglies, #4)Extras by Scott Westerfeld

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Slight Spoilers

If the previous books were about the world’s obsession with looks, not being invisible and the need to be something you’re not in order to feel special than this book is about the obsession with reality TV and the need to expose everything of ourselves in the effort to get some attention.

New characters abound and while Aya’s naiveté was understood I often found myself annoyed with the way in which she acted, which I suspect was the intention. She cares more about being famous, than being trusted but there is a delightful evolution from the girl she is in the beginning of the book and who she comes by the end.

This is truly an interesting novel, and shows how the world can become corrupt even when there is a perceived freedom.

I really enjoyed this novel, despite what I felt was a slow beginning and the action and pacing of it toward the middle and end was what made it for me.

I would encourage almost everyone to read this series.

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Book List 2014

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Specials (Uglies, #3)Specials by Scott Westerfeld

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was the one I had the hardest time getting into out of the series thus far but yet the end was fantastic. The development and growth of Tally after the degradation of yet another manipulation was supremely well done.

The thought of invisibility, and being unknown to those around you had me nodding my head in a few parts.

But it was in the thought of how brutality man can be that really had me frightened about the implications of a world like this, where people push into the wild to take what they want and take no prisoners while doing so. But the almost triumphant ending had me quite content.

The slang fell away slightly in this novel to some glorious descriptive explanations of what was going on that allowed me to close my eyes and really picture the world as it burned down around them.

It’s an interesting commentary on the direction the world is currently heading in and there are few characters with whom I could not sympathize with during this book.

Anyone who likes dystopian reflected in a way that is engrained with messages of where our current “Utopia” is heading this is definitely the book for you. It shows us the direction of lives and people who have not heeded the warning messages inherent in nature.

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Book List 2014

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld (Very Bubbly Making, short spoilers)

Pretties (Uglies, #2)Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is totally bubbly making.

And now that I’ve gotten my one, and hopefully only use of the slang out of this book…Here are my thoughts.

I don’t know what I expected to happen in this book but this was definitely not it and I’m not complaining about that. The thought of losing ones identity so much just to be what the world wants you to be is terrifying. But then to have it all come rushing back and realizing the circumstances behind you losing yourself are even worse.

The science behind these books is fascinating and I wish that it was explained a little more in depth though I’m certain it will be within the next couple of books.

Tally is still as interesting a character to me as she was in the first book, perhaps even more so because despite being pretty she inadvertently cures herself, most likely due to a placebo effect and believing that she was cured.

David wasn’t in this book a lot but when he was he ended up being as kind of a character as he could be given the circumstances.

This was a very solid second book in a series, and with the way it ended I’m actually quite excited to move onto the third.

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Book List 2014

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies (Uglies, #1)Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was not a book I looked forward to reading but one I felt I needed to have on my list. I’m not really sure why but when I opened it I did not expect what I got.

And what I got was beyond my wildest imagination.

The beauty in this book is in the details of the world around them in the beginning. The way everyone is watched, but especially it seems the “uglies” those who have unique features and faces and aren’t yet up to snuff in society.

The beauty in the continuation of the book is the realization in that there is nothing wrong with being unique, and nothing wrong with being who you are but knowing that sometimes masks have to be worn in order to survive and triumph over that pigeonhole society is trying to fit you into.

The characters in this are very human, in their concerns, in their want and need to be pretty, or their rejection of all that is considered beautiful by the mainstream.

It was a very fulfilling novel and I’m certain Pretties will be the same.

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Book List 2014

The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Death Cure (Maze Runner, #3)The Death Cure by James Dashner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Slight Spoilers
This book was the hardest out of the three to read for me, largely because I was exhausted and this book which is so detail heavy was hard for me to focus on.

The most interesting part of this for me was the evolution of the characters, or in some cases the de-evolution.

Thomas has remained relatively steady, and staunch in his beliefs and unlike some I don’t believe he needed to regain his memories in order to be the person he needed to be in the end. In fact I think he needed to remain without them, keeping his main personality characteristics and building off an almost blank slate. It was great to see him struggle though considering how stuck he’s seemed in a certain mindset as he realizes that sometimes he needs to make sacrifices and that he really can’t save everyone.

This book wasn’t perfect, but the ending was what blew me away, and when a friend told me I just needed to make it to the end suddenly it was like I was motivated by curiosity to finish. I blew through the end of the book, watching conflict unfold with a growing sense of dread.

But the ending? It made so much sense to me. In fact it made perfect sense. All in all this book left me feeling very fulfilled.

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Book List 2014

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (Spoilers Abound)

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, #2)The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was definitely not as encompassing for me as a reader as the first book was but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it at all. In fact I enjoyed it quite a bit, despite my needing to go back and re-read a few parts (I tended to read too fast then go back to see what I’d missed).

The detail of the world they are in is very vivid, and I found myself imagining it quite easily.

The ending was quite surprising for me yet not, because I had never been too sure of the nature of the Theresa character and now I’m certain I won’t trust her again at all. I did like how much emotion was put into Thomas’ reactions to her betrayal, and his realization shifting about what he needs to do to survive.

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Book List 2014 · Reviews

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by JK Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A definite re-read for me, and still one of the most charming books I’ve ever read. There is not a time where I’ve re-read these books that I haven’t fallen directly into the magical world once again.

J.K Rowling isn’t an amazing, wonderful technical writer, but she writes her characters with such heart that any flaws seem to fall by the wayside. I love this book as it is, an introduction to something so much more, and a world that has grown beyond just literature.

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