Book: The Hobbit

Title: The Hobbit
Author: J.R.R Tolrilken
Sequels: The Lord of the Ring (trilogy)

Rating: 5 stars

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Blurb:
This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected...
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day, to whisk him away on a journey 'there and back again'. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon...

My opinion:

        So this book is a timeless classic. It has sold many millions (or even billions) since it's publication back in 1937. The fact that it has a movie made on it just makes it seem more popular.

       This book, when I first read it was not something that I was sure i would like. The print is relatively small and the number of pages are numerous. despite the wordiness of the book, it is something that makes an amazing read. A spellbinding page-turner, I had issues putting this book down once I had started (there go my classes once again).

      While this book is a true fantasy book and takes you far away from reality and the norms that applies here. That being said, this book is still amazing in telling you things  are morally or ethically important without being preachy. Another thing this book does is act as an eyeopener. Bilbo, in the beginning is a very laid-back and unambitious person. But as the book goes on, we learn -along with Bilbo- of traits he has possessed all along but have remained dormant till now. It's a wonderful book about pushing boundaries, challenging yourself and finding out who you really are.

Ideal For:

This book can't be read by those under the age of 13. Not because of themes or wild rated scenes but because of the length, time and vocabulary. An ardent reader can read this at the age of thirteen (the limit is my opinion) but to take in everything you have to have an understanding that most don't begin to develop till that age. If the reader is mature enough in thought then age doesn't matter when reading this book

This book needs to be read all at once, it doesn't matter where or when. But breaking this book can become difficult. Taking a break often breaks the continuity and will leave you slightly disoriented upon return. Each chapter is an adventure and often dropping the book means leaving in the middle of a raid.

Book: The Book Thief

Book: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Sequals: none

Rating: 5 stars

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Blurb:

IT IS 1939. NAZI GERMANY. THE COUNTRY IS HOLDING ITS BREATH. DEATH HAS NEVER BEEN BUSIER, AND WILL BECOME BUSIER STILL.

Liesel Meminger and her brother are being taken be their mother to live with a foster family outside Munich. Liesel's father was taken away on the breath of a single, unfamiliar word - Kommunist - and Liesel sees the fear of a similar fate in her mother's eyes. On the journey, Death visits the young boy, and notices Liesel. It will be the first of many nearer encounters. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is "The Gravedigger's Handbook", left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.

So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

"The Book Thief" is a story about the power of words to make worlds. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-wining author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

My opinion:

  This book comes highly recommended, as most know. There is a tag line for this story that I completely agree with: When Death tells a Story you have to read.  This book is compelling in the I-can't-put-it-down way and the way this book is written makes you want to constantly find out more. Death is something that is often a theme in the book, or a person who goes unseen, popping in and out of shadows every once in a while. If you are acquainted with Japanese work such as Death Note, then death isn't anything but a lord, with many followers and workers to do his bidding.
There are almost no point of view switches as Death walks through the story. But death, as the blurb says is a very busy person. So there are times when the story skips years and leaves you wondering what went on. But these gaps are filled by reading onwards. Although the characters don't have their own point of views, each character is fully developed and the personalities are strong. Liesel has a voice and personality that anyone can relate to. A stubbornness that many people associate with themselves and ever-changing view of the world as she matures and learns more.

Ideal For:

This book, once again, isn't gender specific. It's something that is a must read for all genders. While it definitely isn't suitable for young readers, Teenagers onwards can enjoy and relate to the book and the feelings and sentiments that are shared. It's a book that I would recommend that most people read.

Lack of Updates~

Ok...so I've not updated since December....completely intolerable! But u have good reason! I had my SAt test in both November and Jan along with terminal exams and finals...lets also not ignore the fact that I got braces over that time as well. Now to add to the woes, I was planning on putting up a bunch of reviews since none of the above listed things really stopped me from reading, but my computer has gone for formatting and I am currently (secretly) using my mom's office laptop to type this (shhhh!) but this update is basically a list of what I have read and what you can expect reviews on as soon as I get my precious laptop back :D

List of books already read (ready for review):
- The Book Thief :-Markus Zusak
- The Hobbit :-J.R.R Tolken
- Artemis Fowl and The Last Guardian :-Eoin Coifer
- Defiance :-C.J Redwine
- The Time Keeper :-Mitch Albom
- Pink or Black (1 & 2) :-Tishaa
- Clockwork Angel :-Cassandra Clare
- Eye of The Crow :-Shane Peacock

Books on "to read" list (expect them soon):
- Perks of Being a Wallflower :-Stephen Chbosky
- Lord of The Rings (trilogy) :-J.R.R Tolken
- Mystic City :-Theo Lawrence
- Lady of the English :- Elizabeth Chadwick
- The Magicians' Guild :- Trudi Canavan
- The Bastard of Istanbul :- Elif Shafak
- The Spellbook of Listen Taylor :- Jacelyn Moriarty
- Art Geeks and Prom Queens :- Alyson Noël
- Half of a Yellow Sun :- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- The Devil's Colony :- James Rollins
- The Jefferson Key :- Steve Barry
- Theodore Boon: The Accused :- John Grisham
- Norwegian Woods :- Haruhi Murakami

So, as you can see, I plan on being very busy...and this is just for the first half (quarter now since this is the third month) of 2013 ^~^. My updates may be slightly off in timing due to me being a senior now (hurray!) and having finals, applications and standardised tests coming up...so bear with me~~

Giveaway at Beauty and The Cheap!!!!

So my awesome friend is having a giveaway to celebrate her blog's first anniversary...so please do visit ^.^

It's a make-up blog so...be warned?

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Lol I'm talking to my invisible followers..I love you invisi-people!!!!!!

Book: Elixer

Book: Elixer (2010)
Author: Hilary Duff (co-writer Elise Allen)
Sequels: Devoted (2011), True (2012)

Rating: 1.5 stars
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Blurb:

Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before. 
When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, and they discover the centuries old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives—and their futures.

My Opinion: 
*WARNING...I HAVE RANTED*

I've heard people diss this book and read it today in hopes of saying "Look, you guys, you are way to judgmental." Bad sadly, they have proven me wrong. This book is written by a celebrity Hilary Duff in fact. I remember being barely 6-7 years old and watching Lizzie Maguire. Safe to say, I'm a huge fan of hers and even when the show was over (the ending movie was amazing *.*) I continued following her music and movies. So when I heard she wrote a book, all I could say was "Yay!!!!"
Now I sit here, having finished the book within a matter of 3 hours (yes it was that small) and simple have one question:  

This book is nowhere near making it into my recommended list anytime soon. The book starts of with Clea and Rayna in a nightclub in Paris. Apparently, these two seventeen year old's were on a three week Europe tour...alone. From there itself you find the character building to be bland. You can never relate to any of the characters since they haven't been built up properly, they have no depth or 3-D quality that makes you connect with them.
After the Paris trip, we are flown back to Connecticut where Clea finds a mysterious guy appearing in most of the photos shes taken on the trip. She becomes paranoid and a little interest is created as the readers wonder about mystery guy. Which is when we are introduced to Ben-her other best friend who is (kind of obviously) in love with her. Now to add on another character: Her mother, the senator who doesn't mind letting her 17 year old fly around the world with only 1 guy as her companion.
Then we are taken to the carnival in Rio which is where she meets Mystery Guy  and his name is....SAGE!(go ahead and laugh...I did). Turns out he's a 500 year old guy who is 'accidentally' immortal. And to add to the plot, he is her soul-mate.
This is where lines start blurring. The story takes a twist from being about her dad to all about Sage and Clea. And their romance is one to read about (not in the good sense) within the time period of a week, she goes from thinking of him as a Stalker to a Serial Killer to her Soul-Mate. Once he is her Soul-mate, she is so obsessive about him that they end up having s-x in the passenger seat of Rayna's car (and creepy enough, he already had protection.) The plot line just goes down from there.

Ideal For:
Please save yourself the trouble and don't read this. Unless you liked a book like Evermore...in which case this is perfect for you. If you are into cliche lines, plots and characters with little personality development or a book that takes you to approximately 4 cities without describing each properly, then you will enjoy this book. Over all, I found the plot line torturing, characters bland, the story way to fast-paced, and grammar and word usage inadequate.

Book: Under The Dome

Book: Under The Dome
Author Name: Stephen King



* Has multiple covers*

The Blurb:
It is the very small town of Chester's Mill, Maine, which is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. No-one can get in and no-one can get out
When food, water and electricity run short, the normal rules of society have changed. As a new and more sinister social order develops, Dale Barbara, a young Iraq veteran, teams up with a handful of intrepid citizens to fight against the corruption that is sweeping through the town and to try and discover the source of the Dome before its too late...

My Opinion
I was apprehensive reading this because I heard that Stephan King wrote mostly scary stories...or rather Sci-Fi to the extreme. However, by the time I reached the 2-3rd chapter of this book, I was so into it I couldn't put it down (and consequently got yelled at by most of my teachers). Stephen King is one of the bestselling writers in the world and this book told me why. Each character in the story has their own personality and characteristics that is brought out beautifully. The story twists and turns weaving in and out of itself without managing to confuse the readers, while at the same time, it manages to keep the reader at the age of their seat. As is expected from a Stephen King book, the language is used is beautiful and the vocabulary-impeccable. There are times when I read certain stories and find myself saying "Oh, maybe this word would have suited the story more." yet in this book, I found myself so enthralled I was gobbling it up...in fact, I managed to finish this 877 page book in approximately one day.

Ideal For:
Not exactly a gender specific book, however, one thing that might weed out a couple people is the patience needed to read this book. Although words aren't difficult, and the language isn't tough to comprehend, the book is a colossal 877 pages long. This book is not meant for those who want to read as a form of passing time in between meetings or on a train journey. This book is more like a weekend getaway for fast readers and a Long weekend book to those who read slightly slower. People who read this book have to be comfortable with slight mature content. There is graphic violence described as well as different sexual tendencies that are touched upon. So if you don't think you can handle a little intimacy (the unusual kind) and violence as well as death, then I wouldn't touch this book. However, for those with no qualms about a little mature content, this book definitely makes my top recommended list.

Buy It At:
Amazon
Barnes & Nobles
Flipkart
Crossword 

Book: The Name Of This Book Is...Secret

Book Name: The Name Of This Book is...Secret
Series Name: Secret Series
Author: Pseudonyomous Bosch

Blurb:
Warning: Do not read this book!


... For amongst its strange and alarming contents you will fin:

two extraordinary adventurers ...

a missing magician's diary ...

a symphony of smells ...

and a deadly secret.

But wait, you already know too much! It is too late. I'm afraid nothing will stop you now. Open the book if you must. But, please, tell no one.

My Thoughts:
This is stpry is unique...and if you do find a story written like this (not by this author) then I will reward...something. Pseudonyomous has written this story about 2 11 year old kids considered to be outcasts. Cass-the survivalist and Max-Ernest, the 'sick' kid. It chronicles the adventure that starts from when they become friends.
The adventure starts when Cassandra (Cass) finds a box labeled 'Simphony of Smell' in the firehouse that her 'grandfathers' own. She traces it back to a magician to find out all about a secret society...one whose name shall not be spoken (sorry, I've signed an oath on this). And that's when the entire adventure begins.
The story, you will find is often inturrupted with Pseudonyomous rambling, commenting, analysing or giving us (redundant) information.this adds to the situation, making the readers anticipate what happens after and doesn't dissapoint you when you flip the page. The book, on the whole is comedic in the most innocent of ways while still maintaining that edge of fantasy, mystery and adventure. Pseudonyomous has done a wonderful job in keeping the readers interest and carrying the suspense, all the way to the last page.

Ideal For:
This is a book for 10+ not a lot of heavy things to read or in depth meaning to look for. There is some vocabulary to look out for as well as some phrases that the smaller readers may not understand. However, I have personally seen someone as young as ten (my little sister) and as old as 26 (random woman at a coffee shop) enjoying this book, so it's up for you to decide. The main genres of this book are fantasy, adventure, mystery and comedy. This combination along with the fact that this book is light reading makes this book an excellent stress buster after a hectic week at work. It's also the kind of book that you can read while on the train/bus, one that you can still be in the flow off even if you stop mid-chapter.

Where to get it:

Flipkart
Amazon
Barnes and Nobles