Austen Week!

In honour of Jane Austen's birthday on the 16th December, I decided to run a Jane Austen week this week - full of Austen reviews, film adaptions, sequels by various authors, cover art and much much more! To top off the week, just in time for Christmas, there will be an Austen giveaway! More detail on that will come towards the end of the week.

Just to note, for those of you who leave a comment at the end of every Austen post this week, you will gain an extra entry in the giveaway and should you win, you also receive an extra special surprise!!

If you are an Austen sequel author and would like to contribute a book to the giveaway, by all means, do get in touch!

Review: The Hunters: Phanton

Goodreads Description:

The past is never far. . . .

Elena Gilbert and her friends saved Fell’s Church from evil spirits bent on destroying it, but the town’s freedom came at a price: Damon Salvatore’s life.

Damon’s death changes everything. He and his vampire brother, Stefan, had been locked in a vicious battle for Elena’s heart. Now that he’s gone, Elena and Stefan can finally be together. So why can’t Elena stop dreaming of Damon? As Elena’s feelings for Damon grow, a new darkness is brewing in Fell’s Church. Elena has been to hell and back, but this demon is like nothing she’s ever seen. Its only goal is to kill Elena and everyone she loves.

Review:
Phantom is the first book in The Hunters trilogy which continues where The Return trilogy left off. It is difficult to review this book without spoiling it and even the previous book, so I will do my best not to go into too much detail. In the slight chance of spoilers, I suggest you read The Return: Midnight first.

After the major trauma of the last trilogy, Fell's Church was completely turned on its head. There was death, action and your typical Stefan, Elena, Damon love triangle. Elena and the gang did their best to protect the town, to restore it back to how it used to be before the Kitsune came in town. Thankfully, things get back to normal... for now. We have now been thrown forward into the future where summer is coming to an end and the gang are getting ready for college.... the odd thing is, none of them recall their last year at highschool, graduating, the summer or where they are going to study... what is even more shocking is when people they knew who passed away have magically reappeared. They have some catching up to do as their lives went on without them even being there.

While it was great to continue on with my favourite series, I felt this book was a great let down. It was rather slow and I found myself wanting to skip pages just to finish it. In the beginning, I had forgotten that L.J.Smith was no longer writing the series so I didn't approach it with a negative opinion. However, it is easy to notice this book is different. Characters have new personalities and Stefan is no longer the loving and kind vampire, instead he appears to be the annoying rude Stefan who is controlled by Klaus in the tv series.

Final Comments:
In comparison to the entire Vampire Diaries series, this book is a let down. There are some enjoyable parts of the book and a bit of action from supernatural beings, but it is not a page turner. It is interesting to see the relationship between some characters progress, such as with Meredith and Alaric, and even the introduction of new characters. If however you are a big fan of the series, I do suggest you give it a shot to see how it turns out.

Release Date: November 2011
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Author: Ghostwriter (L.J Smith)

I would love to hear your opinions on the book.. so please do share them.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies App

Back in August I wrote a review for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the famous book that combines one of Jane Austens best work and well, Zombies. Take a look back at the review if you want to know more.
The great thing about this book is that it comes in many formats, paperback, hardback and a graphic novel. What is even more interesting is that there is now an interactive app! I have yet to check it out myself but I stumbled across it at another blog (vvb32 reads) and thought I would share it for any of you interested in how some books are turned into awesome apps.

You can find more info on the app at Quirk Books site.
Take a look at the preview of the app below:


If you already have the app, do post a comment below as I would love to hear your opinion on it and perhaps share it with everyone else.

For those interested in the book, you can also win a copy of it at vvb32 reads blog.

Happy Birthday Mark Twain

If you have been on google today, you may notice a fun little illustration commemorating Mark Twain. Mark Twain is a famous and brilliant writer, born Nov 30th 1835 under the name Samuel Langhorne Clemens. While some people may not be keen on his books, they still know who he is. He is known for his most famous works - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I have mentioned him previously in my Friday's Five due to the fact he wrote one of my favourite books, Pudd'nhead Wilson. If you haven't read any of his books, I suggest you pick one up, they are great classics that always appear to have some truth in them, knowing some of what he writes about has probably happened. Mark Twain (I use his pen name as that is how he is remembered) was famous for his wit and satire, and his personal life alone was as much of a story as his stories.

On a final note, I have always been fond of the things he has said and you can find me quoting his words on my facebook page. Some of my favourites include:

• A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
• 'Classic'. A book which people praise and don't read.
• Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
• Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
• Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.

If you can think of any other quotes or would like to share your views on Mark Twain and any of his stories, please do so. I would love to hear what everyone else thinks.

Brief Hiatus

Apologies for the silent treatment... I have been very sick for the past month that I havent had the chance to read or stare at the computer. Thankfully it appears I am recovering just in time for Thanksgiving... even though I am not American. On that note... Happy Thanksgiving to you all, enjoy the parade in NYC, your yummy turkey and a beautiful night with your fabulous families or university roomates. I look forward to blogging and chatting with you all next week with a new review :D

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Review: The Art of the Hlebine School

The Art of the Hlebine School by Vladimir Crnkovic is an illustrated book detailing the project and history of the art from the Hlebine School and the Croatian Museum of Naive Art. It discusses the genre, the art and the life of the artists. If you are interested in culture, art, Europe or learning something new, while you don't need to go out and buy the book, I highly recommend you read on and check out some artwork. It's something nice and light for the weekend.

I have always loved art. I have exhibited work and regularly paint and draw. For my highschool art final, I made a series of paintings in a very unknown genre, Naive Art. Naive art is a concept, known as a modern primitive art of the 20th century. It follows an unique and poetic style that enhances emotional stories and still to this day is very difficult to define. Artists paint nature, their lost childhood, stories and dreams, no matter how joyous or dark. As long as they had an imagination and were curious about the world, anything was possible.
Originally in Croatia it was created by peasants, artisans, clerks and ordinary people from the village. Over time, the most successful of these became professional artists and are cultural icons in their countries.

The great thing about Naive Art is that everyone can paint what they want. Artists have been known to paint in watercolour, oil on canvas, wood and glass. The extremely amazing thing about Naive Art is the glass painting. I myself spent a week with professional artists in Osijek, Croatia to learn how this complicated technique works.

I won't go into detail for the technique, but to put it simply, you paint back to front. You use oil on the back of a glass panel and start with the details, such as eyes, facial features, accessories, highlights on trees etc, move on to hair, clothing and finish with the background (sky and grass). Once you are finished, as long as you place a protective sheet on the back where you painted, the front will always be safe from harm.

To the left is my first attempt. It is an oil on glass work that represents my life with my brother when we were children. We were involved with Folkoric dancing and this became the first time we put sibling issues aside and became friends.

Here are some examples of Naive Art from the book:

Landscape; Oil on Glass - Ivan Generalić

Flood; Oil on Glass - Ivan Generalić

On The Hills - Primeval Forest; Oil on Glass - Ivan Rabuzin

Woodcutters; Oil on Glass - Mijo Kovačić

Final Comments

For lovers of art and culture, this is not a book to miss. It describes an international art which can now be found across Europe, Asia and the US. Different artists have their own style and colour palettes, each unique in their own way and full of drama and emotion.

Unfortunately, this book is extremely impossible to find online as it is one of those special edition art books sold at museums. As I bought it at the museum it was an easy find. If you are interested, I have found a link here. Or if you are ever on holiday and are visiting Croatia, by all means stop off at the museum in Zagreb and take a look at the amazing art. It is in a quaint space hidden in a beautiful building in the heart of the city.

Release Date: 2006

Publisher: Izdavač

Author: Vladimir Crnkovic

Have you heard of GetGlue?

We all love reading a great book, entering an awesome giveaway and getting freebies in the mail... nothing is better than being rewarded for something you love to do. I am always on the lookout for interesting social networks that allows readers to rate books. Obviously we have Goodreads to share our reviews, rate and recommend to others, but we don't get anything in return, which is why I wanted to introduce you to GetGlue.

For those of you that haven't heard of GetGlue, it is a social network for entertainment, where you can "check in" to the book you are reading, shows or movies you are watching. You can "like", rate and engage with other users who have also checked in to the same book. The reward for using GetGlue is stickers, discounts off products and various other freebies. With every few check ins, you receive a fan sticker, and for some books, you receive a personal sticker for that book. It is a great way to show how much you love a book or movie and unlike Foursquare and Gowalla, you don't have to share your location, you just share what you are enjoying.

The bonus part... while the stickers do save on your phone, you can request for them to be printed into stickers and be sent FREE of charge to your home. No strings attached. Here is my sticker sheet:

You can sign up online at GetGlue or download the app for your phone. Watch the stickers roll in!