Get more out of your books...

Having finally had a break from work to stop by the blog, my colleague had introduced me to a new website... Small Demons.

To those not familiar with the website, it is a site that cross-references places, people, books, songs, movies, fashion brands, cars etc, all mentioned through books. It is for the curious minds of readers who notice the little things from time to time and want to know where else to find it... I have ready many articles about it online that state "it is the world inside of a book, revealed, it's also the world of books, connected." Once you register, you can pick your favourite books or look up places or songs mentioned in books. The great thing about it is that it links books together that share something....

For example, the iPod, which is known worldwide can be seen in dozens of books. I entered the name into the search tool and it came up with a list of books that reference it. From obvious books such as "Steve Jobs" to many many others including "Crossed" - J.F.Lewis, "Arcadia Falls" - Carol Goodman and "House Rules" - Jodi Picoult. You can find dozens of books that share the same products. It can honestly take you around an entire library of genres. Once you find things you like or books you love or would like to read, simply click the heart icon and it links to your storyboard.

 

To sum things up, the CEO himself, Valla Vakili said it best: "By tracing and connecting those details, we restore the cadence of culture. We lay down a path of discovery where your next song, your next movie, your next book — your next anything — comes from the stories you’ve lost yourself in, the writers you can’t get enough of, the characters you can’t forget".

So if you think this is something you would be interested to check out, visit the site here. If you are already using it or have any feedback, please share it in the comments below as I would love to hear what you have to say.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Review: Linger

Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls) Book #2

Release Date: 21st July 2010

Pages: 416

Publisher: Scholastic

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Source: Purchased (Waterstones)

Purchase Book: Amazon UK | Amazon US

Goodreads
Grace and Sam must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping dangerous secrets. For Sam, it means grappling with his werewolf past... and figuring out a way to survive the future.
But just when they manage to find happiness, Grace finds herself changing in ways she could have never expected...

Review:

At the end of Shiver, we were left with a bit of a cliff hanger. Did the cure work? Is Sam a wolf forever or will he become human? If you have yet to read the first book, I warn you there are spoilers for the previous book as this one jumps an entire space of time between books. So shield your eyes!

Obviously you know a love story can’t continue without the main protagonist going on with the love of his life. Enter the first line in the first chapter “This is a story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who is becoming one.” I was instantly reminded of Romeo and Juliet. The author presents us with a random statement at the beginning and will go on to explain what exactly it all means.

After the first book, we saw Sam and Grace build their relationship, although it was difficult to understand what they saw in each other. The focus being on Sam being a wolf and how would they work it all out. Shiver on the other hand is about Sam and Grace finally being able to be together, planning their future and generally being all merry.... enter the evil parents that are anti teenage freedom. With every teen love story, parents are bound to get in the way, along with annoying characters that are bent on killing wolves and newly formed wolves with issues. This story is choca-block with drama. We are introduced to a new wolf, Cole who comes with a tonne of baggage and we finally get to see how the effect of her brother’s death plays on Isabel. Throw in another minor romance and a death and you got yourself a pretty well rounded second book. The thing that makes this book a bit easier to read than the first is that there more substance to Grace and Sam’s relationship. We learn more about them both, their qualities and what they could possibly see in each other. They may seem like polar opposites but like they say opposites attract and their romance is quite sweet.... with the exception of the whole potential doomed future.

Interesting bits:

Continuing in the same format as the first book, It is written in alternate chapters. This time instead of just Grace and Sam’s point of view, we are getting perspectives from an array of characters... it is actually pretty creative and it gives you the chance to see how all the characters behave around set events. My only issue was keeping up with which character was narrating.

Cover:

Following the same design as the first, a fantastic cover, again with different designs depending on the country you purchase the book. I love the graphic style of the black, white and red, this time with a bit more white negative space for snow. The US was alright, but doesn't grab my attention is much as the previous US cover (below). Which do you prefer?

Final Comments:
Sadly this book didn’t leave me speechless. While it was written well and has some interesting twists, I found it a bit predictable. That’s not to say I won’t be continuing on to the third book, as this book still managed to leave me wanting to know what happens next. I find I need to run to the bookstore, because even though Grace and Sam’s relationship was odd at times, they grew on me and I want to know how it will all turn out. If you have read the first, I would definitely recommend reading this book. If you are new to the series and love your wolves, fantasy, mythology or YA books, why not give it a go. I give this book 3 acorns as the author threw me into the book without an explanation as to what happened between the two books and there was something else missing for me. Happy reading!

I would love to know what you thought of the book. If you have also read the final book, please do share links to your reviews in the comments section as I will be sharing a collection of the final reviews for the last book.

Rating:

Weigh in Wednesday (2)

Weigh in Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Epilogue. The meme is simple, you are given a topic and you chip in with your opinion.

This weeks topic: Love triangles vs Insta-love

Brilliant topic! I had actually discussed this with a friend the other day. With the large amount of YA books being published with romantic plots entwined with wolves, angels and vampires, authors seem to be introducing us to the concept of insta-love, where teenagers fall desperately in love with another character. Then ofcourse, there is always a love triangle to bring some drama to the mix. Just look at Twilight... we got all of it packed into one.
In my personal opinion I am not a big fan of either. While I have heard of love at first sight, I prefer to read about the relationship between two characters as they develop. It is more interesting. When it comes to a love triangle, it can be enjoyable at times, being able to root for the character you want to win the girl or guy. Then again, some authors have been known to drag on love triangles and you just want it to end, as long as they end up with your choice. As long as the love triangle is exciting and the author does it well, I guess that will be my choice.

Are you all for love triangles or insta-love?
Have any examples of amazing stories with either?

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Mizb at Should be Reading.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• Share the title and author

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

"I say, if love is rough with you, be rough with love!" Eleanor said in her bossy way. "Stamp out sadness with dancing slippers!"

Feature and Follow Friday (5)

Welcome to another Follow Friday! Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkeeand Alison Can Read where you can meet new bloggers and gain more followers! The fun part of it is the random questions! Here we go!


Q. What is one thing you wish you could tell your favorite author?


Well I have a few favourites, but since I am picking one that I would actually tell them something, it would be Stephenie Meyer. While it is the Twilight saga that sucked me into the vampire world and to be honest, several weeks before I even heard of the series, I was saying how strange my friend was for reading vampire books.... I was wrong! 
Anyways down to the question, I would actually ask her why she capitalized the word "dumpster" throughout the books. I remember the chapter where Bella was hanging around the dumpster, throwing out the leaflets and the entire time I thought is dumpster a new place in the US? To this day, I can not get it out of my head... was there a reason it was "Dumpster" and not "dumpster".... or was it an error on behalf of the proofreader?
I have been told it is now a US brand, hence the capital.... in Australia it is just a generic term though, not a brand. 


p. 98: "Do you mind throwing these flyers in the Dumpster?' " Mrs. Newton.

p. 98: "The Dumpster was around the side of Newton's..."

p. 291: "...fire fighters were called to the scene of a burning trash Dumpster..."

Weigh in Wednesday

Introducing a new meme to the blog. I got an email about this the other day and thought it was a brilliant idea. Weigh in Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Epilogue. The meme is simple, you are given a topic and you chip in with your opinion.

This weeks topic: E-book vs Print book.


Both forms of reading have their benefits. While I don't have an e-book reader myself, I am aware of the fantastic amount of benefits and have considered buying one, however I am still very partial to holding a book in my hand as opposed to staring at a screen. If someone was to gift me a kindle though I am sure I would probably give into the temptation. There is such a variety of e-book readers, such as the famous Kindle, Sony Reader, Kobo, Barnes and Noble Nook, down to the iPad, desktop computers and smartphones. There is simply no escape from the potential of reading an e-book.

For those of us traditionalists, the experience of holding a book in our hands tends to be a main benefit. Being able to display our obscene collection of books on a classic book shelf; showing off our first editions and signed copies. It is always a great conversation starter when someone walks into your home and compliments you on your amazing collection of books, thumbing their way through the selection, learning more about who you are and what book they could potentially read next.

However, E-books are growing in popularity and more and more publishing houses are looking to take it on, releasing new and old books for e-readers. E-books are equally a brilliant idea; they allow readers to take all their digital books on the go, so that you can choose what you want to read on the move or at your destination of choice.

To put in simply, I am very pro printed book, but I have no aversion to e-books. My personal preference is that I would have an e-reader on the side for when I didn't have space for a book to carry with me, but I will continue to build my printed collection until I have a full blown old fashioned library that looks a bit like this....

Finale cover reveal and BookExpo America

For those of you who regularly read my posts, you know I am a big fan of Becca Fitzpatrick and Patch. If you are a fan of the Hush, Hush saga and based in New York, you will be pleased to know that Becca will be revealing her FINALE cover at BookExpo America on Wednesday June 6th at 8:45am in the lobby of the Javits Center. I assume for those of us not in NY, we will be able to see the cover shortly after the reveal.

The cherry on the cake is Becca will also be signing at the Simon and Schuster booth from 9:30am until 10:30am.

On another note, if you are a blogger, the BookExpo is a fantastic opportunity to mingle with other bloggers, authors and publishers. Head over to the website to find out what is involved and how you can be a part of the action. Not only will you have a chance to network but there will be some great sessions on a range of topics, from general blogging, making money, building a community, reviews and tips on how publishers and bloggers work together. It is honestly a great chance to gain some invaluable advice if you are starting out or want a fresh perspective on your blog.