Annie's Book Blog

Hey, I'm Annie! I'm 21, and I live in North Carolina. I love books! I enjoy literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and much more! I read both adult and YA, but mainly adult. Book reviews, Friday Reads, and other book things are posted here. You can find me on Goodreads at www.goodreads.com/anniesbookblog

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[anniesbookblog]

SAGA!!!

[cathxrinecawood]

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These covers of Harry Potter, especially the first three, were so enchanting to me as a child. They are so magical!

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Fjaerland book town, Norway

Fjaerland is one of Norway’s Book Towns near Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier in mainland Europe. Old sheds, houses and even a hotel have been converted into bookshops. “During the winter, the bookshop owners have to transport the books from place to place, over the snow, on kick-sleds,” says Campbell.

Photograph: Jan Klovstad

From: guardian

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This is amazing!

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bought this baby the other day!

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I love this book! Lyrical, heartwarming, chilling--this book is sublime. Perfect for Halloween!

[anniesbookblog]

Book Review: More Than This

Rating: 7 out of 10 Lethes

More Than This is my first Patick Ness book. I enjoyed the book, but I think I will enjoy other of Patrick Ness' books more than More Than This.

I can't mention the plot too much because that would give way spoilers. One of my main motivations in continuing with the book is because I wanted answers, so spoiling it would likely ruin the entire book for someone. 

I had heard in other reviews that the book is slow. I, too, found it slow at first. I read about 20 pages one day and about 450 the next. The book is somewhat chunky, but it goes by very quickly. The chapters are very short, which helps.

If  you're looking for a cute romance, this is not your book. If you're looking for a thriller, this is also not your book. However, if you are looking for a book with really well written characters, this is your book. Although I flew through the book, I still felt like I knew and understood the characters well. I was sympathetic and entertained by them as well. The plot really picks up after about the first hundred pages, so do not lose heart! Read this on a day without anything else to do and a lot of time to feel. I recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more of Patrick Ness' works.

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These are just six of my favorite book titles. This was inspired by GingerReadsLainey on YouTube. These are just some great titled books (but I loved all of them, coincidentally!) Thanks for the great idea, Lainey! This may be part one of several... 

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Harry Potter Tribute Exhibition [x]

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Hahaa.. Hagrid looks adorable

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Book Review: The Diary of Petr Ginz

Originally titled "Diary of My Brother," The Diary of Petr Ginz is one of the most emotionally demanding books I have ever read.

Petr, at age 14, was taken to a concentration camp. At 16, he was taken to Auschwitz and promptly gassed. Little remained of the vast work he accomplished during his short life. This included some of his magazine, Vedem, which he published weekly at the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Also some of his drawings, such as Moon Landscape, long a favorite picture of mine (it was destroyed in the Columbia shuttle disaster in 2003) survived. This picture piqued my interest in this boy.

It was actually the piqued interest in him after the Columbia disaster which led the diaries of Petr Ginz to be found. They were then authenticated by his sister, Chava Pressburger (aka Eva Ginz), who carefully and wonderfully translated them.

There might be some comparison between Anne Frank's Diary of a Young girl and Petr Ginz' diaries, but they are quite different. Anne Frank wrote in hiding, and her work was heavily edited by her family. Petr's diary is more of a daily log of his life. He writes almost without fail for several years, no matter how banal his day was. Petr also writes with a lovely humor which saddened me while making me smile. In just a couple years, this boy was killed. But he was so full of life, and his diary is testament to that. Most frequently, Petr writes about spending time with friends and family. Over time, that turns into a record of who is being sent to which concentration camp when. 

If you have my edition I have the following advice: skip Jonathan Safran Foer's inroduction and read Chava Pressburger's introduction. Foer seems to try to relate Petr to his own life. But Petr's life already was related to many people's lives: the people who he loved and who loved him. Pressburger's introduction made me cry. Re-reading it after I finished the book, it made me cry harder. Petr's diaries will stick with me forever. On a lighter note, whenever I see a "Jude" badge in a photo, I will think to how Petr jokingly called them a "sheriff's badge." 

This review is getting long so I will wrap it up shortly. Find  copy of this book and read it. It combines diary, poetry, and art. I kept stopping this book, looking up, and thinking "this boy can't die. He simply can't have been killed." I will leave you with the words of his sister, upon seeing the diaries for the first time,

     "When I saw them, I felt as if Petr hadn't actually died. It seemed to me that he was alive somewhere in eternity and was letting me know by sending this particular message."

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Book Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Rating: 8.75 out of 10 pickups.

I knew this book was going to be good when I started it, but it blew all of my expectations out of the water. It was non-cliched, sweet, emotional, and most of all - it had very real feeling relationships between the characters. This book had my heart as jelly in its hands and the pay-off was great. 

Aristotle, who goes by Ari, is one of my new favorite main characters. His narrative is told in a way that suits him completely- leaving out important things, but careful and thoughtful. Dante reminds me of Clarisse, from Fahrenheit 451, but a more fully realized character. The friendship between Ari and Dante is one of the most heartwarming, and to me, relatable friendships I have seen in Young-Adult books. Many friendships skip between important events or revealing conversations. But Saenz is more thorough than that. He talks about the day-to-day, the small moments that make a friendship. The days you call, the days you don't, etc.

The only real suspension of disbelief I had was that Ari's parent's "family meeting" was a little... generous. This is a tiny spoiler which you should be able to glean from the front cover, but being gay was very taboo for most people in 1988. Even in 2005 it was a lot different than today. But I loved the scene and I wouldn't want it any other way. 

Go out and read this book. Now. Find it and do it. The only people I would say should shy away from this book are the kind of people who complain about Book 5 Harry as being too whiny and emotional. Ari is a teenager in the book who has genuine problems in his life, and if you can't handle anything other than stone-hard stoicism, than this is not the book for you.

I can guarantee this book is one of my top 10 of 2014!

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Hey, I updated the original All Hallow’s Read poster for 2014! Download from this post or click or here! Happy haunts, everyone.

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This is so cute and festive! I think I'll donate a few old children's books of mine to the library so that others can experience the magic of reading.

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Currently Reading: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe

Oh my goodness. This book is so good. I had heard that the book was amazing before I picked it up, but then I started reading it and I haven't been able to put it down since. I've been quite busy lately and so I haven't been able to Tumblr or read as much as usual, but my passion has been jump-started!

I am still only about a third of the way through the book, but already I can say that this is one of the most refreshing and unique books I've read this year. The story is told with a kind of kindness and compassion for its characters and its world most male-centered books, I feel, lack. It also takes place when the characters Ari and Dante are 15, and the things they go through. Both male and female readers can relate to how Ari is going through his changes emotionally, if not physically.

I missed writing about what I am reading, and I'm glad to be back. Happy reading, y'all!

[bibliolectors]

I read, you read, the Yeti also read / Yo leo, tú lees, el Yeti también lee (ilustración de Robert Romanowicz)

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Currently Reading: The Bone Season

Hey y'all! So, I've jumped on the The Bone Season bandwagon. It's been pretty nice so far! I had heard so many good things about the book, and I'm afraid it might have been over-hyped for me. 

I'm 114 into the American Hardcover edition. The story is becoming more interesting to me, but I'm still not completely enthralled with the book yet. It just seems like there has been a lot of world building but I still cannot picture the world. I still have hope, though! I will continue and hopefully end up loving it.

Does the book pick up pace? Has anyone else felt like this? I will post a review when I finish and hopefully I will be in love at that point.

Happy reading!

[cloudyskiesandcatharsis]

Redesigned Book Cover Illustrations by Charles Chaisson

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Currently Reading: International Literacy Day Edition

Hope everyone is having a great International Literacy Day! In honor of ILD, I'm going to donate some of my old children's/middle grade books. Everyone deserves a strong start and lots of books to start his or her reading life!

I am currently reading Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver. It is the sequel to her book The Bean Trees, which I enjoyed immensely. This is part of my Sequel September Challenge. Once I finish Pigs in Heaven, I'll have finished two sequels! Hooray!

I am also slowly wading my way through North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I'm enjoying the book a lot. It's been incredibly surprising in its content. I can't wait to finish it and then watch the miniseries!

Also, in honor of International Literacy Day, I recommend you check out Better World Books. It is a company that donates a book for every book you buy, donates money to literacy and libraries, and reuses and recycles books. It sells new and used books (but I usually buy from the bargain bin!) and the prices are great. Plus, international free shipping! Check it out here http://www.betterworldbooks.com/ .

Happy reading!

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Book Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Rating 7 out of 10 asylums

I have been hearing a lot about Mara Dyer for about a year. I understand why. The story is action packed and addicting. However, I thought I would be a lot more scared by it. I thought there would be more discomfort, more build-up, and more creepiness in general. Instead, I found myself more wrapped-up in the romantic and personal plotlines of being at Croyden High School than the supernatural and unresolved elements.

I'm not going  to say much more because I feel like anything would spoil the story. I am likely going to continue on with the series, which I think I will enjoy. I did enjoy the story, but I just went into it thinking it would be different (more focused on horror) than it actually was.

I would suggest The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer if you are on the fence about it! If you are someone who is easily frightened or scarred after reading a Stephen King novel, don't write Mara Dyer off. There are plenty of nice elements that offset the creepiness; you should still be able to enjoy it. 

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Book Review: Fahrenheit 451

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Hounds

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is an excellent book. It was relevant in ways I did not believe it would be, considering it was written in 1953. Although Bradbury writes with a very clear point, the actual story-telling and writing are not compromised.

Guy Montag is the protagonist of this story. In a way, he is an everyman and the characters around him are much more interesting. Clarisse, the girl who asks "Why?". Mildred, his wife, who seems so content in the superficial and false world she embraces; however, the story begins with her trying to overdose on sleeping pills. Captain Beatty, the closeted literature lover who is in charge of the "firemen". Faber, the literature lover plagued by inaction and fear. 

The society in Fahrenheit 451 is even more well written and thought out than I believed it would be. Parlors, as they are called, consist of walls made out of flat-screen televisions. The "families" are the people who are on these screens. Many, Montag's wife included, spend their time invested in these screens and not with actual human contact or thought. The whole time the "families" were being mentioned, I could only think about shows like "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." Some people spend so much time and effort thinking and idolizing celebrities,but none of that actually matters. They are merely a distraction. And as the story progresses, you see more and more why these people (and their government) feel like they need a distraction. It was very prophetic, in a way. The government does not need to actually outlaw the books; people will take comfort over pain any day (myself included, especially if I lived in a world like Montag's).

I really enjoyed Fahrenheit 451, but I still think my favorite Bradbury work is Something Wicked This Way Comes. I can't wait to reread it come October!