The bookworms

Saint paul college's library blog

[bookwormingsp]

Book Appraisal: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Stephanie Perkins may have just won over my heart with these two books I've read from the series (Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door).

I must admit I have a weak spot for books like these. 

If you loved Anna and the French Kiss you will love this book as well. It portraits Lola, an unusual character full of surprises and personality. Her love of dress-up made me wish I was corky enough to be able to pull off everything she wore; ranging from Marie Antoinette to outrageous boots.

This book made me cry and laugh and it also made me wish I was a wonderful ice figure skater or that I could sew something more than a fallen button or a ripped fabric.

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Book Appraisal: Enchanted

This book was a very particular mix of the classic bedtime stories our parents read to us when we fell asleep (well, not in my case as my parents never read me half a book). It combined many of the aspects of the classic fantasy/ happily-ever-after stories we all know; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, the goose that lay golden eggs, the frog that turns into a prince after a slippery and disgusting peck on its crusty back (that image gives me shivers).

All in all, I enjoyed reading it very much; I felt as if I was reading a modern version book of all of my favorite fairytales. It was very confusing at first keeping up with so many characters at once (The woodcutters had seven kids and they all have weekday names, I don’t know if it was my lack of concentration but I had a really hard time identifying who was who)

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to live up some enjoyable fantasy, an interesting plotline and well-rounded characters.

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Book comment: The Selection

I saw this book on the shelf and said "Oh why not?" as I tend to indulge in terrible romantic books just for entertainment.

Hunger games mixed in with the bachelor seemed like a great idea to me but I felt that it was poorly executed. I read many goodreads reviews of this book and found many of them to be tremendously accurate and representative of what I felt like after finishing it and that I hadn't even begun to find words to express.

If you're searching to read for an entertaining book and you can handle extremely flat characters, a more than stereotypical prince that says "my dear" more times than there are deaths in kill bill, an extremely annoying main character with a name that is even more annoying than her attitude, awful (when I say awful I really mean TERRIBLE and TO DIE FOR) character names, a TERRIBLY developed dystopian society in which you probably won't understand half of what is happening... then read this.

If you love sci-fi and dystopian societies do NOT read this, I'll just leave it at "United Sates of China". If you have any regard for history and things that actually could happen in real life and logic then do NOT pick up this book I'm telling you beforehand JUST DON'T. I KNOW IT HAS A PRETTY COVER BUT DON'T LET IT GET TO YOU! YOU CAN DO IT BE STRONG. (yes I am screaming this part, that's how  serious I am for you to beware of the consecuences of reading this).

I must admit I was entertained (not without continuous snorting due to the ridiculousness this pages held) but the entertainment wasn't worth filling my head with such nonsense.

I started reading the second book and it was so painful I couldn't get past page 50, just THINK ABOUT IT, how BAD does a book have to be for a person like me to be incapable of even getting to the middle of it?

If you didn't read anything of my intense ramblings I'll just leave it at this: Just don't, steer clear and you'll be ok.

ps: I'll probably run away everytime I see this author's name somewhere.

[wordsnquotes]

Don’t attach yourself to anyone who shows you the least bit of attention because you’re lonely. Loneliness is the human condition. No one is ever going to fill that space. The best you can do is know yourself… know what you want.

Janet Fitch, White Oleander (via wordsnquotes)

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Author highlight: JK Rowling

Rowling is a British novelist best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series.Born in Yate, Gloucestershire, Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990.Time magazine named her as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fans. On 1 October 2010, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Rowling stated a new book on the saga might happen.

[quoted-books]

It’s like the people who believe they’ll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn’t work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.

Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book (via quoted-books)

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Book appraisal: Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss ended up being another of the few pleasant surprises I've run into when randomly picking up books from the library shelf. Despite its apparently cheesy name (many boys in my class continuously made fun of me because of it) its story is one of the best romance stories I've ever read since Eleanor & Park (another reminder that one should never judge a book by its cover) It's a genuine love story with characters and relationships that feel real, all mixed in with the beautiful setting of Paris; Stephanie Perkins made me feel as if I was there, and made me wish I was as well. This is a story of friendship, love and hardship; I guarantee this book will leave you with a smile on your face.

[kohicat]

"The world is not a wish-granting factory…"- John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

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Author Highlight: Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter and producer. He has published seventeen novels and a non-fiction book. Eight of his romantic-drama novels have been adapted to film. While still in school in 1985, Sparks penned his first (never published) novel, The Passing. Sparks released his 18th novel, The Longest Ride, on September 17, 2013.

[gloriouse]

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Book Review: Goosebumps

We all know this book is on sixth grade level in terms of plot argumentation and literary quality, but this saga offers a simple story line with very relatable characters and real life situations. Although i would never recommend it to any kind of reader, its a good book-to-go it if you are in a hurry to write a reading response.

[bookmania]

I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.

Aldous Huxley, Point Counter Point  (via bookmania)

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Book Review: Eragon

Eragon is the first book of the mythological fantasy saga of Inheritance Cycle written by Christopher Paolini. This book presents the classical quest of a young farmer called Eragon who, after the encounter with a dragon egg, starts an adventure that moves him from being a simple teenage villager into a powerful influence on the destiny of his whole world.

Paolini develops a pretty linear story, with the basic elements of the fantasy world such as the powerful sword, the destined main character to become a legendary fighter and a struggle to save the nation from an undesired and overpowered enemy. Although this story involves such predictable factors, it does not stop being an immersive and entertaining experience.

If you are looking for a good book to read, with basic literature level (it was actually written when Paolini was 15 years old) and involving mythical and fantastical characters, this might be your choice .

PD: Don’t be fooled by the movie, it sucks compared to the book.

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Shades of London Series

Name of the Star

"Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables."

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13595639-the-name-of-the-star

[quoteverything]

Without pain, how could we know joy?

The Fault in Our Stars (via quoteverything)

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Flipped

Genre: Teen Romance

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Four: A Divergent Collection

I'm sure many of you have been waiting for the arrival of this book. It's an exclusive view at the Divergent world from the widely loved character Four.