Tag Archives: literature

My Book Shelf

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Hi!

A few days ago I published my book shelf tour on YouTube. People have requested it so many times, so I decided to do it. I’m also a big fan of book shelf tours myself, and must admit I enjoy looking at other peoples book collections.

Do you know the saying: show me your book shelf, and I’ll tell you who you are? I think there’s definitely some truth to that saying. My book shelf is a mess of all genres, authors and age-recommandated books. I love all of my books, and I’m not afraid to show them off. Some of my books might not fit in, but I promise you they’re there for a reason.

So, here’s my book shelf tour live on video :) Feel free to leave a comment or videoresponse. I’m dying to know what kind of books you read too!

Love ♥

Book Friday – The Hunger Games

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Hi there!

It’s time for the first Book Friday of 2012. I thought I’d start with a BANG! and give you a review on a book that I know a lot of people LOVE. I recently got this book, but then again I read it in only 1 day (yeah – it was kind of amazing).

I thought I would give my reviews a new look on the blog. New structure in the post + actually start rating the books in stars. So…here we go. The first book of 2012!

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INFORMATION

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Pages: 374
Series: Book 1 in The Hunger Games triology
Published: September 14th, 2008
Publisher: Scholastic
Buy it: Amazon

SYNOPSIS

The Hunger Games is placed in future America. America is destroyed, and the new land is called Panem. Panem is devided into the Capitol and 13 other districts, Capitol being the richest, and District 13 being the poorest.

The main character of this book is Katniss Everdeen. She lives with her mom and little sister Primrose in District 12. They are poor, but survive on Katniss’ hunting, her moms apothecary knowledge and Primrose’s goat.

Every year the Capitol holds The Hunger Games. 1 boy and 1 girl between the age of 12 and 18 from each district are sent into an arena to fight each other. The last one alive has won The Hunger Games. The game is broadcasted live on television in all districts, and sponsors watching can send the contestants gifts during the game.

This year, Primrose is selected to join the games by a lottery selection. Katniss can’t stand watching her little sister being sent off to die, so she vaulenteers to go instead of Primrose. Together with a boy from the District, Peeta Mellark, she is shipped to the Capitol to prepare for the games.

In the Capitol Katniss and Peeta train for the big game. They are also given a mentor and stylist to make sure they are as prepared and stylish as they can be (since it’s all being broadcasted). Their mentor is Haymitch Abernathy, a survivor of The Hunger Games from District 12. He’s a drunk and doesn’t seem willing to help. He does come up with a plan, but only seems to tell Peeta in on it. Peeta is supposed to be madly in love with Katniss. This will make their story special and hopefully make the viewers, audiences and sponsor love them more than the other contestants.

 The Hunger Games takes place in a huge arena with lakes, forests and fields. Katniss is a trained hunter and things are starting off pretty good. She manages to hunt her own food, and she knows basic survival skills. As people start dying, the contestants hide in the arena and make allies. Soon Katniss will experience that her best allie will be Peeta, the ordinary boy who has a crush on her (or does he, really?). Together they have to fight other strong, smart contestants. There can only be 1 winner in The Hunger Games…they are told.

MY THOUGHTS

 

I have always heard people on blogs, YouTube etc. saying this book is wonderful. They are all madly in love with it, and I really don’t know why I kept putting it off for so long. Not to spoil any thoughts here, but: this book is AMAZIIIING!!! Yes, that’s true.

Suzanne Collins seems to know exactly who she is writing for. YA’s will adore this book, and I think grown-ups will as well. I have reluctantly been recommending this book to 12-13 year olds, as I though the whole fight-until-death theme was a bit harsh. But after having read it I must say it’s not as violent as it seems.

Katniss is such a strong character, and you realise very early she is bound to become a great heroine. I enjoyed getting to know her, hear her thoughts and read on while she planned her game tactics. Katniss is both vaulnerable and strong at the same time, and I think that’s why we readers love her. When you think she’s making a mistake, she’s really planning out a new move to survive in the arena.

The Hunger Games itself is an already used theme (ever heard about Battle Royale?). Being famililar with that story, I think maybe that’s the reason I kept putting this book on hold. But even though I knew the consept of the story, Suzanne Collins manages to wrap the story together with Katniss’ life, and what you get is a wonderful, heartwarming, suspenseful and action packed story. It somehow feels personal. I felt as if I was spying on Katniss at times when I probably shouldn’t. Katniss gives so much of herself, and I truly felt like I knew her while reading this book.

The language in this book is easy and straight forward. It was an easy, fast read, and since it also was the most exciting book I have read in a very long time, I finished it in just one reading.

One of my favourite parts of this book was its ending. I can’t reveal too much in case any of you haven’t read it yet, but the ending was perfect. Instead of spending many pages on finishing off this story, Suzanne makes it short, but still clear. It wrappes up the story perfectly, but it also makes you wanna run and get book number 2 in the series. Luckily, I got all 3 books for Christmas, and can start reading book 2 Catching Fire right away!

RATING

Plot:    (since it’s not entirely original)
Characters:
Writing:
Pacing:
Altogether:

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I hope you all run and get this book. Read it this weekend – you’re destined to love it!

Love ♥

Happy New Year 2012

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Hi everyone,

and happy new year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that 2012 will be a great year for all of you.

My Christmas was as lovely, relaxing and Christmasy as I hoped it would be. I got a few books for Christmas, and I even made a video of it, so if you’re currently looking to spend 3 minutes on doing something, feel free to watch my Christmas Book Haul :)

 

 

I don’t have any new year resolutions planned for 2012. I guess 2011 turned out to be such a great year for me, so I kind of expect 2012 to be just as good and amazing. I don’t really want to change anything. Maybe read a few more books, but that’s bound to happen anyway ;)

What about you, do you make new year resolutions? I’d love to hear about them (maybe you can inspire me a little, and I can do monthly resolutions or something).

I’ll be back tomorrow with Book Friday, where I’ll do a review on The Hunger Games. Yeah! See you all soon.

Love ♥

My Christmas reading list 2011

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Hi there!

I totally forgot to post my new video before I went away on holiday. I’m talking about my Christmas reading list 2011. You can watch it if you like, even though Christmas is soon coming to an end :) I hope you’re all enjoying the holidays, and that you got a lot of books for Christmas. I did, so I’ll probably make a video on that soon too + a book shelf tour :) Enjoy!

Book Friday – Shiver

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My dears,

once again it’s friday, and I have read a book that I feel very much like reviewing. Ain’t that convenient?

This weeks book is Shiver by Maggie Stiefwater. It’s the first book in a triology called Wolves of Mercy Falls, and it’s about werewolves (isn’t just everything these days about werewolves, vampires or witches?). I admit I was sceptic at first starting reading this book, because I was convinced I had read this kind of book before *thinking: Twilight*. Turns out I was a bit wrong about that.

What’s the story?

We meet Grace. Ever since she was attacked by the wolves in her garden as a kid, she is obsessed with watching them lurking in the woods by her house. When a boy at her school is found killed, a hunting team set out to shoot the wolfpack. A wolf goes down, and another one is injured. Turnes out the injured wolf transforms into a human and seeks help at Grace’s house. This is the start of a true lovestory where Grace and Sam (the wolf) have to fight to keep Sam from changing back into a wolf. The only problem is: werewolves only have a certain amount of turnings inside them, and Sam is convinced that this was his last time transforming into a human. If he changes back into a wolf, Grace and Sam will never see each other again.

My thoughts

It took me awhile to get hooked. I thought it was a nice enough story, and I enjoyed reading about Graces’ fascination with wolves (I thought that was pretty darn original for a teenage girl in a romance novel for YAs). My only problem was this: everything seemed so simple. Noone questions the facts that werewolves truly excist, noone thinks it’s strange, and all questions that might come up are answered on the next page. There’s no vasting time wondering in this book. I also found the lovestory a little bit cliché, but that’s just my problem…I tend to hate the cheesier parts of lovestories. I also found the characters a bit shallow in the beginning, but that changed somewhere in the middle as the plot thicken.

That being said…

There are some very original and interesting things in this novel. For example: the human werewolves only transform when the weather gets cold. They stay human during summer and change back into wolves during winter. Each werewolf has a limit on how many times he/she can change back and forth, and in the end he/she becomes a wolf entirely. The author demonstrates the treaths of cold weather by typing the temperature in the beginning of each new chapter. That way we can keep track of the weather and worry about Sam transforming (miniature cliffhangers).

What really got me hooked was the ending. OMG – I had never thought it would end like that, all chaotic, dramatic and suprising! I was actually ready to run to the bookstore and get book number 2 the second after finishing this one (I didn’t though, ’cause I have so many books on my reading list already. I reserved it at my library instead…clever me). I can’t tell you too much about the ending, but I can tell you this: there might be a cure for werewolfism! Who’d have figured?

My opinion

I think this book is perfect if you like YA romance novels and want a little bit of “fantasy” as well. I wouldn’t really call this book fantasy, because the whole werewolf-aspect seems so naturally handled by the characters, that there’s no magic og supernatural about it at all really… But still…it’s a romance novel with a twist!

It was a fairly easy read, and I managed to finish it in just one reading. For me that’s a big plus as I have so many other books waiting to be read.

There are a lot of chapters in this book. Some of them are only 1 page long. I think that’s great if you like taking breaks during reading, or if you want to continue reading between classes etc. A smart call by the author…

I would recommend this book to tweens and teens who like a good lovestory. Also, people who adored Twilight will like this one. I will read the next two books in the series and keep you updated on the story ;)

Love ♥

Tempted

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Dears,

I am tempted to start something new. Let me tell you what..

♥ here I am book-shopping @ Shakespeare & Company in Paris ♥

 

If you love books and YouTube, you might have noticed all the new YouTubers that have started popping up lately? They are book-vloggers, aka. lovely people who talk about books, give book reviews and book hauls on YouTube. Some of them even do library hauls (what a cool thing to do)!

As I have spent days and hours watching all their videos, I am now tempted to make book vlogs myself. What do you think? Wouldn’t it be a bit amazing to have videos of my book reviews?

Let me think about it for a few more days/weeks… In the mean while, take a look at my favourites on YouTube:

Enjoy! And please let me know if you think me book-vlogging is something you might actually kinda like :)

Love ♥

Book Friday – The Secret Circle

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Dears,

Have you been watching the new TV-series The Secret Circle? Being the TV-show addict that I am, I have embraced the new show, and I officially love it! I have also been loving reading the first book in the bookseries that the TV-show is based on.

(look how lovely this photo from the new TV-series The Secret Circle sparkles!)

There are, sort of, 3 books in this series written by L.J. Smith (yes, that’s the Vampire Diaries author). I call it sort of 3 books, because there’s really only 2 books. There are 3 stories distributed into 2 books…did that make any sense?

The first book contains the stories “The Initiation” and “The Captive – Part 1″. The second book contains “The Captive – Part 2″ and “The Power”.

As mentioned, I have only read the first book, and I must say – it is nothing like the TV-series! I adore the book and I adore the TV-show, but they are very much unlike. I recognize some of the characters here and there, and there’s witching going on, but that’s about it.

I won’t write a book review on the book until I have read the whole series, but so far it’s a very pleasant read! It is also a perfect book to read for the autumn season. I just love snuggling up on the couch, reading, drinking a cup of tea and have a cosy afternoon reading session as the autumn rain is pouring. I recommend you pick up a copy in the bookshop or in your library.

Love ♥

Book Friday – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

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The girl with the dragon tattoo

 My dears,

I promised you a different kind of book this friday. I know a LOT of people have read this, and I’ve been told (sometimes begged) to read this book by friends, colleagues and family several times. I gave in, and I am very glad I did!

There’s no secret autumn is sneaking up on us, and the days are getting darker and darker… I’ve been in the mood for mysteries lately, so I’ve been reading up on criminal novels – something which is very unlike me. I have always loved vintage mystery novels like Agatha Christie, and never really cared to pick up a modern day crime novel. These novels tend to have multiple murders, political aspects and revolve around gang activity, drugs and those sorts of things… I’ve never been a fan! BUT there are some crime novels that are different, and I’ve just started snooping around trying to find the ones that fit me.

What’s the story?

The Vanger-family is troubled. Several decades after their heiress Harriett vanished from the island where they live, they still don’t know the truth about what happened to her. The investigation has given them no answers, so old Mr. Henrik Vanger decides to do something dramatically different; he hires financial journalist Michael Blomkvis to solve the mystery.

Michael is in trouble. Having written a weak story about one of Sweden’s  biggest businessmen, he is sentenced to jail accused of lying. Michael thinks his whole career is ruined, but then Henrik Vanger offers him a giant salary if he agrees to take on the case of the missing Harriett. He accepts, and starts stumbling through years worth of old police investigation files. He soon decides he needs a researcher, and the young Lisbeth Salander joins the case. But investigating an old family mystery is about to get dangerous, and threats are starting to appear as the investigations comes to a close.

My thoughts

As I started reading this book, I was sooo-so disappointed. The first 100 pages were filled with Michaels financial journalism stories, business politics and some really boring language (the epilogue was also a bit lame really…). But then it got to the part where he’s starting to look into the case of the missing Harriett Vanger, and the book suddenly became amazingly addictive! Stieg Larssons language got better and more fluent, the characters got more interesting, and I felt that the book was really going somewhere.

I am a bit annoyed by the english translation of this book title. The original title is “Men who hate women”, and I think that’s much more suited for this book considering the parallel stories being told. But I really can’t blame anyone else then the translators about that.

As mentioned, there are parallel stories going on in this book. You first get to know Lisbeth Salander and Michael Blomkvist individually before they initially meet and the story gets somewhat more “closed”. This brings more depth to the book, as you get to know the characters better as individuals. It’s always good to know something about the characters pasts to give the story more meat to the bone.

I can’t really tell you much more about the content of this book, as it will only ruin your experience of reading it. It is a crime novel, and the whole idea is to be surprised. But I can tell you that this book is  amazingly thrilling and addictive. I simply could not put it down! The story was perfect, the ending was perfect and the whole reading experience was absolutely perfect!

My opinion

Please do read this book! I wish I had listened to all the people who told me this earlier. The book is extremely worth reading, and I promise you you will finish this book thinking “Wow – this was absolutely excellent!”. Read it in the evening as darkness creeps in, and you will get into the mood. I can even recommend reading it during Christmas, as parts of this book is set during the holiday.

I do recommend being perhaps 17/18 or older to read this book, as it is a book for adult readers. It has adult scenes and language that can actually be offensive or scary to some people.

Love ♥

B2S Book Friday

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Hi again,

it’s friday, and I wouldn’t miss a book friday here on the blog. Since it’s back to school week here on Teacup of Love, I thought it would be interesting to write about back to school books! Just something interesting to help relax between all the school drama.

I remember when I was in school, going back after the summer vacation was hard; I could no longer spend all my time reading whatever I wanted, but had to cope with boring textbooks. I always longed for saturdays when I could sit and just read for hours. Also…on school nights – having the time to read a chapter or two of an interesting book really helped me relax and unwind from schoolwork.

Today I’m giving you a list of 5 books I would personally love to read if I was going back to school this fall. Some I haven’t read, while others I’m very familiar with. I hope you can find some time to enjoy one of them (or all) in between classes or after a long day at school.

 

Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

Make sure you’re heading to the right kind of school this fall. When at St. Vladimir’s Academy, you get to train with vampires and experience some full-on vampire drama and action. This book series will definitely get you hooked and make you spend all your spare time reading!

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

This is a heartwarming book about Corrinne, who has to learn how to live on less…a lot less! Used to spend money in New York, she is sent to live with her grandparents in Texas when her father loses his job. This book is about how to deal with recession, how to make new friends, life-changing experiences and family. I highly recommend it!

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

If you’re ever going to read a classic – this is it! It has castles, romance, ghosts from the past, secrets, action and a lovely twist. You can brag about reading an old classic + become your english teacher’s favorite student this fall. And after finishing it, you can go see the movie!

The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

If your schooldays are long and boring, why not escape into a whole different world? If you love the Shire, food, wizards, dwarfs and hobbits in general, you will ADORE this book. You follow Bilbo as he sets out on his big adventure…and yes, there’s a dragon in there somewhere.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

If you want something more serious, something historical and something “real”, then this book is definitely for you. It has a real twist to it narrator wise, as it is death himself who tells the story. The book is not so much about death as it is a story of day to day living during the world war 2. The book is said to change your ideas on how living during the world war 2 was like.

Love ♥