Rebecca tells it like it is

I'm a reader most of the time, mediocre author some of the time, and house elf always.

30 Day Book Challenge Day 8

Day 8: Most overrated book

Any and every Nicholas Sparks book. Ick. I hate them all.

SPOILER ALERT!

A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness

I feel kind of torn about how to rate and review this one. Did I like it? Sure. Was it a favorite? No. For about the first 3/4 of the book, I was a little bored, even though the writing was good. I felt like I knew where we were going with the story and I was just waiting for the hurt to come. The last 1/4 of the book, I cried.  If you're a person who has experienced the death of someone you love and you read this story, there's a good chance you're going to cry too. Even if you haven't, it's still highly likely that this book will cause a couple of tears to flow. Loss is a universal human experience that we can all relate to and it's made worse when it happens to someone so young. 

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30 Day Book Challenge Day 7

Day 7: A book that makes you laugh,

 

My dad used to work for a foreign company when I was a kid and he had to travel to different countries to demonstrate the products they sold. He was always gone, but every time he came home, it seemed like he had a new Calvin and Hobbes treasury for me and my brothers and sister to read. Growing up in the middle of the desert nowhere, we didn't even get the newspaper, so I didn't know anything about them until the books started coming. I kind of associate these with growing up. They made me laugh so hard when I was a kid. I kept a couple of them when I moved away from home and I've read them to my kids too and, even though I'm in my 30s, they still make me laugh as if I'm reading it for the first time. Love Calvin and Hobbes, the humor is timeless.

SPOILER ALERT!

30 Day Reading Challenge Day 6

Day 6: A book that makes you sad.

I was in for a big surprise when I picked up The Storyteller last summer. I had been on the search for something different, other than the contemporary and N/A romances that I'd been reading, and this book fit the criteria of everything I was looking for. I bought this book on the premise of it being about a love story of two people from different worlds, but it was more than just a love story. There was pain and mystery, a close up look at the uglier side of life, and a horrific turn of events that shocked me more than anything else that I have ever read. Just the thought of this THING (<---yes, it deserves caps and bold, it's that huge) still bothers me. It's not too hard to go looking for monsters in the unknown, but when someone that you think you know and have a good grasp on through 2/3 of a book does something monstrously unexpectedly horrible, it hurts. This book hurt. It killed me and I thought about it, almost everyday for weeks afterward. And yet...I'd still recommend this one, if only to have someone else to commiserate in my pain. Sometimes sad can be a good thing, ya know?

30 Day Book Challenge Day 5

Day 5: A book that makes you happy

 

a dirty job photo: A Dirty Job moore-dirty_job.jpg

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore is probably the funniest book I've ever read. While reading, I remember cracking up loudly and my husband looking at me like I'd lost my mind for finding so much humor in a book (he just doesn't get it, poor guy.) Whenever I think of Charlie Asher, neurotic, hypochondriac, beta male, hell hound owning, new father, it makes me happy. I need to read this one again soon.

" "The orange flames waved at the crowd as paper and print dissolved inside them. Burning words were torn from their sentences.""
The Book Thief - Trudy White, Markus Zusak

21% My heart hurts. I think this book is going to kill me. 

30 Day Book Challenge Days 3&4

These two days go hand in hand, so I combined the two.

 

Day 3: Your favorite series

Karen Marie Moning photo: Fever Series - Karen Marie Moning FeverSeries.jpg

My absolute favorite series is The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. These are the books that got me hooked on urban fantasy and one of the reasons that I started writing, because I wanted to read more stories like them and couldn't find any that satisfied the Barrons craving. These books have everything that I look for in a good read, romance, adventure, excellent world building (and destroying), and uniquely realistic characters. I am still on the lookout for any series that can compete as I've been in a two year book hangover since finishing the last one.

 

Day 4: Favorite book of your favorite series

My favorite out of the series was FaeFever. So much happens in this book, both good and tragically bad, but this book was my favorite because I felt like the chemistry between Mac and Barrons really started to boil over in this one. I really got the feeling that Barrons was coming to care for her, even though he fought it every step of the way and I loved seeing this inner struggle, their great internal dialogues to each other, and, of course, the cake.

 

Then he pulled back and stared at me and when he spoke, his voice was low with fury. "Never do that again, Ms. Lane. Do not insult me with your silly rituals, and idiotic platitudes. Never try to humanize me. Don't think we're the same, you and I. We're not."

 

Makes me want to read it again, and again, and again.

 

 pink birthday cake photo: Buttercream Rose Cake cakesmash.jpg

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

By the Numbers

This post is by Ceridwen, in case that gets reblogged out. 

 

Now, I know that resident BookLikers are likely sick of the recent influx of the Goodreads diaspora and all our shouting. I've been involved in in-groups on social media long enough to know how irritating n00bs are with their casual galumphing over social standards developed and maintained by the invested members of a platform. So to you BookLikes Golden Agers, I apologize for continuing to complain about my Goodreads ex-boyfriend while I'm on a date with BookLikes. 

 

That said, I have released the database that collects 12 of the 21 delete lists in Goodreads's recent policy change, in addition to an analysis - with charts! - of the data. Goodreads has been frustratingly vague in what they consider actionable; here are the book reviews that they have taken action against. I would seriously love it if folk would use this database to find out more about what Goodreads deems actionable. 

 

Science is sexy, friends. 

 

Science is Sexy

Reblogged from Ceridwen

30 Day Book Challenge Day 2

Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times

 

beatrice and benedict photo: Beatrice and Benedict beatriceandbenedict.jpg

It's not actually a book, but I've read Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare so many times that I've memorized most of it. It's has one of my favorite hate to love stories of all time within between Benedict and Beatrice. Even though theirs isn't the main point of the play, their witty banter and verbal sparring is the highlight of the story.  Love this couple and love this story.

 

Edited to note that I haven't been able to comment on my own blog posts. If you leave a comment and I don't reply, that's why. My apologies!

 

30 Day Book Challenge

Day 1: Best book you read last year?

 

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

 

I read over 150 books last year and there were quite a few great ones to pick from, but OTJR was the one book that stuck with me throughout the year. I pimped it out to every one I know and then cried again along with them when they finally gave it a chance. I'd have to say that it's probably the best YA book I've ever read. I wish more people would read this awesome book. 

Feeling a little sad.

I just finished deleting every review I had from that other book site. They still exist here and in the file I saved, but it still makes me unbelievably sad. I already miss the comments left on those reviews because the comment space is where all of the great relationships I formed were born. I still have a profile there, haven't decided whether or not I'll be deleting it too. Seeing as how mine is an author profile now, I have been weighing whether or not deleting it would be an insult to the people who have chosen to follow me or declared themselves a fan. A lot of those people have become friends and I almost feel like I'm betraying them by leaving.

 

It's sad. But, I firmly believe that it's necessary. In the years that I was on that site, not once did a reader insult me or "attack" me. In the years that I was on that site, several times I was insulted and attacked by authors for my reviews and opinions and I witnessed the same happen to friends who spent their own time reading these people's books and writing thoughtful and honest reviews.

 

I'm happy to be here, but I can't help but feel like it's the end of an era.

Please spread this everywhere. Reblog, reblog!
Please spread this everywhere. Reblog, reblog!

Why BookLikes dominates that other book site...don't remember it's name. 

Encouragement to continue

Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

Has anyone read this? I need some encouragement. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to follow it because my mind seems to wander every time I pick it up. There are moments of brilliance (the Lot's wife, pillar of salt reference at the end of the first chapter, LOVED) and then it just gets slow again. Help a girl out, does it get better? My brother gifted me this book and I hate to let him down by DNFing it.

In a Glass Grimmly

In a Glass Grimmly - Adam Gidwitz

I've been reading to my children ever since they were old enough to actively listen. We've read a ton of great books and some just alright books. This is the first time that I've ever just outright disliked a book. We read the book preceding this one, A Tale Dark and Grim, and, although I didn't love it, I thought it was entertaining enough and my boys loved it.

 

Around midway through this book, I bartered with my kids to stop reading it. That's how bad it was. The plot was all over the place. The little asides from the author were few and far between, which was disappointing because, I felt, that those glimpses into the author's mind and humor were the moments of brilliance in the last book.

 

This story follows Jack, Jill, and Frog as they make their way through calamity after calamity. As the story unfolds, the pair have to deal with public nakedness a la The Emperor's New Clothes,childhood bullies, swindling adults, giants, mermaids, trolls, and giant smelly salamanders. All of those things have the potential to be awesome, right? Wrong. Where A Tale Dark and Grimm succeeded in weaving each chapter's tale together to form a cohesive picture, this book failed. I never got what the point of any of the ordeals were. I didn't see what lessons were being taught the way I did with the previous book and I found myself yawning quite often and wishing I could skip pages the way I could when my kids were younger and weren't so sharp at catching me do it.

 

Boy, I was happy when we finally got to the last page. I feel sad to say it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. My kids still enjoyed it, although not in as much of an engaged way like when we read Peter Nimble or the Harry Potter books. One star for the research into all of the fairy tales this book drew from, but I wouldn't recommend it.

The Secret

The Secret - Julie Garwood

The Secret had been on my TBR list for a long time and I was craving some good ol' historical romance, so I downloaded it blind (no sample) and gave it a try.

 

I can see what drew readers to this story. it's simple and sweet with a writing style that was easy to follow. I thought that it lacked the depth and conflict that I need to make it an entirely engrossing read. I read this one in three nights, picking it up off my bedside table before hitting the hay. I never opened it up during the day the following mornings because the story never drew me in enough to get that can't put it down feeling. I was happy to let it lie until the next evening when I could pick it back up and set it down easily when my eyes got tired from reading.

 

The main character (I can't even remember her name, that's how unmemorable it was for me) has it way too easy. Yes, there is talk about abuse in her past and a mother that wasn't there for her and left her for long periods of time. She was afraid of men drinking around her because her uncle was quick to strike out at her when he was drunk. All of these things are unfortunate for her, but everything we got during the story was too damn easy. There was so much room here for conflict with the people of the Highlands clashing against this English damsel, but with all of the hulking Highland warriors having her back and her best friend on her side through everything, I never felt like she had any obstacles to overcome. Any time one was presented, it was quickly fixed. I ended up finishing the read with a kind of eh feeling.

 

Overall, I'd give this book 2.5 stars and I would recommend it for people who want an easy, put you to sleep before bed read. I won't be moving on to any other books from this author, though.

Did you read the BL guidelines? #7 is my favorite. Loving this site already.

 

We're happy to see so many avid readers, authors, reviewers - all new members on BookLikes. We hope you'll feel comfy here and that you'll find BookLikes engaging and enjoyable.

 

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Read more in post Your Blog on BookLikes - Custom-Made

 

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Read more in post Dashboard - A Place Where All Bookish Things Happen.

 

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Read more in post Let's Explore More & Tags and Comments Updates.

 

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You can create posts and publish them on your webpage, however, if BookLikes members find it assaulting or violating they can block the user who might be removed from Follower list. This means that the person with inappropriate texts might receive lower priority and may not be presented in Explore page where we present BookLikes Community. 

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Comments under posts can be moderated by author of the post. Author of the post can delete comments if he/she finds comment inappropriate.

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BookLikes Team hopes that the service will stay a positive, friendly and respectful place for people who love reading books and discussing them. We all hope you'll help us in creating unique space for avid readers, reviewers, writers, all book lovers and members of book world. 

 

BookLikes Welcomes New Book Lovers :-) And now let's start reading.

Reblogged from BookLikes