The Bookshelf Tag

I've been tagged by the awesome diva, Kelly at Diva Book Nerd. The rules are easy, I answer all the questions and then tag 5 other people.

1. Is there a book you really want to read but haven't because you know that it'll make you cry?
Not any that I can think of. I don't really cry often in books so I'm never afraid to pick up a novel despite the many reviews from people who have balled their eyes out while reading it.

2. Pick one book that helped introduce to a new genre
Anna and the French Kiss helped introduce me to contemporary. I was never one to read contemporary because I thought it would be extremely boring because who wants to read about real life right? Past me was so wrong!

3. Find a book that you want to re-read
Oh my gosh, for the past few weeks I have had the craving (can you crave a book...?) to re-read the whole Percy Jackson series! I think its because I am anticipating the release of Blood of Olympus which is coming out this October!!! I've already pre-ordered a hardcover of the book! Who else is excited?

4. Is there a series you read but wish you hadn't?
To be honest no I haven't! I've always had trusty bloggers to help me choose what to read next. Even before I entered the community, I would always find a second opinion whether it be a librarian or a friend.

5. If your house was burning down and all your family and pets were safe, which book would you go back inside to save?

I'm sort of copying Kelly's answer here but she has a valid point. I would go back inside and save all my signed books. Especially my copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

6. Is there a book on your shelf that brings back fond memories?
I have fond memories for all my books but to name one it would have to be The Sight which contained book 1 & 2 of Premonitions. This was a book I loved in primary school and I've probably re-read 3 times! If you saw what condition it is in you'd be appalled. The spines all cracked and the pages are bent!

7. Find a book that inspired you the most!

I think Inkheart inspired me, especially as a child because it taught me the power of words. Funnily enough, I never continued on with the series after the first book. It was daunting look at the size of the next ones.

8. Do you have any autographed books?

1. Teardrop by Lauren Kate - The publishers at Random House were nice enough to give me signed copy of this novel!
2. The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer - I wasn't able to go to the book signing, so my good friend Sunny got it signed for me!
3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - At the last event at Hachette headquarters, (I have yet written a recap post for that...ooops) we had none other than the awesome Laini Taylor as our guest speaker. Nearly every blogger got their book(s) signed by her.
4. The First Third by Will Kostakis - Back at the Penguin Teen Live event last year, they had Will Kostakis speak to us and sign our books.
5. Friday Brown by Vikkie Wakefield - This was one of my first Aussie YA's, it is such a good read and I recommend it if you haven't already read it.

9. Find the book you have owned the longest.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is definitely the oldest. I've had this since I was a small child and I haven't parted ways with it yet and I don't plan to anytime soon.

10. Is there a book by an author that you never imagined you would read or enjoy?

I did not expect to like Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. I randomly stumbled upon this book with a friend and we had never heard anything about it or the author before but it was a great surprise!

And to end this tag, I have to post a photo of my bookshelf!

There's no particular order to my shelf but I do like to have everything in height order so it's slanting down. The last two rows are dedicated to review books and books I've gotten from events and the rest is sort of random novels I've collected over the years.

So that was the bookshelf tag! I'm tagging

Sunny @ A Sunny Spot Blog

Kayla @ The Bookish Owl

Rachel @ Booktastic Reviews

Laura @ Laura Plus Books

Belle @ Fangirling Misses

20 Things You Might Not Know About Me Tag

It's been a while since I did a tag (or anything blog related...) and I've been tagged by the lovely Belle from Fangirling Misses. I like the idea of this tag because it's not necessarily focused on books but on the people behind the blogs. So let's get to know each other! 

1. How tall are you?

*Pulls out tape measure* Hmmm the last time I checked I think I was 5'7 but I'm pretty sure I've grown since then, so probably 5'8. Yes, I'm pretty tall for a 15 year old girl.

2. Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what?

*Thinks really hard* Oh I know! I can do this awesome thing with my eyes...but obviously you have to be in person to see it. *sighs* If only I could show you.

3. What's your biggest blog-related pet peeve?

Plagiarism. Thank god it's never happened to me but just the thought of it gets me angry. It's one thing getting inspiration from someone and it's a completely different thing to blatantly copy someone's work, word for word.

4. What's your biggest non-blog related pet peeve? 

I hate being late so therefore I hate it when I'm meeting people and they're late for no good reason other than, "Oh sorry, I slept in." And what I hate even worse is when people make me late such as my family. *takes deep breathes* 

5. What's your favourite song?

Ugh did you really just ask me this question? I don't have a favourite song but I love most genres. I'm not going into detail of my fave singers because the list will go on forever. But the song I'm really digging at the moment is She Came To Give It To You by Usher ft Nicki Minaj. I've always liked Usher and I like the fact that he hasn't gone for the mainstream approach. 

6. What's your favourite Etsy shop that isn't yours?

??? Is it a bad thing that I don't know what an Etsy shop is? 'Cause I've never heard of it before. >_<

7. What's your favourite way to spend your free time when you're alone?

Besides from the obvious (reading) I love to redecorate/clean my room. (Is that weird?) There's nothing like that satisfied feeling after your room is clean. I also like to watch a lot of youtube videos (I could spend hours doing this) and watch TV shows. (e.g. Supernatural, Doctor Who, Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries/The Originals, The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, Game of Thrones, etc)

8. What's your favourite junk food?

Ah there's so many! Doritos, Ben & Jerry's, Chocolate - Boost, KitKat (most Cadbury), Grainwaves and heaps more.

9. Do you have a pet or pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

Nope I don't have any pets sadly. I had a rabbit called Chestnut once...

10. What are your number one favourite nonfiction and fiction books?

I don't ever read non-fiction unless you count a textbook and I can assure you have no favourites of them. Fiction wise...there's so many. (I take it you can already sense that I am a very indecisive person) I love books such as Percy Jackson, Throne of Glass, Shatter Me, Starcrossed and many, many, many (is that enough many's?) others. 

11. What's your favourite beauty product?

I'm not a huge make-up person but I love my Studio Fix Mac foundation as well as my Mac False Lashes Waterproof mascara! I also have to say I love my Super Liner Blackbuster eyeliner by L'oreal.

12. When were you last embarrassed? What happened?

Hmmm...to be honest I don't get embarrassed often. I can't really remember the last time. Sorry guys, no funny stories.

13. If you could only drink one beverage (besides water) for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I think it would have to be Lemon Lime and Bitters. I absolutely love that drink! My second option would be pink lemonade.

14. What's your favourite movie?

*sighs* Enough with the favourite questions! Obviously I can't answer these!!! My favourite movies are most Marvel movies as I love anything and everything to do with Avengers. 

15. What were you in high school: prom queen, nerd, cheerleader, jock, valedictorian, band geek, loner, artist prep etc.?

I don't really know how to answer this question because we don't really have this in Australian schools. I feel like American movies make such a big deal out of social class when really it's not actually like this. Since I like books so much I would be put in the nerd category right? But I am friends with a lot of people so I don't know.

16. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

I would love to live somewhere in America simply because it seems like all the good authors live there but I love Australia so much! I wouldn't mind trying out Melbourne but it gets so cold there!!!

17. PC or Mac?

Mac for the win! I used to have a Toshiba but my school is Apple friendly so lets just say I've converted!

18. Last romantic gesture from a crush, day, boy/girlfriend?

*chokes on water* Romantic gesture? Oh no no no no! I've never really had a crush either. I'm just fine with my lovely book boyfriends!

19. Favourite celeb?

I'm not into following the whole celeb craze but I have to say that one of my top faves would have to be Jensen Ackles from Supernatural. Have you seen him? Who can resist that?

20. What blogger do you secretly want to be best friends with?

I'm already best friends with Sunny @ A Sunny Spot Blog that's no secret there. But I secretly want to be best friends with Jeann @ Happy Indulgence, Laura @ Laura Plus Books, Vivienne @ This Book Saved My Life, Joy @ Thoughts by J , Kelly @ Diva Book Nerd and Mands @ The Bookish Manicurist. Also I'd love to BF's with the girl who tagged me, Belle from Fangirling Misses!

I tag all of you lovely ladies!

So this was a bit of a long post but I'd love to hear what you think? Do we have anything in common?

Stacking the Shelves

It's been a while since I've done one of these and I want to share with you what I recently bought. Have I made good choices?

I am so excited to start reading Isla and the Happily Ever After, I am such a major Stephanie Perkins fan and I don't doubt her ability to produce another amazing novel. Although I have an issue!!! It's not the same size as my other two in the series, it's a lot smaller!!!

I saw Eleanore & Park for only $12 in K-mart! Obviously I couldn't walk past it without buying it so this is another book I can't wait to get into. I haven't read a Rainbow Rowell novel yet.

Thank you Bloomsbury for sending me this, my excitement for Heir of Fire has not dulled down yet! I'm going to try and take this slow as I hate having to wait a whole year for the next one. It literally kills me!

Gayle Forman receives so much praise and Just One Day was quite cheap on the Book Depository so I just had to buy it. I'm not really sure what to expect but I'm really trying to get into more contemporary's.

Another author I love is Becca Fitzpatrick who wrote the Hush Hush series but this time round it looks like an intense thriller. Black Ice looks extremely suspenseful and it'll be interesting how the author goes with this sort of storyline. Thank you so much Simon & Schuster for sending me this, can't wait to post a review.

Currently on it's way in the mail!

You can see my review for Angelfall here

So tell me, did I make good choices?
Have you read any of these novels? If so, what's your opinion?
What's on your shelf this week?

{Review} Angelfall by Susan Ee

Author: Susan Ee
Release Date: May 21st 2011
Publishers: Feral Dream 
Pages: 283
Genre: Apocalyptic, Angels  
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Book Depository

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Review

I was not expecting this novel to be so damn kickass! I randomly picked up this novel in my school library just to 'pretend' to read during a reading lesson. Lately I've been feeling very uninspired to read but from page 1 I was hooked. My plan to not read ended up failing!

The apocalypse has begun and who humans once admired as being harbingers of peace, soon changed into messengers of hell. Angels have descended upon earth but not in the way we expected. War has broken out, and humans have to resort to anything just to survive. Even if that means partnering with an enemy angel. Penryn's younger sister has been taken and she will do whatever it takes to get her back.

Susan Ee has created a perfect apocalyptic story-line where you cannot help but be drawn into the war-torn world. It was so awesome reading from the perspective of the main protagonist, Penryn. I swear she is in my top favourite characters because not only was she kick-ass but she had the smarts. She knew how to survive and she had common sense...to an extent. Penryn had a goal and she made sure no one got in the way of her plan, not even a smoking-hot angel. This is so rare in YA now days because main character are always the damsels in distress and they rely on the "overly-attractive" male too much.

An important theme that was present throughout the book was the importance of family. Penryn's mother was a bit on the crazy side (maybe a little more than a bit) but Penryn didn't allow this to deter her from her mission. I think the mother was a really interesting character because it is not often you get a character like this in YA. (It's sort of avoided) Since Penryn was young, her mother had been battling her own "demons".  No one knows what exactly she sees but she talks to "them" frequently. Because of her fear of these demons, she enrols Penryn in many self-defence classes which has actually become useful in the situation they find themselves in. I really want to read a novella in the mums perspective as I think it would be really interesting seeing the destroyed world in her eyes. 

Susan Ee is an amazing writer. She doesn't shy away from adding graphic detail which I think is important for a novel like this. In so many scenes, I felt like cringing but it made it so much more realistic. I think this book could be translated really well on the movie screen as the whole time I got such vivid imagery of what everything looked like. All I know, is that I never want to be in a situation like this. (Obviously it's an apocalypse!) 

To say I was surprised by Angelfall is an understatement. I was greatly surprised and as soon as I finished this novel I bought the first and second one. I cannot wait to begin the next one as I'm sure the next will be even better. If you haven't already read this and you like apocalyptic based novels then you better find the time too. Angelfall has a courageous (and sometimes stupid) protagonist that doesn't let up on the humorous lines. It is action-packed with scenes that get your heart racing, and basically everything you need in a great faced pace novel.

If you missed my last post, click here to see my review for The Maze Runner movie!

{Movie Review} The Maze Runner

Just wanted to let you know that my hiatus is OFFICIALLY OVER!!! Wooooh *throws streamers* All my assessments are over and holidays are in a week so lets hope I'll be able to read heaps.

The Maze Runner was ah-MAZE-ing!!! (You see what I did there?) But to be honest I didn't have high hopes (except for the fact that it had
DYLAN OBRIEN!!!) because the producers didn't really advertise it that much. Luckily I was able to attend an advance screening last Friday but the cinema was so full!

The movie almost followed the book exactly but obviously there were changes. But it wasn't those type of changes where you're like, "WOAH! Back the f*ck up, this doesn't happen in the book!!!" No it was more like, "Ooooh I'll roll with this." I'm not going to tell you what changed just in case you haven't read the book but definitely keep an open mind.

The characters were portrayed really well!!! It was amazing being able to watch Dylan O'brien on full screen and he played Thomas perfectly. I felt like they could have focused a little more on the character development and not so much on the maze aspect of the book. I think they could have portrayed Minho and Gally a lot better since I felt like they were more secondary characters in the movie. (Until the end) Gally needed to be depicted more as a bully! In the movie, he was more of an as*hole than anything.

The pacing was alright...it went too fast for me but I think it was the perfect pacing for a movie. Prior to watching the movie, I was really interested as to how they were going to portray the actual maze. I was worried it was going to look a little fake but I have to say they did a pretty good job. The whole time throughout the movie I was entranced with the twists and turns and the different levels! I was really impressed and I think it was better than how I imagined it. I was expecting just basic walls but it actually was pretty high tech.

The grievers didn't look completely realistic but it didn't stop from scaring the crap out of me. The whole time I was on the edge of my seat and I'll admit with one scene I may have screamed a little. (Just a little...) The whole time throughout the maze, I felt like getting up and running with Thomas. It was so suspenseful and boy did it get my heart racing.

I have to admit, at times it was really cheesy but I can move past that. If you haven't read the book, I encourage you to beforehand since my friends who hadn't found it really confusing. They didn't really explain a whole lot and besides, you don't want to get spoiled. I was really happy with how movie turned out but of course there could have been changes.

{Discussion} The Rating System

It's discussion time!!!

*Cough* sorry it's been a while since of done one of this. As some of you know I put up a hiatus notice a couple weeks ago but this post isn't signifying the end (sadly) but I just wanted to give you something so you know I exist. 

So this "topic" has been weighing on my mind for a while and I've been thinking, thinking, and yes more thinking over whether to take out my rating system. So for those who don't know what a rating system is, it's basically like on Goodreads where you rate your book something out of 5 stars.

For example:

If you're a regular on my blog, you'll know that on average I tend to give out 4 stars. But I was thinking the other day that all the books I've rated 4 stars aren't necessarily on the same level. Some may have been really good but not good enough to be a 5 star, and then there are those that have been not great but not bad enough to be a 3 star. (That probably made no sense...)Do you see my dilemma? 

Of course your solution might be, "But Francoise, there's aways the half star ratings!"

Believe me I've tried to give these out, and occasionally I've given out a 4.5 but it still doesn't satisfy me! I just think the rating system is so inaccurate and this brings me to my last question...

Should I take out the rating system from my reviews?

My reasoning is that you should be able to tell whether people liked a book from their review, not the rating. I've seen some blogs that don't have ratings and some others that have a different way of expressing their opinion on novels. 

If you have any suggestions or opinions please let me know in the comments below.