Bookish Fun: Bitches in Bookshops

You gotta love book nerd humour...

Lyrics

Read so hard librarians tryin' ta FINE me­,
They can't identify me,
Checked in with a pseudonym, so I guess you can say I'm Mark Twaining.
Read so hard, I'm not lazy.
Go on Goodreads, so much rated.
Fountainhead, on my just read, gave it four stars, and then changed it.
Read so hard, I'm literary.
Goosebumps series, TOO SCARY!

Animal Farm, Jane Eyre
Barnes & Nobles, Foursquare it
No TV, I read instead
Got lotsa Bills, but not bread
BURROUGHS , GOLDING, SHAKESPEARE -- all dead

Read so hard, got paper cuts
On trains while you're playin' connect the dots
All these blisters from turning pages
Read so hard, I'm seeing spots

Your Sudoku just can't compare
Nor Angry Birds cos lookit here
My Little Birds is getting stares
(pause)
This print's rare.

Read so hard, I memorize, The Illiad... I know lines.
Watch me spit, classic lit, epic poems that don't rhyme.
War and Peace, piece of cake, read Tolstoy in 3 days.
Straight through, no delays.
Didn't miss a word. Not one phrase.

Read so hard librarians tryin' ta fineee me - That shit cray x 3
Read so hard librarians tryin' ta fineee me -- That shit cray x 3

He said Shea can we get married at the Strand
His Friday Reads are bad so he can't have my hand
You ball so hard, OK you're bowling
But I read so hard, I'm JK Rowling

That shit cray
Ain't it, A? What you readin'?
AQ: DeMontaigne.
You use a Kindle? I carry spines.
Supporting bookshops like a bra, Calvin Klein.

Nerdy boy, he's so slow
Tuesday we started Foucault
He's still stuck on the intro? He's a no go.
It's sad I had to kick him out my house though --
He Mispronounced an author - MARCEL PROUST

Don't read in the dark
I highlight with markers
While laying in the park
And wearing Warby Parkers
Marriage Plot broke my heart
And it made me read Barthes
I special ordered a
A softcover not hard- HUAH?AHEHA?!

Read so hard libraries tryin' ta fine me x 2

I am now marking my place
Don't wanna crease on my page
Don't let me forget this page
Don't let me forget this page
I may forget where I left off so I'll use this little post it...
I hope it doesn't fall out, I hope that it stays stickie...

I am now marking my place
Don't wanna crease on my page
Don't let me forget this page
I got bookmarks at home
But I forgot one for the road
AQ: I got a bookmark I can loan
La Shea: Know how many bookmarks I own?

I am now bookmarking my page x3
Don't let me forget this PAGE....

Source

Review: The Double Shadow by Sally Gardner

The Double Shadow is about memory: the way it shapes you, makes you and sometimes breaks you. It follows the lives of two families in the lead up to World War II, each haunted by memory in different ways. The Rubens are rich but miserable, thanks largely to Arnold Ruben's overpowering obsession with creating a memory machine, a device that will allow the user to wipe away bad memories and live forever in happy ones. His daughter, Amaryllis, is deeply affected by the fact that she herself has no memory of the time before she was eight. The Pascoes, on the other hand, are poor but loving, their contentment occasionally interrupted by Mr Pascoe's withdrawals into the vivid memories of his battle experiences in World War I.

The way the two families fates become intertwined is central to the story, but The Double Shadow is one of those books where the less you know going into it, the better. Because the way the story is slowly unravelled, skipping back and forth in time and between character's viewpoints, makes for a fascinating and gripping mystery. It's based on a a truly unique premise, something which can't be said too often these days, and which is thankfully followed through by accomplished world-building and a powerful sense of setting.

The extensive cast of characters are also superbly drawn and well-developed. It's hard to know at first who to trust and who to like, but this ambiguity only makes them all the more intriguing. Through her exploration of memory and emotions - and the way the two are so often intertwined - Gardner gives the reader insight into why her characters (and, by extension, people in general) act the way they do, so even the most despicable characters evoke some empathy, if not any sympathy.

The Double Shadow is a fanciful and thrilling example of what is so wonderful about stories; it transports you to another time and place so effectively, it makes you sit up and think, "this is why I read."


Rating: 4/5

Eye Candy
I pictured Felicity Jones as Amaryllis and Andrew Garfield as Ezra Pascoe.

Source

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*This review also appears at Sassi Sam, under my IRL name.

Reading Icons: Pretty Little Liars

I've been reading Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard, which makes me want to throw things - but that's a whole 'nother post. The reason I'm bringing it up now is because it got me searching for pretty photos of the TV show cast, and I discovered a surprising amount of the girls (and guys) reading - and not just text messages, but books! Actual books! See...

Blogoversary Giveaway Winners!

 Thanks to everyone who entered my blogoversary giveaway. Congratulations to the two winners: Hanna from Booking in Heels, who scored a copy of The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens; and Patricia from Book Exhibitionism, who's opted for The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Happy reading!

Review: Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Auggie is a 10-year-old boy who loves Star Wars, his dog Daisy, being tucked in by his parents at night, his big sister Via, and Halloween. He hates going out in public, because when people see him, they do a double-take at best, and are incredibly nasty at worst. You see, Auggie was born with an extremely rare set of conditions that caused innumerable health problems and a facial deformity that leads others to compare his looks to a burns victim, Darth Sidious, an orc and E.T., amongst other nasties.

Auggie has to face his fear of the outside world and learn to deal with it, while teaching the outside world a thing or two on dealing with him, when he goes to school for the first time in his life. As anyone who’s ever been to school can tell you, it can be a bitch of a place filled with kids who are super cruel. Auggie doesn’t have it easy, that’s for sure, and my heart just broke for him in several places. But his kindness, sensitivity, wisdom and especially his self-deprecating sense of humour see him through and make him a delight to spend time with.

But this isn’t just Auggie’s story. It’s split into multiple parts, each told from a different point of view, and this insight into how others see Auggie – and themselves, in relation to him – is fascinating, and gives the story a depth it perhaps wouldn’t have reached otherwise. My one gripe is that I wish there was more distinction between the characters’ voices; there is one part where punctuation (or lack thereof) is used to indicate a unique voice, but overall I didn’t notice a major difference between the voices of Auggie, his older sister Via, his best friends Jack and Summer, and so on. That niggle aside, they were all intriguing, well-built characters and I did value seeing things from their perspectives.

What I liked most about Wonder was the way it tackled a subject that isn’t often covered in books (at least the ones I come across). It was a refreshing, heart-warming read that will definitely make you cry – but will make you smile even more.

Rating: 4/5

Fine Print

Published: March 2012, Random House

Get It: Book Depository

Note-Worthy: Happy Blogoversary To Me!

Today marks one year since my very first blog post. I can't believe it's been that long already! I didn't really know what to expect when I started - I certainly didn't anticipate discovering such an awesome blogging community that's enabled me to make connections with book-loving buddies all over the world. It's been so much fun and although I haven't been able to blog as much as I want to lately, it's still become an important part of my life. Anyway, enough of me rambling - to celebrate, and show my gratitude to the wonderful people who take the time to stop by my blog (that'd be you!), I'm giving away two of my favourite books from the past year. There will be two winners, chosen at random, who will each receive one book - their choice of the following:

• The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The giveaway is open to any country the Book Depository ships to.


Giveaway has ended.

Thanks so much for reading!

Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

There's a passage towards the end of The Night Circus (don't worry, it's not a spoiler) that encapsulates what I love about books:

"There's magic in [storytelling]. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift."

Now, The Night Circus wasn't a life-changing read by any means, but it does do exactly what a story should: creates magic. And that's not just because it's about magic (although that's certainly part of it); there's also a sense of wonder, delight and whimsy in the way it's told, in its language and construction, and in the quirky cast of characters that inhabit its pages. It's entertaining, it's mysterious and it's just plain fun.

The story itself centres around a competition between two young students of magic, for which the circus is the venue. Celia and Marco have been raised with the express purpose of defeating one another, but things get extremely complicated when their feelings - for each other, and for their circus family - come into play. They're likable enough protagonists, but I have to admit, as the book progressed I found myself less interested in their starcrossed love story and more invested in the secondary characters and the circus itself. It really is the star of the show.

I know some readers have had problems with the pacing and style of The Night Circus, and while it can be a little slow in places, I really enjoyed the winding path the plot took to get to the end. I was intrigued by the mystery of the "game" and loved the way it all slowly unravelled. But the highlight was definitely Morgenstern's descriptive language - she paints the circus in such a vivid and sensual way, you can practically smell the caramel on the air and see the stark black and white tents before you. She draws you in and makes you never want to leave. It truly is magical.

Rating: 4/5

Eye candy
I imagined Celia to look like Lily Collins, and Marco to look kinda like Lee Williams.

Fine Print
Published: 2011, Doubleday
Get it: Book Depository

Reading Icons: Johnny Depp

“People say I make strange choices, but they’re not strange for me. My sickness is that I’m fascinated by human behavior, by what’s underneath the surface, by the worlds inside people.” - Johnny Depp

March TV Addict Reading Challenge

Leave your 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge links for March here! If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so here.

February in Review

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I'm sad to see the end of summer; I feel like we barely experienced it this year (damn you, rain!). February was another slow month on the blog for me - this pesky thing called real life kept getting in the way. On the plus side, I started my writing course a couple of weeks ago, and it's kinda daunting but also totally inspiring. At any given moment, my thoughts swing between "I can actually do this! I can totally write a novel!" to "What's the point in even trying, I'll never be able to do it..." Yeah, that's my crazy head - but either way it's a lot of fun. Seriously, I got way too excited over receiving the course reader. It feels good to be a student again. Here's what I got up to on the blog...

I read...

• The Maid's Tale by Rose Plummer (Review for Sassi Sam)
• If You Ask Me by Betty White
• The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (my fave of the month)

I featured reading icons...

• Charles Dickens 
• Cary Grant
• Joan Crawford
• Meryl Streep 

I listed my top five...

• Happily ever after reads
• Underrated classics

Other fun stuff: Tom Mackee was my book boyfriend; I discovered some lovely bookish gifts; Watched the impressive Finnick and Annie fan-made web series; and admired Oona Patterson's bookish art.

How was your February? Did you do anything exciting for the leap day? (I spent it home sick, watching Pillars of the Earth. Fun times.)