Pash, Pick or Pass: Halloween Edition

Time to play Pash, Pick or Pass - a game where we pick from a random book trio and say who we'd pash (and dash), who we'd pick for a relationship and who we'd pass on all together.

The Contenders
In honour of Halloween, we're playing with some of the most famous literary monsters ever. And my, what a pretty bunch they are.

Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's Dracula

Frankenstein's Monster from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Dr Jekyll/My Hyde from Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

 

 

I know, I KNOW, this is, like, the hardest choice ever, right? Ahem.

My Choices

Pash: Dracula. He was the first sexy vampire, really, and without him it's likely there'd be no Edward Cullen, Eric Northman or Damon Salvatore (scary thought). That's definitely worth a pash - as long as he didn't get too close to my neck.

Pick: Dr Jekyll. OK, so Mr Hyde is super creepy, ugly and evil, but he's only around some of the time, and the rest of the time you get a brilliant doctor. So it's kind of like the male version of PMS. I can deal with that.

Pass: Frankenstein's Monster. I feel bad, because I do have a soft spot in my heart for him and think he's greatly misunderstood. But I just can't get past the whole body-made-out-of-rotting-corpses bit.

C'mon now, who would you pash, pick or pass out of this terrifying trio? I know you totally want to pash all three, but you'll just have to choose.

Mag Monday: Miss Piggy Is In Style + Vintage Cosmo

US In Style have done a fashion shoot with Miss Mother Effing Piggy. LOVE! You can watch an interview with her over at their FB page, in which she discusses her style, crushes and Lady Gaga's infamous faux frog outfit. Love, love, love!

 

 

 

In other fun mag news, a colleague emailed me this link today of the evolution of Cosmo covers. It's pretty hilarious to see how things have changed over the years.

Review: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children By Ransom Riggs

Every now and then, you come across a book that makes you think, "This is what books are made for. This is why I read." This was one of those books for me.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children follows the story of Jacob, a boy who grew up idolising his grandfather and the magical, mystical people who populated the stories of his childhood. When he's 15, a horrific event sends Jacob in search of the truth behind his grandfather's stories. He ends up on a small island in Wales, searching for clues of Miss Peregrine, the woman who sheltered his grandfather during World War II, and the fate of the other peculiar children she watched over.

I loved this book for so many reasons, not least of which was the completely unique story. I also adored the language; Ransom Riggs not only has the most awesome name ever, he also has a wonderful writing style. Every sentence is beautifully structured and every word is artfully chosen. On top of all this, the book itself is a treat. The hard cover has a nice surprise engraved underneath the dust jacket, the paper is thick and smooth, the title pages are great and the photographs - well, they're most definitely peculiar. Dispersed throughout the book and woven into the story, Riggs has brought together a remarkable collection of (apparently real) photographs that greatly enhance the reading experience.

The characters are all well-developed and realistic (peculiarity notwithstanding). Jacob in particular is a strong and appealing hero, and I appreciated the fact that even in the most extraordinary circumstances, he reacted exactly as you think a 15-year-old boy would. There's a surprising amount of humour in the book, but there's also a lot of sadness and, as the photos on the jacket suggest, creepiness. The one thing that stops me from being 100 per cent satisfied is the fact that there are A LOT of loose ends left dangling at the end of the book. I was disappointed not to have more closure. I understand that there will be a sequel, but to me, each book in a series should be able to stand as a complete story on its own while also fitting into a larger arc. There is just too much left open for this to be the case with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. It's a shame, because for the majority of the book I was thinking it would easily make it to the top of my all-time favourites list. As it is, it was still a wonderful read and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.

Rating: 4/5

Eye Candy
I pictured Anton Yelchin as the smart, sensitive Jacob and Chloe Moretz as the brave, fierce Emma.

Fine Print
Published: 2011
Publisher: Random House
Get It: Book Depository

Reading Icons: James Stewart

"I'd like people to remember me as someone who was good at his job and seemed to mean what he said." - James Stewart

TGIF: 5 Book Blogs That Make Me Smile

It's Friiiiiday!

Which means it's TGIF at GReads, time to recap the week and answer a question posed by Ginger. This week, she asks: "Book Blogs That Make You Smile: Pick 5 book blogs you visit often & think others should, too." Like most book bloggers, I spend a lot of time reading other book blogs and there are a lot that I really enjoy. But here are five of my faves:


1. ...In The Attic. Megan's recaps of the trashtasticness that is VC Andrews are completely hilarious. Right now she's making her way through the Landry series, one of my faves, and her commentary is spot on. It always makes me Laugh. Out. Loud.

2. The Unread Reader. Missie is one of the nicest bloggers I (virtually) know, she has a great sense of humour that shines through in her reviews and some brilliant features/memes, including (my favourite) My Book Boyfriend. Her blog is such a fun place to visit.

3. Holes In My Brain. Audrey has a really unique, quirky writing style that I love. Her posts never fail to make me smile and I especially appreciate the way she breaks her reviews down and ranks books on things like how they match up to her expectations and their level of put-down-ability. 

4. Abbey's Bookshelf. Abbey's interest in photography means her posts are always accompanied by beautiful photos, many of which are her own. Her blog is soooo pretty! 

5. Wear The Old Coat. Jo's reviews are incredibly funny, and the way she splits her thoughts into "initial thoughts", "high points", "low points" and so on makes them really easy to read, not to mention extremely entertaining. But one of my favourite things is the way she includes theme tunes for each of the books she reads.


This Week On Belle's Bookshelf
Review: Where Demons Fear To Tread by Stephanie Chong 
Mag Monday: Swooning over Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer
Pash, Pick or Pass: The Gatsby Edition
Review: Fear, edited by RL Stine
My Book Boyfriend: Alex Fuentes
Bookish Buys: Jewellery for book nerds

Bookish Buys: Jewellery For Book Nerds

Librarian Necklace from The Reliquary Shop

Recycled Book Earrings from The Lit Botanica

Silver Book Locket from The Enchanted Locket

Book Nerd Necklace from Bookish Charm

Wooden Book Necklace from Bookish Charm

Twilight Earrings from Roundabout

Call of the Wild Earrings from Designs by Annette

A Remarkable Book Pendant from The Little Chickadee

Laser Engraved Wooden Book Necklace from Finest Imaginary

My Book Boyfriend: Alejandro "Alex" Fuentes

 

My Book Boyfriend, hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader, is my favourite meme ever, allowing book bloggers to showcase our fictional crushes (and drool over each other's). I've seen my pick this week (from Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry) pop up in My Book Boyfriend a few times in the past, so I'd just like to preface this post by saying:

Yep, y'all can back off Alex Fuentes coz I'm claiming him as mine. Mwahaha. 

What's so great about him, you ask (if you don't already know)? For starters, he's super hot. He's a bad boy (on the outside, at least), with dark hair, dark eyes, tattoos and a motorbike named Julio. Definitely not my usual type, but he's just that freaking hot I couldn't help but love him anyway. Of course, the best thing about Alex is his inner goodness. Yeah, he's in a gang, but it's only because he has to be to protect his family. He has ambitions that go far beyond that, and the smarts to follow through. Plus he's so caring and sweet... and did I mention hot?! I pictured him as Alexander F. Rodriguez thanks to Elkeles' book trailers.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

"Alex pulls me close and whispers in my ear, 'You only live once, isn't that what you said? Dance with me again.'
'But-'
He cuts me off with a kiss so powerful I forgot what I was supposed to be upset about."

"'Mujer, you own my soul.'"

 "'Hold it...,' he says. 'Feel the sweet spot. Linger there.'" [He's talking about the clutch in a car, of course... What were you thinking?! Get your minds out of the gutter!]

“I don't belong here. It doesn't matter, because even if I don't belong in this place, she's here and I want to be where she is... I want to know how to make this girl laugh. I want to know what makes her cry. I want to know what it feels like to have her look at me as if I'm her knight in shining armor.” 

Related
Guess what song I had in my head the whole time I was putting this post together?

Review: Fear Edited By R.L. Stine

I was drawn to this book by nostalgia.

I loved R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series as a kid, so it was his name that initially caught my attention. Then, when I discovered it was a collection of scary short stories, I got even more excited, coz I used to devour these types of books, too.* Fear, a Middle Grade collection of 13 stories linked by the common theme of fear, was an entertaining read but sadly not all that frightening (maybe because, y'know, I'm an adult now). All the stories were well-written, interesting and totally unique. But much to my chagrin,** none of them really instilled any fear in me. In fact, many were more suspense/action stories than horror (there's even a touch of romance in there, thanks to Meg Cabot and her "Night Hunter"), but although they weren't what I was expecting, they were still a good read.

Of course, like any short story collection, I enjoyed some tales more than others. My favourite was definitely "Tagger" by James Rollins, about a girl whose graffiti tag has powers of protection, until the day a demon comes knocking.*** I was amazed at the strong characters, plot and world that Rollins built in such a small space, and I'd actually love to read a full-length novel set in this world. But the story that creeped me out the most had to be "The Perfects" by Jennifer Allison, about a babysitter whose charges are a bit... off. There are some icky dolls thrown in for good measure.****

Covering everything from aliens and vampires to petty thieves and mass murderers, the stories varied greatly on the topics they covered and the feelings they evoked. Each kept me interested and worked on its own as well as within the flow of Fear. It's a good book to pick up if you enjoy short stories and want a quick, easy read served with a (small) side of thrills.*****

*There was one series in particular that I was addicted to, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was called. I vaguely remember that each book in the series had a number of short stories in it, and they all frightened the bejeezus out of me. There was one in particular, about a creepy doll who, like, set fire to things or something, that really freaked me out (I think it may have had something to do with the porcelain doll collection in my room). Another story was related to a shower or bathroom and it made me afraid to shower for a long time (I still did, but I did it SCARED). That's all the details I can come up with. Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? Anyone? Anyone?
**Every time I use the word chagrin (which is not very often) I think of Twilight. That's sad, isn't it?
***This reminded me of another story I read when I was young, about magic graffiti that allowed people to travel through to this alternate universe, and people got stuck there or went missing... or something. Again, I'm vague on the details and can't remember the name of it. Anyone got any ideas? Anyone? Anyone?
****Again, with the dolls. How creepy are dolls?! I can't believe I used to collect the suckers. No wonder I have sleep issues.
*****This is just a note to say how much I love footnotes. Can you tell? OK, I may have gone overboard in this review. Ahem...

Rating: 3/5

Fine Print
Published: 2010, Random House
Get It: Fishpond

Pash, Pick or Pass: The Gatsby Edition

Time to play Pash, Pick or Pass - a game where we pick from a random book trio and say who we'd pash (and dash), who we'd pick for a relationship and who we'd pass on all together.

The Contenders
When I heard the news yesterday that Baz Luhrmann's upcoming adaptation of The Great Gatsby would be released at Christmas, I got excited. Until I realised it was Christmas 2012. I can't wait that long! Of course, I'll have to... So to ease the pain of waiting, I decided to play Pash, Pick or Pass with the Gatsby boys this week. Although I'm excited for the movie, the cast aren't exactly who I pictured when I read it, so these are my ideas of the boys...

Nick Carraway

Jay Gatsby

Tom Buchanan

My Choices

Pash: Gatsby, of course. Handsome, rich, fun... but way too messed up for anything permanent.

Pick: Nick. Yeah, he's kinda boring, but he's also kind, smart and stable - the natural choice out of the three for a lifelong commitment. I can always have Gatsby on the side, right? Not that I agree with that kind of thing. But this is Fitzgerald's world, not the real world, so what the hey.

Pass: Tom. He's one hell of a man, really. Emphasis on hell. He's such a brute. He and Daisy deserve each other.

Who would you pash/pick/pass?

Related: Review of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Mag Monday: Swooning Over Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer

I have a massive girl crush on Felicity Jones. I loved her in Northanger Abbey, thought she was brilliant in Chalet Girl, and just watching her performance in the trailer for Like Crazy makes me tear up. I'm so freaking excited for this movie (but also kinda dreading it, coz I know it will break my heart):

The release of the movie means Felicity is doing the promo rounds, which makes me super happy because she's appearing in some gorgeous photo shoots, like this one in US Elle:

On the guy side of my crush list, Armie Hammer is showing off his pretty in Prestige this month. Bonus points to the mag for using the headline "It's Hammer time" (cheesy puns FTW).