National Readathon Day 2015

an abundance of katherines
Hey guys! It's January 24th and that means it's National Readathon Day! I hope you guys have made time to read on this special day. Today we will be talking about the books we pledge to read.


One of our favorite reading spots is in bed, because it's so comfortable and we tend to spend most of our reading time before bedtime! A great mattress company, Casper, ships really comfortable mattresses straight to your door in the box the size of a mini fridge! We haven't tried out the mattress yet, but it sure looks comfortable! You can check out this company here, or by clicking the picture.

So without further ado, these are the books that have made our reading list for today!



What's In Your Heart by Ines Bautista-Yao
One Crazy Summer by Ines Bautista-Yao

This arrived in my mail yesterday! Thank you so much to Ines Bautista-Yao for sending these to me for review! I can't wait to read both of these books today. I was actually planning to read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for National Readathon Day, but I got excited and read it in advance. (HEHE, can't blame me) If I finish these books and have more time, I'll probably start on my ARCs for April and May.

Character Analysis: Augustus Waters from TFIOS

analysis

Since there's all this hype on TFIOS, we wanted to talk about Augustus' character. We are going to talk about Augutus in the form of a conversation wherein we all give our opinions about him. It's kind of like a character review or something. It's even our first time to do this! Please note that these are all our opinions, and we aren't trying to make you think of Augustus that way too. We are all entitled to our opinions. We don't mean to offend anyone. :) 
Book cover and Movie poster. 

A: Okay let's start. Who wants to go first? 

B: So, Kimi what are your top of the head thoughts on Augustus? 

K: When I first read TFIOS, I thought Augustus was a funny fella who sounded so poetic and had his way with words. I never really swooned over him or anything, though I'd be lying if I said his death didn't affect me. He had a bunch of nice quotable quotes but other than that I never really found him all that special. What ruined everything though is when I saw the first official trailer of TFIOS. Is it just me or does Augustus sound like an asshole?

A: I think so too. Does that make me a bad person??

K: I then realized that how Augustus talked was so unreal - it was too flowery and inorganic and just, not at all the way anyone I know talks (or maybe I just don't know much people like Augustus). 

A: Hahahahaha I think that the dialogue in the book just doesn't sound good when actually being spoken, it makes then sound a bit pretentious. I agree when you said that their speech was unreal. I, too, don't know anyone who speaks like that except for me on a sugar rush.

B: I think both of you said what is exactly in my mind right now. LOL. Even so, I cannot say that I hate him. I believe that their dialogue worked for the story and made it more beautiful. I think that is what John Green is aiming to do. 

A: Well, if that was what John Green wanted to show us, it certainly worked. Countless people out there have probabaly fallen in love with Augustus Waters and who can blame them? He's just charming in every way. I think that the way he talked was a major factor in his desirability. I definitely liked him as a character when I read TFIOS.

B: Every girl out there surely dreams about their perfect guy. I guess that's what they saw in Augustus. 

K: I don't buy it. Haha I feel like a party pooper but am I the only one who doesn't like Augustus that much? I mean really, he's okay but idk I just feel like there's so many other special guys from YA out there. I don't understand why people go crazy over him. Come on how can you take him seriously with all his metaphors? I feel bad that he has cancer, but I don't know maybe I just... Find him putting the cigarette but not lighting it metaphor so offensive and pretentious. 

A: TBH, I hated his cigarette metaphor. I thought that it was quite a stupid thing to do.

B: For me, I liked Augustus, but it's just like what Kimi said, there are so much more special guys from YA that I love more than him. Guys which I can feel their sincerity. 

K: Yeah, glad you agree with me. I read somewhere that this flowery and charming Augustus is just an act or something to hide his true self. So what does he do, prepare the things he wants to say to Hazel Grace the night before and look up deep words and synonyms to sound oh so poetic? 

A: I admittedly don't consider Augustus to be a good book boyfriend. There are so many other guys in other books that stand out much more to me.

K: Yeah, I could name a few but that's a whole other discussion! Haha. Oh plus, Augustus is an awful name.

B: His surname is also a not so nice one. Sorry not sorry. Hahaha. 

A: Hahahahaha I know right!

A: It was like the name was handpicked to suit his 'deep,meaningful, and perfect' character.

B: It's unique, but nope. It's not the beautiful kind of unique. 

K: Yeah, he isn't all that natural to me. I want someone real. I mean no one ever talks like him in real life right?

B: Yepp! never heard of one.

B: I dont think someone could be that poetic all the time. I mean they usually search up or think of some words before they meet someone to impress them.

K: I guess the reason why people like him so much is because he's too charming and sensitive and witty and all. But I guess I just don't like that? I'm much more fond of guys who are real and someone I could relate to

K: Wow! That sounds pretty douchey now that you say it Beryl. 

B: If I were a chatacter in TFIOS, I would surely swoon over him. That's how the characters were written and in that world, Augustus is swoon worthy. BUT, in this world NOPE, he would probably come off as a pretentious douche. Pardon my french. Ha! 

A: While Augustus was a sensitive and charming character he failed to be realistic in any way.

K: So I guess overall, Augustus is not bad, he's okay and I don't dislike him but I don't like him that much either. Yes he failed terribly. 

K: "My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations"



Credits to Google for all the the pictures. 

Let us know your thoughts on Augustus by leaving a comment! :) 

Books That We Want in Physical Form (Beryl and Audrey)

an abundance of katherines
We all know that more and more people are reading ebooks. Even so, we still prefer physical copies. Since we barely have space in our house anymore for all our books, we only buy physical copies for books we really, really want. Today, we'll be making a list of the books that we want to have a physical copy of.

1. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

2. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs


3. Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

4. Lola and The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins


5. Isla and The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins


6. This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer Smith


7. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell


8. Landline by Rainbow Rowell


9. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn


10. John Green Boxset

- Paper Towns
- The Fault in Our Stars
- Looking for Alaska
- An Abundance of Katherines

So that's our list! There's a lot more that we didn't include because we'd probably never finish. What books do you want to have a physical copy of? What did you think of our list? Leave a comment!




Top Ten Tuesdays: Top Ten All Time Favorite Books in LGBT YA and Anthologies

anthologies
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
This week's topic is our favorite books in a particular genre. We will be the ones choosing what genre we'll use in this post. There were a lot of genres that we have considered but for this post, we decided to choose LGBT YA and Anthologies, just because we think both are genres that people rarely read - at least we hope this isn't true! :)


LGBT YA



Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe My Most Excellent Year Wide Awake Openly Straight Luna Two Boys Kissing

Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of The Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
Wide Awake by David Levithan
Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
Luna by Julie Anne Peters
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
  

 LGBT ANTHOLOGIES

Zombies Vs. Unicorns
How They Met, and Other Stories Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd  The Letter Q: Queer Writers' Notes to their Younger Selves 

How They Met and Other Stories by David Levithan
Geektastic: Stories From The Nerd Herd by John Green
Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black
The Letter Q: Queer Writers' Notes to Their Younger Selves by Various Artists, Edited by Sarah Moon

What was your Top Ten Tuesday? What did you think about ours? Leave a comment!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Will Make You Swoon

audrey

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish, where bloggers get together and list the top ten things related to that week's topic.
Oh we so love this week's topic! This week's topic is top ten books that made you swoon. There are definitely a lot of swoon worthy books that each of us have read but we have narrowed it down to just 10 books! Here's our list! :)


1. Eleanor & Park

 "Holding Eleanor's hand was like holding a butterfly. Or a heartbeat. Like holding something complete, and completely alive."

2. The Fault in Our Stars

"I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.

3. This Lullaby
"I just thought to my self, all of a sudden, that we had something in common. A natural chemistry, if you will. And I had a feeling that something big was going to happen. To both of us. That we were, in fact, meant to be together."

4. Anna & the French Kiss

"I'm saying I'm in love with you! I've been in love with you this whole bleeding year!"

5. Catching Jordan
"But what happens when you don't find that right person? Do you just spend the rest of your life in a relationship where the conversation isn't great, everything isn't perfect, but it is nice and sweet?"


The Fault in Our Stars Official Trailer

Ansel Elgort


When we first knew that there would be a  film adaptation of TFIOS, we were very excited. We were also a bit worried because the movie might seem nothing like the book. As we watched the trailer, we realized that the movie does look pretty loyal to the book, and have really high hopes for it. 

We were a bit surprised to see Augustus being played by Ansel Elgort but quickly recovered from the shock and decided that he would be able to portray the character of Augustus well. We believe that Shailene Woodley, playing Hazel, is a good choice.The music sounds pretty good too, so that's a plus! We just hope that the book will turn out into a really good film, and hopefully not be too cheesy. When the movie comes out in June, we will definitely watch it. Even though it will be hard. Okay? Okay.

Let the feels come rushing in.

TRAILER AFTER THE JUMP

BOOK IN REVIEW: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

book



Title: Eleanor & Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: February 26, 2013
Hardcover: 336 pages
Rating: 4/5 stars
 “Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book."
 This particular statement by John Green pretty much sums up all my feelings about Eleanor & Park.

 In fact, I have zero words that could justify the masterpiece that is this book. It has taken me days to start writing this review, because this book has just left me... utterly speechless, and nothing I write will ever live up to the beauty and magnificence of this novel.

 Nevertheless, I shall blabber on.

It's 1986, and Eleanor has just returned to Ohama after being kicked out of her home by her douchebag stepfather. Her daily life is riddled with fear of him, while her mother powerlessly obeys her abusive husband and takes his side, out of sheer terror, perhaps. She is also poor, not being able to afford a toothbrush or batteries for her Walkman, and is forced to share a tiny room with her other siblings. 

 And then there's Park. He can be considered popular, but is separated from the others because of him being half-Korean. He has a healthy family life, with possibly the best set of parents and a little brother who loves him. Because of his inherently good nature, he is the only one nice enough to offer Eleanor a seat next to him on the bus. There is no love at first sight magic between them. In fact, there might even have been a little resentment. But overtime, without even talking, they start to bond over comic books and mixed tapes, eventually falling in love.


Countdown to 2k14: 5 Unforgettable Books

2014
Because we had so much fun doing the Christmas Series, we decided to make another countdown - this time to New Year!

Exciting, huh? :)

With 5 days left today, I will begin the countdown by writing about the 5 best books I read this year and why I liked them so much. The arrangement of these books don't matter - if I put a book in number one, it doesn't mean that it's the best among the five. The order is completely random.

1. Eleanor and Park

When I was younger I didn't like reading love stories, I usually read adventure and mystery books. Eleanor and Park is the reason why I've decided to give love stories a try which is why I put it on number one in my list. I like that this book had two very interesting and relatable characters. They aren't rich or popular. Park is a not-so-tall Korean boy and Eleanor is a poor, 'chubby', and weird red-head. They are very different and yet they go very well together. I wouldn't say that they are opposites but they certainly aren't similar to each other. I loved everything about this book and I will definitely read it again.

2. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

I have no idea why I like this book, all I know is that I do. Maybe it's because both of the characters are clever, or maybe it's because when Dash and Lily first meet they don't fall in love instantly (though Lily was kinda drunk at the time). I don't know why but I liked it. It's not a book that I would usually read but I'm glad I did.

Popular Posts

Like us on Facebook

Geeky Chiquitas

Stalk Us

2015 Reading Challenge

2015 Reading Challenge
Kimi has read 3 books toward her goal of 100 books.
hide