It's Pi Day! 3.14.15


It's Pi Day! It's so cool because not only is it March 14, but it's also 2015 this year. Last year, we made a list of different geeky books with quotes. This year, we decided to make a list of books that will make you think. In no particular order, we give to you 6 books that will make you think.


1. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

39999Berlin 1942

When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.




2.The Help by Kathryn Stockett


4667024Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.... 

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

3. Luna by Julie Anne Peters

316445Regan's brother Liam can't stand the person he is during the day. Like the moon from whom Liam has chosen his female namesake, his true self, Luna, only reveals herself at night. In the secrecy of his basement bedroom Liam transforms himself into the beautiful girl he longs to be, with help from his sister's clothes and makeup. Now, everything is about to change-Luna is preparing to emerge from her cocoon. But are Liam's family and friends ready to welcome Luna into their lives? Compelling and provocative, this is an unforgettable novel about a transgender teen's struggle for self-identity and acceptance. 









4. The Giver by Lois Lowry

3636Jonas's world is perfect. Eveything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.













5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusac


19063It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.

So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon


1618Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favourite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally.
 




These are some of the books that we believe really makes someone think. If you're up for an intellectual read or something that is a little deeper, these books are the one for you! Have a great Pi Day!

BOOK HAUL: My Most Memorable Books



NOW LOOK AT ALL THE PRETTY BOOKS! :)



This is my first book haul post of the year (and EVER) but I've always wanted to share to you guys a couple of memorable books that I've gotten recently and why each book is special! They've been sitting on my shelf for a while now and I thought today would be the best time to finally write a post about these lovely books, as it is the first day of the year - at least according to the Chinese calendar.

GONG XI FA CAI, btw! :)

1. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

I purchased Eleanor & Park at the MIBF (Manila International Book Festival) a day after I read it on my Kindle. I rarely buy actual hardcopies of books if I already have purchased the said book on my Kindle, but Eleanor & Park was a rare gem that deserved to be in my Kindle and my shelf. Ergo, this book will always hold a special place in my heart! (See Review)

2. Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple

This book isn't technically mine. It's actually my friend, Eirene's. She bought it at the MIBF with me too, and lent it to me a week after. I liked the book so much that I kept 'forgetting' to return it. HAHAHAHA Okay, I will return this maybe soon. Hopefully. 


BOOKS IN REVIEW: Luna by Julie Anne Peters & Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan



Since it's the beginning of a new term and it well feels like the calm before the storm (seriously. really.), I haven't got much to do, so I've been on a reading spree for the past week. Wait, I'm ALWAYS on a reading spree! Anyway, I've made it one of my goals to read more LGBT books this 2014, so I decided to take all this free time (just for now) to read Luna and Two Boys Kissing! :)

Here are short blurbs/reviews of both books! 





Title: Luna
Author: Julie Anne Peters
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Publishing Date: February 1, 2006
Paperback: 248 pages
Rating: 4/5

Before anything else, I'd just like to say that I am very open about societal issues, especially on GENDER, and am a loud and proud feminist (though I may not agree with the term since I think it is gender biased - but anyway that's a different issue altogether). With that, I can't stress how ecstatic I am that this book exists. This is the first time I've read a book that tackles issues about transgender teens, and I wasn't disappointed at all. Told from the point of view of the sister Reagan, this story magnificently introduces us to Liam, a troubled teenager girl stuck in a male's body, who only uncovers her real self at night, when she becomes Luna. The novel shows the realities of what these people go through with self identity, discovery and acceptance.