In My Mailbox (5)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren, in which bloggers post about the books they got during the week!

Here are the books I picked up this week! (A few more than planned!) Apologies for the lack of pictures this week. I couldn't find my camera and the pictures on my phone were not formatting right.

Bought:

- Moon Called by Patrica Briggs (Goodreads)
- Soulless by Christopher Golden (got on bargain!) (Goodreads)
- Fear by Michael Grant (Goodreads)
- Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton (Goodreads)

Borrowed (Library):

- Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins (Goodreads)
- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Goodreads)
- Last Breath by Rachel Caine (Goodreads)


I'm so happy with the books I picked up this week. I've already read and loved both Fear and Last Breath! They were fantastic. What's in your mailbox this week?


- Ciara who is lost at midnight

Waiting On Wednesday (7): Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, in which bloggers talk about the books they are most eager for!

This week's pick: Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: May 1st, 2012 

Life can change in an instant, and no one understands that better than Aura. It’s been almost a year since her boyfriend tragically died. She’s finally letting go of Logan’s violet-hued ghost, but not her search to uncover the truth about her past.
As the first in a generation that can see ghosts, Aura is convinced that she has a connection to the Shift. She’s trusted Zachary, ever patient and ever by her side, with all that she knows. But when the government threatens his life in an attempt to learn Aura’s secrets, she will stop at nothing to protect herself and the one she loves...even if that means betraying her own heart. (Summary from Jeri Smith-Ready's website)

Okay, it's time for me to gush like a crazy fan-girl, because I love everything about this series. The story, the characters, the writing, the concept, the author, and of course, the amazing group called Team Kilt all come together to make one of the best combinations in the world. I'm going to be terribly sad that this amazing series is coming to an end, but I know Shine is going to be one heck of a book. 

The reason I first picked up Shade was because Jeri Smith-Ready was going to be at a signing I was attending later in the year (2010). I read Wicked Game, one of her adult novels, first and absolutely adored it (I knew I was going to love it when, on the first page, the main character clarified "It's KEER-ah, not see-AIR-ah"). I purchased Shade not long after, and loved it even more. Such an interesting and original concept. Such fantastic characters (the only books in which I can truly say I can't choose between the guys), and such a fantastic (Irish) author. Pick up this book! You will love it. Seriously, I kid not, you will LOVE IT. The entire trilogy will even be out in paperback for the May 1st release of Shine!


For fans of the series, make sure to check out KiltandKeeley.com, the Shade fansite which is always up to date with information! They're planning an exciting Team Kilt Con, which sounds amazing! Too bad I live in Canada making it a little difficult to attend. 


Also, the website above is doing a fantastic pre-order giveaway! Just pre-order the book and win fantastic prizes!


Check out the Shine trailer below! Only a couple more weeks!

- Ciara who is lost at midnight

Find this book: Jeri Smith-Ready's wesbite | Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Title: Paper Towns

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Release Date: October 16th, 2008

My Rating: 5/5

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life–dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge–he follows. 

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues–and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew. (Summary from John Green's website)

Crying at work was not something I planned for that day, but it happened anyway. I flipped to the last page of Paper Towns and couldn't stop the tears from falling from my eyes. Even re-reading this book, it managed to reach into my heart and tug parts of me I like to keep hidden.

The first time I read this book, it connected to me completely. I have never been happy with the city I live in and have been plotting to escape since childhood. At the time of reading this book, I was working hard in my senior year of high school so I could receive a great scholarship, and finally leave. Besides being hilarious, this book made me feel vindicated about my desperate need for escape. 

The second time reading it, my connection changed. Because this time when I had read it, my life had taken a completely different route. My hard work got me a scholarship, but I still could not afford to go to a university in a different city. Two of the most important people in my life had walked out of it, and left serious damage in their wake. I had lost my desire to leave, because I could not even picture how it was possible anymore. I was in a completely different situation than I thought I would be just months before, and one that I was not happy with. I picked up Paper Towns, and it, once again, helped me with all the problems I was dealing with. This time around, the idea of people's judgements of you was at the forefront. I could completely understand the idea of being placed in an impossible box, a box other people created for you, a box I never wanted to be in, and one that people could not accept you stepping out of. There was a pivotal conversation in the book which gave me so much insight into what I was going through at the time. I finally felt like all my feelings were put into eloquent words spoken from a boy who had to face the same reality I did. We imagine people a certain way, but that's a distorted reality, and one that is imposed on us daily. I can't be who everyone wants me to be, but I can be myself. And if that isn't enough for certain people, then they aren't meant to be in my life. Tough thing to accept, and something I'm still coming to terms with.

The book itself was just fantastic. The only way to understand how amazing it is is to read it. The characters are realistic, hilarious, stunning in their truthfulness, and will become a part of you. John Green has a way of telling you your most broken thoughts, making you look at them squarely, and telling you how to handle them. This book had me crying of laughter, and smiling like crazy. It had me re-evaluating myself, and changed my out-look on life. If that isn't the sign of a fantastic book, I don't know what is.

I had to include a quote from the book because it is simply everything that I learned, felt, and realized from Paper Towns.

"It is easy to forget how full the world is of people, full to bursting, and each of them imaginable and constantly misimagined."

As a little bonus to the review, I made a mini-playlist. The book had me thinking about going on a road trip, so I made a playlist of the songs that make me think of those montage-driving moments (there's 48 songs, but here's only 19 (for my almost age!)). I linked the songs to YouTube so anyone can listen to them. The name of my playlist? Escape from the Paper Towns:


1. New York (Saint in the City) - The Academy Is...
2. Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
3. We Are Young - Fun.
4. Lucky Street - Go Radio
5. So Far Away (Bonus Track) - Mayday Parade
6. I Woke Up in a Car - Something Corporate
7. The Space Between - Valencia
8. Where Did You Go? - Valencia
9. Vagabond - Wolfmother
10. Take this to Heart - Mayday Parade
11.The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
12. Middle of Nowhere - Hot Hot Heat
13. Radar Love - Golden Earring
14. Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind) - Panic! At the Disco
15. So, In This Hour... - The Rocket Summer
16. Days Like Masquerades - The Academy Is...
17. Jaime All Over - Mayday Parade
18. Toasted Skin - The Academy Is... (could not find on YouTube)
19. Hurricane - Something Corporate


**There could be swear words or inappropriate images in the video. I didn't make them, so I don't know. :)

As a final note, I've included a picture of my senior yearbook. Why? Well, I just so happened to quote a line from Paper Towns, one that gives me hope even in those dark times.

 DFTBA!


- Ciara who is lost at midnight

Summer Book Lovin'

Hey everyone!

My post today is all about one of my favorite types of books: Summer Books. Now, to me, summer books are those light, fun, sometimes heart-warming, sometimes heart-breaking books that make you crave warm sunshine, and lapping waves. This year, my summer is longer than it's ever been. Since I'm in university, I end school in April, and because I've chosen to take a year off I don't return to school for sixteen months. Which is a crazy long summer for me to read books during. Here is a list of summer books (and authors) I plan on checking out this summer. 

1. We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

This book has been out for almost a year now, but because I bought the first two in paperback, I chose to wait to read it until I could buy it to match. I'm excited/nervous to see what Belly finally decides!

2. Author: Alyson Noel

I've been an Alyson Noel fan ever since I first read Evermore. She has a few books I consider to be summer books and I'm looking forward to reading them.

3. Author: Maureen Johnson

Maureen Johnson is one of the most hilarious people I know of (seriously, go follow her on Twitter) and I loved her 13 Little Blue Envelopes books. She has a few others which fit the summer books bill, and will probably contain tons of laughs. What's not to love?

4. Author: Sarah Dessen

Although she has way too many books for me to read this summer (unless I wanted to ONLY read her books), Sarah Dessen is on my list because her novels are what I picture when I think "summer books".

5. Au Pairs by Melissa de la Cruz

So, I read the first Au Pairs book about three years ago and I really liked it. The books are all about the beach, cute boys, and learning about life, the ideal book to read on a hot summer day.

That's all I have for now! How do you feel about summer books? Love them? Hate them? Have any great ones to suggest?

-Ciara who is lost at midnight

In My Mailbox (4)

 
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren, in which bloggers post about the books they got during the week!

I haven't done an IMM in a few weeks because I didn't really buy any books. I'm still trying to cut back both because I'm broke and because my TBR pile is already out of control! I did find a couple of baraign books which I just couldn't resist. Here are the books I picked up over the last couple of weeks!

                                                             Bought:

- Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz (Goodreads)
- Turn Coat by Jim Butcher (Goodreads)
- Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (Goodreads)

Borrowed:

- Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen (Thanks to Emilie at Emilie's Book World!) (Goodreads)

                                                               Swag:

I received a surprise in the mail the other day! Michelle Zink, author of the Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy and the new book A Temptation of Angels, sent me a postcard. It was really exciting! Thanks, Michelle! 

That's it for now! How was your mailbox?

- Ciara who is lost at midnight