A Book Based on or Turned into a TV Show

Lately, I started watching an anime, a style of Japanese television animation) show called Black Butler. No, the title isn't racist! It's in reference to black magic. It's a horror and comedy show that captured my attention right away. So I decided I would try the manga, a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, for it.

Today, I started and finished Volume I.

It was about one hundred and eighty pages, but there are less words per page than traditional books. It was incredibly fun to read. The first volume was remarkably similar to the first three episodes which was a tiny bit annoying since I re-watched them yesterday. Anyways, it kept my attention all the same. 

I also realized the plethora of pictures make manga really fun to read. So if you're interested in trying something new and don't mind a bit of horror (it's much worse in the show- the book is mostly action), then definitely check out this book. 5 out of 5 stars.

A Mystery

I have come to the realization that there is absolutely no possible way for me to complete this challenge. Between high school, college, writing, socializing and every other little part of my life that keeps me busy, I don't have time to read a book every week. Nor do I have the desire to. My main goal with all of this was to read more and I feel confident that I'm accomplishing that.

Anyways, I didn't choose this book, my Dad surprised me with it. One day after school, he handed me Paper Towns by John Green.

Last summer, I read the Fault in our Stars and I loved it. I think I read it in a matter of days. So I was pretty excited to start this one. Especially since they're already making a movie for it.

However, I didn't find it as intriguing. It was well written and had some pretty funny parts sure, but I didn't feel the urge to constantly be reading it. A little past halfway it got more suspenseful and drew me in, but then at the ending I was still bored by it. I wouldn't say Paper Towns is a boring book, but it has a kind of slow pace and is very philosophical. Which is the very reason I would recommend it. It's the kind of book that makes you really think. I also liked the way Green crafted his characters. A lot of adult writers struggle with accurately portraying teenagers. This was not a problem with Paper Towns.

So if you're looking for something suspenseful and fast paced, this would not be the book for you. Still, you should give it a try at some point!

A Book by an Author You've Never Read Before

Hello, everyone! 

I realize I'm a bit behind on the challenge (three books to be exact) and therefore blog updates, but I'm doing the best I can. I actually read for well over an hour today to finish Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl.

There was a major problem I had with this book. This may not be the best way to start off a review, but I feel it should be addressed first because it came up throughout the book. The main characters are pretty poor. To the point where they can't afford to get their tapestries mended- or to even afford food regularly! Yet, they had thirty seven servants, one of which was a stable boy for the two horses they owned. The author attempted to explain how they kept the horses, one was a gift and one was bought by the rich stepsister who keeps her money locked away, but she seems to forget to explain the servants. If I knew how people who couldn't afford sugar or fresh tea could afford to have thirty seven servants, I may have enjoyed the book  more. It was something my mind kept going back to and I hoped at some point there would be an explanation... There wasn't.

Despite this issue, there were several aspects of Keeping the Castle that I enjoyed. A major one was Mr. Fredericks' character. At first he seemed aloof, almost like a carbon copy of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice (if you didn't get that reference immediately, shame on you). It wasn't long before I realized that wasn't it at all. Where Mr. Darcy is shy and proud, Mr. Fredericks' turned out to be awkward, outspoken and spontaneous. This is a common mix of traits for heroines these days, but seem to be rare in male characters. It was a refreshing change and I found him to be my favorite character, although the main one, Althea, grew on me towards the end. 

The story was an interesting idea, but it fell a bit short. There was only one major plot twist and the romantic aspects were hard to follow. It reminded me a bit of A Midsummer Night's Dream in that it was difficult to tell which secondary characters were going to end up together. I couldn't tell who wanted to marry who for what reasons for most of the book! The ending was pretty cute, albeit hasty and a bit clumsy.

I gave Keeping the Castle three stars on Goodreads, but I would only recommend it if you don't mind little plot holes and a bit of confusion in your romantic comedies.

I hope to read the next book item quickly and update soon, but we'll see!

A Book You Can Read In A Day

Yesterday I wrote a blog post about how I was falling behind, so I figured as a start to getting back on track, I would attempt this challenge. It seemed relatively easy and it was!

The book I selected was part of a collection of books I downloaded from Amazon for free; this is the cover.

At only 17,000 words, I knew this would be a fast read and it ended up taking me about forty minutes total. The item asked for a book you could read in a day and with my busy days, this is pretty much the only one I could. It was short and sweet (a comedy/ paranormal story) and very fun to read.

I almost wish it were longer, because the plot felt a bit rushed and there were some relationships I would've liked to read more about, but that's just because it was a short story which was kind of the point! 

If you're ever looking for a cute story to read in the breaks of your busy day, I would one hundred percent suggest this. Although, it's best read on Halloween, as suggested by the title.

I'm so glad I was able to read today and post another update!  

Not the Post I Hoped to Post

I know this post is late, I’m so sorry, I promised one earlier, but I’m behind on the reading challenge so this happened. I still haven’t actually finished another book, because I had to quit reading the last one I chose. It wasn’t bad, but it was a horror story that I accidentally picked out in a rush. This is it.

I thought I would read it for the ‘a book that scares you’ item, but it was too freaky. As I’m currently living with a clinical anxiety disorder, I don’t really need more fear in my life. So not even halfway through I gave up, it hurt too much to read it. If you enjoy horror books, it did seem well written and you may be interested in giving it a try!

Before that, I was sick again- a major reason I haven’t read more. It ruined my Valentine’s Day and made me feel like doing nothing. I’ve hardly read this month and it sucks and I’m already failing, but I’m not going to give up. Hopefully the next post will be an actual book review.

A Book Based Entirely on its Cover

I apologize for this post being a bit late, but I got sick last weekend and put off everything, including reading. I'm a little behind on the challenge, but I'm sure I can get caught up!

Alright, for this item, I looked through a few books at the library and selected Revived by Cat Patrick, because, well, just look at this cover.

The book turned out to be about a girl who is part of a secret government program that invented a medicine to bring people back after they die, assuming they had no preexisting medical conditions such as cancer. It started out slow and focused on Daisy's life and reminded me of a lot of stories I've read on Wattpad. And then it got darker. I don't want to spoil anything, but God, the nickname of the person in charge of the program, isn't as saintly as Daisy, or any of the readers, would like to imagine. Daisy is a memorable character with real flaws and her own choices. Revived pretty accurately portrays teen life while asking important questions about life and death.

Overall, Revived was a great book, the kind that I read for hours yesterday because I couldn't put it down, I just had to know where it was going. I would recommend to anyone who likes teen fiction and suspense.

A Trilogy

For the trilogy item, I read the Ruby Read Trilogy by Kerstin Gier. How did I choose this trilogy? I picked a book at random from the library and it happened to be the first book of three already published books. A very well thought out method, don't you think?

The first book is called Ruby Red.

When I started this book, I didn't like it much. The plot was moving along at a snail's pace and the main character, Gwenyth, was not the sharpest tool in the shed. She bordered on being ridiculously  stupid and it was difficult to tell if it was intentional. However, I stuck with it.

I spent most of the book only partly enjoying it- until the last two chapters. This was where it finally picked up the pace and the romance started developing and Gwenyth finally became her own individual rather than a silly shadow of her reasonably brighter best friend. I swear most of the book was 'Lesley said this' and 'Lesley thought that' and 'Lesley always said this'. Like I said though, it got better around the end before dropping off in a cliffhanger which was probably the reason I decided to continue the series. 

The second book is Sapphire Blue.

Right from the start, this book was better than the first. Although I could be biased because the first chapter had more romance than the entire first book. However, almost every aspect of the book seemed more coherent and interesting. Gwenyth was portrayed as adorably naive rather then infuriatingly dull and she finally became independent of Lesley. Another thing I loved about this book was the introduction of the character Xemerius, the ghost of a gargoyle that had long since been destroyed. He provided comic relief and helped move the plot along several times. He easily became my favorite character. Sapphire Blue, like Ruby Red, ended in a cliff hanger that the third book will hopefully wrap up for good.

The final book in the series is Emerald Green.

The first picture is the copy that looks like the others, the second is the copy that I bought at Barnes and Nobles because they didn't have it at either library I go to. I'm going to talk about the book in a second, but first, I want to talk about the exciting adventure I went on to pick up this book. I was at Star Co Coffee with my mom and her friend, playing scrabble and waiting for the library across the street to open. It just so happened, a movie was being filmed in the street between the cafe and the library. And it was starring actor Johnathon Bennett who played Aaron in Mean Girls. We even got a picture with him!

Okay, onto the book review part.
I loved this book. It was excellent. The ending was a bit odd, but somehow it worked with the writing style. The ending was nicely wrapped up and the characters were so nicely developed I think I'mm going to miss them. Emerald Green was overall cover to cover amazingness and I recommend the series to anyone.
Onto a new book and author!