It's Monday! (2/23/2015)

 This lovely meme is hosted by the ever-mighty Sheila of BookJourney.

Hello to you all again! I can't believe Monday is here again already. This is going to be one busy week on all fronts. This Thursday, I'm going to be heading north to Beverly Hills for a press screening of Kidnapping Mr. Heineken on behalf of College News. I'm really excited and also a bit nervous because this will be the first press screening I'm attending. 

I still haven't finished reading The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones, so I'll just show what I actually finished reading and reviewing this week. 

It rained today, which is quite unusual in San Diego. I was inside the whole time so when I stepped out of work, I only knew about the rain because the ground was damp. 

This week, I finished:

Macaron Murder, by Harper Lin

Genre: Cozy Mystery 

Captivated Reader introduced this book to me last year, but I didn't start reading it until recently. This mystery novella set in Paris is really cute, and also a fast read. And even better: it's free on Amazon. Read my review here. 

Mess by Liars (album)

This album was quite unsettling and aggressive in both its lyrics and its form. In my review, I mention their music video (single version) of a song featuring a dude singing with a face that threw me into several hours of cartoon therapy afterward. Do check it out if you are braver than me.

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Thanks for reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading (2/16/2015)

This fabulous weekly meme is hosted by Sheila of BookJourney. 

One of the things I appreciate most about the book blogger community is that we all come together from different walks of life. From parents to young teens, from the wild and free bohemians to the conservative, family-oriented folk, we all share a common interest: reading awesome stuff and writing about it. :) Happy Valentine's Day! Hope your Valentines weekend went well.

Last Week:

Author Q&A with Jen Minkman: Part 1 and Part 2. It was really fun talking with Jen about her life as an author (part 1) and her work on the Tales of Skylge series (part 2). She's from the Netherlands and has is working on a dystopian fantasy series, which is an interesting combo of genres!

Okay, not really sure if any of you here are synthpop fans. But if you are, I made a review of the Attack of the Titans album by Hyperbubble. EVERYTHING in this album was synthesized, from noise machines to the usual synthesizers. Quite experimental. After I listened to this, I felt like my street cred had gone up by two points.

I swear, it's like I have two crazy sides. One side likes fantasy and rugged-looking elf folk, while the other side loves to read super-girly stuff like The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Madow. I'd been looking for a new series to indulge my inner Gossip Girl, and here it is! See my review.

This week, I am reading:

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri. 
I finally decided my 2015 goal, which is to continue my literary education by reading and thinking about more classics. (P.S. This might take me a while to finish.)

The College Chronicles: Freshman Milestones by Kelly Owen
This is about a student's first year in Charlestowne College, which is in the South. The descriptions of the place (and the reason that Cadence chose to attend that school in particular) scream of a small liberal arts college. It's great so far!

Hope for Garbage
by Alex Tully
This one's about an older teen living with his alcoholic uncle. Coming of age problems, overcoming adversity, finding hope, etc. The feel of the story so far is a grittier Jerry Spinelli.

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Thanks for checking out my Monday! Hope yours is going well too! Feel free to leave a comment. :)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (2/2/2015)

Happy Groundhog Day!

This week, I was super-excited when I received a fat package of books and CDs in the mail from my editor over at College News:

For more details on this swag pack, see here.

You can be sure to see the book and album reviews coming up later!

This week, I finished reading:

Light of Lorelei 

by Jen Minkman

(Tales of Skylge #2)

This is really good. Jen Minkman has become a great writer. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Tales of Skylge series, it's a dystopian fantasy series set on an island in which Sirens (merfolk) regularly pull island people towards the sea with their eerie music, where they tear them apart and consume their life force. Aska is an orphan who is doomed to serve in a convent for the rest of her life because she is the offspring of a taboo relationship between Skylger and Anglian individuals. A series of strange occurrences leads her to find the truth behind the Sirens and the ruling class of the island... Read my review here.

I'll be posting an interview with the author, Jen Minkman, soon. Please stay tuned for it! I'll also link the interview in next week's It's Monday! post. :) 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (1/26/2015)

I still can't believe it's 2015 already! Time has been passing by quickly. I've been very busy with work and also as a staff writer for College News, so it is taking me a bit longer to finish reading novels. But I am still reading! It just takes me longer to finish one. Haha.

This week I finished reading: 

Sound of Sirens

by Jen Minkman

(Tales of Skylge #1)

After reading Jen Minkman's The Island series, I was stunned by how different this novel is in comparison to the ones in her former series, possibly because in this novel, possibly because Minkman draws inspiration from the history of her home country, the Netherlands. Sound of Sirens takes place in an island in which two groups of people live: the Currents and the Skylgers. The Currents are the rich ruling class who came from across the sea, while Skylgers are natives to the island. Electricity exists, but the Currents hoard it. The island is surrounded by mysterious merfolk whose siren calls lead hypnotized island folk to their watery doom. It seems that neither Currents nor Skylgers are immune to the call of the Siren. See my review here.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
by Leslye Walton

I remember putting this one on my "Currently Reading" list in some previous "It's Monday!" memes a while back, but I didn't finish reading it until this week, and I was so glad that I finally sat down to enjoy it. I heard a lot about its magical realism but I didn't fully realize it until I started seeing things happen. THE LANGUAGE IS SO BEAUTIFUL. *weeps on your shoulder* See review here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (8/4/2014)

This awesome meme is hosted by Sheila of BookJourney. 

I finally finished reading a book that I had put down on a break while I was still in college. Aside from that, with a full-time job, I have less time for hobbies, so I have to decide on which ones I want to keep. Ultimately, one of my biggest goals is to write a novel, even if it sucks. Then I'll write another one.

My husband and I have been watching an anime called Attack on Titan in the evenings, which is amazingly done. The concepts of the 3D Maneuvering Devices and the titans are well-executed. I thought the idea of human-eating giants was a bit silly at first, but then the insight into the human condition that the film makes so fluidly sucked me in. I'm stunned by how well-paced and cerebral this series is. 

What I Finished This Week:

Road of the Patriarch by R.A. Salvatore

There is an entire fan community devoted to this adventurous duo of a flamboyant dark elf and a hard-hearted human assassin. I put some examples of fan art in my review of this book here. 

What I'm Reading:

Bentwhistle the Dragon: A Threat from the Past

by Paul Cude

I took a break from this book to read Road of the Patriarch, but now I'm coming back to it. 

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Thanks for reading! Hope your week went well!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (7/13/2014)

This meme is hosted by Sheila of BookJourney. :)

This week, I finished two books and also got a job as a secretary in a law office, along with two writing gigs. I've been feeling a bit homesick while transitioning to the new routine, but it's good to have landed a job.

What I Finished This Week: 

The Night Has Claws & The Night Is Found by Kat Kruger (Magdeburg Trilogy #2 & 3)

The best werewolf trilogy I've read so far. Kruger has done her research on the mythology and created an intricate world of werewolf politics and cultures. Check out my book review and Q&A with the author! Kruger knows her stuff.

• Blog Tour: THE NIGHT IS FOUND by Kat Kruger
• Blog Tour: Q&A with Kat Kruger 

Also:

Feel free to enter in this raffle to win a digital copy of the entire Magdeburg Trilogy by Kat Kruger :):

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (6/30/14)

This meme is hosted by Sheila of BookJourney. :)

This Week: Puke Fest

TMI warning. If I could sum up this week into a phrase, it'd be "puke fest." After scarfing down two large slices of anchovy pizza, I started feeling extremely bloated and nauseous. Then that nausea gave way to an awful "sleep" in which I kept waking up every two hours from the discomfort. The next day, I started puking. 

Turns out, the whole family got sick too, but it seems like I got some of the worst symptoms, from dehydration to fatigue.

The odd thing about the nausea was that I had trouble focusing on books, so I stopped reading my current book and started rereading a book that I'd put down while I was still in school. My productivity was like, nothing, but now I'm getting back up. 

Books I Finished Reading:

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/15/2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by the wonderful Sheila of BookJourney.

This week has been a big one: I graduated from UCSD! These past six years have been one giant circle back to what I wanted to do when I first graduated from high school--major in English/literature and work with literature/texts. I've explored other career paths such as pre-med and pre-optometry, and despite my half-hearted attempts to ignore the call of my first passion, these forays ultimately reminded me of what I really enjoyed. We'll see where this next phase of my life takes me.

While I was working on my thesis project, I missed participating in this meme. I can't wait to see what you're reading this week.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 4/28/2014

This cool meme is hosted by BookJourney. Check it out!

I've been swept up with research and my creative thesis project over the past few weeks, and have neglected to post what I've read! So here is the update, which will be more of what I've read this month. <3 Hope your weekend was great!

Here are the books I finished since last month:

1. World of Warcraft: Ashbringer by Micky Neilson (2009)

Set in Azeroth, this is about how the Scarlet Crusade, in its zeal to eradicate the Scourge from the world, fell to corruption from the inside. We get to see a more personal picture of the paladin Alexandros Mograine and his sons, Darion Mograine and Renault. The forging of the legendary Ashbringer weapon is finally brought to Light. See my review.

2. The Weight of Blood by David Daglish (2010)

In terms of storytelling, this fantasy, swords-and-sorcery adventure of two half-orc brothers is quite delicious, even though it uses the classical tropes and doesn't deviate from Tolkien's race designations (elves are beautiful and smart, orcs are slightly stupid and brutish, and humans make a lot of babies). I really enjoyed the story and ended up scarfing it down fast. See my review. Also, it's free on Amazon.

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth (2012)

Storytelling was okay but didn't pull me into a sinful all-nighter sesh. Perhaps a sign of my YA dystopian burn-out: I read it and groaned when I came across the layout of the city into five personality qualities. I had trouble believing that a futuristic society with advanced technologies would have children swearing to their new faction with such an unsanitary practice of cutting open your hand and letting blood drip on a glass. Gross. 

4. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1871)

A vampire novella that strongly influenced Bram Stoker's Dracula, featuring a female vampire who sneakily infiltrates into a family and then proceeds to take away everything from a girl, including her sexual innocence and credibility. Read this for my vampire literature class. (Haven't been able to find a free copy on Amazon, but I'm sure it's on Project Gutenberg somewhere.)

5. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1855)

A Victorian novel about the tensions between the industrialized north of England (particularly Manchester) and the aristocratic southern countryside. I read this for my British literature class, and enjoyed the social commentary and family/romantic drama a lot. There is a BBC show based on this, and it's free to stream on Netflix and Amazon Prime! The ebook is free on Amazon.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (3/24/2014)

This meme is hosted by BookJourney. :)

Final exams ended not with a bang, nor a whimper, but with a heavy snore. I'm at my parents' house hanging out with my brother and sister. Spring break is only a week long, so I'll have to make the most out of it in terms of reading, hanging out with friends and family, and sleeping. :) I'm taking a course on Vampires in Literature this coming quarter. You can probably guess at least one of the books that we'll be reading.

Check out my blog tour stop for Jewel of the Thames and enter to win a free eCopy of this wonderful novel! I've read it and totally recommend it. 

This week, I finished:

"Waiting On" Wednesday: THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER by Leslye Walton

Waiting On Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. :)

Amazon | Book Depository | B&N | Goodreads

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton is coming out this Tuesday on March 25, 2014! I'm planning on reading this book during my spring break. There are already like ~140 or so reviews on Goodreads, and it looks like it's a consistent rave.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (3/17/2014)

This wonderful meme is hosted by Sheila of BookJourney. :)

Hi! Hope your Monday is going well. These upcoming days will be finals week for UCSD, so my reading has slowed down a bit. But it's fine. I have a HUGE list of books that I want to read for spring break. It's better to aim big, right? :P


This week, I finished reading:

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (3/10/2014)

Hosted by Sheila @ BookJourney. :)

Hi! Hope your week is doing well so far. 

This week, I'm reading a smattering of books for fun. Oddly (or maybe not-so-oddly), I'm getting into a range of fun reads in these final weeks of the quarter. What a procrastinator. *self scolds* 

Just finished this week:

Top Five Fictional Worlds I Would Never Want To Live In

For this week, I'll be sharing the top five (couldn't come up with ten, hah) fictional worlds that I would never want to live in - in short, anything dystopian-like in the oppressive sense.

1. Menzoberranzan 

Home of the Dark Elves, Forgotten Realms

Menzoberranzan, by dangercook. Photo Source

Top 10 Goals and Resolutions for 2014

1. Wrap/purge my books. End of fall quarter called for another round of book wrapping, but I haven't done it yet. I also own books that I don't really want to keep but can't trade away because I've scribbled in them. I'll take them to the library and sneak them into the sale cart. 

2. Get rid of distractions. That letter I've been meaning to write will become very tempting as I start working on an essay. Time to put it away until I finish what I have to. My main priorities will be my classes, honors thesis, and looking for an internship. 

3. Keep the room clean. This will help me with #2. Perhaps a weekly purge will help. 

4. Drink instant coffee and tea at home and avoid buying gourmet coffee drinks on campus. 

By sticking to brewed coffee, I was pretty good about this during the fall, but in the heart of winter, a spicy Mayan hot cocoa just sounds so good that I'd be willing to plunk down 4 bucks for a cup. NO. 

Top Ten Books I Read in 2013

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. 

The topic this week is the top 10 books we read in 2013, continuing on the end-of-year theme of 2013's top dogs. Not all of these books were published in 2013, and I had to flip through my Goodreads "read" shelf to recall all of the books I had read. :) 

1. Cracked by Eliza Crewe

A sassy main character who isn't exactly a "good" person, caught in the middle of a battle between demons and Templars.

Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. 

As much as I would love to just buy whatever book I want to read, my tiny bookshelf would never be able to support all those books! The tomes I do have in physical form are usually the ones I choose to collect. Therefore, for this list I'll include books I definitely wouldn't mind having on my shelf or Kindle from Santa...that I don't own already. ;) 

Going off topic for a sec: I just did 14 minutes' worth of step exercises on my ottoman and I'm a bit sore. Oh, the wonderful uses of an ottoman! 

Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Read In 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. 

This book has been a great year for reading for me. I've fallen in love with the works of many authors, especially in the YA genre. A few are established authors that I have only recently met, but there are many debut authors that knocked my socks off.

1. H.G. Wells

I read: The Time Machine

Well. I am, embarrassingly, a century or so late. Not that I could really help it, since I didn't even exist for most of the belated century. ;) Wells's vision of the distant future is eerie and speculates on the future of the class division between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. I got scared reading the scenes between the protagonist and the Morlocks at night. 

2. Rainbow Rowell

I read: Eleanor & Park 

This is the sort of book that I wish existed when I was in high school. I could totally relate. It's not the sugar-coated, escapist version of high school that you get here; you get real teenagers with real conflicts in their lives. It's realistic but still leaves you with a sense of hope about the good people in the world.

3. Lauren Nicolle Taylor

I read: The Woodlands, The Wall (currently reading)

I don't remember how I came across Woodlands but the cover definitely attracted my attention. This is a dystopian novel, and I just love Rosa as a fierce main character. 

4. Cristin Terrill 

I read: All Our Yesterdays

So good. A well-plotted time travel novel. It's a mind-boggler. 

5. Eliza Crewe

I read: Cracked 

The main character is so sassy and made the novel so fun to read.

6. Sarah J. Maas

I read: Throne of Glass 

I also plan on reading Crown of Midnight. Ooh. *shivers* 

7. Dmitry Glukhovsky 

I read: Metro 2033 

A chilling post-apocalyptic novel about survivors of nuclear war who hide and live in the old Russian subway tunnels. Their biggest enemy are the dangerous mutants who compete with them for space and food, and threaten to destroy the last bastions of humanity in eastern Europe.

8. Brent Weeks 

I read: Way of the Shadows

A novel in a fantasy setting about assassins, or more specifically, wetboys. It fits within the deep fantasy genre, as it contains a lot of standard fantasy tropes and doesn't deviate too much from it. The power plays and intrigue along with the physical training kept me reading. It's so good. After I read it, I went on Paperbackswap and requested the other two books in this trilogy. 

9. Ken Dahl

I read: Monsters

His graphic novel made me giggle and cringe. It's great. I look forward to reading more from him.

10. Brian K. Vaughan (Writer) & Fiona Staples (Illustrator)

I read: Saga (Vol. 1)

The dialogue and artwork in this series is breathtakingly good. I can start reading in the middle and get hooked in the addictive narrative. It's a beautifully done series centered around two likable characters. 

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Thanks for reading! What were some authors that you were new to this year?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (#7)

Hosted by BookJourney. 

Ahh, the first Monday of winter break. I don't even know where to start, really. There are many, many books on my reading list. But this week, I'll start with:

The Wall by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

This is the sequel to The Woodlands, an amazing dystopian novel that I read this fall (Woodlands is free for download on Amazon, by the way). I've heard that this is even more action-packed than the first one. I wanted to read this book for a long time but had school. 

I'm almost hesitant to start reading it because I know I won't be able to put it down until I finish. 

The Well of Eternity by Richard A. Knaak 

(War of the Ancients #1)

Chronologically, this is the first Warcraft novel. It takes place thousands of years ago from present-day Azeroth, in the continent of Kalimdor. We get a close-up view of the nocturnal and ancient night elf culture, which would be alien to many Warcraft readers if it were not grounded by the familiar perspectives of a human mage named Rhonin, who finds himself transported back in time. 

I'm re-reading this as part of my winter break goals. I already know it's good. :)

Thanks for reading! What are you up to this Monday?

Sunday Scoop #9

Happy December, and welcome to the Sunday Scoop, in which I will be showing you a weekly list of reads from around the net. Thanksgiving is over, so I made a new Sunday Scoop board, which you can see above. So festive!