The 2012 Book Challenge

[yakibuke]

21. harry potter and the half blood prince - j.k. rowling

[strandedstranger]

Join the PEx Book Club: Click the image below:

[XxSkaterBoixX]

*deleted*

[7deadlyjeans]

Just finished reading The Hunger Games...so Imma dish out the review now while it's still fresh in my mind

THE HUNGER GAMES (1)
by Suzanne Collins
328 pages (or at least according to the ebook )
Read from April 5 - April 6, 2012
4 out of 5



Review:
- It's a fast-paced book which I really enjoyed. Initially I thought it would be like Harry Potter with lots of character building woven in the narrative, but the narrative for THG was sweet and fast and brought just the right amount of cheese to make the characters relatable.
- I love Katniss. Such a strong female lead who is a combination of wits and brawn. Not quite like Hermione who relies mainly on her wits.
- This is not Battle Royale. Anyone who compares it directly with the movie, clearly hasn't read the book. It is a love story that progresses to a bigger story of love. With a strong political flavor that I am assuming will continue to be revealed in the next 2 books of the trilogy.
- This book is as much an adult's novel as a young adult's. The concept of the Games (which reminds me a lot of Big Brother tbh), the Capitol (monopoly, the rich becoming richer while the poor, poorer), violence for entertainment--these things are as real right now as it is in the distant future setting of Panem. That when you think about it, this book is actually quite unsettling.

- I love Rue's part, how her death was such a strong mover for Katniss. It was also my fave part in the movie. - Peeta didn't seem like a likable character to me in the movie, but when I read the book, I can honestly say that I am now team Peeta. - was surprised that Seneca Crane who was the gamemaker in the movie, wasn't mentioned in the book at all! - fave character would have to be Cinna...fierce much!

Eager to start on Catching Fire later...I love Holy Week...I get to read again...

[strandedstranger]

Join the PEx Book Club: Click the image below:



Updated the logo.

[7deadlyjeans]

CATCHING FIRE (2)
by Suzanne Collins
333 pages
Read on April 7, 2012
5 out of 5



Review:
- This is probably the best in the Trilogy, although I have yet to read the last one. Exciting and will definitely keep you reading to find out more. Katniss develops a clearer understanding of her feelings for both Peeta and Gale...initially I thought I would be Team Gale already because of his rebel with a cause attitude in this book, but my heart is all for Peeta now. This guy's one heck of a martyr for love. Ganda mo Katniss grabe!
-Mildly unsettling was the banquet feast at the Capitol where people drank a clear liquid to purge what they ate. Sounds very familiar to present day woes. The disparity between nations' attitudes towards food is as alive in Panem as it is in our world right now.

- best part of the book: the realization of Katniss that she is part of a bigger picture. that if she held out the nightlocks "to save Peeta because I knew I would be shunned if I came back w/o him, then I am despicable. If I held them out because I loved him, I am still self-centered, although forgivable. But if I held them out to defy the Capitol, I am someone of worth."

- the 2nd book is all about turning the tide of war. The events are all interconnected to one big hurrah that will be the events in Mockingjay.Excited as to how Finnick and Gale will help out Katniss in saving Peeta...it's not common to have the girl rescue the boy for a change.

=======
Read so far:
- The Hunger Games

[gs09]

7dj kainis next week ko pa mahihiram yung Catching Fire sa officemate ko

Anyway...



2. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
6 April 2012

It is not very often that I get to read a book after I watched its film adaptation. It’s either I read the book first before I watched the film, or the film was not good enough for me to bother reading the source material. In a way, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is different because it got me reading the source (last time I did this was with Memoirs of a Geisha) and because I finished the novel in less than a day.

The trilogy is set in the futuristic dystopia of Panem, which rose from the ashes after the fall of what was once known as North America. The country is ruled by the cold and cruel city of Capitol, surrounded by twelve districts that specialized in manufacturing goods to sustain the needs of Capitol residents. Many decades ago, the Capitol squashed a revolution that emerged from all the districts. As punishment, the Games were created to remind the districts of the city’s might.

Full review at http://www.giansamson.com/2012/04/ma...s-book-review/

--

Other Books (makigaya lang sa taas ko )
1. Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

[marimari678]

26. Blue Nights, Joan Didion

- Joan Didion writes about the Death of her only daughter Quintana Roo. Didion and her husband adopted a baby girl, whom they named Quintana Roo, after a place they saw in a Map while in Mexico. Reading this memoir, you’ll realize how really painful it is for a parent to outlive her child. She also mentioned close friends of theirs, who are already deceased, including, Natasha Richardson, Liam Neeson’s late wife, who died due to a ski accident. It wasn’t supposed to happen to her, Joan wrote. You see, months before the death of Quintana, Didion’s husband also died. It was a double tragedy for her. This memoir is a beautifully written book of someone who has to live with the grief of losing a loved one.

5/5

[marimari678]

Updated Linked Book List


1. Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami(reread)
2. The Elephant Vanishes, Haruki Murakami
3. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
4. Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
5. Girl With Curious Hair, David Foster Wallace
6. Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
7. Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
8. The Lover's Dictionary, David Levithan
9. One day, David Nicholls
10. State of Wonder, Ann Patchett
11. The Body Artist, Don Delillo
12. Black Swan Green, David Mitchell
13. MONSTRESS: stories, Lysley Tenorio
14. The Flame Alphabet, Ben Marcus
15. Beat the Reaper, Josh Bazell
16. Swamplandia!, Karen Russel
17. Wild Thing, Josh Bazell
18. The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Melissa Bank
19. Leaving the Atocha Station, Ben Lerner
20. Why We Broke Up, Daniel Handler Illustrated by Maira Kalman
21. Beijing Welcomes You, Tom Scocca
22. Freedom, Jonathan Franzen
23. Bossypants, Tina Fey
24. Just kids, Patti Smith
25. The Moons of Jupiter:stories, Alice Munro
26. Blue Nights, Joan Didion

[pinkclair]

Hi strandedstranger, can i still join the challenge? I know i'm kinda late but I still have 7 months to go. Hopefully I can finish the 40 books or at least half of them by the end of the year. I'm not really good with making reviews but well there's a first for everything.
Thanks.

First.


Title: Canticle - The Cleric Quintet 1
Author: R.A. Salvatore
Time: 4/7/2012
No. of pages: 330+
Rating: 5/5

Canticle is the first part of a five-novel series set around the Snowflake Mountains of the Forgotten Realm universe. It follows the young scholar-cleric Cadderly and his friends in stopping the "Chaos Curse" to be unleashed to the world.

I enjoyed the story very much. Most characters are very likeable. The plot is not complicated and is very easy to follow. Good triumphs over evil. It is good for a quick and fun read.

[strandedstranger]

There's no set deadline when it comes to joining the challenge. So yes you can still join.

[7deadlyjeans]

MOCKINGJAY (3)
by Suzanne Collins
371 pages
Read from April 7-9, 2012
4 out of 5



Review:
- It took me a longer period of time to actually finish the last of the trilogy because it was just too heavy to digest. The content is so heartbreaking, Katniss' pain too unbearable, that reading the next pages is like a mixture of both dread and anticipation.
- The last book is filled with so much heaviness: the feeling of being trapped in a reality that is beyond your control, the inescapable feeling of pain (noticeable is a lot of the characters' different means of escape from morphling addiction to Haymitch's alcoholism).
- "No words. No slogan. My face is all they need now." -> this reminded me of Che Guevara. How people wear his face on shirts, caps, and bags not knowing who he really is and what he actually did in Cuba. Combine that with Plutarch's comment on how humans naturally forget and are self-destructive by nature, and you can't help but think that The Hunger Games is like a looming prophecy of how our future could turn out.

- Prim's death is so heartbreaking, so tense it just makes you want to breakdown with Katniss. Will surely cry when they show this scene in the movie.

- Despite Katniss and Peeta having a happy ending, you still can't shake the feeling of remorse for all the injustice dealt to all the other characters.

=======
Read so far:
- The Hunger Games
- Catching Fire

[brrrrr!!!]

On Ju Nesbo's first Harry Hole, The Redbreast. Here's hoping I catch up.

[michymichymoo]

12. Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark



Rating: out of 5

Seven-year-old Ellie was the key witness when her fifteen-year-old sister Andrea was murdered near their home. Rob Westerfield, a teenage brat from a rich family and Andrea's secret date, was arrested and jailed for more than 20 years. Andrea's death brought rift to the family that Ellie's parents divorced after a few years and her mom died an alcoholic.

After 20 years in jail, Rob Westerfield files for parole and tries to pinpoint Paul Stroebel, an admirer of Andrea during that time, as the killer.

As an investigative reporter, Ellie also discovers Will Nebels, a neighborhood handyman as possible suspect.

Ellie uncovers the backgrounds of the three possible killers while endangering her own life as she continues to seek justice for the death of her sister and the rift it made to her family.

The novel is nerve-wracking as it will confuse the reader on who the real killer is. But at the end the events will be a bit obvious on who the killer is. A must-read, nevertheless.

[pinoy2781]

17. inheritance - christopher paolini


time: apr. 02 - apr. 08
pages: 849
rating: 4 / 5


warning: may contain spoilers.

inheritance is the last book of the series (the inheritance cycle) which, originally, was supposed to be a trilogy. however, the author decided to split the third book into two.

generally speaking, the books is good and a decent finale to the seires. it could have been better, but coming from a "first time" writer, inheritance, as well as the first three, is (are) good.

at 849 pages, there were parts that i wished he omitted. and if omission was not possible, he should have made it shorter and focused more on the main storyline - defeating the king, and eragon and saphira.

the first few chapters were slow, making it dragging. this is the second time i read the book, and i found these parts more tedious because i felt that they "do not belong" or "too much emphasized" (somehow). i guess the author wanted to inject "action" every once in a while as a ploy to "excite" the reader.

the book has this lord-of-the-rings vibe, maybe because the author used almost the same types of characters - elves, dwarves, humans, and in lieu of orcs, urgals (which were used/abused/misused indiscriminately by the evil king, making them bad guys in the eyes of others. however, they later defected to the good side because they realized that they were mistreated, thus seeking revenge and any way to overthrow the ruler even if it means joining the others who, by the way, hated them because of their dirty deeds.)

the ending, again, has this lotr flavour in it - sailing the river to a far far away land where no man can and dared to go except the riders and their dragonds and the elves. (in lotr's case, only the elves can go or anyone who has the elves' favour.)

in my opinion, this lotr vibe worked both ways for the author - good and bad. good because there are a lot of tolkienites out there. they have a sense of familiarity with the characters. however, tolkien is tolkien, and anybody who is brave enough to "emulate" him will suffer in comparison. nevertheless, as i already mentioned, there are rooms for improvement for the author.

i hope mr. paolini writes a book or two about these characters:

- angela. she is the most intriguing character in the series. there were some hints about her past but i want a full account of her life before and after they overthrew galbatorix.

- elva. what because of her?

- arya and firnen. arya's life as the queen of the elves and as a dragon rider. her life with the varden and as ambassador.

- nasuada, the varden and the empire.

- murtagh and thorn. did they find peace? did he go back to nasuada?

- (and of course) eragon and saphira (with the elves who went with them). their life in "seclusion", training the new riders and dragons, and the healing of the eldunari who were under galbatorix's meddling.

[pinoy2781]

UPDATE

1. the hour i first believed - wally lamb
2. she's come undone - wally lamb
3. twisted 9 - jessica zafra
4. coraline - neil gaiman
5. dreaming water - gail tsukiyama
6. night of many dreams - gail tsukiyama
7. ang mga kaibigan ni mama susan - bob ong
8. for one more day - mitch albom
9. ligo na u, lapit na me - (sir) eros s. atalia
10. percy jackson and the lightning thief - rick riordan
11. percy jackson and the sea of monsters- rick riordan
12. percy jackson and the titan's course - rick riordan
13. percy jackson and the battle of the labyrinth - rick riordan
14. percy jackson and the last olympian - rick riordan
15. the help - kathryn stockett
16. to kill a mockingbird - harper lee
17. inheritance - christopher paolini

currently reading: para kay b - ricky lee

[corn queen]

^ I love that novel! It's [spoiler start]heartbreaking[spoiler end]

[strandedstranger]

Congratulations to talkplaylove and av0145, for being able to read at least twenty books so far.





Your pins shall be awarded to you tomorrow. The list will be updated on Wednesday.


StrandedStranger
PEx Book Challenge Organizer

[av0415]

(24) When the Wind Blows
Author: James Patterson
Pages: 416
Time: April 7 to April 8
Rating:

Review:
It's my second Patterson book and I love it. Patterson never cease to amaze me. It's a story about Frannie, Kit, Max, and Max' friends. Frannie and Kit discovered the secrets behind Maximum, a 98% human 2% avian, and because of that they were being hunted. They were hunted even more when they went to the School, learned about the atrocities involved, and rescued the other winged kids. In the end, they were returned to their respective biological parents.

[lulu_bella]

8) Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman, a compilation of bizarre stories that will thrill you. Some of my favorites among the 31 stories are Wedding Present (in the introduction), The Goldfish Pools and Other Stories, Mouse, We Can Give It To You In Wholesale, Tastings, Murder Mysteries, and Snow Glass and Apples. The stories such as the Wedding Present, We Can Give It To You In Wholesale, and Tastings are the kinds that will give you trouble sleeping while the stories of The Goldfish Pools and Other Stories, and Mouse are that have a bit of life learning. The stories I really like best are Murder Mysteries and Snow Glass and Apples. Murder Mysteries, is Gaiman’s brilliant story telling of what happened before mankind and the universe were created. The Snow Glass and Apples is the story of the classic Snow White in the “Evil” Queen’s perspective, only this story is not a fairy tale.

9) Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. It’s one of my forever favorites and it’s the third time that I read the book since I ran out of books to read in the house. It’s the story of a boy who lived from the attempt of a sorcerer who-must-not-be-name to murder him. In the first novel of the Harry Potter series, Rowling introduced the wonderful world of Wizards (which is somewhere in the outskirts of London) and Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry has to learn what he is and how powerful he can become, as he never set foot in the Wizarding world until he turned 11, his muggle relatives took custody of him, since he was just a baby, and swore to never let him become what his parents were. I love how J.K. Rowling created a universe of magic and adventure on the other side of London. Harry Potter series is one of the books I literally grew up with.

10) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. This book has an interesting story but contains too many details that need not to be in it and so I forced myself to finish the 500+ pages. The author managed to describe each companies/ establishments mentioned in the book from the year it was established down to its financial status, which I think is not necessary given that the whole point of the story is Lisbeth Salander and the mystery of the Vanger Family. I don’t think he needed to dedicate a chapter just to describe secondary characters. I schemed to some chapters since Stieg Larsson put too much effort in writing about how powerful the hard drive of an iBook G4 is or how lightweight the protagonist’s Kawasaki motorbike. On the lighter note, he was able to come up with a good twist and detailed description of the murders that Blomkvist and Salander were able to discover. All in all I wouldn’t go to the bookstore and buy me a set copy of Stieg Larsson’s masterpiece. If you’re not in to financial, business, and politics story and opt for the murder and mystery parts, I suggest that you just go and watch the film adaptation of the book.