Waiting on Wednesday (3)

In a World Just Right by Jen Brooks
Release Date: April 28, 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

High school senior Jonathan Aubrey creates worlds at will. In Kylie-Simms-is-my-girlfriend, he’s given himself everything he doesn’t have in real life-–the track team, passing grades, and his dream girl–-until one day he confuses his worlds and almost kisses the real Kylie Simms. Now his girlfriend Kylie and the real Kylie are changing, and Jonathan must solve the mystery of his own life to save his love from a gruesome fate.


Why I'm Excited:
This book is getting amazing reviews from those who have read an advanced copy, and alternate worlds are something that are not very common in YA books. This sounds like a really interesting blend of contemporary and fantasy. The concept and plot sound fresh and I love the blue cover. 

Hosted by:Breaking the Spine 

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Reads

I can't believe that October is almost over! I know I say that at the end of every month but its true. I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween, but I do enjoy any holiday that involves themed reading. I'm not one for scary movie or books, but I do have a few favorite Halloween books that I have read and a few that I want to read. 

I made a post earlier this month about Perfect October Reads which you can check out if you want to see more of my selections. 

Hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish

BOOKS I HAVE READ: 

 

1. Dracula, Bram Stoker

I just finished Dracula this month and I did a rather detailed post on the story's history as well as a review. (read it here.) Although this one is quite long, I really enjoyed listening to it on audio book, and would recommend it if you have any long drives coming up, especially if you will be driving at night! It definitely spooked me a little bit, Dracula is one creepy guy.

2. The Diviners, Libba Bray

Another large book, The Diviners is the only Libba Bray book I have read. I loved the atmosphere of 1920's New York City in this novel, and if the second book ever gets released, I think the series will be quite enjoyable. It deals with a lot of supernatural elements and seriously creepy serial killer. (As opposed to not the creepy serial killers I guess).  

3. Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman 

Okay, I cheated. I haven't read all of the stories in this collection, but I have really enjoyed what I have read. This book would be perfect for Halloween night. Just pick up a few creepy and weird tales while curled up after dark. 

 

4. The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book is a cute retelling of Kipling's The Jungle Book, and I found it to be a really enjoyable read. I think that majority of Gaiman's works would be great for the Halloween season and I really want to read more from him, so let me know what you liked from him. 

5. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and Gris Grimly

This adaptation of Frankenstein  was the last book I read, and I really loved the art style and how well the themes from the original story were preserved. I'm really itching to read the original story now, and I think I will add it to next Halloween's TBR list. (Yep, I'm already planning my TBR that far ahead!) Any of Gris Grimly's works would be perfect for Halloween. He illustrated some Poe stories and I'm very eager to get my hands on those!

BOOKS I WANT TO READ:

 

6. The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater

I NEED to start this series! I'm going to start it very, very soon. I've heard lots of great things.

7. A Certain  Slant of Light, Laura Whilcomb 

This one is about a girl ghost who haunts a high school English classroom, which means I'm super interested. I've heard it's rather heartbreaking though.

8. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Holly Black 

I haven't read any Holly Black yet, and this one intrigues me because it is a standalone, and it's about Vampires. Everyone loves a good vampire novel. 

 

9. The Fall, Bethany Griffin 

This is a retelling of Poe's story, The Fall of the House of Usher. I'm always interested to see how authors rework classics in YA fiction, and Poe seems like he would be a bit of a challenge to rework. I've heard pretty mixed reviews, but I'm still interested in checking it out. Plus, what a creepy cover!

10. Born Wicked, Jessica Spottswood 

This is a YA trilogy about witches set in a fictional historical setting. I've heard pretty good reviews of this book, and I haven't read a YA witch series yet. Let me know if you have any other recommendations for YA witch books!

What are you reading this Halloween? Any Gaiman recommendations? Young Adult Witch series recommendations? 

Recently Read: Gris Grimly's Frankenstein

Author: Mary Shelley and Gris Grimly
Genre: Graphic Novel- Classic Adaptation
Publication Date: 2013
Page Count: 208
Rating: 5/5

I read Gris Grimly's Frankenstein in the spirit of Halloween. I hadn't read the original story by Mary Shelley, but I loved this version and I now really want to read the original. This book was on my Before the End of the Year TBR list, which I'm making good progress on!

This is a graphic novel adaptation of the story of Victor Frankenstein and the monster he creates. This version uses sections of the original text along side abridged text, and is accompanied by gorgeous art. 

The art style for this book matched the tone of the story perfectly, The color pallet is full of dark colors and the art is almost warped. The story is told through words and pictures. Sometimes the text carries the story forward and sometimes the story is told solely through pictures.  

Not only is the inside of this book beautiful, but the jacket and actual book are beautiful too. The book without the jacket has a beautiful gold design and the spine has gold lettering too. The jacket is illustrated in the same style as the inside. If you ever see this book in a bookstore or library I highly recommend you flip through it, at the least if you don't end up falling in love with it and taking it home. 

This book captures the themes of the original story so well. The opening page with the epigraph is just breathtaking! (By the way, I mentioned Frankenstein in my Favorite Epigraphs Part 1 post because just the epigraph alone is amazing.) You don't have to have read the original story in order to enjoy this book, and if you have read it, I think you will really love this adaption.

I'm really eager to pick up the other works Grimly has illustrated including two volumes of Poe stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Pinocchio. 

If you have any recommendations for graphic novel adaptations of classics, let me know! 

     

Announcement!

Droll roll please.....

I'm going to actually use my Goodreads page!

Hopefully you weren't expecting anything too exciting.

I've had my Goodreads for a couple years now, but I hardly ever use it. I've spent the last few days sort of updating it and I really plan to start utilizing it next year, so I'm starting now to train myself to use it regularly and to figure everything out,

Leave me your Goodsreads tips and follow me!

Follow me on Goodreads

Recently Read: Dracula History and Review

Author: Bram Stoker
Genre: Classic Horror/Gothic Fiction
Publication Date: 1897
Page Count: 402
Rating:  4/5

I just finished Bram Stoker's Dracula. This book has such a rich and interesting history behind it I thought I would do a combined post with the novel's history and legacy as well as share some of my thoughts on the novel.
And P.S. how beautiful is this Penguin Classics edition?

Background and History:

Bram Stoker was the business manager of the then famous Lyceum Theatre in London in 1897. He was a very close friend and manager to famous stage actor Henry Irving (some literary historians make the case for Stoker having romantic feelings for Irving, but I will leave that up to you to research and decide upon). Stoker would write a theatrical version of his vampire tale before he wrote the novel in hopes of Irving taking the leading role. Stoker modeled Dracula's mannerisms and dramatic flourishes after Irving, but Irving would not agree to play the role. Stoker was a part of the circle of late 19th century authors that included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, and himself among others. Stoker was not  as well-known or successful from his writing as the other authors in this circle and he was a little bitter about it. 

Dracula was published to decent reviews, but did not sell an overwhelming number of copies. It was not until film adaptions of the novel began being produced that the novel became a best seller. The novel has been in constant printing since 1931. Dracula has appeared as a major role in over 217 film adaptions, he is second only to Sherlock Holmes with over 223 film appearances. 

Dracula may have gotten his name from "Vlad the Impaler" (real name Vlad Dracula III), who is rumored to have killed between 40,000 and 100,000 Europeans during his reign mainly by impaling them because he did not see them as "necessary members of society."

If you are interested in fictional books with Bram Stoker as a character I suggest, The Sherlockian by Graham Moore and A Game Called Murder by Gyles Brandeth.  I'm on the lookout for great biographies of authors so let me know if you have any suggestions for author biographies.

Thoughts on the Book:

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! This book is written as a series of letters and journal entries, which I was not expecting until I started the book, I listened to most of it on audio book while driving, and I actually got a little creeped out a couple times while driving at night. The first fifty or so pages of this book, when you first meet Dracula, were so eerie and so well done. I loved the atmosphere of Dracula's castle. and how so many different characters and story lines throughout the novel end up connecting. Even though Dracula is only really present for those first fifty or so pages, his lack of presence is even more unnerving because you're never sure where he's going to turn up next or what he's up to.

I really enjoyed the character of Dr. Van Helsing, and I can totally see why his character has survived the test of time and is included in so many vampire movies. He's so wise and weird!  

The biggest theme that I got out of this book was in connection the the turn of the century. This book was published three years before the turn of the century and Victorian England was changing, Technology was advancing and the world was moving on from the romantic and Gothic age of Victorian London. This contrast between new and old is seen in many place throughout the novel. Dracula represents tradition and history (he often speaks of his families history and the many wars they fought hundreds of years ago) where Van Helsing and his band represent the new age with their cutting edge technology (which included phonographs and hypnotism). In the end, as I'm sure you are aware, the new age beats tradition. 

A lot of the articles and analysis of this work that I have read make sex and sexual power the biggest theme of this novel. I do believe that this novel does comment on the sexual expectations placed on women and how a wife or "respectable women" should not be seen as sexual in the least among other things concerning sex, but I don't see that as the biggest theme of this novel. Many critics even make a case for a homoerotic connection between Dracula and Jonathon Harker, one of the main characters who lives in Dracula's castle for a while.  

If you have read Dracula let me know what you thought about themes or anything else in general.  

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten New Series I Want to Start

There are a lot of series that I want to start, and most of these series on my list today I own the first book in the series so there's no excuses to have not read them (well, except school and a massive TBR pile.) Now about the "newness" factor of these books. All of these series are relatively new, and while the first book might have been published over two years ago, the final books are more recently published. Okay, here we go!
Hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish

 

1. The Grisha Trilogy, Leigh Bardugo
I've heard many a good thing about this fantasy trilogy, and I put the first book in this series on my Before the End of the Year TBR list so I will be reading this series soon. I already have books one and two on my Nook, so I feel a marathon coming on.

2. The Darkest Minds Trilogy, Alexandra Bracken
Another series that I own the first two books from but have yet to read! I think I will wait until I pick up the third and final book before marathoning this one as well. I love the covers of these books, and I have also heard lots of great things about this trilogy.

3. The Raven Boys Quartet, Maggie Stiefvater
The premise of this series sounds unique and a little mysterious. I have owned the first book in the series for a while now, and with the release of the third book earlier this month, it's time for me to finally start this series.

 

4. The Remnant Chronicles, Mary E. Pearson
There is only one book in this series out so far, and it hasn't been out that long so I'm not too far behind on this one yet! This is going to be a fantasy series I do believe, and I'm interested to see where this series is going to go since the synopsis of the first book sounds like it could be a standalone.

5. The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, Laini Taylor 
I've heard lots of great things about this book and its really unique world, I'm looking forward to starting this trilogy; it sounds like something I will really like.

6. The Mara Dyer Trilogy, Michelle Hodkin
The third book in this trilogy is set to release in a couple weeks so I want to hop on this one as well. I think this series will be a good series to marathon as it has a mystery element to the plot, and an unreliable narrator, which I love.

 

7. The Defiance Trilogy, C.J. Redwine
I don't know anything about the plot of this trilogy honestly, but the third book just recently came out and I have been seeing it around a lot. I've also heard that this trilogy has a really good love triangle, so I really want to check this series out.

8. The Rebel Belle Series, Rachel Hawkins
This series sounds really cute and action packed. Plus it's got a great kick-ass lead female character, which I'm all about! The second book is coming out either late this year or early next year so I'd like to pick this one up.

9. The Fairyland Series, Cathrine M. Valente  
This is a middle grade series of which I own the first two books. They look so enjoyable and they have beautiful illustrations throughout. I always enjoy middle grade books and I'm excited to start this middle grade fantasy series. There are currently three books in this series.

10.The Waterfire Saga Series, Jenifer  
This is a mermaid series with a beautiful cover and that's all I really know. I have yet to read a YA mermaid series and I have a few on my TBR list including this one. If you've read this one, please let me know.

Have you read any of these series? What series should I read immediately?
What series made your list?

My Favorite Epigraphs: Part One

What is an epigraph, you ask. An Epigraph is a short quote that precedes a piece of literature and is intended to suggest the theme of the piece, it can also be a short inscription on a statue or building, but today I'm only concerned with the literary definition.

I've always loved epigraphs and when I find one that fits perfectly with the story, I tend to get a little emotional. (Ya I know, I'm a weird literature geek) The other day I came across one epigraph that made me stop right in my tracks and think for a good ten minutes, it of course made me a little emotional as well, but that epigraph inspired this post. Today I'll share five of my favorite epigraphs and as I discover more, I will share them in following posts.

I will start with the epigraph I spoke of earlier.

Epigraph for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 

"Did I request thee,

Maker, from my clay

To mould me man?

Did I solicit thee

From Darkness to

Promote me?"

-Paradise Lost


Epigraph for Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

"If they give you ruled paper, write the other way"

- Juan Ramon Jimenez



Epigraph for Graham Green's The Quiet American 

"This is the patent age of new inventions

For killing bodies, and for saving souls,

All propagated with the best intentions."

- Lord Byron






Epigraph for Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

"Lawyers, I suppose, were children once"

-Charles Lamb

Epigraph for Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises 

"You are all a lost generation."

-Gertrude Stein