threebigcitydreams
bookcase (by frankiemarkot)
threebigcitydreams
bookcase (by frankiemarkot)
Anonymous asked
You're forced to only read ten books for the rest of your life. What books do you choose?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pride & Prejudice, The Book Thief, Anna Karenina (I haven’t yet read it), The Fault in Our Stars, Jane Eyre, David Copperfield, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Catcher in the Rye. I tried to pick books that I don’t think I would get sick of.
ice-creamcastle asked
thaank you for following!! :D i absolutely adore your tumblr <3
and hey, since it's the "ask box" XD
i saw in a picture that you had "the book thief" on your bookcase (next to your cat- who's really cute btw XD)... what did you think? i bought it the other day because the name caught my attention but i'm reading jane eyre right now so it'll have to wait, but i'd love to know your opinion!
It’s so good! Easily one of my favourite books. I’ve honestly never read anything like it- I think you’ll love it!
Anonymous asked
Hi there! Would you recommend me what book should I read. I love romantic fiction so much. Since you're very very familiar with books, I think I should get your recommendation.
Hmmm…. I like One Day by David Nicholls, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Pride and Prejudice, I Capture the Castle, Jane Eyre…. I don’t think I read enough romance…
annkum-blog asked
5 books that are a "must-read-before-I-die"??
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Hamlet, Harry Potter and The Book Thief.
Book Review: This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel
Victor Frankenstein lives a charmed life at Frankenstein Chateau, outside of Geneva. He lives with his kinder and more skilled twin Konrad, and their distant cousin Elizabeth who has been like a sister to them. Everything changes when Victor discovers an unfamiliar secret passage that leads to the Dark Library, which is filled with his ancestor’s studies in alchemy. When Konrad becomes ill, alchemy might be the only way to save his life. Victor, Elizabeth and their friend Henry embark on a dangerous quest to find the ingredients for the elixir of life. As Victor discovers his feelings for Elizabeth, he realizes that she is already in love with Konrad. Despite his complicated feelings towards his brother, Victor will do anything to save him. Is it possible that the elixir of life truly works and to what extremes will Victor have to go to to create it?
This book has been getting a lot of hype lately, due to the captivating premise and the success of Oppel’s other books. This Dark Endeavour is a prequel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which I haven’t read. At first, I found this book difficult to get into. It was slow moving and I had to force myself to keep reading. However, I had enough faith in Kenneth Oppel to carry on. Things did get better, of course. I loved the dark tone and the gothic atmosphere, which I imagine when I think of Frankenstein. Throughout past reviews, you will often hear me being hard on the romantic relationships in books and wishing they were omitted. In this case, I found the romantic aspects of the plot very interesting, but not for the reasons that you would think. While usually the author intends us to root for the protagonist and hope he gets the girl, it is clear that Victor is the less deserving twin and that Konrad belongs with Elizabeth. In fact, I never felt that Victor’s feelings for Elizabeth were genuine: it seemed like lust to me. I liked having a protagonist who was complicated and not entirely likable. I’m sure some would argue that he’s not likable at all, but in the book’s climax he was very brave. I enjoyed the characters and thought they felt real, although whenever the younger Frankenstein brothers were mentioned it felt like an after thought. As I mentioned before, the plot was slow moving at first but picked up later on. I really liked the ending, which almost made me forget about my dissatisfaction at the start. The plot centres around alchemy and overall it was exciting and intriguing. This book has been dubbed the best of the year, and while I didn’t feel that strongly about it, I enjoyed it and would recommend it. This Dark Endeavour shows the beginning of Victor Frankenstein becoming what he is destined to be: a monster.
3.5/5
Whether that means linking to flickr or deviantart or only posting their own pictures, as far as I know these blogs never use weheartit or post anything uncredited. I’m sure I missed a lot, but here’s some.
I think I’ll do this, except over more than 30 days, probably.Day 1: Favorite book
Day 2: Least favorite book
Day 3: Book that makes you laugh out loud
Day 4: Book that makes you cry
Day 5: Book you wish you could live in
Day 6: Favorite young adult book
Day 7: Book that you can quote/recite
Day 8: Book that scares you
Day 9: Book that…
Book Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass
When Prince Maxon is ready to find a wife, the country of Illea allows all girls between the ages of 16 and 20 to put their names forward to be selected. One girl from each of the 35 provinces will be chosen to live in the palace and vie for the prince’s affections, allowing him to eventually select his wife with all the world watching. Illea is part of a caste system, and America Singer belongs to the 5th caste, for artists. While she could be worst off, America’s family is often hungry. Being selected means never having to starve, even if you aren’t chosen to be Princess. While entering the competition means half of her worries would be gone, America is in love with Aspen, a servant of the 6th caste. When he insists that she enter, she can’t imagine being randomly chosen; what are the odds? But the selection process proves to be less random than she thought, and America is whisked away to the palace to compete for the affections of the stiff looking Prince Maxon. America wants nothing more than to stay in the competition just long enough to keep her family comfortable, but she soon sparks a friendship with the prince, who she initially misjudged. Just as America might be starting to feel something real for Maxon, Aspen comes back into the picture, bringing with him all of America’s old feelings. While Maxon still has to make his selection, with his feelings and the good of his country playing a role, America has a selection of her own to make.
You can’t say the cover for The Selection isn’t beautiful! I wasn’t going to read this book until my friend and I were trying to decide whether it would be good or not, since we couldn’t help but scoff a little at the name America Singer. I decided to read it and find out for the both of us. This book will appeal more to fans of romance than fans of dystopia. I’ve heard it described as ‘fluff,’ which is fair. This book is sort of The Bachelor with a dystopian backdrop. Not to say that it is exactly like The Bachelor; while the girls to interviews, cameras do not follow them everywhere. However, comparisons between the two are inevitable.
To me, this book was really just entertaining. There wasn’t a lot of depth and the world building was very flawed, since a lot of history was piled in a history lesson midway through the novel. We don’t know a lot about America’s world. Dystopian literature really should be thought provoking and make you examine the world you read about and the world you live in, which The Selection didn’t do. At the heart of the novel, this is a romance, with a love triangle to boot. America enters the selection thinking things are over with Aspen, but doesn’t believe she could love Maxon. For this reason she is different from all the other girls, being honest and even mean to the Prince. This, of course, wins his affection, but soon Aspen reappears. The whole thing was a bit predictable, but it was fun. There were a lot of cheesy moments, especially with Maxon’s dialogue. At the same time, The Selection was entertaining and enjoyable. If you’re the kind of person who likes books with love triangles and good looking characters, then you’ll find in The Selectiona book that will make you swoon.
3/5
“True love is usually the most inconvenient kind.”