Oh No!

http://littleredreadinghood.com/

How will I be able to survive without LRRH for so many days? How will I know all you LRRH-ers are still alive? ;) Though I feel bad for her server crash and all, especially if it had all her work stuff. Though I'll take her advice from her list, and glady re-read all of Shannon's books again. And that, " Write a comedic one act play about a girl named Little Red, " sounds pretty good too. ;) Do the last on the list, and keep your fingers crossed!

Leanna

Book of a Thousand Days

Wow. What a great book. So good, I stayed up until 12:30 a.m. on a school night just to finish it.

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, is about a lady's maid named Dashti who gets locked up in a tower for seven years with her mistress, Lady Saren. I loved the diary format of this book, and the way it tells the story through the maid's eyes. What a beautiful book. Even though I knew how it would end from the first time, I still found myself almost crying when the book ended. I was so happy for Dashti! I absolutely loved the characters, the realness all of them had. I couldn't tell you my favorite character in the whole book; all of them had so many things I loved about their personality. Shannon writes in such a beautiful language, you can't help but be intrigued from the moment you start reading any of her books. When I read Maid Maleen on her website, I thought how much I loved her version of the story, and how well she developed many of the characters. Book of Thousand Days is truly one of my favorite books by Shannon Hale.

By the way, I'm re-reading all of Shannon's books this month, so if I get a little emotional like this on all my posts....;)

Leanna

My Plan

So lately I've been thinking about all the wonderful books that I haven't read in a while. There are so many that I loved that I've been wanting to re-read, but haven't had the time. I've been reading all the new books and new releases. For instance, I haven't re-read any of Shannon's books for over a year, and I got the whole Harry Potter collection for Christmas, but I haven't had time to read any of those either. So I revised a plan on what I'm going to do. I'm not going to buy any new books until I finish all the ones I've been planning on reading again. I'm really happy about my decision. It is so much fun to revisit old books, especially when they're your favorites. And it would probably save me a lot of money over time. I'm really excited.
Sadly, I haven't had a lot of time to read this week, because I've been too busy with school stuff. I'll try to finish some up soon so I'll be able to post some new ( or old) reviews.
Have a great week!

Leanna

Book Meme

Tagged by Anilee

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

That would probably be Eldest by Christopher Paolini. I read the first Eragon thinking it was just okay, and then started to read the second. I got so incredibly bored, I stopped and never started again. Some of my friends loved it and thought it was better than the first one, but I think I've been avoiding reading it. Maybe someday...

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

Wow. I suppose I would pick Edward Cullen from the Twilight series, to decide for myself if he's really as perfect as he's made out to me. Plus it'd be cool to meet a vampire, if he'd refrain from killing me ( just kidding). Next, I would pick Ani from The Goose Girl mainly because she's one of my favorite female characters, plus someone I could totally get along with. And lastly, either Ginny or Luna from the Harry Potter series.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can't die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for a while, eventually you realize it's past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

Maybe this fits better with the first question, but that would be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I started reading it a couple years ago, but was so bored I couldn't get past the first couple of pages. But maybe I'd enjoy it more now than I would have two years ago, but it boring me is basically the only thing I remember about it.

Come on, we've all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you've read, when in fact you've been nowhere near it?

I've never actually said or hinted that I've read these books at all, but a lot of people I know think I've read The Lord of the Rings series. Most of my friends have assumed this since I'm such a big fan of fantasy books and movies, but nope I haven't. But I'm planning to.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you'd read, only to realize when you read a review about it/ go to re-read that you haven't? Which book?

I don't think that's ever happened to me. I usually keep pretty good track of the books I have and haven't read.

You're interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisior to some VIP ( who's not a big reader). What's the first book you'd recommend and why: ( if you feel like you'd have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP).

I would probably recommend a book by Shannon Hale ( they're all so good, I can't think of just one). Though if they weren't big on reading, I would recommend Twilight by Stephenie Meyer just because everyone seems to like it, and it wouldn't be too hard for them ( basically, an easy read).

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading and comprehension in a foreign language of your choice. What language do you go with?

I'm having a huge debate over French and Spanish. I'm learning Spanish right now, so I already understand some of it, and French has always been something I've wanted to learn. There's only one way to decide this: I'll pick German! That way I'd get to read Inkdeath before it comes out in the United States!

A mischievious fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will re-read once a year for the rest of your life ( you could read other books as well). Which book would you pick?

Hmm, something I'd enjoy now and in the future. I don't think I'll ever get tired of The Goose Girl.

What's one bookish thing you've discovered from book blogging?

A lot of different genres and authors, I guess. I've started looking for release dates, trying new kinds of books, and reading books I thought I'd never read.

The good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she's granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead- let your imagination run free.

I prefer to actually read books in paperback, but I like to have hardcover books for my collections. So maybe all of my books in paperback and hardback? While I'm being extravagant, I'd want all my favorite books signed by the authors. Other than that, just a nice, roomy, comfy place would be fine by me.

Well, that was really fun! I guess I'll tag Fantasy and Maribeth.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why is the debut novel by Jay Asher. It's about a boy named Clay, who one day comes home to find a mysterious package lying on his doorstep. Inside he finds thirteen tapes made by his classmate and crush Hannah Baker, who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Inside she explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life, and each tape tells a story that contributed to her thoughts of suicide. Clay will learn how he made the list, and what her learns changes his life forever.

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did I couldn't stop reading. This book really changes your perspective about life and how you treat the people around you. I'd recommend this book to everyone. It's one of my new favorites.

I'm also reading Book of a Thousand Days for the second time. So much better than I remembered from the first time! I can't wait to post my thoughts on it soon!

Leanna

One Week Anniversary Post

Oh no, where has the weekend gone?! It's slipping away and I can't seem to catch it. At least I still have one more day off.
I know this sounds crazy, but I'm actually kind of excited to go back to school Tuesday. Don't ask me why, I can't believe it myself. I've actually been really bored today, because I finished my homework early. But it gave me a lot of time to catch up on some books and some writing. And to spend a lot of time online as usual.
Not to make boring remarks about the weather, but it was actually really pretty today. The snow in the mountains looked beautiful, and everything felt nice and cool, not completely freezing like it has most of the time lately. It was great.
Have a good week,

Leanna

School Projects

So we're learning about the American Revolution in both my History and my English class. I think that the teachers were trying to be nice by having the units at the same time, but sometimes it seems like a bit too much. Especially since the classes are right after one another. And they both decided to assign projects the last week of the semester. So I have a lot to do this weekend.
In History, we have to write a biography about a famous historical figure during the American Revolution. Complete with pictures. So he had a list of who we can choose from and since everyone had to pick someone different, we wrote down who we wanted on a list. Then he chose people's list randomly, and they either got who they wanted or had to pick someone else. I got William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. In the end I think my book turned out okay, except that the drawings were horrific. I am terrible at art, especially drawing so in the end it was some very poorly drawn stick figures.
In English I have to make a poster and write a report on Lexington and Concord. We got to do this with a partner at least. We met up today and got some stuff done, and we're going to meet again on Monday. All I can say is, I'm going to be really glad when this is all over.
So anyway, sorry for the really long school post. That's how I'm spending most of my four days off. Tuesday is the first day of the new semester, so I'm excited. But we're not getting our new schedules until that morning though, which is really sad but the office gets behind a lot. I know that because my sister works in the office one of the periods.
Enjoy the long weekend!

Leanna

The Titan's Curse

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. When Percy receives an urgent call from his friend Grover, him and his two friends Annabeth and Thalia immediately come out to find him. It turns out that he had discovered two powerful new half bloods.
But that's not all that awaits them. When Annabeth goes missing, Percy and Thalia must unite with the Hunters to rescue their friend and withstand the trap the evil Titan lord has set up for them.
The first two books in the series, The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters are about the adventures Percy and his friends experience, and what a true hero means. Fun, fast, and hilarious reads. This is definitely the best in the series so far.

Something to Brighten my Week

I got an ARC today from Harperteen Where People Like Us Live. I was so glad when I saw it in the mailbox. I needed something to make this week a little more bearable.
Today they announced the Newberry Award winners! And while the book I was rooting for Book of a Thousand Days didn't win, I was still happy for the winners. I hadn't heard of a lot of them though. But I could always use a couple more recommendations.
I have a test on all twelve major scales tomorrow in orchestra, so I have to practice a lot tonight. Stuff like that always makes me nervous, so I like to be extra prepared.
Well, since I've been getting so many good books lately I might post a couple of reviews soon. Still loving Blogger tons...

Leanna

First Post

So this is my first post on my new blog. I basically decided to switch from my old one on LiveJournal ( http://annaisilee.livejournal.com/) to this one because I didn't like it too much in the first place, and decided that LiveJournal wasn't for me afterall. So I have big plans for this new one. I like this one better already actually. So stay tuned for some great new stuff. Thanks!

Leanna