Review: Eleanor & Park By Rainbow Rowell

This book was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!!

The story follows these two characters (Eleanor & Park) from the first day they meet. They are both seen as misfits to everyone at school and through some common interests, they eventually fall for each other.

Before I started reading this book, I thought it was going to be a light contemporary read with a cute love story but as I was reading I came to discover that it was so much more than that. The story involves the background of the characters and their lifestyles which I thought gave the book a deeper meaning. I was very surprised with some of the things I came across because there were no hints of them from what I had read in the synopsis which I thought was great as it made the book much more interesting. 

The writing was so flowing and was so easy to understand. I've read one other book by Rainbow Rowell which I also really loved which was “Attachments” so I was happy to see a similar flow in writing in this book. Rainbow Rowell is able to place deep meanings in such short sentences and paragraphs which I find really beautiful.

Review: Legend Trilogy By Marie Lu

Hey Everybody,

Today’s post is a review of a book series that I had just finished and am absolutely in love with, The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu. I first heard about these books on youtube from a few booktubers. At first I didn’t really think I would enjoy the story from what I heard until I actually saw “Legend” in the store and read the synopsis on the back. From then I was hooked and just wanted to read to see what happens. I feel that there is no clear way to describe this series without giving spoilers but I’ll try.  

In the midst of a war between the two halves of America (The Colonies & The Republics), The series  follows the two main characters (June and Day) who come from two completely different backgrounds.  Both from the same side (Republics); June is raised wealthy and Day is raised struggling.  Their paths cross under unfortunate circumstances but despite their established destinies they continue to be drawn towards one another.

It is a dystopian series that is told from the perspective of both June and Day in the form of rotating chapters. This series is extremely action packed and continues to surprise its readers with each chapter. I know I gave this series a pretty brief synopsis but I feel that’s the best way to go into this series.

Quick Message

Hey everyone,
I'm so sorry that I havent posted a review in a while, I've been in a bit of a reading and writing slump this week and have been busy with work.
I hope to write a new post soon but wanted to just make this little one to let you all know what's been going on.
I have a free day on Monday, so hopefully I can post then.

If you would like regular updates, follow me on twitter and instagram to know what I've been up to and what I'm reading

Hope to post soon...

Keep reading :)

LARGEST BOOK HAUL YET!

Hey Everybody,

Today’s post is a MASSIVE Book haul of all the books I’ve bought in the last month (well the ones I haven’t shown yet) and so this post might be a bit longer than my usual posts. I’ll try to be detailed about each book but not ramble on too much. Honestly a lot of these books I bought because of book tubers and so I may not know a lot about them but I’ll try my best. So let’s get started because as you can see from the top photo, we have a lot to get through.

I’ll start off with the books I’m currently reading which many of you may be surprised that I haven’t read yet.

Broadcast Video

Hey everyone,

In case you missed my live broadcast, there is videos of it on my ustream profile :)
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/book-talk-w-ohhhlouise

i had fun talking about books but was a bit disappointed at the lack of interest but it's just the beginning so that is expected.

I recorded the whole broad cast and so if you wanna check it out it is on my ustream page linked above :)

i hope you all had a great easter and i will post again soon

Keep Reading :)

Live Book Talk

Hey Guys,

So i know i haven't written a post in about a week but i've been really busy with work and it is only gonna get busier this coming week.

I will definitely make a post tomorrow about some books i have bought and other things i've been doing which i'm really excited about.

I am also writing this little post, to let you all know that i am doing a live broadcast tonight on Ustream at about 9:30pm EST (Sydney, Australia Time) and hope that i will see some of you there.

I just decided to do this on the spur of the moment, as i feel it will be a fun way to test it out talking about books on video.

I'm still unsure if i want to make youtube videos yet so i'm just testing myself out on Ustream. I used to go on ustream and blogtv all the time and talk about music and books and other random stuff and it was a fun way to talk to people around the world.

I'll be showing some books i bought as well as talking about books i have read lately. I hope you guys can join me :)

So Join the talk :) You can even ask me questions :)

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/book-talk-w-ohhhlouise

Keep Reading, and i have a new post for you all tomorrow :)

UPDATE TIME!!!!

Hello Everyone,

So I thought I would take this time to just update you all on what I have been up to and what posts I have planned for the coming weeks.

So the posts I have planned for you guys are:

• TBR Jar explanation post (Inspired by Little Book Owl on Youtube)
• Book Haul #4 (#5 & #6 may follow after)
• Emerald City by Jennifer Egan Review
• April Wrap Up / May TBR
• Wicked By Gregory Maguire Review

Plus there may be other posts which I may add in throughout the week :)

I hope you guys are all well

Keep Reading :)

Review: The Tiny Wife By Andrew Kaufman

Hi Everybody, 

Today’s post is a review on a book that I read this year that I REALLY LOVED, The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kaufman. I read this book towards the end of January and was just so captivated by the writing and the story that I just couldn't believe I had not heard of this book before. It is only a small book with less than 100 pages so it didn't take long to finish but as soon as I finished it, I just thought how amazing it was that I wanted to read it again.

The Tiny Wife is narrated by a man whose wife is at the bank when a robbery occurs. The robbery is odd kind of robbery as the thief doesn't take any money but takes something of sentimental value from each person in the bank. After the robber leaves, strange events start to occur to each of the people who were in the bank such as a tattoo coming to life, a husband turning into a snowman or in the case of the narrator’s wife, Stacey, who is getting smaller and smaller in size every day.

I picked up this book from Dymocks for only $2 as it was their last copy and as soon as I saw it, I just fell in love with the cover. It is so simple yet the little details make it wonderful. So I read the blurb and was like “this story sound really weird but strangely interesting” and so for that price I couldn't pass it up and bought it. On my way home, I had to wait about 30 minutes for a bus so I started to read the book; it’s only a tiny book so I figured it would be a nice read as I waited.

I must say that from the very beginning, this book really captivated me. The story was so intriguing that I didn't know what to expect in each chapter and so I kept reading even after my bus arrived and finished it as soon as I got home. There is so much I loved about this book but the main thing I loved was the mini stories in the book. There was the main story of Stacey but in between there are stories of each person from the bank. In each of these short subplots, it stated what each person got taken from them and what happened to them afterwards. Sometimes it was shocking and even sad but overall I found the stories wonderful and creative. The book is also accompanied by silhouette images to help create the atmosphere of the story. These images really help create the picture of each character’s story in your head as you read, and if you know me, I just love when there is so much more than just text inside of a book. It makes the experience so much more enjoyable and I end up understanding the story better.

Overall I cannot think of anything that I did not like about this book, I found the concept, so original and so intriguing that page after page, I just kept wondering what would happen next. Every part of the story was a surprise and the ending was amazing. I bought this book thinking it would be a nice simple read which it was but then again it was also very complicated and makes you really think about personal possessions and how they affect our own lives. The growth of each of the characters as they discover more about themselves was really amazing and beautiful.

I loved this book so much more than I thought I would and give it a 5/5. I am so surprised I had not heard anything about this book and this author as it really should get more credit. I am really looking forward to reading more of this author’s work and seeing what other ideas and concepts he expresses. I definitely recommend this book to everyone as I’m sure it can appeal to anyone, no matter what kind of books you read.

I hope you liked my review and I have another post coming your way with a few updates on what I plan for the next coming weeks. I also have a ton of book hauls headed your way which I am really excited about.

Keep Reading :)

Book Haul #3

Welcome Everyone,

Today’s post is ANOTHER BOOK HAUL :)

I buy books pretty much every week and so I bought a whole bundle last week but I wanted to slowly show you guys all of them. You will notice that every second or so post is a book haul, and that’s just because I have so many books to show you, I want to do it gradually over time :)

I buy a variety of different books as you will see, so I’m excited to show you these ones that I picked up last week.

Let’s start with the non-fiction:

Title: Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants by Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal)

When I bought this book, I didn’t know much about it other than that the author was very funny. So I bought this book and read a bit of it and realised it was not what I expected it to be. The book begins with the Grizzly bear gag where the bear represents a kind of person in society which I found really interesting. After that the rest of the book is filled with humorous jokes about different things in society such as accents, computers and dreams. I’m eager to read this book as I’m sure I’ll have a great laugh during it. I also think I might buy some more of his books as I’m sure they will be just as funny. The author of this book actually runs a website which contains some funny content, so you guys should definitely check it out if you’re thinking of buying his books. The website is http://theoatmeal.com/.

Now for the fiction books and I’d like to start with a box set I bought.

Title: Fallen Series by Lauren Kate

I have heard a lot of good things about this series for a long time now but I have just never been interested to pick it up. I saw this box set at Dymocks for only $30 and so I just thought, why not buy it and finally see what everyone has been talking about. The series revolves around the life of a teenage girl, Lucinda Price, Who moves to another school and meets a boy who she is drawn to. The boy’s name is Daniel and he is actually a fallen angel. The series follows their story and their relationship and her relationship with others in the immortal world. I’ve always been interested in immortal characters and books but for some reason, fallen angel characters never had an appeal to me. I’m not too sure why that may be but as I started to read more into what this series was about I started to open up my mind to actually give the series ago. I’m happy that I found this box set for really cheap or else I may have not been so persuaded to read the books. I’m looking forward to reading this series and seeing whether this is the type of supernatural theme that I would read more in the future. The first book is also scheduled to be turned into a movie which is exciting as it may enhance the reading experience by allowing me to visually see the story play out.

Now for the individual books I bought.

Title: Tithe by Holly Black

I am SO excited about this book and I’m so happy that I found it for really cheap. I’ve heard such great things about Holly Black and this series in particular and so when I saw this book I just knew I had to get it. This book is the first book in the “Modern Tale of Faerie Trilogy”. The book follows the story of 16 year old, Kaye who travels with her mother’s band but after moving back home she becomes caught in the war of two faerie kingdoms. I don’t usually read books about faeries but the blurb of this book sounded really interesting and I just thought I should give it ago especially if the story sounds intriguing. I’m starting to become a big fan of fantasy stories and so I’m glad I picked this book up as it seems like a good way to nourish my new found interest in this genre. I’m planning on buying the other 2 books in the series so that I can just marathon through the 3 books, back to back. Ever since I bought it, I just can’t stop looking at and reading the blurb over and over again. I think I’m going to really like this series.

Title: Night Prey by John Sandford

This one is a bit of different kind of book for me as I don’t normally read books from this genre, although I’d like to. This book is actually the 6^th book in the “Lucas Davenport” Series although I think the books do not need to be read in order for the book to be understood. It is a crime/murder mystery book based around the detective Lucas Davenport as he tries to as he works to catch murderers and man hunters. In this book specifically, it is a case where Davenport is in pursuit of an experienced thief who carves the initials of the woman he is obsessed about, onto his victims. I was given this book by my mum as she was cleaning her room she found it. I read the back of the book and thought, it sounds interesting and I have never read a murder mystery before so why not give it a try. As I’ve said, I have always wanted to start reading books from this genre but I just can never know where to start as there are so many great authors of the genre that I’ve heard of. I’m happy to be given this book, to get me started and possibly encourage me to dive more into this genre.

The final book I have to show you all is actually a graphic novel.

Title: Clockwork Prince (Graphic Novel) By Cassandra Clare & Art by Hyekyung Baek

I already own the first volume (Clockwork angel) in graphic novel form but have yet to read it. I really don’t know much about this series other than the fact that it’s connected in some way to the Mortal Instruments series (which again I know nothing about). From what I’ve read online, this series is about a girl (Tessa Gray) who moves to London and ends up colliding with the supernatural world of characters called “Shadowhunters”. I’ve never bothered to pick up the series despite people telling me I should and so when I saw that there was a graphic novel version of the infernal devices series, I just knew I had to get them. I love reading graphic novels especially when it comes from a book series because it gives me an idea whether or not I’ll like the series. I think if I like the story, I will end up reading the books as well as the Mortal Instruments series.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about the series but I’ve had a difficult time understanding the plot just from what I hear from others. I hope these books give me a slight idea of what the series is about and hopefully persuade me to read the whole series. These books are in my April To-Read list and so I hope to get through them really soon.

And that is my book haul for today, I’m sorry that I didn’t post this last night like I said I would but I ended up having to work so I didn’t have the energy to write but I promise to have another post (a review) for you all this weekend.

Keep Reading :)

Review: Why We Broke Up By Daniel Handler

Hello All,

Today’s review is on last book I finished, “Why We Broke Up” by Daniel Handler and illustrations by Maira Kalman. I bought this book from work as I loved the appearance of it and when I flicked through it I saw the wonderful illustrations and just knew I needed to own it. I hadn't heard much about this book until after I started reading it and from the reviews I read I gathered that there was mixed feelings about it.

The story is told in the form of a letter written by the main character, Min Green. She writes this long letter to her ex boyfriend, Ed and attaches the letter to a box of things from their relationship. The letter goes through their time together and explains each item that she has placed in the box and how all of it connects to their sad break up.

There is so much about this book that I loved but there were also so much I couldn't stand. I had great difficulty finishing this book as I just couldn't get myself to enjoy it. Let’s start with the positives of the book. I loved the concept and the lay out. I always enjoy reading books that are set up as anything but just another novel like emails, text messages, chat rooms and of course letters. It makes the story interesting and personal so you build a closer connection to the characters. I did feel that way with this book, as you could really feel what she was feeling through the way she wrote her letter. Another thing I really enjoyed were the illustrations of each item inside the box as it gave visual of what she was talking about. It made me feel as though I was holding what she was writing about which gave the story more emotion. The illustrations are one of the reasons I continued to read even when I was really struggling to get through the chapters. The other reason was the beautiful writing of Daniel Handler. He is an excellent writer and is able to really make the text sound poetic. I loved the way he wrote about each item and the detail of each event that occurred. Even as I was having trouble getting through the book, there was always a tiny moment in his writing that just kept me hooked to the story which made me not want to give up on its plot.

Besides all of that, there were things that just didn't work for me in this book. The first was the characters. I couldn't get myself to fully connect to any of them which made it hard for me to follow the story and understand their point of view. The main character, Min is the one I had most trouble liking as her personality just seemed over dramatic for what the story was especially as she explains each date the couple had. I understand that they wanted to create a main girl who was different and unique which she was and I applaud that, but I just couldn't fit her personality to the story. I did like that she was into vintage things but I think it was a bit too much for me which made me keep losing interest in her story. She constantly made references to old films and their characters which I didn't understand because I didn't get the references which made it really hard for me to follow her point of view and her way of thinking as none of it seemed to make sense to me. I didn't have much trouble with Ed’s character as it was more basic and every now again you would learn something about him that you wouldn't expect which I really enjoyed but even from the very beginning I could see that his personality and Min’s personality was just not compatible. Because of this I had such a difficult time trying to process their relationship as I could see from the start why they were going to break up.  They were very different and even their family and friends could see how incompatible they were which really frustrated me because it seemed so clear and even as she writes the letter she states how they were different. Their relationship was frustrating as I found myself just waiting for it to end as I felt that they as characters would be better off apart. I don’t usually want fictional couples to split but for these characters it just seemed to make more sense that they did. Which when I think about it makes perfect sense for the plot line.

The final thing I’d like to state about this book is that the length of the relationship and the length of this letter just don’t seem to match very well. At first I didn't know how long the relationship was until the very end when they break up and it really shocked me that it was shorter than I thought it was.  The letter is so long and the box is filled with so many things that I assumed it was an extensive relationship. It really made me feel like the story was more unrealistic because of it especially how it ended which made me start to question the point of the whole letter. She states in the letter that she is hoping Ed is distressed and how she knows that he was hurting like her but all of that just seemed unrealistic at the end. I don’t want to give anything away in case you haven’t read it but from the way it ended I just couldn't see the reason for such a long letter to her ex.

Overall I wouldn't personally recommend this book to anyone but if you want to see how this story plays out, give this book a try and tell me what you think? I enjoyed the concept and idea, but I just would have liked to see it set up in a different way.

It has been stated that this book will be turned into a movie sometime this year, which even though I didn't enjoy the book, I would still love to see how it is portrayed in film. I will keep you all posted on that and let you know of a release date once one has been established

Hope you enjoyed my review and if you enjoyed this book, I would love to hear from you in the comments.

I have another post for you all tomorrow night!

Keep Reading :)

Book Haul #2

Welcome All to another BOOK HAUL!

The books I have to show you today, I am very excited about but this little stack is just a little glimpse of the amount of books I bought since my last book haul.

The first book I’d like to share with you is actually a set of 3 books.

Title: Night World Series By L.J. Smith

I bought this set of 3 books from Booktopia because for a very long time I have wanted to pick up this series. Basically this is a 10 book series (the 10^th book has yet to be released) which follows the story of a secret society of vampires, werewolves, witches and shapeshifters that live amoung humans without the people knowing of their existence. Each book follows a different main character as we see how they try to mingle into the human world while concealing their true identity. I have always found this concept so interesting. A lot of people may think the concept of vampires has been over used but I think this series will be a good one. I am very excited to read about characters that are witches the most because I feel that there isn’t a lot of paranormal novels surrounding witches and I think it would be fascinating to read about them. With 9 of the books already released I think the set I bought was quite a steal as each book contains 3 books.

Volume One :

Contains;

1.       Secret Vampire
2.       Daughters of Darkness
3.       Enchantress

Volume Two:

Contains;

4.       Dark Angel
5.       The Chosen
6.       Soulmate

Volume Three:

Contain;

7.       Huntress
8.       Black Dawn
9.       Witchlight

I am really looking forward to getting stuck into this series and hopefully start it before the 10^th book comes out, which has not been announced yet. If you’re interested in paranormal novels, I recommend you pick up this series for real cheap on Booktopia. Also the author of these books is also the author of the book series “The Vampire Diaries” and so if you enjoy those you may enjoy these books.

The next couple of books are novels by an author that I have heard great things about;

Title: Eleanor & Park By Rainbow Rowell

As I said, I have heard great things about this author by a lot of booktubers and goodreads reviewers and so I decided to pick up a couple of her books from work. The book follows the story of two people (Eleanor and Park) and is told from both of their perspectives throughout each chapter. The two teenagers are seen as misfits and different from everyone else but they find each other. It’s a story of young love and falling in love for the first time. I am very excited to read this book as I’m a sucker when it comes to young love stories. I just love reading about teenagers discovering themselves as well as opening up their hearts for the first time. I like relating to books and I’m sure this book will remind me what it is like when I was 16.  I’m looking forward to getting to know this author’s writing style and reading her books as they all read really well in the blurbs as well as receiving such great reviews from fellow readers online.

Title: Fangirl By Rainbow Rowell

This is another book that I’ve heard great things about, so I definitely wanted to get a copy of it and have a read of it myself. The book tells the story of identical twins, Cath and Wren. Growing up they become great fans of a book series and spend a lot of their time on forums and creating fan fiction. Cath becomes more engulfed in the fandom than her sister and as they are about to embark on the next phase on their life in college, the book follows Cath’s journey as she learns to move forward in life and maybe leave her fandom behind. The concept of this book seems very interesting as it’s very modern with the mentions of fan faction and forums on the internet. Everyone has been a huge fan of something that sometimes it may even become part of your life and so I think this book will be very relatable. I’m really looking forward to reading this one as again, it reads really well in its synopsis. I’d also like to take a second to just say how much I love this book cover. It is so simple yet so beautiful. This is a book that I’m sure I will be reading very soon.

Title: Everyday By David Levithan

I’ve heard lots of good things about David Levithan and he was actually recommended to me by a friend of mine. I read through many of the blurbs of his books but this one seemed to interest me the most. When I realised we had a copy of it at work I just knew I needed to buy it. The story is about a person named “A”. A wakes up every day in someone else’s body and lives that person’s life for that day. A learns to get used to this and knows never to get attached but then one day A wakes in someone’s body and meets someone who changes all his rules. I seriously cannot contain how excited I am about this book. The story seems so intriguing and so different from other books I have read so far. I love the concept of a person living other people’s lives and I love the fact they the blurb didn’t seem to establish a gender for A, leaving that element to the imagination of the reader. I am really looking forward to reading this book and finally beginning my relationship with David Levithan novels. I’m sure this book is as good as I think it is, I will be reading more of his books.

That is my book haul for the day. I have loads more books to show you guys over the coming weeks that I plan on buying as well as those I already own that I have yet to read. I have a couple more reviews to post this week so be sure to keep a look out for those.

Hope you enjoyed my book haul and if you have read any of these books, I would love to hear your thoughts

Keep Reading :)

Review: Divergent Series By Veronica Roth

Hey Everyone,

Today’s post is on a series that is getting a lot of publicity and praise lately, The Divergent Trilogy which is written by Veronica Roth. I finished this series a couple of weeks ago with hardly any breaks and so I just read the story of each book back to back.

If you don’t know about this series, it’s pretty much a dystopian novel based in the future of Chicago, where the city is divided into 4 sections or “Factions” as they call them. The story is told from the perspective of a young girl named Beatrice “Tris” Prior and recalls her journey as she decides the fate of her future and who she wants to be.

I found this series as an exciting read as the events started to unfold from book to book.

Let’s start with the first book “Divergent”. I was recommended to read this book after a work friend had read it and found it interesting and thought I would enjoy it. I had seen the book constantly at work but never thought to pick it up. My friend lent me her copy and to my surprise I did enjoy it. As I read Divergent I found myself interested in the concept of the factions and began to think to myself how the explanation of its creation seemed to make sense like it could possible happen. As I continued to read the book I became more and more captivated by the story and the writing. It didn’t take me long to finish the book and I was eager to read the next one to continue on with the story. Out of the 3 books, I enjoyed this one the most as the majority of the book is learning about each faction and their structures. I found all of this really fascinating and it made me start wondering what it would be like to live in that world. The only real negative I have is that I found the events that occurred in the ending to be a bit random as I did not feel any build up towards it which made me feel a little uncomfortable with where the story was headed. Even now as I read back over it I find myself thinking how rushed it makes the book feel that there is just this huge plot twist towards the end. Throughout the book there are tiny hints every now and again but I just didn’t see it coming. Although as I read the next book I found that the end ended up flowing nicely to make way for the next book.

The next book is “Insurgent”. Like the first book, I did enjoy this one but not as much as “Divergent” as I found myself struggling to follow the story at some points. I felt it had a very strong start as it starts to recall the events that occur after the ending of “Divergent” which includes a couple of twists here and there which I felt myself enjoying as it kept me from just abandoning the book when I felt frustrated with the story. I feel that this book is the most action packed one out of the 3 books as it really is the core of the series as most of the fatal events happen in this one. I don’t want to give anything away in case you haven’t read it yet but I will say that a lot of different things occurred that I found even myself having difficulty keeping up with it all. I loved the relationships between the characters, the most in this book. You start to really see the personality of each person and how they connect to each other even those who are seen as enemies which I really enjoyed. I have a few mixed emotions about this one, as I’m not too sure how I felt after reading it. I did like the way it ended as it makes you really want to read the next one but again I found myself feeling uncomfortable with turn of events as I still felt that some of the plot lines were rushed and there was no real build up towards them.

The final book is “Allegiant”, the final phase of the series. I’ll be straight about this one, out of the 3 books this is the one I liked the least. Don’t get me wrong the ideas and concepts for the story were great but for the majority of the book, I found myself thinking “Wow that was quick” or “That seemed way too simple and easy”. Events in this book were just way too rushed and so I had a much harder time reading it as it just felt like the story had no direction.  There were some highlights that kept me reading such as the strengthening of each character’s relationships with one another but I just couldn't make myself enjoy the book as a whole. Another thing I had trouble with was the structure of the book as each chapter rotated its perspective between Tris and Four. This made me continually get confused about who I’m reading about. I kept finding myself re reading pages as I would forget whose view I was reading from. I did like the idea that I could finally see the world through Four’s eyes but it was just too difficult to keep track of. There isn't much I can say without giving anything away but I will say this, that Veronica Roth made some good choices for the story and for its ending.  Trust me, you will not see what is coming in the last couple of chapters, which kind of makes up for the struggle I had reading this book.

Overall, I do recommend this series as I enjoyed it as a whole despite all the negatives I have stated and honestly, I would read it again. I love dystopian themes and I love having a glimpse into a possible future. If I’m not mistaken, I believe this is Veronica Roth’s first work and so I congratulate her on her fantastic work.

I know this series is highly recommended and reviewed at the moment but I thought why not I give my own review on it since I just finished it. I am really looking forward to the upcoming release of the movie of the first book “Divergent” which has already been released around the world but has yet to be in cinemas in Australia. I am also looking forward to the release of the book “Four” which is little novellas of events in the series from the perspective of Four. Each novella is available as an eBook but the book will be released later on this year which is very exciting.

Hope you enjoyed my review and I have another post for you very soon J

Keep Reading J

Goodreads

Hello Again,
I forgot to mention in my last post that i am now on Goodreads :)
i have placed a link in my websites side bar, so if you would like more daily posts rather than waiting for my reviews on here, i would recommend you visit my goodreads pages as i would be putting up at least 3 reviews and ratings each day for books i've already read.
hope to hear from you all
Keep Reading!
:)

Update & Whats Coming Up

Hey Guys,
Just wanted to make a quick post to let you all know what i plan to be posting over the next week or 2 just to give an idea what i have been working on.

I have wonderful posts to write to you all including:
-Review: Divergent Series By Veronica Roth
-Review: Why We Broke Up By Daniel Handler
-Book haul #2 (and possibly #3)
-Review: The Tiny Wife By Andrew Kaufman
-10 fiction stand alones from my collection

So those are just a few things i will be writing about during this coming week and i hope to you guys will stay tuned :)

Keep Reading!

Book Haul #1

HELLO EVERYBODY!!!!

This is my first official post for my new blog YAY!!! and of course it is a BOOK HAUL :) and i'm not gonna lie, it's not gonna be the only one for this week ;).

Today after work i went book shopping at Dymocks and found some good finds for such cheap prices and so i thought i would share them with you :)

Below is a photo of the books i bought :)

Honestly when i go shopping, i only look for things that i already know about or what looks good but for a change today, i took my time as i was going around the store and if the title interested me, i gave the blurb on the back a read :) and these were the ones that really made me wanna read them :)

I'll start with the non fiction books;

I buy a lot of humor and factual books as well as fiction and i found a couple today that i just couldn't help but pick up.

Title: Real Cheesy Facts About... By Camille Smith Platt

So i bought 2 of these books today (one about famous authors and the other about tv and movies). I love learning new facts and finding out little trivia about really popular things such as television characters and motivations of authors. These books provide that kind of information in a humorous way as well as bringing up facts that seem cliche or typical for whichever figure they are speaking of.

I am looking forward to going through these books and sharing the quirky facts with other people :)

Title: The Truth About Chuck Norris By Ian Spector

We have all heard all those little "jokes" or "Quote" things about Chuck Norris and so now there is a couple of books that compile all these sayings together to create one amusing book. This is the first book of the set as i'm sure there is always new ones being made. I've been meaning to buy this book for a while but it always seemed too pricey for what the book is and so when i saw it in store for only a couple dollars i just couldn't pass it up. I'm sure once i finish going through this book, i'll have a Chuck Norris saying for every occasion ;)

Now onto the FICTION :) i love fiction books, i love the idea of people developing such creative concepts to create storylines that speak to the reader. Lets start with the most boring one out of my pile...

Title: Love The One You're With (A Carlyles Novel) By Cecily Von Ziegesar

I'm sure you've heard of the tv show, "Gossip Girl" whether you watched it or not, But what most people didn't know was that the show is based off the series of books written by Cecily Von Ziegesar. I started reading the series, way before the show was being made but have only recently in the last couple of years, started to collect all the books in the set. This book is actually the last book in a different series of books which is based around the same concept as these events follow those of Gossip Girl (a sequel if you will). The Character and website "Gossip Girl" is still very present in this series with the only difference of who the main characters are (No longer Serena & Blair). I haven't read this series yet, as i'm sure it may be similar to the Gossip girl series, but i am still keen to have a read of the set of books. I was not intending on buying this series for a while but i saw this book in the store for only 50c and just couldn't say no to that, and now i just need to buy the other 3 books in the set.

Title: Fishtailing By Wendy Phillips

I honestly don't fully know what this book is about yet but the blurb really interested me as it simply says "High School. Four lives - Natalie, Tricia, Kyle and Miguel - caught up in an intense game. The problem with games is that there are always losers." (Taken from the book) I became interested in the book after that and began to flip through it to get an idea of its lay out. I noticed that the whole book is set up as a book of poems used to tell the story. Each page is written by the perspective of a different character to help the story progress. I must admit that if i was going based on the book cover, i would not have purchased it but i took the time to look at it and it really is one of the books, i am excited to read. I will definitely be having a read of this book when i get the chance. 

Title: The End Of The World As We Know It By Lesley Choyce

Again this book doesn't have the best cover but the front cover contained a quote that hooked me on the story which was "Carson hates the world and everything in it and that includes him." After i read that i just had to read the blurb and find out more. From the blurb on the back i find out that it is about a teenage boy who is unhappy with his life until he meets a girl who is just as unhappy and struggling in life like himself. Together they find a way to face the world together. I find this story wonderful despite if it sounds cheesy. I somewhat find myself relating to this story line in the slightest way as i'm sure we've all felt low about life at some point in our life. I like the idea of two people who have many lows, finding a way to get happy and live life. It is a message i think is a vital one to get across, especially to teenagers. I am looking forward to reading this book and diving more deep into the details of the plot.

Title: Katie Be Quiet By Darcy Tamayose

This book too has a sadder side to it as is about a girl that has had one too many negative events occur in her life but on top of that strange things to occur following her father's death. It's got a little mystery to the story by the sounds of it as it says that Katie is to uncover what is happening as she is in danger of something. This book at first didn't interest me but as i had a second look, i saw that it wasn't a large book and its more of a short story which i have been thinking about reading more kinds of short novels. I am curious to discover the turn out of the plot and to see how the present all the occurrences and events in this girl's life after the tragic death of her father. I hope it unfolds in an intriguing manner.

OKAY, so the next 3 books i am VERY excited about as i had just discovered this author and from the reviews i've read of her and of all her story blurbs, i already have high hopes for these books and can NOT wait to get stuck into them :) 

Title: The Invisible Circus By Jennifer Egan

This is the first book released by Jennifer Egan in 1994. It is set in 1978 and follows the story of a teenage girl who continues to hold on to the memories of her passed sister. It follows her as she goes on a journey that closely resembles to travel life of her sister from America and across Europe. I am really looking forward to reading this book and then continuing on with her other books as i feel this is the kind of story line that i enjoy reading. It's different to have a story that links siblings rather then parents or lovers or friends. I love reading about siblings especially sisters since i have like 3 sisters who i love dearly. I am also so in love with the cover of this book, the layout is just beautiful. I really like the painting look they used to create the back layer of the image as it creates the american flag. I'm so glad i picked up this book and for really cheap :) Also there is a film that was made based off this book staring Cameron Diaz in 2001 which i look forward to watching once i've completed the book.

Title: Emerald City & Other Stories By Jennifer Egan

What first appealed to me about this book was it's title as i love ANYTHING that sounds like Wizard of OZ, but after reading the blurb i realised it wasn't what i thought it was but still i started to think, this is something i would read.This book is a compilation of short stories that depict the life of different kinds of people such as "models and housewives, bankers and schoolgirls". Each of these stories contain a plot of a character searching for more in their lives and is set around the world. This was the first book of hers i picked up as i was walking around Dymocks and i absolutely love the cover. The colours all work together and create a thoughtful atmosphere of calmness as well as longing. I do enjoy reading short stories and love seeing how with such a small amount of space, authors are able to fill in such excellent stories. I look forward to reading this book and learning from the different lives of each other characters in each of the stories.

Title: A Visit From The Goon Squad By Jennifer Egan

The final book of this book haul, is the latest book of Jennifer Egan which was released in 2010. from what i've discovered online, it is her most recognised and favored book from her collection. It is the 2011 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as stated on the book and is greatly praised by many critics. I honestly do not know much about this book other than the fact that it presents the story of many characters which is separated by each of the chapters. I didn't want to go online and find out what it was about as i know it would just spoil the story for me and so i am going into this book with a totally open mind and curiosity. Again, the cover of this cover is absolutely gorgeous and is probably my favourite one so far. I love these new prints as i'm aware that each book did have their own covers but have been reprinted with this type of covers with i love. I am extremely excited about this book the most due to its positive reviews and interesting blurb which did not reveal any greatly important information. 

 Well that is the end of my FIRST EVER BOOK HAUL :) i apologise if it was very long and repetitive, i'm still trying to find my ground in this field and finding the right wording and layout to present my purchases.

ALSO i would just like to state, i've read a few books over many years and would love to review books for you guys but i figured it would be pointless to review a book that i read ages ago as even i may not even remember much about it and my judgement would have changed from then to now. It latest books i've read, i hope to put a review up soon and i will re-read some of my favourite books so i can give a more better review. 

Thanks you for reading today, bear with me guys, its gonna be a long journey to perfect this blog but i love you all for your support :)

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Welcome!!!!

Welcome ALL to Louiseereads!

My name is Louise, and this is my BOOK BLOG!!!! I have wanted to make something for me to talk about my books for a long time now because if you know me personally or look at my instagram, you would be aware that i love books and have a problem when it comes to buying books.

So i will begin to write about books i wanna read, that i have read and books i own that i haven't read yet (which is like more than 70% of my collection)... I'll review books i've finished recently and in the past cause i'm always reading a new book every couple of weeks depending on how long it takes me to finish a story.

I will be beginning this journey with an introduction to my LARGE collection which contains over 1200 books (mixed fiction, children's books and non fiction books). So you can tell that it may take a while to get through them all. The posts will contain the following:

• At least 10 books 
• Images of the covers of each book
• The blurb of each book or concept depending on the book (either taken from the book or from good reads)
• My review (if i have read it) or why i bought it (if i haven't)
• Where i got it from

To some the concept of my new blog may seem boring but i'm obsessed with books :) i have just recently discovered book haul and unboxing videos on youtube which i LOVE and hopefully will be able to share with you guys ones that i love the most :) I personally may not make any of this videos just cause i'd much rather write about it :)

I should probably mention that i work in a bookshop which is like a dream come true really cause i'm constantly surrounded by books but it also makes me buy so many books that i don't end up reading till later on cause i am just always looking out for more books when i haven't finished my current one. I just wanted to make this point to kinda make sense of why i have so many books but have only read a few of them (Don't worry i am making my way around to them) 

The way i will organise these posts is that i will have separate posts just for book series and my bundles posts will be of individual books that doesn't have a set, i figure it is just easier that way :)

Anyways i hope all of this explaining makes sense and i hope that i will be motivated enough to keep going with my blogging :)

I hope you stay posted and i will post my first new blog in the next couple days if not today :) 

Keep reading ;)