Introducing My Own 2015 reading Challenge

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I wanted to use today's free topic post to talk to you guys about something.

For the past 2 or so years, I have participated in the GoodReads reading challenge, the Where are you Reading Challenge (hosted by Book Journey) and the Sequel Challenge (hosted by Novel Heartbeat and Writer Grrl Reads). This year also joined other monthly events. But this has also been the year where the talk about reading more diversely has been all over my radar. I joined the A More Diverse Universe challenge (Diversiverse for short), hosted by Booklust and I tried to incorporate more diverse reading by the end of the year. It was good, but it can be better.

So I have decided to hold my first ever challenge! I will call it: Diversifying 2015. My goal is to read at least one diverse author every month. Diversifying can also be applied to reading more LGBTQ authors or POCs off course. Every month I will do a wrap up post, and I would love it if you can add on those posts your own Diverse readings of the month! That way we are all exposed to more diverse reading and get the wheels turning!

But I want to also give a tiny incentive. So here is the deal, every entry every month will give you a registration and at the end of the year I will randomly select a lucky winner for a 20$ gift card from Book Outlet! (If the winner leaves in a country that is not covered by them we will figure something out :D)

So here is the registration form and as I said every month there will be a wrap up post. I hope you guys join me on this!!

Mini review: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3)

First impression

I think I am reaching a plateau with Percy here. The books are entertaining but not overwhelmingly so. I keep having a good time with the mythology references. In this one we get to know Artemis and her hunters, as well as some new enemies for the Olympians.

Final thoughts

As we advance in the series, it would seem that Riordan is starting to give more and more mythology to the audience, which is great if you are like me, but I haven't engaged fully yet. I think one of the issues I have is that, since I have read my fair amount of mythology, when he is giving clues I end up knowing what the surprise is going to be way earlier than expected and so I get bored a bit. That said, I am not an expert on the matter, so I am hoping that if I continue reading the series I will be able to recognize less things and enjoy their introduction a bit more.

Night of Cake & Puppets by Laini Taylor

Life doesn’t need magic to be magical. But a little bit sure doesn’t hurt

Why I read this book

Ever since I started reading the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy I've likes Zuzana. She is a fun character to read and to hear, since I am doing this series in Audio. So when I learn that there was a tiny novella dedicated to her I had to read it.

What the book is about

Taylor gives us in this book the story of Zuzana's and Mik's first date. With a bit of help from Karou and a lot of input from her own unique persona, Zuzana finally makes the first move and marvels Violin Boy with a wonderful night in Prague.

First impressions

Independent of the magic in this story, this is such a lovely first date. Two people that have liked each other all along, but cannot gather the guts to ask each other out finally getting the little push they needed.

Final thoughts

While the reason why I like Daughter of Smoke and Bone so much is because it doesn't revolve solely on a lovey dovey couple but mostly in effect difference and ignorance can affect everything, this novella was sweet without being sickeningly so.

It showed a side of Zuzana that was endearing without losing her strength, which happens so often, like you have to choose between one and the other. And Mik is adorable; the way he talks (Kevin Collins does a wonderful job impersonating him), the way he expresses himself, is absolutely charming. The fact that the story is told from both POVs is a plus, and when it finally merges it is…well, I don’t like to say perfect, but I guess for this two it was.

Listening to this novella, right before going through Dreams of Gods and Monsters gave me a whole new light for their relationship as well as the one between Karou and Zuzana. Almost 3 hours of delightful charm and sassiness.

I want to build spires in their minds and dance shadows through like marionettes, chased by whispers and hints of the unspeakable.

Bout of Books: Tuesday Update

Hello, Hello

Another day has gone by and here is my update

Books started: Nothing new since yesterday.

• The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There: I didn't really advance today in print, I've been sick, so I put all my reading time on audio

Books finished:

• Sapphire Blue:I liked it. I will post the review soon, but in the meantime, let me just tell you that this is a series that has enough elements in it to keep it interesting and diferent.

No reviews posted yet, at least not related to Bout of Books. However I have posted some reviews from books I finished last week.

Blogs visited today: I visited other blog's too, including the ones I visited yesterday, and River City Reading. I decided to "feature" this too, randomly

• Jayne's Books
• Love. Life. Read

Challenges:

Today I am participating in River City Reading's Challenge: Books You're Looking Forward To. My list is as follows:

• The Martian by Andy Weir: I am so exited to finally be able to read this one. It is also the pick for this month for the Sword and Laser Book Club. I got my copy last Friday, but since it wasn't in my main list for the challenge it is my boyfriend who has been reading it for now. It is killing me because he laughs every 5 minutes and so I can't wait to put my hands on it!.
• The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan: While I don't own a copy of this one yet, I am really looking forward the second part of this series.
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Berdugo: I've had this book for a while now. With it I will finish my Once Upon a Time Challenge!
• The Clockwork Scarab by Coleen Gleason: I won this one with LybraryThing and it took forever to get to me, so I am hoping the wait was worth it.
• Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry: A companion novel of The Giver. The later ended up so abruptly I am hoping to get a bit more answers with this one.
• Cress by Marissa Meyer: This is the third book from The Lunar Chronicles and I am very happy to continue this series. I am still waiting for the library to call me, but in the mean time, as you can see, I think I have a lot to read :)

See you guys tomorrow. 

24 Read-a-Thon Reading Challenge: On Food and Books Winner

So many wonderful recipes! My mouth was watering you guys!. However I want to mention that the winner was determined at random, considering that I could not say that a recipe was better then another. 

 

So with no further delay the Winner for this challenge is: Mrs. Soule from Thoughts in a Leather Journal. 

Congratulations! You've won any book of of your choice from the Book Depository for a value of 15$.  Please contact me at: cplazasg(at)gmail(dot)com.

Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

Sometimes people just want to be happy, even if it's not real

Why I read this book

I read Divergent on 2013, right after watching the trailer for the movie, since it seemed like an interesting premise. Since I did like the story and the characters I decided to continue with the trilogy.

What the books is about

If you haven't finished Divergent I suggest you stop reading right now. We left Tris and Four right after the attack controlled by Erudite. As a result she has now lost her parents and her faction. The survivors are now trying to build a plan that will allow them to recover control over their life. She will encounter the Candor and Amity factions, confront her guilt and learn about herself and her society more than she was expecting to.

First impressions

At the beginning of the book I was very annoyed at Tris. You see, I have very little patience for the martyr teenager (I've mentioned before how annoying I thought Harry was during the fifth book). When people want to get themselves killed as an impulse, not actually thinking how this would actually affect the rest of people depending on them it is just exasperating and selfish. However what made me continue reading was what was happening apart from Tris, getting to know the other factions and learning about the Factionless was actually interesting.

Final thoughts

Well, this book was not better nor worst than the first one. It was different though. As I mentioned, the interesting part of this one was mostly learning about the other factions and how the system was supposed to work. There weren't a lot of surprises here (the end I think is supposed to be, but in reality for me was more of a ha moment than a WOW OMG moment if you know what I mean)

I still think it is an interesting idea, a society divided according to personality traits and in this every sector is supposed to work for everyone else. Once again I have to applaud the fact that the story doesn't turn around a "love triangle" or around Tris and Four as a couple. Sure, it does affect her story, but is not the main thread carrying the story.

I think we cry to release the animal parts of us without losing our humanity.

 

The Nightmare by Lars Kepler

Why I read this book?  

This is the second book starring detective Joona Lina. I really enjoyed the Hypnotist and I was looking forward the second installment of the series.  Also it makes part of my Sequel Challenge.

What's the book about?

Once again, inspector Joona Lina is confronted by a series of unusual murders. It is more of a police thriller than a noir novella though, and readers should be warned that the darkness present in the first book is almost completely gone in this one.

What about the main character?

In this matter, the story is consistent with the first book. Joona is still a very bright detective, capable of seeing the disconnected dots better than anyone. His personal live is a bit in shambles, but as he did in the first book, this will not affect his prior compromise to solving the crime.

Final thoughts

I was SO disappointed at this book. I gave a 5 to The Hypnotist, and it kept me in the border of my chair, wondering what new dark twist would be ahead. I've really enjoyed the books of Camilla Läckberg and off course Åsa and Stieg Larsson so I thought this sequel would keep the same line of a noir novella I so enjoy.

At a certain point I thought they were going to start using the nightmares as a psychological tool, now is going to get dark...it didn't.

I was also looking forward to more music related drama, since the name in Swedish makes reference to Paganini. There was some mention...but once again I was disappointed with this aspect.

The book is not bad, as a crime thriller I enjoyed it, is just that I was expecting a different type of story. If I remove my expectations, the book is good, is entertaining. I think there are some weird moments probably related to the translation, but since my Swedish is nothing more than under basic, I do not feel like I have the right to criticize this part. 

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Why I read this book?

Last year I read the first book of the series and really liked Blake's style. I waited for the paperback to be available, to add it to my collection. It also makes part of my R.I.P VIII challenge, as well as my Sequel Challenge. Also this is the first book I've ever bought from the Book Depository!!

What's the book about?

As we saw in the first book, Cas has lost Anna; she saved his life. But Cas is sure she is still around; he sees her, once in a while but in the most inconvenient moments, including when he is trying to get rid of more ghosts. When looking for an answer he will learn more about his atame and his own role in "cleaning" the Earth of lost souls.

What about the main character?

Cas didn't change much between books, and this is a good thing. He kept his bitter humor and his loyalty to friends, while remaining a bit smug about himself. I liked that in this book he seems a bit more fragile without turning weak.

Final thoughts

The thing I liked the most about this book was the back story of the order; learning how and why the Atame was made and about Cas's father role in all this was interesting. I also enjoyed seeing Thomas character grow a bit more, both as a witch and as a friend. The change of scenery was nice too, but I wish Blake would've exploited this a bit more; sometimes while reading a part that was settled in London, the lack of descriptions made me come back to the US inevitably. I am a person that enjoys full scene building.
 

I didn't particularly care for Carmel in this installment of the story, I liked her better in the first book. As for Anna, I wished she would've had a bigger role in the book just because I enjoyed her so much as a ghost before.
 

In all it was a good closing for the story, an entertaining read, not to light, not to heavy. I would certainly recommend this book for everyone who enjoyed the first one.

24h Read-A-Thon (2013): Hour 22

24h Read-A-Thon (2013): Hour 21

Hello everybody,

Books finished: 4 (City of Ashes, Girl of Nightmares, Letters to a young Scientist, The Nightmare)

Books started: 4 (Girl of Nightmares, Letters to a young Scientist, The Nightmare, Ender's Game)

Pages read: 1520

Hours slept: Back.5

Feeling: The buzz from the last hour is going away...I barely read a couple of pages :/

Mini-challenges in which I'm participating/participated: A Puzzling Mini-Challenge from Just One More Thing, Read-a-Thon Mad Libs from Nisaba Be Praised, Book Trailer from Jehara, Self Portrait from The Estella Society`, The Best of Your Reading Year from Lisa’s World of Books , Audiobook Dream Date from The Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog, Cheap Thrills from Fiction State of Mind, Bookish Travel from A Reader’s Respite, Turn the Page from Reflections of a Bookaholic

      "I would rather read than Do a back flip and catch the ladder with my own hands any day!"