Angela's Book Haul #6

I finally made my way to Barnes and Noble the other day and found some great buys. Two of the books I got were bargain books and the other had special pricing! Woop Woop!

So I'll start with the one that had special pricing. Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick was only $4.99 as they are preparing for the release of Finale (the 4th book in the series) in October.

However, I think the special pricing is only in store, but I did see that Amazon has the same low price right now!

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Goodreads -- Amazon -- B&N


The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Goodreads -- Amazon -- B&N


90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
Goodreads -- Amazon -- B&N

Enjoy your day!

The Poets Korner: Untitled

Like sheep

We seek 
our shepherds 
to usher us into correctitude 
And guide us throughout life 
And deliver us from spite 
To pull us toward our problems and lead us from that dark knight 

Our shepherd is our father

 Our watcher

 And our friend 

To leave his watchful gaze to graze along the banks of forgetfulness

 is to sign away our right to find the treasure the shepherd keeps behind his gracious heart and watchful eye

And we are but lost Sheep

 On the horizon of sleep

On the edge of defeat

Without him or her

 Whichever you prefer

Whoever you may follow as a part Of the herd

 As a part of the world

 You need a shepherd to lead you home.

Not to say that we are but drones

Cursed to do as others have shown

 But one in a company of many

 All different all exceptional all in need of a shepherds lead

 And bound by that we are sheep searching for
The end

Dead White: White Oleander

 Janet Fitch and her 1999 bestselling novel White Oleander is a must read.

It is the story of Astrid Magnussen, a twelve-year-old girl living in LA. She lives with her mother, Ingrid, a poet. Astrid's father is not involved in her life and she relies only on her mother. Because of her shaky home life she has trouble fitting in at school. Her mother Ingrid is self seduced and cold. She abides by a list of her own rules and demonstrates little interest in her struggling daughter. As a result of her mother's constant neglect, Astrid fears abandonment more than anything. After an altercation with a male friend Ingrid is imprisoned for murder and Astrid is thrust into the unpredictable and unforgiving world of foster care. Throughout her trials she makes friends, personal relationships and deals with her own battle with drug addiction.

Imaginative and eventful Fitch demonstrates the sour nature of the nation's foster system and the effects of bad parenting. Though the book is quite depressing at times and rather shocking at others, it is a testament to the unbridled girl power that girls and women must exhibit to survive in a male run world. And the struggle for us to escape our mothers, who hold such sway over our lives. Astrid decides to take hers back. 

I totally recommend this book,

it is a great read.

Swoon Thursday: Fifty Shades of Grey

Swoon Thursday #1!

Swoon Thursday is a HOT meme hosted by YA Bound.

From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished,
tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your
skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering.

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag #YABound, post it here in
the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on
your blog! We want to know :)
This is my first ever Swoon Thursday! It seems like a really great and fun idea! On with the book! It just so happens that when something really epic happens, or something a character says that makes me feel a certain way -- I always take a screenshot (I mostly read e-books.) I'm actually on the third and final book in this trilogy, but this was the first thing in this series that made me SWOON!

The book is Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. Also, these books have a lot of "sexy times" just in case you didn't already know. However, I picked a clean scene! I remember thinking "OMG, he has so much power and authority! Ooooooo!" He's so strong and handsome and rich and powerful (yes, I said it twice) and the list can go on forever! I instantly fell in love with Christian Grey! Onto the swooning!


Goodreads -- Amazon

Christian Grey is asking me on a date. He's asking
if you want a coffee. Maybe he thinks you haven't
woken up yet, my subconscious whines at me in
a sneering mood again. I clear my throat, try-
ing to control my nerves.

"I have to drive everyone home," I murmur
apologetically, twisting my hands and fingers
in front of me.

"TAYLOR," he calls, making me jump.
Taylor, who had been retreating down the cor-
ridor, turns and heads back toward us.

"Are they based at the university?" Grey
asks, his voice soft and inquiring. I nod, too
stunned to speak.

"Taylor can take them. He's my driver. We
have a large 4x4 here, so he'll be able to take
the equipment, too."

"Mr Grey?" Taylor asks when he reaches
us, giving nothing away.

"Please, can you drive the photographer,
his assistant, and Miss Kavanagh back home?"

"Certainly, sir," Taylor replies.

"There. Now can you join me for coffee?"

Grey smiles as if it's a done deal.

FABULOUS-NESS!!
So, tell me, what made you swoon?!
Enjoy your day!
-Angela

Waiting On Wednesday: Glitch

Waiting On Wednesday #2! :)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
My pick for this week is:

Glitch by Heather Anastasiu
Expected publication: August 7, 2012
Amazon -- Goodreads

From Goodreads:
In the Community, there is no more pain or war.
Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean
of destructive emotions, and thoughts are replaced
by a feed from the Link network.

When Zoe starts to malfunction (or “glitch”), she
suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings,
and identity. Any anomalies must be immediately
reported and repaired, but Zoe has a secret so
dark it will mean certain deactivation if she is
caught: her glitches have given her uncontrollable
telekinetic powers.

As Zoe struggles to control her abilities and stay
hidden, she meets other glitchers including Max,
who can disguise his appearance, and Adrien, who
has visions of the future. Both boys introduce Zoe
to feelings that are entirely new. Together, this
growing band of glitchers must find a way to free
themselves from the controlling hands of the
Community before they’re caught and deactivated,
or worse.

In this action-packed debut, Glitch begins an
exciting new young adult trilogy.

This one sounds really interesting... My imagination is running wild thinking of all the things that could happen!

Enjoy your day! -Angela

Angela's Book Haul #5

I have been looking all over for a thrift/bargain book store in my new (little) town... I finally found someone at the library who knew of a few places I could try, and it was quite a success!
My first trip, I got there just before closing, so I only had time to go through half of the store. Needless to say I got 4 books for $6! I got 3 hardbacks and 1 paperback! SCORE!

White Oleander by Janet Fitch Add it on Goodreads

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Add it on Goodreads

Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes Add it on Goodreads

Cross by James Patterson (Alex Cross #12) Add it on Goodreads
There's kind of a funny story that goes with this book.. So I pick up the book thinking- "Oooh, it's James Patterson, must be goood, lets read the synopsis..." I read it..., -"Oh, I've heard about this Alex Cross character, this must be that book..." I get home and go on goodreads to add it to my 'to-read' list, and what?!? It's number 12 in the series! I thought "OH MAN!" I guess I have a lot of catching up to do in that series! :)
The second time I went in there, which was only a few days later, I got a chance to really look around. There were sooooo many books I wanted, but I couldn't buy the whole store! :) This time I got 6 books for $10! I got 4 hardbacks and 2 paperbacks... SCORE AGAIN!


Sundays At Tiffany's by James Patterson Add it on Goodreads

The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings Add it on Goodreads

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Add it on Goodreads

Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell Add it on Goodreads

Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King Add it on Goodreads
Double Cross by James Patterson (Alex Cross #13) Add it on Goodreads



Have a good day!
-Angela

Back To The Burton-Verse

D FOR DARK SHADOWS! 

It wasn't what I expected. The film Dark Shadows, recently received is the latest installment from the fab four:  Burton, Bonham Carter, Elfman, and Depp. The film is based on the 70's soap Dark Shadows, which is much more melodramatic than the film version.

As always, Burton has a certain vision of what he wants his movies to be and he did not disappoint. He indeed made his vision of this horror franchise a reality, but I cannot say that it did justice to the original show. But is it supposed to? A remake, is just that--a remaking and imagining of something that already exists. It is not a carbon copy of past work. 

I am of course a little biased because I am in love with the fab four! In my reality, they should create all movies! But I can understand if a lover of the original show disliked this take on the American classic.

Reasons why you should see DARK SHADOWS:

1. Depp does a stunning job as always! 

2. The music in the film is epic.

3. The colors are brilliant, as in all Burton films.

4. It offers a refreshing trip to the Burton-verse! 

I give the film four stars...

Review: Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom

Death Note.... Oh how I love thee!

Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom by Tsugumi Ohba
Amazon -- Goodreads

SYNOPSIS:
Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's
bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the
Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god.

Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now
Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the
world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the
authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the
killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his
noble goal...or his life?

Light tests the boundaries of the Death Note's powers as L and
the police begin to close in. Luckily Light's father is the head
of the Japanese National Police Agency and leaves vital information
about the case lying around the house. With access to his father's
files, Light can keep one step ahead of the authorities. But who
is the strange man following him, and how can Light guard against
enemies whose names he doesn't know?

I first heard about Death Note about 3 years ago, but only as the cartoon. I didn't realize until recently that it was actually manga. So I knew the gist of it just from what I was told about the show, but I never watched the show because I'm not really into anime. BUT, when I heard it was manga, I was interested... Of course I'd rather read it than watch it.... So I did, and I loved it!

So as you can tell, this is my first manga ever. Never read a comic book or graphic novel either, but, I loved it. I loved having pictures. And facial expressions. And just seeing the city and everything really. I do love creating the world in my head like when reading regular books, but it was helpful not having to do that. I could pay a whole lot more attention to detail on what was really going on.

Death Note has 12 volumes. Plus Vol. 13 is an encyclopedic guide to the series, including character bios, storyline summaries, interviews with creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, production notes and commentaries, and bonus manga pages.

I've read the first 2 volumes so far, I'll either do a series review or maybe split it into half. So maybe when I'm done with Vol. 6 I'll do another review to tell you guys how I'm liking it and all that jazz.

With all that said... Of course I gave it 5 stars!

I've included some pictures from the beginning of the volume... Just for fun!
ENJOY!

Have a good day!
-Angela

Waiting On Wednesday: Tilt

This is my first ever Waiting on Wednesday post! WooHoo! :)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
My pick for this week is:

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
Expected publication: September 11, 2012
Amazon -- Goodreads

From Goodreads:
TILT is the story of three teens inter-related through their
parents' family relationships and friendships. As their parents
pull away, caught up in their own dilemmas, the kids' worlds
tilt, through love--good and bad:

Mikayla, almost eighteen, is over-the-top in love with Dylan,
who loves her back jealously. But what happens to that love
when Mikayla gets pregnant the summer before their senior
year, and decides to keep the baby?

Shane turns sixteen that same summer, and falls hard in love
with his first boyfriend, Alex, who happens to be HIV positive.
Shane has lived for four years with his little sister's
impending death. Can he accept Alex's love, knowing his life,
too, will be shortened?

Harley is fourteen—a good girl searching for new experiences,
especially love from an older boy. She never expects to hurdle
toward self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is
and who she wants to be.

Absolutely CANNOT wait for this one!

Enjoy your day! -Angela

Book Review: The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight

Buy "The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight" on Amazon Check it out on Goodreads

SYNOPSIS:
Who would have guessed that four
minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of
seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life.
She’s stuck at JFK, late to her father’s second
wedding, which is taking place in London and
involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley’s
never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy
in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name
is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s in seat 18C.
Hadley’s in 18A.

So... Yeah... The beginning of this book was like this: "Ooh.. that's interesting.. he sounds cute! This seems like a good book. Family drama, traveling out of the country, a British boy..."

Then the middle was like this: "Wow.. This is getting boring, let's skip a few pages... Okay, maybe more than a few pages... Okay, skim the page... Oh, there's some dialogue, let's read that... Okay, didn't miss much there..."

Then the end was like this: "Oh, well that's nice... I guess. Not what I was thinking, but okay..." THE END!

It could've been A LOT better. It had a WHOLE bunch of potential. I was thinking this will be a cute, short, summer read. And little love stories are always fun in between all the crazy, action-y, drama filled books... But I almost couldn't finish this book. And that's bad considering it's only 236 pages.

I also read a review on goodreads for this book. I will link it here, so you can go read it if you like. It explained exactly how I felt about the book.

With all that said... Read at your own risk!

My rating for this book was (unfortunately) only 2 stars.

Enjoy your day!
-Angela

Book Review: Looking For Alaska by John Green

Buy "Looking For Alaska" on Amazon Check it out on Goodreads
SYNOPSIS:
Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and
tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding
school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais
called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at
Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny,
screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into
her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

To start off with, I know it looks bad that I only gave it 3 stars, but I tried. I wanted to love this book. The synopsis sounded great. And everyone loves this book. It started off great, but it just kinda plateaued somewhere in the "okay" section...

It was good, but it wasn't great. It was a nice story, but the book was really about nothing until I'd say the last third. I almost had a hard time getting thru it.

Stuff is happening, Miles is making friends, having fun, exploring his new school and pulling pranks... Those parts were enjoyable to read, but it became almost routine. For me, it was like nothing really epic was happening, it got boring. Then all of a sudden the one and only big thing happens and it's like "oh! wow!" Then they spend the rest of the book trying to sort that out and when they do it's like "ohhhh.... Uhhhh, okay...."

One thing I will say was amazing was the writing. John Green was perfect. I felt like throughout the book, I was one of the friends. Just standing with them as all this is happening. It was great.

I suppose this book just wasn't for me, but everyone else seems to love it. So I'd still recommend it.

I gave it 3 stars... And look forward to reading more John Green books.

Enjoy your day!
-Angela

Angela's Book Haul #4

So I spent an hour or so this afternoon looking on Thriftbooks for some books I've been wanting. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to buy since my list is REALLY long! :) But I'm very pleased with my purchase. I just hope they hurry up and get here!
I'm so excited that I finally ordered the whole HARRY POTTER SERIES! -"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling -"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling -"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling -"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by J.K. Rowling -"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by J.K. Rowling -"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling -"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling Also got one of the companion books to Harry Potter: -"The Tales of Beedle the Bard" by J.K. Rowling The first book in the "Dave Gurney" Trilogy -"Think of a Number" by John Verdon The third book in the "Uglies" series -"Specials" by Scott Westerfeld Enjoy your day! -Angela

Kudos For Emily Browning

Emily Browning has done it again in 

her latest  film Sleeping Beauty. 

This child-star turned Hollywood hottie haunted us in such films as Ghost Ship, Darkness Falls, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and The Uninvited (based on one of my personal favorites: A Tale of Two Sisters). Browning kicked ass in the break out comic based film Sucker Punch and now she's back in Sleeping Beauty. 

Browning plays Lucy, an ordinary university student who, like many of us college bound kids, works a bunch of crap jobs for even crappier wages. She volunteers as a test subject at the university medical research lab, works as a waitress at a coffee shop, and as an office assistant. And from time to time prostitutes at a local bar.

She rents a room from "friends", but she spends most of her free time with Birdman, a love-sick drunkard and all around unusual companion. Birdman is in love with her, but she doesn't love him back. Though their relationship is strange Lucy finds a shade of happiness with him, in his small unkempt apartment, playing house. 

The real mind-fuck begins when Lucy responds to a job ad for freelance silver service in lingerie. She would get paid to serve drinks to old wealthy men, in her underclothes. Seems easy enough. After she tries her hand at this her new boss who insists on calling her Sara offers her a more intriguing position as a Sleeping Beauty.... Which proves to be a nightmare she cannot wake from. 

The film was first shown last year (2011) at Cannes and captivated audiences. Browning gives a revealing performance one not yet realized in her young career until now. 

Sleeping Beauty will leave your head spinning and ever pondering the relationship between life and death, men and women, and most importantly our relationships with ourselves. 

Watch it! 

~NIKA

Hola y Hello & Ello Love 'Ow are ya ta-day

I am Nika! And it's taken me a long time to finally post on this blog due to school and other such interference. When my sister and I thought of creating a book/film/whatever the hell we want blog, I jumped at the chance to develop and share my opinion with all who decided to stumble across our little page here. Needless to say--I've got some catching up to do! 

Let's talk about film....

My favorite movie is Citizen Kane

The film is brilliant! 

If you haven't seen it

you should right now!

Reasons why?

1. Orson Welles is a cinematic genius.

2. He's extremely hot.

3. Lovely commentary on American publishing giant William Randolph Hearst.

4. Rosebud. 

Angela's Book Haul #3

I'm a little late on these two:


A few weeks ago I luckily stumbled upon a signed copy of "The Fault in our Stars" by John Green! And guess where I found it?..... My local grocery store! I was so excited :) Can't wait to read it!

I also had pre-ordered my copy of "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth. Which was shipped May 1st and just a FYI, I just finished reading it! WOW! Review coming soon!


Enjoy your day! -Angela