Meeting Authors and Book Signings

Hi guys! *waves*

Before any of you assume, no this isn't about a book signing I went to, but more about what to expect IF I actually go to one. And the key word is "if" here. Actually, I think "when" is better haha.

So basically, here's the thing.

Yesterday, I could have gone to see Veronica Roth in Boston and also buy Four, her newest release that is Divergent told in a different point of view, or so I heard. Now, I didn't go for many reasons, one obvious one being that I haven't even read Divergent yet. But this still got me thinking about other signings that I could potentially go to, in my lifetime. Or afterlife, because you don't know these things.

And you know what. I know nothing about these things. Sure, I've heard about the experience in the Philippines from Francine @ The Not-So-Literary Heiresses about Stephanie Perkins, and then there was that one TFIOS early screening event in Florida that went completely out of control and ended up not happening (which isn't a book signing I know). But it's just so, intimidating!

So I was just wondering, how are book signings in the US? Is it just as crowded? Even if it's in a bookstore? Do you actually have to arrive 5+ hours early? Where do I go about finding these things? DO YOU GUYS GO ALONE? What happens if I have no friends? Haha just kidding.

But seriously. I'm just asking this question for myself (so I guess this isn't exactly a discussion), and I would love to know about your experiences with authors! 

Review: The Girl With All the Gifts

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Publisher: Orbit Books, Hachette Group
Release Date: June 10th, 2014
Source: Netgalley
Date Read: 7/2/14 to 7/9/14
416 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰✰

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS is a sensational thriller, perfect for fans of Stephen King, Justin Cronin and Neil Gaiman.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Please keep in mind that this is published by the Hachette Group, so buying this book from Amazon may lead to actual list price and delayed shipping.

This was given to me in exchange for an honest review. Thanks NetGalley and Orbit!

Attention: This is not your average zombie book, or your average horror book.

In this action-packed, survival novel, zombies, otherwise known as the "hungries" roam the Earth. And in order to research a cure, a team of surviving humans build up a base, where they capture infected children to experiment on them. What makes these children so special, compared to the other adult hungries? They're smart, and they can learn and talk. As long as they're sprayed with chemicals, they won't bite.

Melanie is test number 1, and she attends class with the other children when they're not in their cells. She's the smartest kid in class. Her favorite teacher is Miss Justineau, who loves to read stories about the Amazon and Greek Mythology to the children. Along with teaching them everything that happened before, before the Breakdown.

Now, don't start thinking that this will be another boring novel, where everyone is safe in the base. No that doesn't happen. Right before the crazy scientist lady cuts open Melanie's head, everything turns to..uh...chaos. Hungries have gotten into the base, and are wreaking havoc everywhere. The only escapees are two soldiers, Miss Justineau, the scientist lady, otherwise known as Dr. Caldwell, and lastly, Melanie herself.

The character development is absolutely freaking fantastic. Melanie literally goes through an existential crisis. First, she has to come to terms with herself. Then, she needs to make amends with everyone else, while protecting her teacher. And then, there's the whole unexplored world itself, even if it is reduced to nothing. Throughout the novel, Melanie, a naive innocent girl, changes drastically. And not just her, but the others as well, which is why the multiple POVs work so well in this case. However, I ended up liking Melanie's POV more compared to the Sergeant Parks, Miss Justineau, and Dr. Caldwell. But they still play such an important role for the plot.

Yeah! That's right! You go zombie!

And no, this isn't like Warm Bodies (though I only watched the movie). There is actual science behind the rise of the hungries. So no they don't just pop out of graves or out of nowhere.

And as Stephanie @ Inspiring Insomnia commented on, the blurb makes this sound like Melanie's POV in first person, like in the novel Room. But this is not the case. Instead, it's all told in third person, but even in this form, you can still see the change in Melanie's thoughts over the course of the book. For me, this is what made the novel so good.

The only thing I did not exactly like, was the ending. IT NEEDS DISCUSSION! (highlight to read at your own risk)
OK MELANIE, JUST INFECT THE REST OF THE WORLD WHY DON'T YOU. Have you actually thought about Miss Justineau? I know you think this is the only way, and it might be, but you know your teacher can't survive with all those infectious spores! Sure, she has a suit, and then you gave her another dozen infected children to teach. But, ugh I just don't know. I guess I can see how this all works out, but it's just so open ended. It's just like The Last of Us all over again. (end spoiler!)

This combination of the Walking Dead and The Last of us is good. Real good. If you ever see it in a bookstore, library, or online, be sure to pick it up. You definitely won't regret it!

And it's not scary guys, I promise.

Top Ten Tuesday #18

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Blogging Confessions

HA! Like I'll actually confess to all of these??? Yeah right. Oh ok, fine. I mean, I do have some big and small ones here, this is a judge free zone! Just kidding judge all you want, I take no offense.

1. My absolute number one fault when blogging is procrastinating with writing reviews. To be honest, I don't like writing that much. Well, I mean I do, which is why I'm here in the first place, but I've never been a fan of putting words together to form sentences. It's actually really hard! And then I read other reviews that have such beautiful and intricately woven writing, and I'm just like "hahahHAHA, this book give me zee feelz"

2. I usually give out star ratings before I finish reading. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, though I'm just mentioning it because I can already tell coming up with 10 confessions is going to be hard. But yeah, this happens. Everytime I read.

3. And to follow up, I have a hard time sorting out my feelings for said book. When writing a review, I have trouble with figuring out what made me sad or mad or happy. Usually it's like "Wow THIS WAS SO AMAZ, and I don't know how to explain it and ARGH GAH KAPUT"

4. I can't stop using slang words from Earth Girl, like "AMAZ", short for amazing. Can someone please stop me now. I'm starting TO THINK IT. Earlier today, I was at the library and I saw The Art of Lainey and just thought to myself "Wow I've heard so many good things about this book and how amaz it was.........wait a sec. what did I just think. WHY"

5. I read like a turtle. It took me about 3 weeks to read the four books I borrowed at the library. I'm trying to increase my slug pace, but I don't know. I actually read really fast, I'm just a procrastinator when it comes to actually finding the time to read.

6. And because of procrastination, I also rarely schedule posts. Maybe once in a while, I'll have ONE post up and ready to go. But most of the time. Nopers.

7. I've actually only read about 115 books in the last 5 years. Sad life I have here. ALTHOUGH, I am aiming to read 50 books this year! And I'm already up to 35! Though I know it's not that high, compared to some bloggers I know. Yes I'm looking at you. You know who you are.

8. I want to try different genres, but I can't seem to get away from YA fantasy. If you look through my tags, you'll see that "Fantasy" is the biggest and first one in my cloud thing on my blog.

9. I LOVE READING NEGATIVE REVIEWS. They are the most entertaining rants I have ever read. Oh and also, this applies to Goodreads/Blogosphere drama. I just like knowing what's going on, and seeing people's reactions and posts. Does this make me a bad person? Yes probably. 

10. I often run out of things or books to mention in my Top Tens. BUT HA. LOOK AT THAT. I ended up filling them all! Muhaha. I'm a genius

Wow this was fairly entertaining to write. Feel free to link up below! I want to know about your secret blogging confessions muhaha.

Review: Eon Dragoneye Reborn

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
Eon #1
Publisher: Viking Juvenile, Penguin Group
Release Date: December 26th, 2008
Source: Library
Date Read: 7/3/14 to 7/6/14
531 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰

Swordplay, dragon magic--and a hero with a desperate secret

Twelve-year-old Eon has been in training for years. His intensive study of Dragon Magic,, based on East Asian astrology, involves two kinds of skills: sword-work and magical aptitude. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye--an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.

But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a boy for the chance to become a Dragoneye. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.

When Eon's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic...and her life.

Also Known As: Two Pearls of Wisdom, Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye, and Eon (All the same book just published with different publishers)

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Wow, just wow, Eona is checked out at the library. What am I going to do with my life?

I honestly don't know where to start with writing this review. As usual, I've been seeing Eon maybe once or twice through the bloggy world, and because it's based somewhat on Chinese culture and the Zodiac, I decided to give it a try. And was I impressed? YES I WAS. I mean, I couldn't put the book down, I constantly thought about it while I wasn't reading it, and I also finished it BEFORE a book I had been anticipating this entire summer.

Eon is training to be the next Rat Dragoneye, but so are 12 other contenders. Each have to perform in front of the dragons, and if picked (in this case, by the Rat Dragon), he will take his place as apprentice next to the actual Dragoneye. And what do these Dragoneyes do, exactly? Well they borrow up their dragon's energy, or Hua in exchange for their own.

So yes, Eon is pretty special. He can actually see every Dragon when entering the energy world. Usually, only apprentices and Dragoneyes can see only their own dragons. However, the only exception is the Mirror Dragon, or the Dragon Dragon. There has not been a Mirror Dragoneye for a couple hundred years now. And also the Mirror Dragon itself never comes to these ceremonies.

Here we are, with Eon, ready to perform in front of the dragons. Except, well he's a cripple. And no one thinks he will succeed.

OH AND ALSO THE HE IS A SHE

To sum it up, just think of Mulan. But with bigger Mushus. Annnnnd more elegant and graceful.

As a character, I loved Eon, well, Eona. Although she's somewhat cowardly, and always waits until the last minute, I still liked her. She had her faults even though she has a ton of power. Plus she can't even control it right without the name of her dragon, which she unfortunately missed during the ceremony. So even though she's in a huge political mess, that likely doesn't really involve her, she still stays strong.

'Are you frightened now?'
I nodded, shame flushing my skin.
'Is it going to stop you?'
'No.'
'That is the courage of a warrior'

The truth is though, I got very, very frustrated during the times when Eona was doing something that could end very badly for her. I literally yelled at the book for her incompetence, but then I realized that she just hadn't figured it out yet. (And I was smart enough to. Oh, book characters. What can you do. We can't break the fourth wall ugh.)

And do you know what's great about this book? It handles the topic of transexuality very well. And no I'm not talking about Eona, but Lady Dela. Although a man physically, she has the spirit of a woman. In this book, having both the male and female soul makes you a Contraire. And the reason she's so close to the emperor, or is considered important, is because Contraires can bring you luck. Obviously though, there are some people that consider her a freak, and if the emperor falls, then she does too.

Although her every move was that of a woman, I could now see the man beneath the careful paint and rich clothing. And yet she was not a man. She was Lady Dela.

Although I can't say for sure if the Chinese culture is accurately depicted, I can still see the influence. For example, throughout the book, the word Hua is used to depict our energy. But the only characters I know that use Hua either mean "to draw" or for speaking. I did love the way they used the animals from the zodiac, and transformed them all into dragons that lend their powers. There was the scene where all the Dragoneyes used their dragon "energy" power to ward off a monsoon (or at least make it less severe?), but I'm still unsure what other powers Dragoneyes have. (This is why I need the next book now)

The one bad thing that people might not like, is that there's no romance. Well at least in this book. This didn't affect my rating only because I thought it did fine without it, but that's only me. Either way, I thought this book was more than amazing. I can't really explain anymore than this, except that after I finished, I just had SO MANY FEELS, and gah. Yeah, that's it. I'm done.

Review: Earth Girl

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards
Earth Girl #1
Publisher: Pyr, Prometheus Books
Release Date: March 5th, 2013
Source: Library
Date Read: 6/26/14 to 7/2/14
271 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰✰

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. Eighteen-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an “ape,” a “throwback,” but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.

Jarra makes up a fake military background for herself and joins a class of norms who are on Earth for a year of practical history studies excavating the dangerous ruins of the old cities. She wants to see their faces when they find out they’ve been fooled into thinking an ape girl was a norm. She isn’t expecting to make friends with the enemy, to risk her life to save norms, or to fall in love.

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I heard about Earth Girl from a couple of bloggers, and I saw it available at the library, so I thought to myself "Well, why not". I loved the idea about portaling off worlds from the blurb, and discrimination between the Handicapped and everyone else. Just the whole concept was so unique and intriguing, plus my love for sci-fi is out of this world (hahaha, haha.....ha).

Earth Girl came off as a novel in journal format, though it never explicitly said it was. But I just figured, since we had access to all of our main character's thoughts, Jarra. Jarra is handicapped, and she can't portal (teleport basically) to other colonized worlds because every time she does, she ends up...um, I think fried, or just pretty much dead. In other words, her immune system can't handle what's on the other worlds. So she's stuck on Earth, until they come up with a "cure". There are many others like her, which make up most of Earth's inhabitants at this point. They are discriminated against because they're stuck there, and are constantly referred to "apes".

Jarra, being sick of this, comes up with a plan. Instead of enrolling in an Earth University for a Foundation History course, she enrolls in an Asgard University (another planet's university). Now you must be thinking, "What, but she can't go off planet???" and yes you're right. But all pre-history courses take place on Earth, because this is where pre-history actually took place. In doing this, Jarra can prove to all the others that they were taking a course with an ape, and then laugh at their faces! But to do this, she needs a fake identity.

And here we're introduced to Jarra the Military girl!

This amuses me way too much

The world-building is what really pulled this novel together. The author really put in a lot of detail, especially with the people coming in from different planets. Even though we never technically visit these planets, I could see the different characteristics of each world based on the side characters in the book. The only downside to this is that there is new info on every page, along with the whole lectures and classes on dig sites and history. Yes, the dig sites that the class goes on is another huge topic of the book. Jarra and her team pretty much spends their time "tagging" rocks to be lifted and carried away, in order to uncover the secrets of New York Main, otherwise known as New York City. The terminology of all of this is somewhat dense (especially with that small font, ugh). Some of it may have went over my head. It also kind of reminded me of the battle systems in Ender's Game, combined with Jenga!

Another note, there is some funny made up slang terms used as well. Like "That's totally zan!", or "nuke it", or "I was completely grazzed". When I first saw this, I was literally laughing out loud, because it just sounded too cheesy.

I just, I just can't with this. It took me awhile to get used to.

Character-wise, I did like Jarra. And also her romantic partner Fian, who I didn't have a strong connection with. Fortunately, it was not insta-love, but more of a forbidden love for Jarra, because she's Handicapped and discriminated, and also lying about it to everyone in her class. Throughout the beginning of the novel, she knows this, and tries to keep her distance from his advances. But then, her lies and reality start to mess with her head, and she starts believing that she really is a Military kid. Honestly, this even started to confuse me as well, because she acted like she could portal off-world, and she acted like she had parents, etc.

Earth Girl is definitely a great sci-fi YA novel, especially for those that don't mind the constant flow of information throughout the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it mainly focused on the history and its terminology. Looking forward to the next two books in the series. I hope I'm not disappointed! (Though the next one is about aliens, I wonder how the author will pull that off.)

Nessie Reviews ☆ Shakespeare's Tremor and Orwell's Cough

Shakespeare's Tremor and Orwell's Cough by John J. Ross
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: October 1st, 2012
Source: Library
Date Read: 6/26/14 to 7/1/14
291 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰✰

The doctor suddenly appeared beside Will, startling him. He was sleek and prosperous, with a dainty goatee. Though he smiled reassuringly, the poet noticed that he kept a safe distance. In a soothing, urbane voice, the physician explained the treatment: stewed prunes to evacuate the bowels; succulent meats to ease digestion; cinnabar and the sweating tub to cleanse the disease from the skin. The doctor warned of minor side effects: uncontrolled drooling, fetid breath, bloody gums, shakes and palsies. Yet desperate diseases called for desperate remedies, of course.

Shakespeare’s shaky handwriting, his obsession with venereal disease, and his premature retirement connected? Did John Milton go blind from his propaganda work for the Puritan dictator Oliver Cromwell, as he believed, or did he have a rare and devastating complication of a very common eye problem? Did Jonathan Swift’s preoccupation with sex and filth result from a neurological condition that might also explain his late-life surge in creativity? What Victorian plague wiped out the entire Brontë family? What was the cause of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s sudden demise? Were Herman Melville’s disabling attacks of eye and back pain the product of “nervous affections,” as his family and physicians believed, or did he actually have a malady that was unknown to medical science until well after his death? Was Jack London a suicide, or was his death the product of a series of self-induced medical misadventures? Why did W. B. Yeats’s doctors dose him with toxic amounts of arsenic? Did James Joyce need several horrific eye operations because of a strange autoimmune disease acquired from a Dublin streetwalker? Did writing Nineteen Eighty-Four actually kill George Orwell?  

The Bard meets House, M.D. in this fascinating untold story of the impact of disease on the lives and works of some the finest writers in the English language. In Shakespeare’s Tremor and Orwell’s Cough, John Ross cheerfully debunks old biographical myths and suggests fresh diagnoses for these writers’ real-life medical mysteries. The author takes us way back, when leeches were used for bleeding and cupping was a common method of cure, to a time before vaccinations, sterilized scalpels, or real drug regimens. With a healthy dose of gross descriptions and a deep love for the literary output of these ten greats, Ross is the doctor these writers should have had in their time of need.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

It's been a while since I've read a non-fiction book for pleasure. However, while I wandering through my local library, I stumbled upon this book and knew I had to read it. I've always been fascinated with the lives of famous authors and how their surroundings impacted their work. In particular the mental struggles of authors interested me the most, but seeing this book made me (stupidly) realize that great authors can and do suffer from physical illnesses as well.

What surprised me the most was how engaging his writing was. I went in expecting a somewhat boring read filled with medical jargon. Instead, I was surprised to find that each section began with a little vignette of the afflicted author either receiving treatment or the initial diagnosis. The writing in these sections made me feel as if I was reading a short story. And even after the vignette ended I felt as if Dr. Ross was able to maintain a fairly colloquial tone. 

Let me begin with the structure. The book is divided into ten chapters, each focusing on a separate author. The only exception to this is the chapter on the Brontës, which talks about the illnesses of the entire family and how they might have impacted each other. Each chapter begins with a brief fictionalized vignette of the author dealing with their illness. After that, each chapter reads like a mini-biography. He talks about where they were born, how they're parents were, and follows them throughout their lives. The only obvious difference is that in addition to following their travels and literary careers, we also get updates about hospital stays, treatments, and various symptoms. However, all the medical information is presented in the least complicated terms and you never feel overwhelmed. At worst, you feel horrible for what these writers had to go through. In addition, Dr. Ross isn't just handing out his own diagnoses, he also takes care to mention other speculated diseases.

What I liked most about this book is how it humanized these great writers for me. Medical care for these authors was pretty much their doctor's performing hit-or-miss treatments, and there were a few authors that became sicker later on because of the "treatments" they had received. One example is Shakespeare, who likely suffered from syphilis which was treated by ingesting liquid mercury in his time. While he was eventually cured from syphilis, he developed a severe tremor--rendering him unable to write his own plays--among other symptoms, likely from mercury poisoning. I also found it interesting how in some authors cases while they were dealing with illness, mentions of the illnesses they were dealing with appeared more often in their work, and once they were "cured" these mentions subsided. It was just cool to see how you could piece together an author's life from reading their works of fiction.

If there is anything I took away from this book, it was a deeper understanding and appreciation of some of my favorite works. 1984 is one of my favorite books. I love talking about it and relating current day events and ideas in other books I read back to it. When we first read it in class, my teacher off-handedly mentioned how he had written it on his death bed. But having that foreknowledge did not prepare me to read about how it basically took enormous amounts of his non-existent energy to complete this book. After finishing it he had to be rushed to sanatorium, and he took little pleasure in the money he gained from the book because he was fully aware that he was going to die soon.

On the other hand, it was equally inspiring to read about Herman Melville battling with physical ailments and severe mental illnesses and having the love and support of family and friends helped keep his diseases from getting much, much worse (although they were pretty bad).

I highly recommend this book to people interesting in learning more about and oft-forgotten part of author's lives or anyone just looking for a slightly different read.

Vanessa is Val's bestest buddy, and she will be guest posting throughout the summer because she loves to read and write. You can also find her at her own blog, Musings of an Aspiring Writer.

Top Ten Tuesday #17

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Classics I Want To Read

Ah nooooo I barely posted anything last week. I really need to get on my reading, I will try harder this week! For now though I'll just keep on commenting as usual.

Oh, this week's topic is classics? I don't really read many classics, but if I were to pick ten of them that I absolutely had to read sometime the future, then it would be:

Note that I consider all of these classics because 1) I'm familiar with it being a classic, and 2) I looked through the tag on Goodreads.

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - I've always wanted to read this, because it's technically considered Young Adult, and is also a coming of age story. But other than that, I don't exactly know the plot of the story.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I kinda want to read this after watching the movie.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - My best friend is obsessed with this, so that means it's really good, right?

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Yay a dystopia! And burning books? What?

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - I'm in the WWII mood, which is why I should read Anne Frank's Diary. Because it's Anne Frank.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut - So I discovered this title through another fiction book, and I've been interested in it, but I have no idea what the plot is.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - I have the urge to read this book even though it sounds so light-hearted. It just looks so fun!

1984 by George Orwell - I've been meaning to read this ever since my best friend read it for her English class, and also since I read Brave New World.

Watership Down by Richard Adams - IT'S ABOUT BUNNIES AND I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT BUNNIES.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - This is my favorite childhood movie of all time and I should read this book.

Any classics on your list? Any ones that you would recommend? Link your TTTs below :D