Almost 2013... [w/ audio review of Perks]

2012... Christmas.

I had a pre-Christmas Book Haul to introduce future readers to my blog (since I had none at the time of writing, I looked to the future).
This is the future. And I've had a good number of pages views. And I've only read one book from the book haul. NonSuch King by Benjamin Myers.
But I organized my bookcases into British/other.

My Book Haul wasn't so much that I was haulin' books pre-Christmas, I was actually choosing them for others to give me for Christmas. I considered reading Pandemonium which was from my Mum & not for Christmas but I didn't.
So I wasn't actually allowed Unrest (which interestingly is by the same author as the books on the left- which weren't Christmas presents).

Or Thief, Hacker, Pig Heart & Antidote.
I did survive not reading  Secrets, Lies and Locker 62 (and read The Perks Of Being A Wallflower instead- which was a Christmas present & made me wish I'd called this blog 'The Perks Of Being a Bookworm'). I didn't jump into Immortal Beloved: Darkness Falls, and as for the Twisted Symmetry books? The fifth & sixth just had to wait.
Falling and Daylight Saving I purchased after that post, but they were also not surprises.

Doesn't the Daylight Saving spine look amazing (if not slightly odd).
Now you know the author of Unrest & the 13 Treasures series - both of which I shall read (hopefully) in 2013.

I only took photos of my new books joining my British Bookcase, because I only had three by other nationality authors, and I only have three shelves! Gosh, they look sad. And I don't want to take pictures of sad books... Only happy shelves (new ones in the foreground, the others have been nicely put at the back of the shelf.)

My shelves aren't the only happy things- I've read 66 books. I know! Not just 65.

Since I mentioned Perks...

Reviewing... Author: Stephen Chbosky Source: Christmas gift.Rating: 4.5*Recommended for: 13+ Hope you enjoy this audio review. I said I'd link to my written review so here it is!

I thought afterwards that I should've added some music that is on the Perks playlist (basically a lot of music is mentioned in this book which fit the actual life of Charlie, so it's like his life has a soundtrack if you listen to it while reading) but I don't own- and didn't listen to the playlist- plus it may distract you from my lovely podcast review :P Yeah, so the point is, I didn't listen to the music- but y'know, you may like to! I'm saving the whole 'soundtrack for the movie- hopefully then it’s done more... appropriately. I haven't watched the movie, but I want to. Think I should do a movie adaptation review/comparison thing once I've watched it?
If I do a film review I'll try to pronounce words clearer, and I may slow it down... 
Ugh. It took me like 100 times the end length to make it, and still has mistakes/bad dictation. I did cut out a bit that has the most mistakes & mentioned it being a banned book... So I'll mention that although I believe people have the right to read about any concepts they choose, I wouldn't give it to my younger cousins to read for example as it's probably only suitable for 13+ (let's face it, PG-13 is more than a reasonable rating for this book with the controversy etc.)
Plus, I said above some things sound weird- please be aware that I did refer (at 39s) to it being a classic, not plastic. Guess that's obvious, but I'm a rubbish speaker.

Day Or Night

Preface

Day And Night Tag by Readigans. 

I had a good day in English, we finished our controlled assessment on AMND. I don't think much went wrong, but I could be mistaken. I might not have got a B- and I need a B (B's are good... it's my target so...)

The Questions
D: Do you read more in the morning or at night?
I want to say it depends on the season, because in Summer you could count a lot of time as the morning & not much as the night... Well, there is always AM/PM but I don't know... I do like reading in the morning, I am a morning person. But I often find time in different parts of the day, and this includes the evening. I do sleep from about 10pm-6am at least most nights, so my reading habits are not very nocturnal.
A: Are there any books that changed the way you thought about things?
Probably it's bad if books don't- I know books have different impacts, and I can often tell when a book will just fall out of my head soon, but I think I am quite 'bookish' because of books & I think that means my thoughts have been affected by them.
Y: YA or Not?
YA!

A: Are there characters that you honestly believe are real?
No. I don't believe they are. The closest I get is with my fictional boyfriends but even then... One can hope. If you believe in a multiverse where there are infinite parallel universes (have you heard of this theory?) & everything happens in one universe of the infinite number then... they are real & I am dating them. I like this theory quite a bit but obviously there would be bad elements if this theory was real.
N: Nobody touches my books or I don't mind loaning my books out?
Some people shouldn't touch my books, but I don't mind loaning my books out. I've lent them out before, and my Mum steals them. IRL, not many people borrow my books but it's not because I'm very defensive.
D: Do you ever smell your books?
EVER? Yes. Not much, and not just randomly. If I'm reading a book, sometimes you get a nice whiff & then PAUSE the reading.

N: Not everyone loves books...is this a positive or a negative?
There's a debate on what 'loving' is. I think it's sad when people don't have a chance to love books- like in the third world... That's a negative, not being literate. If by choice, circumstances or whatever. But if some people don't love books that's OK- they might be amazing & interested in something very important. Like what would happen if all farmers were book nerds? We'd have to eat books. Just sayin'.
I: I keep my books in the best condition or maybe not? Which are you?
I'd say best, most of my books have to be read a few times to get very battered. Hardcovers can withstand lots, whereas my paperbacks always end up looking 'read'. The corners get a bit bent even though I don't dog-ear & I sometimes realize I've been propping the book open too much & the spine has creases... Sorry :'( It doesn't happen much and more than half my books DON'T have spine lines so... We cool? It does bother me when books really aren't looked after.
G: Gosh I have to many books! True or False?
False. Every time. I have only got half-height bookshelves & I'd estimate less than five hundred on these. I've owned a lot of books, but there is limited storage... I guess it must be kinda true or I wouldn't have had to get a kindle...
H: Have you ever spilled or stained your books before with something, and if so how?
YES (no spillages)! Nothing that stands out but I do eat- not drink- while eating. Sometimes I've been reading & I realize I've eaten. Nothing ever remains on the book really, but I do have to brush off crumbs or squirted liquids (like from oranges, darn you). I'm not going to go through my books to look for stains, but I guess some of my books have been read during eating.
T: Toned or untoned while reading? . . or in other words. . .Do you read and workout at the same time?
We used to have a machine that was weird & you could read on it while walking, and you stayed in the same place just moving on the spot. I also have swum before & then got out read, then repeat the pattern (I do this on holidays especially). I wish books were waterproof & there was a way to swim/read. Two of my best things.
I don't do this on a regular basis, though, no.

Book Haul

Hauling books... (which, with the chance you don't know, means buying & telling people about what you bought because you bought so many)
It's something I only normally do when it's been Christmas (I often foster books). And then, I've never blogged in any format- I've just added them to my to-do list & recommended them to friends on goodreads with similar interests. Well, that was about the extent of it... Until this week!

At Christmas, do you find you've got vouchers for every known store you've ever stepped in? WHSmith book vouchers roll in because I looked in their for an e-reader (before getting a Kindle Fire anyway) & I never buy books from there (Waterstones, Amazon... They are pretty much by choices). This is the point where buying online becomes so handy. I just don't go into shops & choose books, I buy them online. So this online book haul I was on about...

It started with The Nonsuch King and A Crystal Horseman, which if you've been following my progress in the Twisted Symmetry reviewing process you'll know are the fourth & fifth. I was going to buy them as ebooks, but this is a Book Haul, isn't it? Not an e-book haul. If I got them as e-books it'd have cost me more & would've broken into my e-book money on my Amazon (from vouchers as I don't have a credit card). As they had been published previous years, so have begun to appear for cheaper. I haven’t bought the sixth yet, because when it’s been published that year it’s really hard to find it on sale... So I’ll wait to get it cheaper (or will it be?)
Anyway... I didn't just stick with Twisted Symmetry books, Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver decided to join my bookshelf in paperback. The prequel, Delirium (if you include the e-books in between there is more than one though) is in Hardcover, but who cares? I haven't bought the e-books yet which are in between, which means all I know of the fandom is from Delirium. Which was epic; I read it this year. Next year will be time to re-read Delirium, along with the whole series! (I don't know how much this cost, as although I wanted it, my Mum ordered it & gave it to me. Aww Mum :D)

Unrest by Michelle Harrison has my favourite cover of all my orders, it's so beautiful- and I'm sure the book will be beautiful too! I knew nothing about the book apart from the summary- which doesn't give a lot away. All I know is it's about a seventeen-year old male called Elliott who doesn't sleep anymore. I want to know more about this accident that nearly killed him & why he has out-of-body experiences. Fortunately, the summary tells me he secures a job at a museum, and I know there's a touch of romance when he enters that musuem, amongst mystery & paranormal activity... This ghost story sounds engrossing!
Thief, Hacker, Pig Heart & Antidote (by Malorie Blackman) will be great stand-alone reads. They are all very different, and I'm not going to jump into reading them straight away because I am dying to read Secrets, Lies and Locker 62 which was found in the Red House book catalogue. It told me about it, luckily, as this is one of the occasions where Goodreads didn't provide a Summary. So when I review this I will include the blurb on the book... It hasn't arrived yet, though... Maya is given a locker full of secrets is all I will tell you... Won't that make her very powerful? Thanks to everybody who reviewed this book as well!
I especially am looking forward to reading Immortal Beloved: Darkness Falls, as it is called in the UK. Immortal Beloved, the first book, was a stunning read which I am going to read again before devouring the second book in the series by Cate Tiernan. Eternally Yours (Bk. 3) hasn't been released yet in the UK, but I will definitely buy it when it is out!
I only spent £23 (including p&p) so that's good... I got 9 books...
and...

OK, I got an e-book. I broke into my balance by 99p. Yeah, that's like just over a dollar... So, I'm currently reading The Dark Side of Night , by Amanda Day as well as the Twisted Symmetry series. As many books will be reviewed in short at least... I've kept tabs on books I've read this year & will continue to do so. Re-reads may get complicated, but it means more reviews so... Good?

Hope you enjoyed my Book Haul...