The Basilica of Saint Mary
Minneapolis, Minnesota
ISBN-13: 9781406311525
Publisher: Walker & Company
Published: May 2011
Published: May 2011
Format: Hardcover, 214pp
Source: Personal Library
I picked up Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls for Carl's R.I.P. VI Reading Challenge, thinking that the title and its cover are appropriate of the challenge's theme; and while they seemed to fit the theme, let me tell you that the story was mind-blowing and a tear-jerker as well.
Connor O'Malley, a thirteen-year-old boy, has always been the target of bullies in school. Back at home, things aren't as easy as he has to deal with the harsh fact that his mother has cancer but the worst of all is the recurring nightmare which has been tormenting him almost every night.
One night, he awoke hearing someone calling out his name and it turns out to be a human-like yew tree who walks and talks. This yew tree has been growing at the back of his house but Connor didn't take notice of it until now. The monster told him that he is ancient and has walked about the earth for some time. He also told Connor that he has three tales to share but he would want Connor to tell him the fourth tale after he has finished and that he wants the truth from his story.
At a glance, A Monster Calls may seem like an ordinary horror story but don't let that mislead you or stop you from reading it as I felt there is nothing horrible or scary about this story but more of an emotional journey of a boy who overcomes his guilt and loneliness, and learning about letting go.
When I first started this book, I was intrigued by the tone and Patrick Ness' amazing storytelling skill. However, the more I flipped through those pages that feeling of waiting for the story to unfold has slowly turned to a heartbreaking feeling for it reminds me the time when my mother was diagnosed with cancer and how we have to learn to cope and to accept the sad truth (she passed away in 2006).
That said, this story isn't about depression and feeling sorry for Connor. On the contrary, it is a spirit lifting story that is bound to make you think hard about life and all. What I liked about this story is it isn't told in a preaching tone and that there are also some great illustrations done by Jim Kay and they absolutely add life to this emotional-filled story.
I have a lot more good things to say about this book but as they always say, it is always best to experience that wonderful reading journey yourself so what can I say. . . Go read this book, now!
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
- Grab your current read.
- Let the book fall open to a random page.
- Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
- You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
- Please avoid spoilers!
Rafe and I had grown from children who played together without noticing our differences into a teenage boy and girl who were no longer allowed to associate as friends. A social chasm had opened between us and we fell naturally into our proper roles.
(Pg 38-9, Shadow of a Quarter Moon by Eileen Clymer Schwab)
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This month's Mailbox Monday is hosted by Amused by Books.
Here's what I bought and received from The Book Depository:
1) Headhunters by Jo Nesbo
What books came into your house last week?
Nickelodeon Universe, an indoor theme park at the Mall of America
Minnesota
(No, my husband and his co-worker who went with him for the business trip didn't take any of the rides there, which I felt is a pity!)
ISBN-13: 9780061661488Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: July 2011
Format: Paperback, 416pp
Source: Publisher
When the publicist contacted me awhile back and asked if I wanted to read Simon Van Booy's Everything Beautiful Began After, I've to confess I was a little hesitant at first; after all I've never read anything by this author. However, a little voice inside my head urged me to give him a try and you know what, I was so glad I did.
Everything Beautiful Began After tells a story about three different people and how their life changed after they met one another. At one glance of the blurb, one may dismiss it as a love story but let me tell you that there's more going on here than that.
Rebecca used to be an air stewardess before she comes to Athens to paint. When Rebecca was young, she and her sister lived with their grandfather as they were abandoned by their mother. At that time, she was also very intrigued by their grandmother since their grandfather barely mentioned her or her passing. Rebecca and her sister then grew apart when the latter got married and Rebecca began to travel around the world as an air stewardess. After working for a few years, Rebecca said goodbye to her job and arrived in Athens where she met George under coincidental circumstances.
While Rebecca seeks solace in painting, George, on the other hand came to Athens to learn ancient language. Before then, his life at New England boarding school is often lonely and only revolves around ancient language and alcohol. He began to walk out of his drunken stupor gradually, and he thinks meeting Rebecca is the best thing that happened in his life.
Henry is the last person to enter this story, yet he is the one who creates the ripples in both Rebecca's and George's life. Rebecca began to fall for him after their encounter over a book, and as you can tell their worlds collide and it is only a matter of time that the three will meet one another face to face and see where fate will take them.
Told in two different perspectives (second and third person), Simon Van Booy weaves an unforgettable story about love, friendship, loss as well as the mundane realities of life and how the characters cope when unexpected circumstances befall them. Simon Van Booy's writing is simply beautiful and lyrical; I was both entranced by his prose and his wonderful storytelling skills.
What I also liked about this story is there is an atmospheric feel to it; it is an emotional-driven story that would make you pause and think about life, and the people around you. It definitely made me think a lot about fate.
I will have to check out the rest of Simon Van Booy's books after reading this.
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This month's Mailbox Monday is hosted by Amused by Books.
Here's what I bought and received from The Book Depository:
1) The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson
What books came into your house last week?
Although I am sad to see Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) has come to an end today, I am happy to see that this wonderful book blogging community has grown tremendously over the years (just look at the participations and the number of new-to-me book blogs I have explored for the past few days) and the most rewarding part of all is friendship is formed and I have found a few good friends who I can talk with aside from all the book talks. This book blogging community is wonderful and supportive that way, and no doubt the world of blogging is constantly changing, what will not change is our passion for books and reading, and to share what we have read with other readers so that more people will be aware of the books and read them.
I wish I have some new tips that I can share with you about blogging but after giving it some thoughts I think it all come back to the basic:
* The purpose of starting a blog and finding your audience (don't feel discouraged when you first started your blog and it seems no one is commenting. Readership takes time to build);
* Be part of the community (don't be shy and go visit and comment on other blogs); and finally. . .
* Be yourself.
And last but not least, have fun in the process of blogging. After all, we are not paid to do this and this shouldn't be an added stress to our life (though I have to confess I do feel guilty if my reading and/or reviews are slow and for this I want to thank you all for your patience and understanding).
Today BBAW's topic is about readers and if book blogging has changed the way we read. Well without a doubt, book blogging has definitely broaden my reading horizons and allows me to explore other genres which I might not pick up in the first place. Way back when I was a young adult, I used to read only romance and thrillers. I may be wrong but at that time I thought young adult books are quite limited and the varieties/topics covered are not as wide as compared today. I don't know, I may have not explored well enough then but that was how I felt about young adult books then and how it has changed over the years.
Literary fiction and classic are another genres which I rarely explore back then, thinking that they are for serious readers or literature students and not to mention they kind of intimidate me a little. However, my mindset has changed as I grow older and especially after I have discovered this wonderful book blogging community. I do read professional reviews at times but what I feel is they lack the personal touch from book bloggers. What's more, book bloggers tend to share more of their reading experiences and most often they will also tell their readers what makes the story works and vice versa (I also love it when book bloggers share bits of the quotes from the books they read).
Needless to say, this wonderful book blogging community has affected my book acquisition habits and what used to be a few books occupying a corner of my shelf has long been filled and new shelves have to be added along with the books. I just wish I have a room so I can turn it into a library!
Aside from getting recommendations from book bloggers and the book acquisitions, another thing I enjoy is doing a joint-reading and joint-reviewing with another book blogger. It definitely makes reading much more fun and not just a solitary activity! That said, I have not done this for a while. Anyone interested?
Today Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) asked us to share some tips for finding and keeping community in book blogging despite our daily hectic demands and the overwhelming number of blogs out there.
For starters, I think BBAW is a great link to explore new blogs and to connect with other blogs which you have subscribed to. I wish I have some new and interesting tips to share but all I can say is: visit and leave comments. I understand with our busy schedules and all, it is hard to visit all the blogs daily and leave comments but I think as long as we visit (no matter if it's a day or a week late) and to show our presence (yes, the comments if you have things to say), I think they are good enough (well at least in my opinion).
I know what I have shared above isn't new but what I'm trying to say is to find the time in making the connection - whether it is to share your opinions on your own blog or making rounds on other blogs. That said, I have to confess that I haven't been spending much time on commenting blogs (even on my own!) although I do read them on my Google Reader (on an average about 200+ posts per day), and for this it always makes me feel guilty and wish there are more than 24 hours in a day.
Also, I think joining memes is another way of getting to know book bloggers. A few which I participated are: Mailbox Monday, Teaser Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday, etc. Not only these memes are fun but they also allow me to see things which are out of my boundaries (e.g. Wordless Wednesday, where some bloggers will share pictures of the interesting things they do or the places they live/visit).
I also find Facebook or Twitter is a great platform to connect with other book bloggers as this is easily accessible through our mobile phones and aside from book talks we can also catch up with one another through updates and/or sharing pictures, which we may not post these on our blogs all the time.
What about you? What great tips do you have for finding and keeping community in book blogging?
BBAW Interview Swap is one of the features which I most look forward to but for some reasons I didn't get to hear from my partner. Needless to say, I was disappointed and I was prepared to post one or two of my previous BBAW Interview Swaps for today's post but Julia, a dear friend, offered to be my swap partner just yesterday so here you go.
Melody: What made you decided to start a book blog and what are your opinions of a good book review?
Julia: In my other reading group, we were doing the 50 Books Challenge. We challenge ourselves to see if we can read 50 books before the end of the year. It then became our tradition to do it every year. I had to find a place where I can record all the books I have read for each month and I thought the blog would be great place to start. I also want to remember details for each book I read, otherwise I won't remember what the books are about and that when I started to review books, but I did it for my own personal use only. Then later I decided to review books for bloggers. Most of the books I reviewed are bought from me. I never get them from publishers. My opinions of a good book review is a well thought out written reviews with good writing depth that gives me ideas and lay down of the story without spoilers (sometime spoilers help) and good judgment; or one that can make me sway and see someone’s opinion in another light and perspective.
M: What is your policy when reviewing books? And would you review every book you have read?
J: I really don't have a policy on reviewing books except that I review books that I bought mostly. And I try to write my thoughts in a positive but nicest way as I can. If at anytime I know that there something in a book that have bothered me or made me mad, I will try to explain it in a positive way. Or I just don't review it at all. I don't mind getting books from authors for review but I would like to be able to write my own reviews the way I want to. I don't want to boo boo my words unless I think it is necessarily to. I don’t always review all the books I read but I do review most of them. I'm slow in posting my reviews these days so sometimes a book I read last month (or few months ago) will be reviewed later; and some of my older reviews are in draft stage that I have yet to post it on my blog but I do try my best to post my reviews as fast as I can. *grin*
M: I noticed you read many romantic suspense and contemporary/erotic romance; could you tell us what are your top 5 favourite books of all times?
J: Romantic Suspense is my favorite genres. I read that genre the most, more than I would read contemporary romance/erotic romance now these days. Even though I am more open to read other genes, it always comes down to these three genes which I read more of. If anyone knows me, then they would know it is hard for me to choose a top 5 favorite books of all time from one genre. I have favorites from different genres. So if it is okay, I would give you my top favorite books of all times from different genres. Below are my list but most are first book from the series or the first book I read by that author. There are a lot more, but these are my favorite books of all times: :)
- All the Queen Men by Linda Howard
- Black Ice by Anne Stuart
- Naked in Death by JD Robb
- Sanctuary by Nora Roberts
- Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann
- Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
- Behind Closed Door by Shannon Mckenna
- Kill Me Twice by Roxanne St. Claire
M: Onto a non-bookish issue, what do you most enjoy besides reading?
J: Listening to music and singing/dancing. I know I may not have the talent but I just love to do these things, because it relaxes me. I also enjoy taking pictures and scrapbook them. I have one scrapbook album done of my two darling nieces but there are also plenty of other unfinished albums to do. And if I am not reading I would be watching TV of my favorite shows or movies. I can count how many repeat movies/Asian drama movie I had watched over the years *grin*. And last but not least, I love to go book shopping with a nice drink from Starbucks! Can't live without books in my life *grin*.
M: And finally, just out of fun, would you read a badly written book but is highly entertaining, or a well written book with a boring theme?
J: I think I would rather read a badly written but a highly entertaining book because I read books to be entertained and for pleasure. I want to be invested in entertaining characters and plots to keep me interested in the story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank you, Julia, for these great questions and not to mention being my swap partner at the last minute! I really appreciate them all! Finally, thanks for being a wonderful friend to me!
To read my answers to Julia’s questions, please hop over to Julia's site here. Happy BBAW!
Related post:
BBAW: Community (Day 1)
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
- Grab your current read.
- Let the book fall open to a random page.
- Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
- You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
- Please avoid spoilers!
I do not often come walking, boy, the monster said, only for matters of life and death. I expect to be listened to.
(Pg 45, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness)
Founded by Amy of My Friend Amy in 2008, Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) is a fun event in which where all book bloggers come together to share their reading experiences and getting to know more about one another, both veteran or new bloggers.
I remember my first time participating in BBAW when Amy first started this event; I had a wonderful time getting to know many book bloggers and read about their experiences of the books they read; some readers also shared a gist of their personal life through the blogger interviews (which is part of the BBAW feature scheduled tomorrow). All in all, it was great fun and I am very glad to see that BBAW continues to be an annual event for this book blogging community and that it is getting bigger as each year goes by.
The theme for this year’s BBAW is "Cultivating a Community of Bloggers and Readers" and while there is a diversity of book bloggers out there, I think the common interest among book bloggers is basically to share our passion for books and reading, and to recommend books to many readers as possible.
Today’s topic is about community and while I subscribed to many book blogs and enjoy reading every one of them, what I like most about reading is the writer’s voice and the style he/she writes and through these elements sometimes you may be able to tell the writer’s personality. Thus, as much as I would like to mention a few bookbloggers, I find it difficult to choose among these blogs as I think each blog is unique (yes, the voice!). I know this may sound old but I want to thank fellow book bloggers, as well as this wonderful community, for broadening my reading horizons through all your influential reviews and not to mention your enthusiasm in spreading the book love.
Before I end this post, I want to thank Amy and the rest of the BBAW team for their time and hard work for organising this event. This community flourishes because of you all, so let’s all give ourselves a pat on this occasion!
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This month's Mailbox Monday is hosted by Amused by Books.
Here's what I bought from The Book Depository, which I received last week:
1) Blood on the Moon by Jennifer Knight
2) Sweep, Vol. 2 by Cate Tiernan
What books came into your house last week?
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This month's Mailbox Monday is hosted by Amused by Books.
Here's what I received last week:
1) The Little Bride by Anna Solomon (from the publisher)
2) The Leopard by Jo Nesbo (bought from The Book Depository)
What books came into your house last week?
Well my reading progress may be slow lately, but nothing could stop me from participating in R. I. P. VI Challenge - one of the most popular and most anticipated reading challenge around the blogosphere, hosted by the talented Carl.
This is my third year participating and I am very glad to say that this reading challenge not only allows me to expand my reading horizons but also gives me the opportunity to get to know fellow bookbloggers who are new to me, as well as to see what everyone is reading and to hear their opinions.
As much as I want to read as many books as I can for the challenge, I decided to go with Peril the Third (i.e. to read one book and you may choose from any of these themes: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror or Supernatural. ). I finally decided on reading A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness after picking out a few books and putting them back onto the shelves. It is so hard to choose just one isn't it. So, I have read lots of glowing reviews on this book so I thought this is it!
R.I.P. VI officially runs from September 1st through October 31st but Carl said we can break the rules and start reading our books now!
Are you participating? If not, what are you waiting for? And for those who are participating, I'd love to hear from you the books you are reading for this challenge.
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