Alice I Have Been (~)

I have finished a book! Finally! I didn't think I was that busy with school, but apparently I have been...Either way I've finished Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin. It was an alright book, but I don't think I would re-read it, or recommend it. It certainly wasn't boring, but it wasn't exactly thrilling either. It was well written, but I guess it just wasn't my style.

The novel is about the true life of the star of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and how Alice become a muse. It was kind of creepy because the author fell in love with an eleven-year old girl, and he was 31. Her parents found out and from there on out, she could never find love again and she led a loveless life.

Sorry for the horrible post but I am so tired, I can't think straight. Until next time, Happy Reading.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan (~)

Same kind of concept as the first book in the series. Rebecca paid off all her debts from the last book, and yet is able to dig herself into a deeper hole with more debt, and so needs to find a way to get herself out after her world comes crashing down around her. Thankfully this read was easy, and I had a lot of free-time so I could get through it quickly.

I might read some more of the series, or I might not, I haven't decided yet. Maybe I will just try to get through the whole series in one go, and then I can move onwards to another series or another novel. I don't know what I will do though. The character of Rebecca Bloomwood really irritates me. I don't understand how someone can be THAT irresponsible with her credit cards and  money! Not to mention how she consistently lies in order to make others happy, or to please others.  She reminds me of these stupid girls who have always gotten everything in their life, and have never had to own up to their own mistakes. I am glad to see the change in the character after she's humbled by confronting her debt. But who knows if that will last. We'll see I suppose.

Anyway, I'm going back to PH tomorrow, so we'll see when my next post will be. Until then, Happy Reading!

Confessions of a Shopaholic (~)

I've finished a book on my new eReader! A. gave it to me for Christmas. I wasn't expecting it at all! Considering I had already ordered one from Future Shop online, it was quite unexpected! Anyway, enough about that. I finished Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic. It's quite an easy read, and can be defined as 'chick lit'. It's brainless reading which is nice.

This book is about a woman who has problems with debt. She consistently over spends, and refuses to take responsibility for her actions. She's quite frustrating actually, and I don't know how many times, I just wanted to smack her in the face or shake her to make her see reason. I can also see where she is coming from. I think I have a bit of a spending problem (not quite as bad as her, thankfully), and owning up to that problem is the first step. Thankfully, I do pay my bills on time, and have no issues with that, but I do make secret purchases, and I hate telling others about them.  It's something I've been working on, and will probably continue to work on, even when I get my own job.

This book is relatable, but also quite frustrating for those of us who are actually responsible. Thankfully at the end, she does smarten up, but she's still kind of stupid. Who could really be that materialistic?  But I suppose that's the draw of novels. The unrealistic characters are typically the ones you like the most, mostly because they take you away from reality.

Anyway, I will probably read the whole series, so you'll see quite the line of these novels. I don't know how long it will take me however, so until next time, Happy Reading!

EReader

So, I am getting an eReader. I still have a lot of paperbacks to read, but I'm thinking that the eReader will be good for when I am travelling, so I won't have to carry as many books around (they can be pretty heavy). I am hoping that it's all it's cracked up to be, and that I didn't waste money (as well as my parent's money). Time will tell.

I don't know why I got the eReader though. I have an iPod Touch which can do the exact same thing as an eReader, only on a smaller screen. I should've been happy with that, but NOOO being me, I always want more.

Either way, I will let you know how it goes.

The Virgin's Lover (~)

I've finished another book. Not a Harry Potter book (I doubt Harry Potter would've taken me this long to finish). It's The Virgin's Lover by Phillipa Gregory. I bought this book when I was going on my trip to Europe (so waaaay back in 2006) and I only now decided to continue reading it. It's alright. I don't think I'd re-read it, but I am going to keep it only because it's by one of my favourite authors and I want to get a collection of her novels. I enjoyed learning more about Elizabethan times, seeing as most of Gregory's novels focus on the Tudors. It just seemed to long and tedious. Queen Elizabeth I was a real pain in the ass, very wishy-washy never sticking with a firm decision, and very dependent on others to make her decisions for her. I don't know if it's because of everyone's expectations of her as a ruler at the time (women were thought to be crappy rulers), or if she actually really was like that.

This book is about the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign, and her finding a proper suitor and dealing with impending war with the French. She falls in love with Sir Robert Dudley who is a reformed traitor and a childhood friend. Dudley is married however, and so Dudley tries to convince Elizabeth to grant a divorce (she was the supreme governor of the church of England). She doesn't. Elizabeth's advisor William Cecil believes that Dudley is rising well above his ranks and that England will revolt against the queen if she does marry Dudley and so Cecil and Elizabeth plot the murder of Dudley's wife as a way of slandering Dudley so that he falls below his ranks and is able to never rise above them again due to the scandal.

I learned a lot more about the scandal surrounding Queen Elizabeth (surprise surprise, another royal with scandal). While reading this book however, I'm curious to know whether Elizabeth was actually in love with Dudley, and whether Dudley was in love with Elizabeth, or whether he just wanted to gain access to the throne regardless of Elizabeth. I am also curious as to what the country would've been like if Dudley and Elizabeth had married. Would England be the same as it is today, or would it have been different?

Funny how history plays out...

Anyway, I don't know what I will be reading next, but until next time, Happy Reading!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (~)

I finally finished Harry Potter! Only the first one of course: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I don't need to put the author mostly because EVERYONE should know the author's name without me saying it...I realized from this book how simple the first few novels were and how simple the storyline was. It's not until I'll get to the other novels that they will become more complex. Not harder to follow of course, but just more complex.

This book is about a boy named Harry Potter who finds out that he is actually a wizard, and is packed up and moved to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He then has a few mini-adventures, until he has to battle a teacher in order to gain control of the Philosopher's stone in order stop Voldemort (the man who tried to kill him and who killed his parents when he was only 1) from growing stronger again.

Sorry for giving away the whole plot, but honestly, who hasn't read Harry Potter?! Or seen the movies?!

Alright onward to the next one! Until next time, Happy reading!

The Lovely Bones (↑)

I've finally finished another novel. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I read this book in high school for a book club and I remember enjoying it, and I asked for it for Christmas a couple years ago (or perhaps it was last year...I can't remember) and while I was home a few weeks ago on a break, I decided to pick it up and re-read it. I saw the movie over the summer, and that was pretty fresh in my mind...However, the book definitely differs especially in the time-line. I won't get into it, because I don't really want to ruin either the book or the movie for you.

For those of you who have been living under a rock: this book is about a 14-year-old girl who was murdered by her neighbour and she watches down from her heaven. She follows her family as well as a few friends over the course of many years, hoping that her family and the police will solve her murder so that her family can have peace of mind.  It follows the changes that occur in her family's life and how her death helped shape the lives of others in her community, and although she believed that she was insignificant, this is untrue because she changed the lives of others (even in small ways.)

I enjoyed reading this novel and would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick read. I must advise you though that it's definitely not like the movie, and you should've read the book first and then watched the movie. But what can you do!

Onward to re-reading Harry Potter! Hopefully I'll write another entry soon! Until then, Happy Reading!