Recommendations?

Okay, I've been doing this blog for a while now (well you know here and there with intervals when I don't have time), and I'm wondering what books you guys want from the blog. I want to make it better for everyone to read and experience.

So, this includes what books you want me to review, when you want me to post, if there are any weekly memes you want me to include, layouts, anything and everything.

I know I haven't been very good at posting lately, and I do want some feedback of what you want because I want to get back into reviewing and blogging. So if you want to help, please let me know what you want from the blog :)

Furnace: Lockdown

Author: Alexander Gordon Smith

Publishing Company: Faber and Faber (Kindle Edition)

Blurb: (taken from goodreads)

Furnace Penitentiary: the world’s most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth’s surface. Convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, sentenced to life without parole, “new fish” Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars, in the darkness at the bottom of the world. Except in Furnace, death is the least of his worries.

Soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night, where giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows, where deformed beasts can be heard howling from the blood-drenched tunnels below. And behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a man as cruel and dangerous as the devil himself, whose unthinkable acts have consequences that stretch far beyond the walls of the prison.

Together with a bunch of inmates—some innocent kids who have been framed, others cold-blooded killers—Alex plans an escape. But as he starts to uncover the truth about Furnace’s deeper, darker purpose, Alex’s actions grow ever more dangerous, and he must risk everything to expose this nightmare that’s hidden from the eyes of the world.

The review:

Okay, I am finally back, I’m sorry that I disappeared, but I have a few reviews coming up. So here is my review of Furnace: Lockdown. I’ve wanted to read this book for a couple of months now, ever since a Goodreads book club put it up for a vote for Halloween read. I finally started reading it after Christmas, and just finished it now. Didn’t get far in the first month (I’ve really been in a reading rut lately!), but I swept through it today like crazy.

First thing about this book, it is very much like the Maze Runner, I saw a lot of parallels in these stories. Not a bad thing. Second thing I want to say about it, I honestly think this book does it better. It is definitely more of a boys read, mainly boy characters, bar the mention of one or two girls, so it’s very much centred around all these boyish problems. Yeah, I don’t know how to word that.

The book starts off introducing Alex Sawyer as this ‘I’m not an innocent kid, I’ve done my own bad things’ which is different because it’s nice to see characters being instantly thrown out as not perfect, and you can see that even though he’s the main character of the book, he isn’t a perfect little angel either. Alex gets framed for a murder he didn’t commit after he did something pretty bad to begin with. I have to admit before Alex got put into Furnace Penitentiary, I wasn’t that interested, in fact it was the main reason I didn’t pick up the book for so long.

When you get into the depths of the prison though, that’s when the fun begins. We meet interesting characters, find out that many of the “new fish” have been framed too, and we find an escape plan. Lots of fights, and horror, and things that go bump in the night too. Wheezers and Black Suits and Hell Hounds. It’s very Darren Shan meets James Dashner in a prison with unknown monsters.

I don’t want to give much away though. I mean, the book is packed with things that you have to explore yourself, if you want a new and interesting book, I’d definitely say pick this one up though.

Donovan was definitely my favourite character. You can tell that though he has done bad in his past, he’s definitely not a bad guy. You find out how long he was in there, what he did to get in there, and I really felt myself sympathising to him over all of the other characters. He’s definitely an interesting character and I cannot wait to find out what happens to him in the next book (which I’m going to have to pick up because of the horrible horrible horrible cliffhanger ending, it wasn’t nice!).

I’m keeping this review short, because I don’t know exactly what to say about this book, I enjoyed it, and yet at the same time I didn’t feel like it was one of the best books I’ve read. It was a bit of a let down because it does sound like a really good book, but it wasn’t the best one I’ve read. But I recommend it for people who are fans of Darren Shan or James Dashner.

My rating:

Setting: 3.5 out of 5

Characters: 4 out of 5

Plot: 4 out of 5

Writing: 3 out of 5

If you read the book, I hope you enjoy it, and I’ll talk to you guys later! Bye x

More posts after 25th

Yeah I keep trying to write blog posts, but I've been doing a lot of homework/studying. I have an exam on the 25th and then I have a week free of lessons/studying/homework so I will do a lot of posts then and just upload them in the coming weeks.

If you have any requests or reviews you'd like to see, any recommendations for books or what I could do with the blog or anything please let me know below!

Books I'm reading - January 2012

 Goodreads / Amazon

This is the second book in the Tale of Lunarmorte. The first one was fantastic, and I wanted to read this one as soon as I'd finished it. I'm just over half way through this and it's pretty good so far. I definitely recommend them if you haven't checked them out!

 Goodreads / Amazon

I tried to read this a couple months ago and I couldn't get through it, I watched the new movie and it was awesome, so I'm trying to read it again. The film was amazing, I'm hoping the book is as good.

 Goodreads / Amazon

I can't wait for this book and I'm keeping it until after my exam at Uni so I have something to look forward to after exam prep.

These are the three main books I want to read, however I don't know if I'll definitely get to all of them this month, I have lots of work to do. But yeah, I'm hoping to get through these and more.

2011 Favourites

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

This was a book I wasn't going to pick up, but the woman in my bookshop just handed me it and said 'that looks good' and I decided to pick it up. Very glad I did, the story was amazing, the characters were phenomenal, and it was so fast paced from the first line.

 Feed by Mira Grant

I have never really been a lover of zombie books, but seriously this one blew me away. The characters and the writing were amazing, and the way you see blogging and how media has changed and how it could change if there was a zombie apocalypse. This one I picked up because it sounded pretty interesting, but I wasn't expecting much from it. It was amazing, and I recommend anyone to pick it up and read it.

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

I don't have a clue why I took so long picking these up, but I'm so glad I did. The world is so well thought out, the characters have such a great mix of humour and seriousness. The plot keeps you desperate for more, and just then ending is amazing. I haven't picked up City of Fallen Angels yet, but I plan to soon.

 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

This book is amazing because of how different it is. The blending of the story with pictures, the way you book showed you all of this amazing story as well as these interesting characters and this wonderfully different way of how it was put together. It was just a stunning read.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter

This book was fun and just a nice fun read. The characters were funny and interesting, the book is amazing and interesting, it was just a nice fun read. It wasn't like a life altering book (though I must admit for a few days I was pretending to be a spy...come on...you can't say you haven't before!)

 Hereafter by Tara Hudson

This was just...I dunno. I just loved reading it, and I loved the writing, it just read so beautifully. The story was still simple enough that it was easy to read, but it had enough mystery and fun that made me love reading it.

 Virals by Kathy Reichs

This book was just such a different book, it was something I wasn't expecting. I've tried to read Kathy Reichs books before and failed because of the science jargon and stuff. This was definitely a way to ease your way into her writing. The book was interesting and fun, there was enough mystery and suspense to keep you reading. Just a good book.

These aren't all of my favourite books from last year, but they are the main ones that stand out. I'm gonna do a post soon on the books I'm looking forward to for 2012, and yeah, I'll talk to you guys later.

In My Mailbox (5)- October, November & December

I didn't post any of these in the months they should have been posted, so here is a massive haul. I don't blame you if you don't want to watch the 22 minute video so the list of the books are below.

• Palace of the Damned by Darren Shan
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Diepen
• City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
• Blood Trail by Tanya Huff
• Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead
• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
• The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan
• The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan
• By Midnight by Mia James
• Darkness Falls by Mia James
• Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephenie Perkins
• Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow
• Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
• Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
• Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
• A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin
• The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories by Tim Burton
• My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
• Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
• Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
• Blood & Ice by Robert Masello
• One Day by David Nicholls
• The Rapture by Liz Jensen
• Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon
• World War Z by Max Brooks
• Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon
• The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
• Steampunk Anthology
• Across the Universe by Beth Revis
• Flying Blind by Deborah Cooke
• Rosebush by Michelle Jaffe
• Dark Angel by Eden Maguire
• Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
• Gone by Michael Grant
• Angel by L.A. Weatherly
• Magyk by Angie Sage
• Perfect Chemistry by Simone Ekleles
• The Missing by Lisa McMann
• Runelight by Joanne Harris
• Two Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt
• Consequences by Michelle Birbeck
• Seizure by Kathy Reichs

Non book things- Kindle
The Elder Wand

If you want a review of any of the books above please let me know!

Kindle vs Real Books

Okay, so a couple months ago I was definitely pro books down with kindles/e-readers etc. I mean, there's so many things you can have with a book that you can't with an e-reader, the smell, the little scratches & cracks in the spine, everything about it is a way of enjoying and reading a book that's an experience.

However, for Christmas I couldn't think of anything I wanted, so I got myself a Kindle. And I've read a few books on it (reviews to come, I'm gonna get into the swing of reviews after my homework craziness is done) and I can't say that I find it as bad as I did.

Okay, so we don't have the book smell. The book smell isn't in it, but there's something amazing about having over 100 books in my bag that I wouldn't be able to have if I had them in book form. There's something amazing with being able to instantly share with the world via twitter or facebook that you've finished a book. There's something that is new and different about reading from a Kindle that I enjoy, but I don't know what it is.

And this is not saying that I'm all 'go Kindle down with books' because I'm not. I don't think I'll ever be. I've promised that any books I own that are in a series I'm going to buy the rest of the books in book form. Same goes with my favourite authors, same goes with books I just want to pick up. I don't think I'd ever be able to replace a physical paper book, but I think it'll be easier to get to books I wouldn't usually buy through a Kindle. Like right now I'm reading the Sherlock Holmes books which I wouldn't have if I couldn't have them on my Kindle, because I wouldn't carry around a massive book filled with the complete works, and I don't think I'd be willing to buy each one separately.

I know this is a bit of a weird post, but to be honest, I just wanted to write it to have something on the blog early in the year to say yes I am coming back, I promise, just not sure when the reviews will start. I have exams and stuff to worry about first!

So tell me what you think on the Kindle vs Books things, you pro Kindle? Pro books? All of the above? I'd love to hear.