Waiting On Wednesday {6}

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


PODs by Michelle K. Pickett

Paperback, 288 pages

Expected publication: June 4th 2013 by Spencer Hill Press

"Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul. 
After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters. 
Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure." - GoodReads.

You guys! I cannot wait for this book. I've been craving a new dystopia for a little while and this sounds like just the thing. And it comes out 4 days before my birthday...sooo it will definitely be a birthday present to myself.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Top 10 Most Frustrating Characters

                 Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovelies over at The Broke and The Bookish.

I'm sure we all have read them, those characters that just do ridiculous things all the time and you just want to scream at them "WHY?!?"

If you ever found yourself making any of these faces,

     

while reading then you have come in contact with a frustrating character.

Here are some of the ones that I could think of that were frustrating for me.

1) Bella Swan.

Does this really need an explanation? Fine, I'll elaborate a bit.

She is whiny and she lets her existence depend on a 100 yr old guy that sparkles.

I don't think I need to say more.

2) Edward Cullen

After living for over a century, he falls in love with a weak girl that makes suicidal-esque attempts just to "see" him when he leaves her after she gets a paper cut.

And he's kind of a stalker.

And out of all the cars he could drive, he picks a Volvo...what kind of rich vampire drives a Volvo?

(though, as frustrating as the Twilight series is...it is still my guilty pleasure)

3) Franny Cavanaugh

I got her attraction to the badboy in the first book. But it got incredibly annoying in the second. Especially when Luc would piss her off and she'd go running to Gabe. I just wanted to slap Franny through most of the second book and take Gabe away for myself...

4) Lola Nolan

I did quite enjoy this book. But Lola bothered me most the time. From how cold she was towards her birth mother, to not just dumping her POS boyfriend, to not talking to Cricket about what he did that bothered her.

And letting her dads think what happened that one morning was all Cricket's fault. She didn't stand up for him and tell them it was her too.

Lola just did many things that really irked me.

5) Jeremiah Fisher

I could deal with Jeremiah through the first book. But by the time I got to the 3rd he was just out right rubbing me the wrong way. The things he did to Belly in the 3rd book upset me and made me irritated beyond belief. 
(I've never decided on who I picture as Jeremiah. Though I do have my idea of who would make the perfect Conrad)

6) Peter Townsend

This is a different kind of frustration, you guys. I love Peter. He was one of my first book boyfriends and I always pictured him as Emile Hirsch. But the guy drove me crazy. Some of the reasons he had for the things he did just....boggled my mind. Still, I love this series. And I will always love Peter, no matter how infuriating and really indecisive he can be.

7) Scarlet O'Hara

TF, Scarlet?....TF?! Ashley? I mean really?! Over RHETT BUTLER?!?!

GAHHH!

So that's really all I could think of. I am sure there are many more but I tend to try and forget about frustrating characters or I just don't pay them much mind.

But I would love love love to know who you find to be frustrating characters so make sure you leave a link to your post! Or let me know in the comments!

200 Years of Pride & Prejudice

On January 28th 1813 a little book called Pride & Prejudice was first published. 200 years ago.

Think about that for a minute. Whether you love Jane Austen or not, that is quite amazing. Books published in that time were really only taken seriously if they were published by men so Jane Austen's name wasn't put on any of her works until after she died in 1817. She never got to see how beloved her works became.

Now, 200 years later, there have been tv shows, movies, P&P inspired weddings, re-enactments, re-tellings, and continuations of her stories. 

After all this time people are still discovering the stories that Jane Austen wrote, still admiring Lizzie Bennet's wit and charm, and they are still falling in love with Mr. Darcy.

I myself just found my love for this story a couple years ago when I watched the movie for the first time (2005 edition. I adore this version). Back in highschool I always meant to read the book, but I don't think I would have appreciated it quite as much as I do now so I'm glad that I waited until last year to read the book.

So in honor of the 200 year anniversary of this story that I love so much, I have made a list of some of my favorite Pride & Prejudice items.

If you want to wear your love for this book:

outofprintclothing.com*

Etsy.com*

Sip out of it:

Etsy.com*

Etsy.com*

Talk to it:

Etsy.com*

Hang it up:

                                     Etsy.com*

Etsy.com*

Etsy.com*

There you have it. Some of my favorite Pride & Prejudice pieces. 

So tell me fellow Jane Austen lovers, when did you first fall for her stories of romance?

*I have no affiliation with these websites. I have not gotten anything for posting their products on my blog.

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

"Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind."- GoodReads.

Hardcover, First Edition, 318 pages

Published January 10th 2012 by Dutton Books
Source: Bought

Even after reading this book twice in a 6 month time period I'm not really sure how to review it.
The Fault in our Stars was my first John Green book and I was not expecting it to have the emotional impact on me that it did. 
The day it came out I made my way to the bookstore to purchase it and started reading it about an hour later while sitting and waiting for my mom to get her hair done. For about 30 minutes I sat there are read but realized it would be a terrible idea to keep going so I put the book away for later when I was home and alone in my room. After a long day of errands I was just too tired to continue reading that night. So I finished it the next night. I laid in my bed for hours pouring over the words John Green had written. I loved his descriptions, I loved his wit, I loved his sarcasm. Most of all though, I loved the way he broke my heart. And let me tell you, he broke it good. Ripped it out, lit it on fire, then stopped on the ashes really. I probably laid there crying for a couple hours after I finished the last page. I cried for Hazel, for Gus, for their families, I even cried for Peter Van Houten. 

Do not let that deter you from reading this book. At this point, if you have not yet read it, you know someone that has or you have read other reviews for it and I'm sure most of them include the line "I cried a lot" or something to that extent. It really is a good kind of cry. The characters are just so wonderful and you will more than likely become incredibly attached to them in some way. Hazel Grace and Gus have great personalities and were constantly cracking me up.
But it is a book where one of the themes is the pain of living with cancer and knowing someone who has cancer. Your heart will break at some point. It is so so worth it.

So grab yourself a pint (or two) of Ben & Jerry's, a new box of tissues, and a nice cup of hot tea. Cuddle up on your couch and take this book in. Really read and relish it. Make sure you are home alone though unless you don't care if someone sees you shedding a tear or two.

The book that I wasn't too sure about at first quickly became one of my favorite books. I pushed it on everyone last year. So now I am pushing it on you.
Go read it! NOW!
And lucky you, the Barnes and Noble Special Edition was just recently released and it is so pretty (and cheap!).
So get to it!

Bout of Books Read-a-thon 6.0-Kindle Clean-up Edition

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 6.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. -From the Bout of Books 6.0 team

This will be my main update post which I will update every day.

Earlier I was going through my Kindle and looking at my bookshelves trying to decide which books to put on my read-a-thon list. There were so many books I forgot that I had on my Kindle...ones that have been on there for years....review books that I was so excited to get an eGalley for and still have not touched. So I decided to make this a Kindle Only Read-a-thon. 

I'm not planning on reading all the books on this list. I've set my sights at 7-10 books this week. I chose a few extra so I could have a variety to pick from.

(I only work 2 days this week so I figured I should aim high since I don't have much planned between now and next Sunday).

Those are all my maybes. A lot of books I have for review, some YA some adult. I tried to pick a good mix of different genres and page counts to keep things interesting. So we'll see how this goes.

Along with reading a bunch I want to make my way around to other read-a-thoners blogs and meet some new friends. It's been a while since I went on a commenting spree, so this seems like a good time to change that.

Monday
Pages read today: 50%
Total number of pages read: 50% of The Darkest Minds
Total number of books I've read: 0
Books: Working on The Darkest Minds.
I maybe should have picked a shorter first book...this is a big one.

Tuesday
Pages read today: 25%
Total number of pages read: 75%
Total number of books I've read: 0
Books: Still working on The Darkest Minds.
You guys, next readathon, remind me to not pick a book that is almost 500 pages long. This was a bit of a ridiculous decision.

Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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Sunday
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Let's do this!