Jul 31, 2011

Happy birthday J. K. Rowling!

(I love tumblr. These posts I've reblogged can better express my feelings right now.)
Twenty years ago today, Harry Potter was lying on the floor of an old lighthouse, counting down the minutes to his eleventh birthday, when the magic began. Today, millions of his fans worldwide are eagerly counting down the minutes to midnight, when the magic will begin again. For all of us.
We potterheads will always remember when we crashed Pottermore before it even started.

(In the meantime, we keep waiting for something to happen at pottermore.com...)

Jul 28, 2011

How To Get Published: A Flowchart by Kate Hart


I saw this in Kate Hart's blog, and thought it was hilarious, as well as funny and useful!

Jul 27, 2011

FEVER's cover is out!

And I'm not really in love with it.

I do like the face that they've kept the theme from the first cover. But that one was so much more haunting, don't you agree?

The girl in FEVER's cover looks kinda drunk to me. I don't really like it aesthetically. 

What do you think?

Jul 26, 2011

The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1), by James Dashner

The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1), by James Dashner on Goodreads

Release Date: October 6th, 2009
Age Group: Young Adult
Publisher: Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Overall: 5 Monkeys
Categories: Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi
Challenge: 100 Books in a Year
Other books in the series: The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner, #2), The Death Cure (The Maze Runner, #3)
Read in July 2011

Summary from Goodreads:
Imagine waking up one day in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. And no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids -- the Runners -- venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit from this hellish place. So far, no one has figured it out. And not all of the Runners return from their daily exertions, victims of the maniacal Grievers, part animal, part mechanical killing machines.
Thomas is the newest arrival to the Glade in this Truman-meets-Lord of the Flies tale. A motley crew of half a dozen kids is all he has to guide him in this strange world. As soon as he arrives, unusual things begin to happen, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's unable to make sense of the place, despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. What is this place, anddoes Thomas hold the key to finding a way out?
In The Maze Runner, Dashner has crafted a creative and engaging novel that's both mysterious and thought provoking.
My Opinion:

I'd read a lot about this book, some really good reviews, and it had always been on top of my TBR list. So when I saw it in my local bookstore, I knew I had to buy it. Not that many American books find their way to Latin America, so I was really happy to find this one. 

Cover of my/Latin American edition.
And it did not disappoint! What an awesome first-book-in-a-series! It left me aching for more!

I missed the buzz over this book when it was first published, so I'm not going to make this a long review, as I imagine you may have read a lot of reviews already, but I am going to say this: I saw The Scorch Trials in my bookstore, and I'm getting it when I have money (lol).

I can't remember ever reading a book about a Maze, this one was something fresh. Every chapter ended leaving you more confused and with more questions than before, and I can definitely see why some people compare it to Lost. It has that mysterious air that the TV show had, and that I loved. I can definitely see myself becoming a fan of this trilogy. 

Another thing that suprised me in a wonderful way, was the fact that James wrote a book where teenage (this is a crucial fact) boys are capable of working and living in a very well crafted community. Yes, they got help from the "Makers" (? - I read the book in Spanish, so I don't know the term in English), the people who put them there, but in the end it was up to them to get things done. Eventually, the girl who arrived at the Glade also participates, but the boys are the ones who've built up everything before she got there. 
Why do I like this? Because it shows teenagers can do more than care for trivial matters! Leaving aside the fact that this is a Sci-Fi, these boys worked hard not to let anguish and pain bring them down. So, kudos to Dashner, Thomas and the Gladers!

This book is full of fast-paced action, suspense, mystery and some laughs thrown in there too. I highly recommend this is you still haven't read it!

Jul 25, 2011

Stay, by Deb Caletti

Stay, by Deb Caletti on Goodreads

Release Date: April 5th, 2011.
Age Group: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Overall: 5 Monkeys
Categories: Romance, Drama, Contemporary, Relationships
Challenge: 100 Books in a Year
Read in June 2011

Summary from Goodreads:
Clara's relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it's almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he's willing to do to make her stay.
Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won't let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough...
My Opinion: 
For my first Caletti book, it was awe-some. It had drama, it had love, it had strange relationships... everything you can ask for in a Contemp!

The way Deb created Clara -at first a shy girl, who becomes someone new with Christian around- was incredibly belieable. I could really see her, hurt and broken, trying to find herself again in that little place on the beach, where she and her father go to escape from the city. Every one of her decisions made sense, once you got to "know" her, which helped me understand her throughout the whole book, and made me want to grab her off the pages and keep her safe myself! She was a really grounded person, and I loved watching her grow.

The rest of the characters was brilliant as well. Her father, and his secrets; her best friend and her personality, Christian and his... he was really well written too, crazy as hell, but a great character, plot-wise.

I loved this book so much, I can't wait to read some other Caletti book! 

If you're looking for an intense Contemporary book, then run to the book store and get this one!

Jul 24, 2011

I had a strange dream...

...where (I have no idea where I was) but J. K. Rowling was giving me a book (it was her in person, I saw her), bound like my copy of Deathly Hallows from Bloomsbury, but when I opened it, it had all the 10.000-ish exclusive words she's about to release in Pottermore. And it was brilliant.

And then I woke up. No joke. I did dream it. 

I'm suffering from Post-Potter-Traumatic-Disorder. Help!

Jul 15, 2011

Shatter Me cover revealed!

Yesterday, Hollywood Crush revealed Tahereh Mafi's (I still don't know how to pronounce her name!) debut book's cover! And it is quite stunning! Take a look:

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel. (from Goodreads)
Isn't that an awesome cover! And the summary, so cool. A mix of dystopia and paranormal. Something fresh and interesting, can't wait!

Jul 11, 2011

PANDEMONIUM'S COVER IS OUT!

And WOAH! Isn't it a beautiful cover?
I'm in awe. Love that they've kept the theme of the Special Edition's cover :)

These covers have something that make me want to keep staring at them, they possibly are among the best-looking covers I've ever seen, and I'm not just saying it because I love the books. 

Move on over to Deliriously Falling and share your thoughts, everyone!
xo,
Ella

Jul 3, 2011

Potter Walk in Buenos Aires, July 3rd, 2011

Chp Argentina, a Harry Potter fans/reading club, had a Walk to Plaza de Mayo today, and I missed it. I didn't know, otherwise I would've gone!

Chp Arg's members walked down Buenos Aires's streets dressed in Hogwarts robes, from the four houses, carrying their magic wands. (Photos taken from Yess di Giovanni. Click to enlarge.)

A Death Eater and Yess, a Gryffindor.
Witches and wizards in Plaza de Mayo, Bs. As.
I love that sign. It reads "JK: We are the magic you created"

Yess and Voldemort. His characterisation is wicked cool. Look at his fingernails!

Bill? and Yess. And a Death Eater behind them!
These pics make me sad because I wasn't able to go. But I WILL go next time! In the mean time, I'll keep on crying because I missed this one...

I just realised I haven't shown you guys my new tattoo...

...so here it is:
My right forearm lookin' all cool :P
Excuse the scabbiness of my arm. Here is was only a few days old.

Taken yesterday. My arm is now cured! Click to enlarge.

Story behind it: I'm a Harry Potter fan, always have been, always will be. So of course my first tattoo had to be HP-releated. I love Hermione, she's my favourite female character, so when thinking about what I was going to get, I started googling and this pic came up, and I just fell in love with it:

Love this tat. It must have really hurt!
So, I knew I had to get Hermione's wand tattooed. And then I had the idea to put my brothers in there too; since we all love HP, and I love all three of them (HP's world and my two little brothers) it made perfect sense to me.

I am in love with my forearm. We've been dating for the past two months, and I think I'm ready to make a serious commitment with it, you guys.

This is my first (of many) tattoos. I already know what I'm getting next, and have started saving for it. But I have to wait to get it done, to let the shock of this one wear off of my parents' minds! I'm aiming for a sleeved arm... maybe I'll get there with the years.

xo,
Recently-Tattooed-Ella

Jul 1, 2011

July is NetGalley Month! Are you in?

Emily at Red House Books has come up with a great idea for a feature. July is going to be NetGalley Month, for those of us who love NG.

The deal is to read as many NetGalley books as we can. I'm setting myself a goal of five NG books. If I read more, then great! The more, the better.

This month I'll be reading:
  1. The Near Witch, by Victoria Schwab
  2. Starcrossed, by Josephine Angelini
  3. The Goddess Test, by Amy Carter
  4. Populazzi, by Elise Allen
  5. and Outside In, by Maria V. Snyder.
If you want to participate, you can sign up here. At the end of the month, there'll be a giveaway, where two winners will receive a $15 gift card to The Book Depository.

I hereby declare July to be NetGalley Month in TCM.

xo,
Ella
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