Hello Percy and Artemis

Today my family and I found ourselves at Bonifacio High Street to have lunch with my family. It’s my treat because I just got paid, but since we’re all following certain diets, we didn’t have to eat in an expensive place.

But that’s not the point. Going to Bonifacio High Street meant I could drop by the huge Fully Booked there and look for the books that I couldn’t find in Fully Booked in Eastwood. I swear, being in that branch of Fully Booked makes me giddy all over. I mean, five floors of books (including the basement) and other things? Heaven. Plus I’m sure to find the books I’ve been looking for there.

I was supposed to accompany my mom to the comfort room first before roaming around but I got distracted by the books at the Young Adult section on the second floor — and there I go. Sorry Mom.

Anyway, I went home with these two books:

Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl

Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl

Hello, young adult fantasy!

Ever since I saw the movie trailer of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief when I watched Avatar before Christmas, and after I’ve read Myk‘s review of the Percy Jackson series in his 2009 year-ender post about books, I was super curious about this book. Of course, as luck would have it, I could not find a copy of the first book anywhere near me. All I could see were copies of books 2-5, and book 5 is in hardcover, too. I was sort of glad that I finally found a copy of the first book in High Street. Sort of only, because I’m not too keen on movie covers. I want the old cover…but this would have to do for now. I could always find one next time…when I have extra budget. Or ask for a boxed set for my birthday.

Ooh, and I don’t know if there’s anything special about this, but there’s a free card inside the movie cover version of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. I got Nico — whoever he is:

Nico

I don't know who you are Nico, but you'll be a bookmark for now.

I was planning to buy Books 1 and 2 of the series, but when I went down to the first floor, I saw a bunch of other YA books there and looked at them first. I found the Artemis Fowl series there, and while I have never read any of them, I know Paolo recommended it to me for my 2010 Fantasy Reading Goal. Of course, for every series, I just have to get the first book. Lo and behold, there was only one copy of the first book of the Artemis Fowl series there — I just had to pick it up. :)

I went home with not much damage on the wallet — any book that costs less than Php 300 for me is kind of cheap for me already, especially if I bought it in a bookstore. Plus I have a 5% discount for using my HSBC card, so it wasn’t that bad.

There was another book that I really wanted to buy earlier: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (thanks to Adele again for her review on this). The title is kind of morbid, don’t you think? But come on: it’s young adult fantasy…with zombies! Who wouldn’t want that? ;) Anyway, I wanted to buy it, but the paperback version is not available here yet — strange because it’s already out in the US. I could buy the hardcover one, but if I would, I’d rather buy it in Eastwood after two weeks, at 20% off too. But…let’s see. I can wait…it’s not like I’m going to read it immediately anyway.

That reminds me: Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl would still have to wait because of Persuasion. Not that I mind — I am loving Persuasion now, probably even more than when I read Pride and Prejudice! :)

Meridian (Amber Kizer)

Meridian by Amber KizerHalf-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.

Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain.

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.

My teammates and I saw this book while browsing around Fully Booked and the concept of the book got me hooked immediately. After vampires comes angels and I think angels are more interesting than vamps, right? (Feel free to disagree haha)

So when I finally got a copy of this book, I was excited to read it. The first few pages were really interesting, as Meridian tried to explain the deaths around her and why she was always alone. It was a very captivating start for a novel, good enough to get me hooked and try to find out what was up with Meridian.

But that was it. It was a good start, but as the story went on, it wasn’t that good anymore. I felt like I wasn’t really into the story, like I was watching it from the sidelines. I liked the idea of the Fenestras and the Alternocti and the Sangre, but there wasn’t enough explanation on the background of things. I just know that the Fenestras are good and the Alternocti are bad and that was it. There were some references to religion and a possible background or mythology of why they were that way, but it still lacked.

I liked Meridian as a character, but I wished there was more depth shown to her. Tens as a protector is a good character too, but his background wasn’t explored either. He was called a prophet, but there wasn’t much of him being a prophet in the story except for his dreams. And the romance between Meridian and Tens? Sorry, didn’t work for me.

I still liked the concept of the story, though, and I hope it gets explored more if there is a companion novel coming out.

Rating: [rating=2]
→ Somewhat disappointing. Could have had a lot of good concepts to explore, but it failed to live up to expectations. I won’t stop you from picking this up, but I’m not recommending it, either.

2010 Challenge Status:
* Book # 2 out of 100 for 2010
* Book # 2 out of 20 fantasy books in 2010

→ Get Meridian by Amber Kizer from Amazon.com
→ Amber Kizer’s website

Book happy Friday

Just a short post for today since I’m kind of feeling under the weather and I’m planning to continue reading Persuasion before I hit the sack later. Today is Friday, which meant…

SQUEE!

Shades of Grey ♥

Yes friends, that is Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde sitting on my book shelf, all covered in plastic and ready to read. :) Yes, it no longer haunts me, haha. Picked it up earlier today at Fully Booked in Eastwood, and it was on sale too! From Php 699 to Php 559.20! Still more expensive than the other books, but it’s one of my favorite authors, so it’s worth it. :)

Oh, and Fully Booked Eastwood is on sale until Sunday — 20% off on all regular titles. :) Looks like someone won’t be splurging on Mytouch 4g accessories yet.

And to those who are curious, the books above Shades of Grey are my to-be-read copies of Graceling by Kristin Cashore and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami.

Okay, time to go back to Persuasion. The sooner I finish this Austen, the sooner I can get cracking with these books. Have a great weekend everyone!

BTT: Inside Flaps

Oh cool, I can do Booking Through Thursday on my book blog now! Yay! :)

This week’s question is:

Suggested by Prairie Progressive:

Do you read the inside flaps that describe a book before or while reading it?

Before. I admit that sometimes I buy a book because of its cover, but that’s only for some books, especially for my favorite authors. For books that I’m not entirely sure of, I read the back blurb or the inside flap.

Which brings me to an annoying observation: I hate it when the only thing at the back of the book is the picture of the author or all the praise the book got and nothing about the story. Especially when the book is still covered in plastic wrap and I can’t open it to read the inside flap. Hmph. Come on, leave something about the story at the back of your book, please. :|

So you? Inside flap or not?

Fire

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire by Kristin Cashore
Graceling Realm # 2
Publisher: Gollancz

Number of pages:  352
My copy: UK edition paperback, bought from Fully Booked

Fire is more than attractive.
Fire is mesmerising.

Fire’s exceptional beauty gives her influence and power. People who are susceptible to it will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. If she wished, they would abuse their power, crush nations and even destory their own kingdoms to please her.

But beauty is only skin deep, and beneath it Fire has a human appreciation of right and wrong. Aware of her ability to influence others, and afraid of it, she lives in a corner of the world away from people – not only to protect them, but also to protect herself from their attention, their distrust and even their hatred.

Yet Fire is not the only danger to the Dells. If she wants to protect her home, if she wants a chance to undo the wrongs of her past, she must face her fears, her abilities and a royal court full of powerful people with reason to distrust her.

Beauty is a weapon — and Fire is going to use it.

* * *

I often rely on blog reviews whenever I’m getting a new book from an author that I don’t know. Okay, usually, I rely on covers (shallow, I know), but that only works whenever the book is  anything in the realistic genre.

So one day, I was browsing through one of the new favorite YA book blog sites I started reading lately, Persnickety Snark, and saw her review for Fire by Kristin Cashore. Back then, I was looking for fantasy books to read to start my fantasy reading resolution, and I added Fire and Graceling (the companion book) to my mental list. That same afternoon, my friends and I found the latter book, but my friend bought it, so I told myself I’d buy it when 2010 comes in.

A few days before Christmas, I was feeling a bit restless and felt the need to buy a new book, regardless of how many other books I still have lying unread at home (we have that day, right? :P). I wanted to get Graceling, too, but instead found Fire, and went home with it despite my complaining wallet. :)

To put it simply, Fire was one of those books that I’m glad I bought on an impulse. It was one of those books that I couldn’t put down but I don’t want to rush reading simply because I didn’t want to leave the Dells too soon. I started reading this after Christmas and finished up until after New Year, which is already long for a book that I really loved.

So what did I really love about this book? Let’s see:

  1. Characters. I’m a sucker for strong characters. I love it when the characters in a book all leave imprints in me, and that their voice are so distinct that I could tell who was speaking even without the identifiers in the text. Fire, as a protagonist, is a well-developed character, with her physical beauty that could make her own anything she wants and her compassion for the people around her that makes her not like a monster. Even her guard Musa was a real person to me, and she was just a minor character (who probably wears muck boots from time to time). Every character in this book is crafted so carefully and splendidly that I felt that I was inside the story, like I was one of the people who actually got to know Fire as a person and not a monster.
  2. Plot. Fire isn’t the type of book that will make you keep on turning the pages. True, the story is captivating, but the story flows steadily, no actual highs or lows or quick action/battle parts that other novels have. It’s not that there’s no climax in this book — not like some other book I know hmph — it had one, but it didn’t consist of pages and pages of descriptions about the climax. The story flowed steadily. Every part of the novel was significant, and after a while, you’ll see the connection with all the little things mentioned in the previous pages. I don’t know about others, but I liked that. Why put a part in the story if it doesn’t have any significance, right?
  3. Concept. I mean, human monsters who can make you do anything? Monsters that will eat monsters and if they don’t get that, they can make other creatures with brains go out and convince them to be eaten? How can people come up of these kinds of stories?!

So I’m glad I went on an impulse and bought Fire. It’s the companion book for Graceling, which means I kind of know some of the characters in Graceling already because of that, but it’s okay, I think. :D This is definitely one of the best books I’ve read in 2010.

Rating: [rating=5]