Required Reading: December

I didn’t do a Required Reading post/challenge last November on purpose because I was too busy with NaNoWriMo to really stress over what I wanted to read for November. I guess I wasn’t able to explain that — so apologies to those who were looking for one!

Anyway, so let’s so a little recap for October first before anything else, yes?

  • Breathe by Cliff McNish – I finished this early, actually, although I wasn’t able to review it until late. Anyway, I liked it, and I admit to being a bit scared with this for a while. It was an interesting experience with a McNish book. I’m not sure if I will read more, but I’m open to it.
  • The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey – Oh this book. This totally gave me the creeps while I was reading it (but that may be because I was reading this while I was in a rural area), but this is probably one of the best books I read this year. I loved it so much that I ended up reading its sequel soon after and I loved it even more. :)

There’s a certain thrill with scaring myself in a month, but I don’t think I’m up to doing it every month. :D Still, it was kind of fun.

Now onto December!

Required Reading - December

So since December means it’s the end of the year, I thought I’d use this month to catch up on my challenges. I just checked the status of my challenges and I seem to be failing miserably on some of them. So now, even in the midst of all the busyness of the holiday season, I’m going to try and catch up. So now I declare the last Required Reading for the year 2011 as Challenge Accepted. :D

I have been wanting to use a meme image for a long time now. :D

(This technically breaks the rule for this challenge because I’m supposed to not include books that are not included in other challenges…but like I said, I can bend the rules a little. So there :P)

  • Angelica’s Daughters by Various Authors – for my Filipino books reading challenge
  • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett – for my classics challenge
  • Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster – for my classics challenge
  • Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler – for my TwentyEleven challenge
  • A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner – another for my Twenty Eleven Challenge

I should also probably finish Come Be My Light by Brian Kolodiejchuk and Mother Teresa, because it’s been on my currently reading list since this March.

Should be fun! I hope I can actually live up to the challenge! December’s upon us, ahoy! Time for some best-of lists soon, yes? :)

In My Mailbox (18): MIBF (or, okay, not really)

It’s been a very bookish week since I arrived from Europe, and I am definitely not complaining. This week was special for Filipino readers because The First Filipino Reader Conference happened last Wednesday, and it was also the 32nd Manila International Book Fair (it’s still happening at SMX now, so if you haven’t been there, you still have time!). If you missed the ReaderCon, you can read what happened at the @PinoyReaderCon twitter (tweeted by yours truly :) ).

However, despite my two-day attendance at the Book Fair (the most I’ve did since I started attending), I did not get any book from the fair itself! I was supposed to, but I was terribly late yesterday and I was just too tired to look for a book (or beads for jewelry making), and most of what I wanted was gone. So this week’s (and last week, actually) stash includes some books I got from Book Depository, a book I borrowed and a book I bought during but outside the Book Fair. :P

The loot

Oh, and a lot of bookmarks, too, from the ReaderCon.

Anyway, the books:

The books

  1. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin – yes, I’m jumping into the bandwagon. I got this from National Bookstore in Mall of Asia. I wanted to get the boxed set, but I ran out of them in the Book Fair. I was supposed to get all four books, but man, they’re thick. So I decided to get just the first book for now and I’ll decide later on if I want the others. Again: man, this book is thick. 835 pages!
  2. Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood – borrowed from Chachic! And her personal Aussie library book tour continues. :)
  3. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner – yay paperback! And thanks, Book Depository. :) I had this pre-ordered a few weeks back.
  4. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta – pre-ordered this from Book Depository a few months back, too. :) Thanks to Nomes for the heads up of the paperback edition. Plus, I heard its sequel is coming out soon, so I should bump this up my TBR. :)

Oh, and I also got my blog business cards, which I had printed in a rush just for the ReaderCon. Features Steve Emond‘s drawing, and designed by my lovely friend Jana from Jana Styles. :)

Blog business card!

Talk about taking all the book blogging thing seriously. But hey, this is good for networking, and making friends. :)

I remember those days when I’d go crazy during Book Fair season, but I think I’ve mellowed out. That, and after paying for some Europe bills, I need to be more prudent with my book spending. That, and I really still have too many books in my TBR pile, and I really want to whittle it down further. Is this me maturing as a book hoarder? Gasp.

What did you get in your mailbox this week? :)

On Pre-ordering

So just last week, I realized that I have some 10% discount voucher from Book Depository for their summer sale. I felt bad for not using it, so even if I know there isn’t really anything I want to read now now now, I figure I could use it for pre-orders.

I'm starting to like seeing these buttons. :)

You know I never really thought I’d be pre-ordering any book when I started buying books with my own money. I’ve always seen things like, “Pre-order this from Amazon” and all that, but since shipping is so expensive here, I can never do the pre-order thing. The shipping alone would be more expensive than the book and it’s just not worth it. When Book Depository started shipping here for free, I still didn’t pre-order, thinking I can still wait for local bookstores to get it when it’s out.

Then I remember buying A Monster Calls from Book Depository last April as a prize for one of my birthday giveaway winners. I remember being impressed at the price of the book – less than $10 for a hardbound illustrated book. What a value, right? I decided to order it too, and was I glad I did. Now it’s a whopping $18 in Book Depository.

So now I’m all for pre-ordering books. But only for books that I really, really want. Case in point, my order last week:

Pre-order ahoy!

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins / A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner / How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr - YAY~

All books were 25% off + the 10% off from the voucher. And they’re all books that I want to read. I know it would take a while before I get them, but I’m not in a rush, anyway. I like the idea that I “have” them now, and can read it as soon as its shipped.

I do have some comments on pre-ordering, though:

  • I’m not sure about pre-ordering print books in Amazon, but I think the customer isn’t charged until the book is shipped, right? That’s one thing that makes me raise an eyebrow at Book Depository — you get charged immediately for the pre-order. I’m sure you can request a refund to cancel your order, but I think you still have to email? I don’t know, maybe it’s easier if the customer won’t have to go through that channel to cancel a pre-order.
  • And speaking of Amazon, I pre-ordered some Kindle ebooks a few months ago because there were some books that I can’t wait to have in print. However, pre-ordering Kindle ebooks doesn’t really have much perk as far as discounts are concerned because there are hardly any discounts. The only perk is…well…you get it quick.

So, have you tried pre-ordering? Do you pre-order as much as you can to get more discounts? Have you had pre-order horror stories? What’s the last book you pre-ordered, and why? Any other perks you got from pre-orders other than discounts? I want to know.

Oh and P.S. — I will pre-order John Green’s newest book soon, of course. I wouldn’t want to miss a signed book. :)

Mistwood

Mistwood by Leah CypessMistwood by Leah Cypess
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Number of pages:  304
My copy: hardbound, Book Blogger Holiday Swap gift from Tarie

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood. But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can’t help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

* * *

I’ve had my eye on Mistwood for a long time now, but a part of me has always dismissed it as a paranormal romance novel that I never had that much interest in it. It popped up in my radar last year again, and when I read the reviews, I had to admit my mistake on labeling it as paranormal romance because it’s not. Of course, the cheapskate in me then didn’t want to buy the hardbound version, so I had it in my wish list hoping someone would get it for me. Thanks to the Book Blogger Holiday Swap, though, I got a copy of this book from Tarie. :)

Mistwood is where the Shifter hails, a creature of legend that is bound by an ancient spell to protect the king of Samorna. When Samorna is peaceful, she goes back to Mistwood, but when she always comes when she is needed. Isabel remembers nothing, not until before Prince Rokan fetches her from Mistwood. She can’t remember what happened, what her powers were and she gets glimpses of memories that doesn’t make sense. All she knows is she has to protect Rokan, even if she feels that she can’t trust him. As Isabel tries to uncover the threats to her prince, she tries to piece together her memories and weave through all sorts of court intrigue. She can’t trust anyone, and when she finds out the truth, she wonders if she can trust the person she’s sworn to protect.

Mistwood is beautiful, in writing and in the characters. It was easy to slip into the kingdom of Samorna, which made it easier to focus on the characters which really made the story move forward. Like other readers, I was never sure who to trust — not even Isabel. I wasn’t sure who to root for, and I wasn’t sure who is telling the truth. I liked how the story tends to defy expectations — just when you thought you’ve had it all figured out, the author takes a different turn, keeping you guessing. I have to admit that there was a time when I just wanted to figure everything out once and for all and skip a few pages, but I’m glad I kept on reading.

However, I think this book kind of fell into the “I shouldn’t have read this right after reading really awesome books that blew me away” category. I liked Mistwood, but I think I made a mistake of reading it right after I read the first three books of Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series. It was kind of hard to shift from Sounis/Eddis/Attolia to Samorna, and I can’t help but feel like Gen was going to pop up in a page in Mistwood. That was my mistake — learn from it!

Still, I liked Mistwood. It’s very good fantasy, and if you’re looking for a standalone book to get lost in, this is a very good choice. I’m looking forward to reading its companion novel, Nightspell. :)

Rating: [rating=3]

Other reviews:
Chachic’s Book Nook
Book Harbinger
The Book Smugglers
Angieville

Required Reading: June

May was a little forgiving compared to April when it came to work, so I was able to read faster than I usually do. That, and the books were, well, awesome, so it made for a very good reading month.

Of course, I still didn’t finish all on time, as I only finished the fourth book for my Required Reading challenge yesterday. Still, I think I made pretty good, and none of the books I chose to read last month were a drag.

So, Required Reading for May recap!

  • The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner – introduced me to the wonderful world of Sounis, Eddis and Attolia, and my new favorite lead character, Eugenides. :)
  • The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner – this further made me love The Queen’s Thief series. I can see here why the people who recommended this series to me love it so much. :)
  • The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner – this sealed the deal for me in the series. MWT = genius.
  • Mistwood by Leah Cypess – I finished this yesterday and it was pretty good, although all the conspiracies kind of bewildered me a bit. It may be not the best mood to read this after I’ve read the MWT novels I’ve had on hand — expectations are a bit higher. Still, it was pretty good. Review to come this week. :)

I think this may be my most successful month as far as this challenge is concerned. :)

On to June!

Required Reading - June

I will do a little variation this month, because when I first made my list for June books, I realized that all of them are a bit of a heavy reading, and I know for sure I won’t be able to finish all, So, instead of choosing four books, I’m only going for two.

Rules recap!

  • The books should be read within the specified month
  • These books should be in my TBR and not yet to be acquired
  • These books cannot be used for any other reading challenges I am participating in.

I’m also bending my third rule a bit because one of the books I chose this month passes for my local book challenge. I can afford to bend it, right? Right.

The theme for June is revolution, since we celebrate the Philippines’ Independence Day this month. :) See why I mean it’s a pretty heavy subject? The books:

  • Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal – For my non-Filipino readers, Jose Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines. Noli Me Tangere (or Noli) is required reading for us during high school, but we didn’t actually read the novel back then — we were reading a summarized version of the book (which we had to summarize further — go figure). I liked Noli’s story, so I want to read it in its full glory. :) June 2011 is his 150th birthday, so I figure it’s also just right.
  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – By revolution, I remember war. The Book Thiefis set in WW2, so this should fit the theme quite well. :)

I also have a back-up book, just in case I end up having more time, or I’m having a particularly good reading month, too.

  • Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly – French revolution. Enough said.

Pretty thick books up ahead. And I have some books I still have to finish reading. Let’s see how well June goes. :D