Teaser Tuesdays: Uneartly

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB ofShould Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Instead, I get images of Tucker. His mouth smeared with red as we crouch on the side of the mountain filling empty ice cream tubs with huckleberries. His husky laugh. His hands on my waist in the river, keeping me steady, holding me close. His eyes so warm and blue reeling me in.

"Crap," I whisper. 

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Why it is so impossible for me to read this book without smiling at the cheesy scenes? Why is that I don't want for this book to end? Why is that I like the characters to me my real time friends? You can know the answers when I reviewed this today. Weepee! 

~Ivan 

Book in Motion: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

BOOK in MOTION  - is a classification of posts here on Ivan Bookworm, that features book trailers made by our dear publishers. I stumbled upon a post about why bloggers aren't utilizing the efforts of our publishers when it comes to trailers. I came to realize that they are true, they make such movie-like book trailers and I think, those should find a place in our blogosphere. 


Leviathan by Scott Westefeld - this is one of the awesome trailers out there. See the artistic illustrations turned into motion? Hear the narration? Such a great trailer. 





~Ivan

My Very First Written Story

Since it will take me days before I can post my next review, which will be Unearthly, I come up to an idea to post of my very vivid memories from my childhood.

One rainy morning, me and my mom was lying on the master's bed. Just typical mother and son bonding and talking about certain things. Well, my mother likes me to excel in English (since English is not my mother-tongue) so she challenged me to write a story, about anything - considering the fact that I'm six year's old that day.

I said yes, and imagine what I look like...

no not like this, he is so professional looking

That's what I looked like when I was writing my very first story. Well, there was no rules that the story should be original, just write a story in English. Guess what I did? I did a retelling of the popular Turtle-Rabbit Race story. 

So basically, here's the basic story. (This is not what I wrote back then)

A race was held between a turtle and a rabbit. Once the gun shot, they both run. Rabbit was so fast that he cannot see Turtle anymore. He stumbled upon a carrot field. But he was concerned that Turtle might win the race. But juts laughed considering the speed of Turtle. So, he went to the carrot field and eat all of the carrots. Suddenly, he fall asleep. When he woke up, Turtle was already inches away from the finish line. He ran so fast but didn't made it. The End

How about you, did you write a short story when you were still a child? 

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop

I haven't yet finished any book this week, I wonder why. Why am I reading so slow? Well, enough for that, let's get the drum to roll.

FOLLOW FRIDAY Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. First you leave your name here and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them hi in their comments. You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win.

Q. How many books do you read in a week? And in what format do you read them, or listen to them?

I probably be - 1 book a week. I read so slow and I procrastinate very often. I mostly read paperbacks - you know that Hardbounds are expensive. Here in the Philippines, a hardbound average prize is Php 800. The paperbacks are Php 300. So, if I will decide to buy one hardbound, I can buy two instead by choosing the paperbacks version of them. So I saved money! 

BOOK BLOGGER HOP

"What book-to-movie adaption have you most liked?  Which have you disliked?"

For me, it's Harry Potter. Mostly because it didn't disappointed me. Some book-to-movie adaption are juts so lame and not as good as the books. One of those that I despise, is the movie version of The Lightning Thief. The book was so ruined by the movie. The plot was changed and the excitement ceased. 

~Ivan

Twitter!

Hi guyz, I just made a twitter account solely for my blog, follow me please :)

@this_Ivan

click on the twitter address to be redirected to my account 

~Ivan

Divergent (Divergent Trilogy 1) by Veronica Roth

DIVERGENT - Veronica Roth
Pages: 487
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Bookstore


Goodreads: 


In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. 

REVIEW

In my case, I’ll rank Divergent higher over The Hunger Games in my dystopian list. Divergent is one of the rare ‘valuable’ dystopian books out there that doesn’t let LOVE predict the flow of the story. It is character-centered novel that I find myself really relating to it.

In my opinion, I found Beatrice/Tris as the only round character in this novel. It makes sense because the book focuses on her life and self-being not on the others. Being an Abnegation born, Tris is used to be selfless. She should care for others before herself. When she reached 16 and undergone Choosing Ceremony, she decided to leave Abnegation and chose Dauntless (fearless). This is where we find Tris character to improve and develop from being a weakling to a stable one. This whole situation of Factions is the one that ignited the development, not Tris herself. I really like the character of Tris, I find myself like her. Despite of gender, and basing on our intelligence, we are like so much the same. I’m fond of thinking first before choosing between the options I have. Have I ever told you that I used Scientific Method to choose the color of paint I will use in my room? No? Well, now you know.

They live in the future society of Chicago (according to the book label and trailer, the city is Chicago), but the book failed to really mention that the city is Chicago. The city was described to have tall buildings, which looks like Chicago but there are a lot of cities in this world that have tall buildings. The Factions, for me, does not represent settings but instead the theme of the book. I don’t mind how the world will ever be in this kind of value-separated society because I find that the factions represent development – specially the concept of Choosing Ceremony. This is the one that drives character development here.

I like Veronica Roth’s writing style. Less fragments. I noticed that a lot of YA now fill their paragraphs with fragments and losing the value of grammar. Overuse of period and commas, well Divergent is not one of them. I like how each sentence is a sentence. Though there are still fragments, it’s like it only has 20 less in the whole book. When it comes to writing the action scenes, some are very engaging. Like I really bite my nails and keep on turning the pages, but some are lame – like the adrenaline not rushing through. One thing I also notice is the conflicting tenses. The novel is in present tense but I found paragraphs starting with: “THAT EVENING, I walk…” If you ever use “that evening” it means that the story was already done, but the sentence remains on present tense, so I find this conflicting.

I would like to say that this book is really engaging. I sometimes find myself hating other character, liking them, and answering them. The moral of this book is one of the best features it has. If you read behind the words, you’ll find a lot of lessons that can be applied to real life. The story is like just the entertaining part of realizing what humans should be. Take the story aside for a while and spend some times thinking what really changed/developed in your from the past years of your life. It also taught me to think what I really want to be? Like Tris, I’m confused of what I like to be, so maybe this book can help us answer that question.

In conclusion, even good books have flaws, Divergent is not an exception. It was made by a human, who is imperfect, so does her work. But even with the flaws Divergent have, it still manage to hook readers and stand on itself. Because Divergent is a really good, full of lessons and one of a kind dystopian book. I recommend this to all of you. :)

~Ivan

In My Mailbox -10-

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It features books that you bought, borrowed or received from somebody in a week. To join the meme, visit her blog.

Have you been raptured? I hope not. Me, I was not because I still need to post my IMM which happens to be today, May 22, 2011. So about that end-of-the-world theory. I can only say one thing: "Think everyday that the next day is doomsday so you can do worthy things today."

from SIMON and SCHUSTER Galley Grab

Blood Red Road - Moira Young

Forbidden - Tabitha Suzama

Wildefire - Karsten Knight

from HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT via NetGalley

Those That Wake - Jesse Karp

Jane Austen - Catherine Reef

I'm really looking forward to read Jane Austen. I like the movie about her life and I found it interesting. 

from HARLEQUIN E-Book Store

The Strange Case of Finely Jayne - Kady Cross

I got this for FREE from their e-book store. Visit them and get your copy now.

Thank you for the publishers (Simon & Schuster, Harlequin and Harcourt) and Netgalley. 

Grimm by NBC

I know you knew Grimm's Fairytales. When I was a child, I have encyclopedia-size Grimm's books. I read it at nights when I can't go to sleep. Now, I'll watch it on TV. NBC will be releasing Grimm on Fall. That's so great!

Remember the fairy tales your parents used to tell you before bedtime? Well, those weren't stories, they were warnings.

This is the first time I encounter a show like this. I mean, the idea is great. The concept about the heritage of Grimm is so nice. For me, this is a must watch. 

CAST:

David Giuntoli as Det. Nick Burkhardt

Russell Hornsby as Lt. Hank Griffin

Bitsie Tullock as Juliette Silvertone

Silas Weir Mitchell as Eddy Munroe

Sasha Roiz as Captain Renard

Reggie Lee as Stg. Wu

**disclaimer: Information posted here came from NBC. HERE

**video of the trailer is own by NBC as well HERE

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop

Hello there! It's been a long time since I participated in Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop. And what cool is,  I was picked again for the second time in the Blogger Hop. I really like asking you guys and hearing your wonderful answers. So let's get started.

FOLLOW FRIDAY Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. First you leave your name here and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them hi in their comments. You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win.

Q. It's circle time. Time for us to open up and share. Can you tell us FIVE quirky habits or things about you? We all have them...

1. I always have a mug and a tumbler in my desk. I'm obsess with water 

and coffee. My tumbler holds the water and the mug's the coffee - but today I ran out of coffee. 

2.  Are you familiar with those HUGE size Toblerones? Yes, I can finish one bar in a day. 

3. Even how hot it is, I always keep my windows close at night. Who knew if some zombie may want to kill me?

4. I sleep at midnight and woke up exactly 12:00nn. Mostly

5. I like rainy days - average rain not the thunderous one.

BOOK BLOGGER HOP 

"If you were given the chance to spend one day in a fictional world (from a book), which book would it be from and what would that place be?"

I would like to be in the world of The Hunger Games. You might say, "because it's the hype today" No. I'm the kind of person who loves leadership (Panem) History (North America to Panem) Technology (Capitol) and a lot of things. So I might be happy to walk in their world for a day. 

Which Faction Do You Belong? -Shocking-

I recently stumbled upon Veronica Roth's Divergent Facebook page. At first I was like "Okay, what's the purpose of this?" and then, and then, I saw this app that tells you which Faction you belong. Yes, online Aptitude Test. Note: Now on Facebook! I think I should now wear long robes and watch people jump off the train.

I took the test and my result is *drumroll*

Really, I'm Candor? The Honest? At the very first, I can't believe that it will be the result. I'm not like an angel who's always honest (I think there are liar angels?) Seriously, Honestly is not my top on the list virtue. Shocking result isn't it?

The story telling part: I'm actually have two attitude. Sometimes Bad, sometimes Good. There are times I'm bad. I tease people, I LIE, I do what bad people do (No, not killings or massacre. Save that for the movies.) When I'm good, my heart change. I give money to random beggars I came across the street. I help people having trouble with their lives. (I'm a good adviser, said my Social Studies teacher.) I pray.

So go ahead to that page check what Faction do you belong. Also, can you share with me your results? I know we should not - rules - but just the two of us. I hope you're not a Divergent, are you?

~Ivan

Teaser Tuesdays: The Iron King

easer Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB ofShould Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!\

"Let go!" I screamed, jerking my arm free and trying to claw the prince's eyes. "My brother is out there! I have to save him!"

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

I know most of your already read this wonderful book but me is only starting the series. I think it is good. Happy Reading. What's your teaser?

Getting a bit Organized

In the menu bar at the top of my blog is a button named: Review Archives. It holds a list of books I have and links to my reviews about them. This will make you to easily see my past reviews.

If the title of my book doesn't have a link, it means that I haven't reviewed it. If it has, then just click on it and you will be redirected to my review.

Thank you! 

Nightmare!

Since last month, I am writing a Story. Yes, a long Story.

Now the problem is, the Outline - the short bond paper where the storyline is written - is officially LOST. Waahh! The Story is lost! Okay, I'm not panicking, I have another copy. Here it is

The Story

It was shrunk to small size so you won't see the text - evil laugh. No just kidding. The camera actually out of focus when the picture was taken. Note: I'm not a photographer. I shoot even when the lenses are out of focus.

At least, thank God, I have another copy of the timeline/storyline/chapterline or whatever line you want to call it. It's like my world turned upside down when I cannot find that small piece of paper.

You want to know what it is about? I'll give you a hint: HUMAN VS ________ (no, not zombies, not even monster.) Also the setting is Manila, Philippines. That's all I can give.

If you're asking why I am writing, the answer is, I'm just writing what the images meant a few months ago. I was just sitting in front of my computer when images flashes my mind like someone is transferring a huge amount of data to my brain. Then woala, the storyline was created.

That's all for now. A lot more to come. Teehee!

Time to Remember

I was surfing the pictures on my camera a while ago when I stumbled upon a picture. It was taken last week when we visited a mall art gallery. The artwork reminded me of someone special. Not human, but a cat. I thought of sharing his story is wonderful. This is a bit emotional. 

Inscribe in Jade by Alexander Tan

It reminds of our cat named Yuri. He was a white with black patches cat with very green eyes. He was rescued -literally rescued - from our backyard. It was in the morning when two cats chase each other in our backyard. Then this white cat's foot get stuck on a piece of iron that serves as our fencing. Our housemaid let him free. There is no wound so she just ignore him and let him chase the cat again. But the cat didn't chased the other cat. He stayed in our backyard.

Our housemaid feed him and from then on, he never left. I feel so pity for him staying outside during the cold and rainy nights, so I ask for my mother's permission to let the cat in. Of course, my mother didn't agree. We don't have any pets and she doesn't want one because of their fur. I have asthma before.

I ask and ask until she gave up and said 'yes'. I let the cat in our house. He is so tame and do not run away fishes from out kitchen counter. He patiently wait for someone to give him food.

I got a hamster, thanks to Yuri pets are now allowed in our hourse, and really love them. Until one night, they both found dead outside their cage. There is no blood or any sign of wounds so the probability of Yuri killing them was eliminated. Since the bodies will smell, we wrapped them in a piece of cloth and put them outside until tomorrow when we will bury them. I thought that Yuri thinks that the hamster escaped from their cages. He hold the two bodies using his mouth - but not biting them - and bring them inside. My father said that our cat brought the hamsters inside. I check it out and the hamsters' bodies are again in their cages. The metal doors were left unclosed.

Yuri sat beside the cage, licking his fur. My cat really thinks that the hamsters escaped and bring them back home.

After years of his residency, he got so sick. He becomes very thin and lost the appetite to eat. The last of his life, he spend it sleeping on my lap. He just sleeps. His tail waving slight and his whiskers moving. I rub his fur and was so sad. He meows to me and I meow too - human meow of course. He just sleep there for the rest of the day.

The dawn next day, he was found dead in our balcony. He was curled to his body like a sleeping cat. Like a peaceful sleeping cat. His paws under his chin and tail around his body. He left us smiling.

We buried him in our backyard and our other cat, Yutah, spent the day watching his grave. They become friends when Yutah was still a baby. Yuri is like a big brother for him.

Every November, it is a tradition here to lit a candle for every deceased family member. We usually lit five candles for our other relatives but after Yuri's death, we lit six candles. One for him. Remembering his joyful days in our house.

From time to time, I dream about him. That he is alive and is sleeping in my bed. I know his soul is still with us.

So people, love your cat and give them your love.

In My Mailbox -9-

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It features books that you bought, borrowed or received from somebody in a week. To join the meme, visit her blog.


It's been a long time since I posted my last IMM. Months! Mianly because, I have stopped reading in the past few months due to hectic school schedule. But now I decided to do one.


I only got two books for this IMM. One foreign book and one Filipino book. I want to taste the Philippine literature.

Stainless Longganisa by Bob Ong. It's the one white with different sort of pen as the cover image. It's about how the bestselling author pursue his dream to be a writer. It's written in Tagalog. 


I know you already know what's underneath.


The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. I already read it and just posted a review about it. 




One thing more. As you can see the books were covered in plastic. That's how I preserve them. 


What's on your mailbox? 

Sea of Monster by Rick Riordan

The Sea of Monsters is the second book of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Once again, our dear Percy, together with his friends and new brother - Tyson -, enter a quest needed for the survival of all Half-Bloods. But they don't know one thing.

Let's jump right into the characters. To be honest, I didn't like Percy in this book. He was given all the imperfectness that irritates you. Well, yes, imperfectness of the characters is needed to make them like real humans. I hate how Percy thinks, decide and acts. There are time which is pretty obvious that he should choose this option but then he still choose the wrong one. Isn't it that irritating? Percy is a full imperfectness in this book - not until the end. I mean the last chapter. I like his brother more, Tyson. Thought he is not that a character of focus, he have a balance of goods and bads. I feel like wanting Tyson to be my real brother.

There are also some characters who have an ABRUPT change of attitude just to trigger a scene. I know how they act in the previous book but they all change in this one. It's like they are not the characters I knew before.

Despite of my disappointment from the characters, I really like the writing style. Which saves the books for being a two stars. Though the actions scenes didn't thrilled me, they way it was written in great. Mr. Riordan can mix describing while doing actions. Some authors do the describing first then shifts to the action.

If you will ask me, I want The Lightning Thief more. I want to see The Titan's curse because I'm so confuse if the third book will be good or not. I wish it is good.

Au Revoir! See you to my next review!

School Book Club Update!

I'm happy to share things I've brainstormed in the past week. These are for the school's book club where I'm the president. Last year was not a great year for us and I will make sure that this year it will.

GOVERNMENT

The government in our book club is like the government of the other clubs in our school. President, vice, secretary, treasurer, auditor and etc. Well, a book club doesn't need a government like that. A lot of the positions are occupied but don't have a function in the club. I and my partner came with an idea where a new government will not only fit in the club but also will be more exciting.

1. Prime Minister - the replacement office for the president. Of course, no more further explanations. He manages the club.
2. Deputy Prime Minister - the replacement office for the vice-president.
3. Ministry of Finance - replacement for the treasurer and the auditor. This will only be composed of one person.
4. Ministry of Communications - replacement for the secretary and the representatives.

all in all there will be five officers (two for communications). Unlike the 7-8 normal government body. Our club is the smallest of all. It has a limit of 20 students only. It is very odd and ugly for half of the club ruling the other half. What's that? 50-50?

ADMISSION


Last year, 70% of the members are not a book-geek. They just joined the club for grades. NOW I will be harsh in admission.

Are you familiar with college admission? Where you pass an application form then receive a letter later if you're accepted or not? That's it. That's they way I will manage the admission. All interested to join can get an application form, and filled it out. I, the deputy and the club moderator will scan and decide if the person deserve an admission to the club.

So we are expecting a lot of rejections!

PUBLICATIONS

There will be two main publications that the club will release.

1. Official Book - this will be a book of collection of essays, short stories and book quotes by every member of the club. It's wonderful isn't it? Only three copies will be printed. One for the library, and the two will be available for lending. Students and teachers will be allowed to borrow it.

2. Montly Newspaper - every month, the club will produce news papers consisting of ONLY book related topics like reviews, movies, author interview and bloggers. This project is expected to encourage students and teachers to read and be involved more in literature. Every classroom and the faculty will have one copy. It will cost too much if every student will have a copy, they can just pass it to other people. Or this will be great if the school will support the funding.

MOVIES

Only four movies are expected to be watched in the whole year.

1. Author focused - movie that is about the life of an author. Most likely to be Becoming Jane.
2. Novel Based - there's a lot of novel based movies but I will choose the most inspirational yet encouraging to watch.
3. History focused - I want them to watch the film about the attempted kidnap to Pope Pius XII
4. Science Fiction - the favorite of all. Maybe not all!

BOOKS

Members are allowed and free to read what they want and share to the club after reading. S/He will facilitate a discussion about that book and others are expected to listen and also give their opinions.

BUT there is one required read - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. A book report shall be done.

FIELD TRIPS

Who doesn't like field trips? Of course you do! These are the possible places where we may have a trip.

1. National Library
2. Museums - I hope we have the Louvre here in the Philippines. :)
3. Publishing House - I will definitely like to see how books are made.

CHARITY

This is my favorite project! I love supporting charities. Since we are not millionaires to donate cash, we will donate books instead. There's a lot of orphanage here in the Philippines and I would like to encourage them in reading during their young age. I will be the happiest man in the world if they will say in the future "Book Buddies by Ivanbookworm introduce me to reading!" That's the best sentence they can say.

Who doesn't love kids? I love them!

BOOK FAIR

Our book club is eligible to do a book fair during our Book Week. That will be so awesome isn't it? Every year Scholastic Publishing goes to our school to sell their books, but I want a book store not a publisher. Why? I want to introduce the student body to every book in the market not only just by Scholastic.

But I surely invite a local publisher to encourage reading Filipino Books.


That's all for now. Maybe another post about this in the future.

See yah! Thanks!

Hunger Games fanmade trailer

I stumble upon Youtube and found this very awesome fanmade THG trailer. I thought of sharing it to you.