Happy New Year!

I wish you happiness, good health, fun and success. Happy New Year!

TGIF! First and Last ...

TGIF! is a bookish meme hosted by Ginger of GReads.

What was the first book you read and the last you finished in 2011? 

How do you feel about these books?

Would you recommend them to others?

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My 2011 reading is much better than my 2010. I discovered a lot of good, as well as worse, books this year. I've been journeying through different genre and having a good taste of both classic and modern literature.

My first book to have read and finished this year was Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky (my review). Uhm, let me remember. I quite liked this book because of its futuristic view and how possible they can happen some time. Imagine papers have already ran out and trees being artificially synthesized, that can really happen. But the real thing that got me on this is the idea of waking up from technology. Having a natural school is way better than a virtual one.

I would recommend this to my fellow readers. And look at the cover, it really represent what's inside the book.

The last book I have finished this year is Matilda by Roald Dahl. Oh how I love this little girl! Very clever and genius in nature. This book is very light and fresh. Even though I'm too out of the age group this book belongs, I still can't prevent myself from laughing especially to the epicness of Ms. Trunchbull. I would love to show you illustrations by Quentin Blake about Ms. Trunchbull and her unbelievable throwing-kids-outside-the-window-by-grabbing-their-pigtails scenes. My review will be up next year, most probably by the second week as I am already queuing up my posts.

I would recommend this to anyone in the world! This will remind you of your beautiful days in your childhood.

DISCLAIMER: TGIF! image is owned by Ginger of GReads and is used as a part of this meme post. Book images of Awaken and Matilda are owned by Goodreads.com. I do not take ownership of any of the images used in this post. 

TGIF! Oh Dear Santa is coming to town

TGIF! is a bookish meme hosted by Ginger of GReads.

Which books made it to your Christmas wish lists this year?

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Oh wishlists. How I hope I can really fulfill these. I hope I've been a good boy this year and that Santa will be wanting to give me what I wish. Or maybe he's not giving me anything because I was such a bad kid. 

However, I will still have my wishlist ready if things turned topsy-turvy.

The Last Apprentice Series by Joseph Delaney 

I heard about this book from a fellow blogger Blooey of Bookmarked. I stumbled upon her review of the second and third book in the series and men, I fell in love with the story! The books include scary illustrations, a lot of illustrations to emphasize. And according to Blooey, it will freak you out. That's why I'm hungry for this series. 

The Diving Comedy by Dante Alighieri 

In one of my past IMMs, I have featured Inferno by Dante. Actually, I'm not into genre like this but when we discussed it on one of my English classes, it interest me with the kind of story it has. Imagine going to hell to visit some awesome people of the past generation and see sinners carrying boulders. I think that's a great story.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel by Michael Scott

I already finished the first two books in the series and it's been one year since I read the last one. 

uhm, what else? I cannot think of any more. These are the real books I want to read. I'm also hoping for Narnia Chronicles and Lord of the Rings but the movies kinda spoiled me up and making me not wanting to read the books anymore. 

So, I really hope Santa is making considerations and will decide to leave those books under our Christmas tree. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

DISCLAIMER: The TGIF image used is owned by Ginger of GReads. It's used as a part of this meme and in no purpose of taking credit. 

Reviews! Where are the reviews?

Advance Merry Christmas!!

I hope you are having a great vacation right now with your family, friends and books. Today is already December 22 and I can't wait 'till the 25th for the family luncheon. 

So for the purpose of the post, I'll be talking about the past, present and the future of my reviews. I've been very busy since December because of flabbergasting amount of schoolwork, including testing days. As a result, I have very limited time to read and so I finished like one or two books only in the past months. 

What I realized is my reviews are time realistic or whatever should you call it. I mean I post reviews only after I finished reading a book or so. So next year, (weee! 2012 is nearing!) I device a plan on how to maintain proper flow of reviews in my blog. Since last week, I've been reading tons and tons of book and writing reviews. These are to be published next year starting January 1, 2012. My reviews will be queued and so if hell weeks (a.k.a school) comes around, there will still be reviews and my blog will not be like an abandoned house. This is also means no new reviews this month. But I will try to entertain you with post regarding Christmas and New Year. 

So, Au revoir! and I will get back to reading. 

The Influence of Anna and the French Kiss

It’s been eight months now since I have read Anna and the French Kiss of Stephanie Perkins yet the beauty and grandeur of Paris in Stephanie’s words are still in my mind. The places and the people and the food. Oh yes! The food. Everyone loves food!

Since I have read AFK, I’ve been drooling to buy French foods. First on the list – French macarons. French macarons are indeed hard to find in the Philippines. Only few sell them. And according to the laws of economics – high demand with few suppliers means high price. Yes, macarons here are very pricey.

Goodnews! There is what we call here The French Baker which is a bakery that sells, of course, French pastry and cuisine. I managed to buy six French macarons that each costs me about $0.81 or Php 36. Two mocha, two pistachio and two raspberry.

My comments…I love the pistachio and raspberry! I don’t like the taste of mocha. Even in ice cream flavors, I hate mocha. I wonder why I even bought two of them. I can really feel the crisp and sweetness of the macarons. Plus their gorgeous colors. I will surely go back and buy more. 

In My Mailbox -12-

In  My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren

I've been reluctant to buy new books since I still have some in TBR and my hectic schedule is preventing me to read. Ugh! If only I can have a break! However, yesterday I went Christmas shopping for gifts I will give to my friends. Of course, at the very moment I walk out of the train and enter the mall, the very first store I will meet is Fullybooked. And guess what, I bought new books

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney

I've been wanting to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the Last Apprentice for some time now and I'm very happy to finally get copies of them. 

3 Idiots: A must watched movie.

I've written some movie reviews here in my blog before. If you'll notice, I always discuss how the special effects make the movie so thrilling that you wanted to watch it again. Most of them came from Hollywood, but how about Bollywood? I resisted the offer of my classmate to watch 3 Idiots twice. I said that Bollywood is not my cut of tea. I would rather just watch another sci-fi or fantasy. However, it's too early to judge. Don't judge the book by its cover.

3 Idiots is about three engineering students, namely Rancho, Farhan and Raju. Together, they engaged in adventurous and stupid yet humorous walks along life. They encounter joy, hatred, and all the worse. However, Rancho is always lifting their hope, giving reason to everything and that it should not obstruct or destroy them.

There are tendencies that humorous films lose the message they want to convey. 3 Idiots is different. Though funny, it is intact with values and teachings on how to never give up and just keep going.

As a graduating high school student, I learned many things from this movie. I want to share it with you in an ordered list.
1. You don't need to seek success as success will chase you. For us who are in the time of choosing which path to take, we want to choose the right and secure path. The one that will bring us to success. However, seeking success means no happy life. Live on what you want to do because if you really love your field, success will be the one to chase you.
2. True friends are true. I learned a lot from Rancho. To admit it, I want to have a friend like Rancho. A friend that never take life as a negative but always have a reason to awaken you up. Despite him being a stupid and idiot sometimes, I can say that he a very true friend to his friends.
3. Do what you want and do not let others hold the pen to write your life. As of now, you may have a career in your mind. But the question is, is it the one you truly wanted to be? Is it you passion? Rancho taught me to choose the path that I know I will be happy. The path that will not bring frustrations and regrets.

I will say that 3 Idiots is one the films that has true sense and meaning. It doesn't have perfect visual effects but it has an almost perfect moral. It may not be flawless, but 3 Idiots conveyed what it wanted to convey. It may not teach us how to behave properly but it will show you how you must handle life.

From the history of me watching movies, I never watched a film like 3 Idiots. A very inspiring and motivating film.

This is a must watched. I'm sure that you will not regret anything from watching this film. Just say to your heart "all is well"

Tell what you think if you ever happened to watch this film.

TGIF! Eating Your Time

TGIF! is a bookish meme hosted by Ginger of GReads.

When You're Not Reading: What occupies your time when your nose isn't stuck on a book?

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My nose is stuck in my pillows more than my books. I admit it. That's the reality. Aside from reading, I have a lot to do - mostly school related - like budgeting club expenses, auditing, home works, experiments, notes and a lot more. Or something simply for leisure like reading political and technological news. I like messing up with the world. 

I wish to have a hammock too!
(source)

1. Most probably when I'm not reading, you can find me in my bedroom. Sleeping. With the flabbergasting school works to do, I rarely have a 8-10 hours of sleep. I ended up sleeping at some subjects in school. (the teacher won't even bother to wake me. Good teacher.)
Look at the cat! I wish I can sleep that way. Peaceful!

2. If I'm not in the mood to sleep, or drunk coffee minutes ago, I'm most probably in front of the computer and reading news article, latest happenings in technology, reading blogs - both book and non-book blogs. My most favorite non-book blog is Hip Paris. I so much like their page and it's making me want to go to Paris as soon as possible.

3. Sometimes, I'm in my second home. That's the bookstore by the way. Nothing interesting to mention. I'm just there looking at the shelves and watching out for books I want to buy.

4. Friends! Every one has friends. 5% of my time is spent with my friends. In their house or in the mall. Trippings and the like. We watch horror movies while eating bunch of foods. I can prove you that watching horror movies with friends is a complete and memorable fun.

I cannot think for a 5 so maybe that's all for now. Four things I probably would be doing when I'm not reading. And one more thing. When I'm not reading, I eat, a lot.

Stardust (2007): The fastest way to travel is by candle.

What is it with immortality? It's not just in fiction like Voldermort but also in real life. Is a never-ending life is something worth living for? Yesterday I just watched the film adaption of Stardust by Neil Gaiman and I would like to say that I really illy love the story. However, nothing is perfect or was made perfectly.

Stardust (2007)
directed by: Matthew Vaughn 
adaption of Stardust by Neil Gaiman

First of all, I haven't yet read the book so my views and opinions is solely based on the movie.

In the village of Wall, as named after a nearby stonewall, Dustan Thorne foolishly tricked the wall guard and crosses the border despite the guard's warning. He then came into another world where she met a girl. Eight months after, a baby was delivered by the guard to the house of Dustan. He's name is Tristan. Eighteen years after, to win Victoria's hand for marriage, Tristan crosses the wall to find a fallen star using a Babylon candle given to him by his mother. However, he ended in an unexpected adventure and soon, romance.

The only book from Neil Gaiman that I have read was the Graveyard Book which I super like. The main reason I think is the lightness of the story yet has a very heavy meaning and lesson to be told. The same with Stardust. I like the world of Stormhold. Though it does not have mythical or inhuman creatures, Stormhold was magical. For example is the three sister witches which I think was an allusion to the Grey Sisters. (the three witches with one eye.)

Again, the story was very light. It was not complicated that's why we can easily join into their world. Every concept is magical itself. Babylon candles, voodoo dolls, witches, stars, kingship, and romance - all in one.

If we were to talk about the characters, I think the cast has some trouble expressing what expression they should be expressing. I like the medieval ideas of the gentlemen over the ladies, their customs and the like. But when it comes to expression, the cast seems to be troubled. There were times when the scenes was supposed to be serious, like swordplay, but Tristan looked like he was about to burst into laughter because of the expression of his partner.

But when it comes to the character itself, disregarding the actors and actresses, I would say that they developed through the time frame of the story. Tristan, living in a folly of infatuation to Victoria, learned to contrast infatuation and love. He saw who he truly should love. Yvaine, the fallen star, on other hand, did not developed so much but she was vital to Tristan development. She, herself, developed to become more human that a star.

A while ago I mentioned about meanings and lessons to be told. One issue that was discussed throughout the book was immortality. It is not just an issue with works of fiction but also in our real life. We all have an expiration date (death). Some of us when asked about death, they will say "I'm ready to die." or "I'm not afraid of death." Other will complain why there is such thing as death. If you come to realize, one day of no internet, no books, no money is boring. Then multiply those days to eternity. Immortality is boring. You will die of boredom but since you are immortal, undead better suits you. As one quotation always say, "Too much is bad." We should accept that will end someday. Just hope that you are happy that day.

Rating: 4/5

TGIF! Love Them or Hate Them

TGIF is a bookish meme hosted by Ginger from GReads!

Love-Hate Relationships: Which characters from a book do you love to hate?

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Love to hate! We all know that there are characters that annoy us while reading. I have too. First, I want to excuse myself to readers who will read this. You might love a character that I hate. 

Bella Swan of the Twilight Saga

One reason why I hate her is because she always put herself in danger, for her can't-resist'boyfriend Edward can come and rescue her. Sometimes, she knew something bad will happen but still she will pretend that it's nothing and continue. She pretends to be a strong person but Meyer wrote her to be weak. I do not mean that characters have no right to be strong. It's just like it doesn't suit her personality written on every book page.

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Tantalus of The Sea of Monsters

I love Chiron and I love him to be the head of the demigod camp. However, this gross character, who was cursed to not to be able to eat, replaced him in place. The camp lost its backbone. Rules were not followed and the bad was favored. I just simply hated him.

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Nathan Noal of Lola and the Boy Next Door

There's nothing wrong of being a strict parent. However, Nolan, for me, was far more than just strict. He cannot control his temper. He sometimes divert his anger from Nora to Lola. It's just so annoying.

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Griphook of the Harry Potter series

This foolish dwarf always think only for himself. He doesn't care if the people that might save the wizarding world will die as long as he has what he wants.

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Meridith of Anna and the French Kiss

*spoilers* I like her at first part of the book. She's very supportive for Anna. She's actually the one that offered Anna to join their circle of friends. However, at the end part of the book, it turns out that she's in love with Etienne and got angry with Anna. She's already on the wrong stand still she act as if she is the victim. But I do realize that her reactions are like a real human. 

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LOVED VILLAINS

To maximize the opportunity of this post, I would like to name some villains that I love. Villains deserved to be loved too!

1. Lord Voldermort (I really don't know why)

2. Hades (all Hades of different literary works, especially Clash of the Titans)

3. President Snow (I love his calm spiking words)

4. Bellatrix Lestrange (Because she love the Dark Lord)

5. John Dee (I love how he does everything to obstruct Nicholas)

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**Links to my reviews of the books/movies related in this post.

• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
• The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
• Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
• Anna and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
• The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
• The Magician by Michael Scott

Teaser Tuesdays: Blackbringer (Dreamdark #1)

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!

"'Pie!" squawked Calypso. "Pie, darlin', what is it?"

Her fingers were still tingling from the jolt. She said,

"Darkness."

Dreamdark: Blackbringer

by Laini Taylor

My copy is a second hand and I have no idea what it is about when I bought it at a bargain bookstore. Now, my money worth it. The story is very hooking and at the very first chapter, I was bombarded by so many questions that urge me to read more. This book is simply great! 

In My Mailbox -11-

In  My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren

It was not in my plan to buy another book this week. I still have 2 or 3 unread books in my shelf and I'm currently reading Blackbringer. Here is what actually happen. My ID case broke last week and I need a replacement as soon as possible because I will not be able to enter English proficiency class if I don't have an ID. I just knew that the case can be bought at National Bookstore near us so I planned to have a visit. The plan was very simple. Go inside the bookstore, find the case, pay and go. But, as usual, it was not followed. Before I can go to the shelves of supplies, I need to pass the book shelves. And these books, using their invisible elastic hands, grab and never let go of me. I spent like about 2 hours on one shelf. AND SO I go out of the bookstore with a book and an ID case. 

I bought...

The Divine Comedy: Inferno

bu Dante Alighieri

Translated to verse by Allen Mandelbaum

I'm not so much into translation but I don't want to read the original stanza-style of this book. 

We recently discussed this classic book in our English proficiency class. And guest what, my seatmate and I were discussing about how about if the book was put in to a motion picture. We think that would be great! Honestly, I'm very excited to read this. I think the book has a very compelling plot and it's a classic of Italy! 

I'll read this after Blackbringer and you can expect a review in the near future. Oh my lord, I'm going to review a highly praised, world acclaimed, Italian classic! 

Once Upon a Time ... all characters live in the Enchanted Forest

It's late in the evening and I'm randomly checking other blogs to find something interesting to read. I'm now in a condition of wanting so many books. Sigh. Too bad I can't help it. Too much for drama. I'm writing this post to share my thoughts regarding to this...

Oh yes! As you might see, that's the picture of the latest Once Upon A Time TV series aired every Sunday in ____ channel (Uhm, I really don't know). One word to describe my relationship with it: hooked.

Once Upon a Time revolves around the story of the characters in a book under a dark curse that unable them to remember their true identity. It was cast upon by the Evil Queen who selfishly want all happy endings to be hers and only hers. But the curse includes her so she can’t remember that she’s the Evil Queen. Their only chance to happy ending is Snow White’s daughter, Emma Swan. Whom I think will free them from the curse? I really don’t know.

For me, this TV series is a win! I never got hooked on such TV series, not to mention Glee, The Vampire Diaries and so much more. But this, together with Grimm, pulled the fanboy-me out of my body. I so much love the second episode, the good and the bad are really in a tight fight. I have this feeling that the real antagonist is not the Evil Queen but Rumpelstiltskin whom I think survive the memory-loss-side of the curse. Oops, is that spoiling?

When watching it, I have this little challenge for myself to remember every character in the series and from what story they did appear. I’m not familiar with the other characters (too bad). One more thing, they have powers! Magical powers! If you’re like a fantasy fanboy like me, you’ll love magical powers. No? But it’s so cool.

Together with Grimm, oh dude, I think the new trend is to include fairytale characters in TV series. They are so much hooking and very fun to watch.

I’ll update you when this series is done.

BTW: I didn’t post anything for the past few weeks because I’m reading a novel that I need for my school. We’re doing a book report for it. Oh man, this book is terrible. Every time I read it, guess what, I fell asleep.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French kiss is great. Lola and the Boy Next Door is also great. Stephanie Perkins is great.

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton

Genre: Young Adult: Romance

Pages: 338

Synopsis

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

I just finished this book. I've been reading it since last week but due to our quarterly exams, which I really need to prepare, I got delayed everyday. So now, finally, I finished it and I have great things to tell about it.

When I started reading Lola and the Boy Next Door, I got bored. I'm not a girl so I cannot get into the "fashion matter" of Lola. Also, I don't like the describe-all-manner in the first few chapters of the book. I first thought that Anna is better. In Anna, I got into the story at the very first chapter and enjoy it. But in Lola, I need to force myself to continue because I know that this must be great. Now, here's the thing. After finishing the book, I finally concluded the difference between the two. Anna and the French Kiss started with the introduction of the guy-to-be and then followed by sweet scenes. But at the past middle part, there are a lot of hanging moments. In Lola and the Boy Next Door, the hanging moments, for me, are on the beginning then suddenly we were placed in a sweet parts. I salute Stephanie for this matter.

Lola is just a typical girl, except for the costume matter. She improved very little in the story. We define dimensional or 3D characters as someone who developed throughout the story. From weak to great, for example. But in the case of Lola, many things about her didn't change. Her attitude and relationship with other people, especially to Norra, are the improvements I greatly like. Actually, we can never mind the other because attitude is one of the important traits for a character to develop.

Cricket, also, improved very very little. I don't know what's happening to me. I super like this books but I admit that the characters improved very little. Cricket is nice, talented in the field of mechanics, and is always in need to be present in his twin competitions. That's all. Nothing more.

Since this is romance, let's talk about the love factor of this book. The love between the two characters started years before the time in the book. Then when they met again, Lola found out that she still have that feeling for him. I think this kind of love is very rare for today's romance novels. Many of today's works started from not knowing each other then falling in love. But this book, it's different. I, again, salute Stephanie for expanding her imagination out of the boundaries.

Overall, I still like this book. I like the minor characters and their characteristics. I just have this problem with the main characters development. But I assure swooning, smiling, fantasizing , etc while reading this. Great work!

Teaser Tuesdays: Lola and the Boy Next Door (2)

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!

"I bury my face against his chest and smile. Someday I'll tell him about my teacup."

-Lola and the Boy Next Door

by Stephanie Perkins

Note: Visit again tomorrow for my review of this book. I like it!

Star Trek 2009 "Live long and prosper."

I have never watched other versions of Star Trek, only thing 2009 version. So I want to tell that I'm going to review this as a stand alone and not relate it to the original one.

Star Trek (2009)
Directed by: J.J. Abrams

As a fan of sci-fi films, I mostly want disaster films where Earth is going to be hit by a freaking asteroid and the hero save the world just in time before we all got toasted up. I've never watched space wars. (I think I've watched Star Wars before but I can't remember. I have no idea what it was about before.)

In the current star date, USS Kelvin investigates a "lightning storm" in space. Minutes later, a huge Romulian ship emerges and lock missiles to them almost destroying the Kelvin. To save the crew on shuttle crafts for evacuation, acting caption Kirk engaged collision course of Kelvin to the Romulians while his son is being birthed by his wife on an escaping shuttle.His son, Jim, will face a very thrilling combats with Nero, Spock and himself.

I can tell you that when I was watching this film, I can't get my eyes off the screen. It's like I'm lock to it.
The special effects are great. The ships of look very real like it was really up there ready to travel in maximum warp. The sequence of events, although I became so confused about the people from the future, are also very great and logical (speaking in Spock tone.)

My concerns, however, are on the characters. Though this a film, characters must remain round. Jim and Spock, for me, are very flat in this film. They don't have any progress. What they are in the start are still them in the end. Jim, a full of humor yet intelligent guy, still the humorous and intelligent guy.

I'm, somehow, satisfied with Spock. He learned to be human despite wanting to put logic first. He learned to express his feelings. Love and hatred.

Nero, the villain, is also somehow flat. The reason he became bad is because his planet was consumed by an exploding star killing his family. So he seek revenge to the Federation planets. But is that so? There's nothing in the film showing his feelings. Just him commanding to send missiles while he seat on his cozy romulian caption seat.

Overall, I think is still a nice movie. I'm giving it a 3.5/5 XD. I think that's fair.

Steve Jobs: A Goodbye

Maybe, the most influential person to me when it comes to leadership, vision and creativity was the man who showed the world that apple is more than just a fruit, Steve Jobs.

I first knew Steve Jobs when I had received my very first apple product to own, an iPod touch, which until now is still alive and kicking. That was about two years ago since my mother gave that iPod to me. Since then, I became a very big fan of Apple Inc. Especially their CEO, Steve.

Known for wearing black turtleneck and faded jeans during keynotes, Steve had inspired a lot of people, that includes me. I became very interested in Steve's life that I read the scroll-worthy page of Wikipedia. So how he had inspired me?

Leadership

I prefer to be a subordinate rather than take the responsibility of being a leader. Leaders carries vital responsibilities that will enable the group to do something worthy. A leader must be harsh so that everyone will follow him. That was my old perspective of leadership. 

However, since I knew Steve, I learned a lot of things. A leader shouldn't be that harsh to his fellow in able for them to follow him. I read some articles saying Steve walks in the corridors of Apple Campus bare-feet. Sometimes, carrying a flame thrower and pointing it to random people in the hallways. I learned that humor is also vital for leadership.

But when it comes to business, business is business, no humor. Steve was known to be strict when it comes to every detail of their projects. I read last year that Steve called Google to change the yellow color of their icon to a little more dark saying that it distorts the beauty of the main screen. 

Vision

A visionary man, Steve believed that he can change the world. And he did! I don't know if Steve was the one who said this but this quote is always referred to him. "...because the ones who are crazy enough to think the world that he can change world are the one who do." It's a very inspirational, motivating and powerful quotation. 

I learned to set goals for both myself and others. I sometimes dream that my club, Book Buddies, where I am the president, will sometimes be called one of the prestigious clubs in our school. For myself, I know this is crazy but I want to win the Nobel Prize. Hey, it's not bad to dream. I can recall that I said to my of my classmates, "I cannot die now because I have a Nobel Prize to win." I know how crazy it sounds. 

Creativity

Both in art and science. Steve is known for his innovative inventions. He didn't invented neither that personal computers nor the music players, but he changed the way they are seen and called them 'revolutionary'. I learned from him that thinking something crazy is not always unworthy. I can prove that using my last year's Investigative Project. I used rain to power a calculator for almost two weeks (It can last long however the electrodes began to rust). At first I was like "Can that be possible? I should be crazy enough to think about this." But it worked! I scored the highest, higher than the top 1 student, in the Investigative Project and earned the wow of my Chemistry project. Now I'm working on a new source of power but I will say to you, this is the craziest idea I've ever thought so far."

I tried to apply as many lessons I learned from the one-dollar-earner-CEO. And I'm very proud of the changes in my life today. I excel and excel every time. My ideas become crazier and crazier. But Steve had been crazy also. Crazy enough to think he can change how humanity lives through his inventions. 

Today, I'm in grief after learning his death. Cancer is really deadly. That's why I'm taking medicine for my college. I want to research the cure for cancer. And that is again one crazy idea. 

He was a friend, a mentor and inspiration. Even we never met, I will truly miss him. 

Flags at the Apple campus waving in half-staff after
the announcement of Steve's death. 

Teaser Tuesdays: Lola and the Boy Next Door

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!

"And then he bounds forward again, and his face is illuminated by pink and white twinkle lights. His difficult equation face. "See you around?" What else can I say? I gesture at my window. "I'll be here.""

-Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

P.S. I super like the scenes and where Anna and Etienne are present. :)) 

Dracula (Classic Starts) - retold

I'm not fond of reading horror books. I better like horror movies that reading horror books. For me, I cannot find the horror feeling when I'm just reading it. Until I read Dracula. Even though it is a retold (I cannot even know the author who rewrite this), I can still feel the horror, tense and suspense while reading.

Title: Dracula
Author: unknown
Publisher: Sterling
Pages: 143

Synopsis
Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania for a business deal with a Romanian nobleman, only to find himself ensnared in the horrific world of Count Dracula, a mysterious man with an evil secret. Worst of all, the Count is now headed towards London - and Jonathan's beloved Mina. Can this monster ever be destroyed?


I know that a lot of people know the story of Dracula. Some of you might have discussed it with your literature teacher. But not me. Since my childhood, I heard this vampire Dracula but never had the chance to read his story. So last month, while wandering a local bookstore to buy some Time for Kids Almanac, I came across a shelf that house these books published by Sterling. They are all retold of classics. I found myself interested with the books so I took sometime to choose what book to buy. Finally, I picked up Dracula.

Jonathan, an ordinary businessman, traveled to meet Count Dracula to discuss some business about buying a house in Carfax. But this man is not ordinary. He live in a castle with not even one mirror. He likes to talk to Jonathan in the evening. He doesn't eat - always saying that he had already eaten. And he can climb the walls of the castle like a lizard. You may want to add that he sleeps in a coffin.

Though a retold, this version of Dracula never forget to bring the horror out of the words. I usually read this at night that's why even the faintest sound can freak me out. Especially when I'm reading the parts where blood is emphasized. One negative comment I want to say is that it was written in a VERY fast-paced manner. There are no breaks between scenes. It immediately jumps off to the next and the next and the next. Well, I recently understood why. The publisher, Sterling, main purpose with these retolds is to give the readers the main story. They get rid of all dead scenes and just write the main, only the main, story.

In conclusion, this is a nice retold. Go grab it. Especially those who want to read Dracula but don't want to read the long novel of Bram Stoker.

Reviving the Blog

It's been a LONG time since my last post in this book blog. I've been so much busy in school. Homework here, homework there. Projects here, projects there. It's cruel! I kinda miss this blog a lot and too bad I didn't took care of this properly. UNTIL now.

I decided to revive the blog and do some posts again. However, this blog will not only tackle about books. I will include movies, personal stuff and more. I will still join memes but not regularly because I don't know when I can read books since my free times varies.

Hope to see you soon.

Book in Motion: The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

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.

I wish I have an enchanted atlas!

Book in Motion: Passion by Lauren Kate

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.

Book in Motion: Relic Master by Catherine Fisher

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.

Book in Motion: A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

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.

I remember my childhood in this trailer :)

Book in Motion: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

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.


Wow, this is much like a movie trailer

Book in Motion: Inside Out by Maria Snyder

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.

Book in Motion: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

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.


I love the drawings. Why can't I draw like that? 

Book in Motion: Entwined by Heather Dixon

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. 


I like this trailer too!





~Ivan

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

After a long time, finally I finished the book! With the hectic test reviews and other procrastinations, it took me a week to finish this one.

UNEARTHLY - Cynthia Hand
Pages: 435
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Netgalley


Sypnosis from Goodreads

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

REVIEW

Why was that I always smile while reading this? Why is that I always stayed up late with this book? Why is that I want to make the characters real people. Why is that this is a great novel?

Clara is an angel-blood. And all angel-bloods have purpose in life. They have visions of scenes that serves clues about their purpose. Her purpose: to save a boy. Personally, I will say that the development of the characters in Unearthly is pretty weak. There are not many differences from their characteristics in the beginning and in end. But despite the vague developments, I really really feel the characters as real life people. They act logically people. One of the problems in modern YA now is that characters seems to act illogical with their situations. If you are scared in real life would you have the appetite to kiss, snog till end? Of course you’re scared and your mind is focused on how to overcome fear. But in Unearthly, characters acts like human. They decide like real people. They don’t snog if they are about to die.

Jackson, Wyoming=Heaven. When I first read the book, I don’t have any background on how Wyoming looks like since I’m not an American. But then, I searched it in the web and god, that’s a very nice, gorgeous place. Considering the amount of green and whites. The snow and trees. The author takes us, together with her characters, in few places in Jackson. The hill where they do skiing. The lake that sparkles when the sun rises. The woods that almost feel like Narnia. It’s a very interesting place to set the novel in.

When it comes to style of writing, I like Cynthia Hand’s. She writes like a teen. She knows how teenagers acts. You might say, “of course, because the protagonists is a teenager.” Well, not all authors can write like a teenager. Some characters sound like a 35 years old man because of the writing. In Hand’s style, you feel like your talking to a teen like you. (If you’re a teen, btw.)

I really like the novel but the ending didn’t convince me. There is this BIG revelation, supposed to be. But with that BIG thing, the ending got tangled. It doesn’t make sense anymore. If the book expects the readers to be awe by the BIG revelation maybe for other it worked but for me it didn’t. The actions are good. You can feel the tense rising up but the story and how all ends is bad. If the ending will be different, I think that will be a remarkable one.

To conclude, Unearthly is a very good novel. One of those “real-teen” books. Although it doesn’t teach so much lessons, it instead brings you to the world where you feel the characters like your friend; like you knew them. I recommend this book to everyone. 

For my stared reviews, please visit my goodreads review HERE. 

Book in Motion: Beyonders by Brandon Mull

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.

Beyonders by Brandon Mull 

~Ivan