Cover Attraction

This is a weekly event hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page every Wednesday.

Marcia says:

I love beautiful, and interesting, cover art so every Wednesday I post my 'Cover Attraction' for the week along with a synopsis of the book. Everyone is welcome to stop by and, if they'd like, post a link to their favorite weekly book cover.

* * * * *

The Everafter by Amy Huntley
ISBN-13: 9780061776793
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: September 2009

Synopsis (From B&N):

Madison Stanton doesn't know where she is or how she got there. But she does know this - she is dead. And alone in a vast, dark space. The only company Maddy has in this place are luminescent objects that turn out to be all the things she lost while she was alive. And soon she discovers that, with these artifacts, she can reexperience - and even change - moments from her life.

Her first kiss.

A trip to Disney World.

Her sister's wedding.

A disastrous sleepover.

In reliving these moments, Maddy learns illuminating and frightening truths about her life - and death.

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

My teaser for today:

We are not as we seem. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the words and the distant voice on the telephone. After Jack and I had spent half a year eradicating the ghosts that had haunted my new home, I had hoped that my days of ghost hunting were over.

(Pg 18, The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White)

---

I still have about 4 more chapters to go with The House on Tradd Street and I am enjoying reading it. I think I might finish the book today. Then, I will start reading The Girl on Legare Street, which I am sure will be another enjoyable read.

What are you reading?

Winner of Fishing for Bacon by Michael Davie

Many thanks to all the participants for entering my giveaway during the Green Books Campaign on 10 November.

According to Random.org, my gently used copy of Fishing for Bacon goes to...

Alice of Hello, My Name Is Alice

Congratulations, Alice! I will be in touch with you shortly.

Monday Memes

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about holiday season…

With the holiday season now upon us, have you left any hint – subtle or otherwise – for books family and friends might buy you for Christmas? Do you like to receive books, or do you prefer certificates so you can choose your own?

Most of my friends and my family knew of my passion for books and reading, so I don't think there is a need to drop any hint or otherwise. Moreover, I feel embarrassed and uncomfortable if I would ask someone to buy something for me, and after all it is the person's thought and gesture that count for everything.

It does not matter if I receive books or certificates because both are equally wonderful gifts in my opinion.

What about you?

---

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page.

I received one book (via BookMooch) last week:

1) Zel by Donna Jo Napoli

So what books came into your house last week?

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

ISBN-10: 0747546290
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 1999
317 pgs

Synopsis
Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can't wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. (Who wouldn't if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?) But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school ...

I have to admit I took a longer time to read this book, and the main reason being I got sidetracked by other books (i.e. books that need to be reviewed), or the fact that I had watched the film adaptation of this book a couple of times and I don't feel the rush to get into this book (boy, I was so wrong! How many times have I heard that saying about the books are always better?! Though I think the movie is pretty well done too). Anyway, it was a delight re-reading this book. So without further ado, here is my self-interview review of the book.

Q: Which is your favourite and least favourite scene? Why?
A: Where shall I start? There are so many things happening in this book and once again, I am in awe of the wizarding world that J.K. Rowling created. Right from the beginning, I knew I would be in for a great reading journey the moment I read Harry received the mails/gifts from his friends and that he would be out of the Dursleys family soon the moment he starts his third year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The scenes about The Monster Book of Monsters and Harry's encounter with Buckbeak brought a huge grin to my face. I was not at all fascinated with the Dementors and think they are the creepiest thing besides ghosts and anything that goes bump in the night. Surprisingly, I enjoyed reading the part where they attended Professor Trelawney's classes as I was quite intrigued with the tea leaves reading (I googled and found out it is also known as tasseography, tasseomancy or tassology) as it gives me a refreshing outlook of another fortune telling method besides tarot cards, palmistry or any others.

I especially liked reading the relationships between Harry Potter, Professor Lupin and Sirius Black. I wish I could say more about Sirius Black but I won't because I think it is better off reading about him from the book than having me explaining here anyway (in addition there is one thing that is called 'spoilers' and I don't want to do that to anyone who has not read or watch the movie).

And oh, I also loved the part where Harry and Hermione travel back in time to remedy some of the things and I feel that is another highlight of the book besides Sirius Black.

As for my least favourite scene, I can't think of any at the moment. I guess the above summarize my feelings towards this book - I loved it.

Q: Name a trait which you think we all should learn from any of the characters in this book.
A: I think I had mentioned courage, determination and loyalty in my previous reviews of the first two installments so I won't bring those up again. In fact, after reading this installment I have found another trait in Harry Potter that I feel I should mention and that is - to believe in yourself. I would skip the part about what Harry has done in regards to this trait but I feel this is a great lesson to anyone who has a low self esteem or having no faith in themselves. However, believing in yourself by no means signify arrogance (which is a huge difference) and I think this applies not only to the younger readers but to everyone as well.

Q: Your overall thoughts on this book?
A: I know I have mentioned this but I am going to say it again anyway. I loved it! I just wish the movie has followed every details to the book!

~*~*~*~*~

During my review for the previous installment, I had requested some questions from fellow bookbloggers for this review and Trish asked me this question:

Can I ask you a question that might lead to a spoiler for #3? Who did you think the giant wolf was following Harry around? Does that make sense? Trying to ask my question in a cryptic kind of way in case you haven't finished yet!

Spoiler Alert!

Certainly! I believe it is Sirius Black and he is watching over Harry Potter.

What do you think? Am I right or wrong? What's your opinion? I would love to hear them!

Note: Please feel free to ask me any questions for my next review of the fourth installment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on this post.

Booking Through Thursday: Too Short?

Suggested by JM:

“Life is too short to read bad books.” I’d always heard that, but I still read books through until the end no matter how bad they were because I had this sense of obligation.

That is, until this week when I tried (really tried) to read a book that is utterly boring and unrealistic. I had to stop reading.

Do you read everything all the way through or do you feel life really is too short to read bad books?

I used to read books through until the end, but that was way before when my TBR pile only consisted of 10 books or lesser. That said, it does not mean I will totally give up on a book if the story does not interest me. I will still give it a chance by reading a few more chapters. Another option is I will skim through the book if I want to find out what happened towards the end, or if I still care for the characters. If the story gets too boring and seems to be getting to nowhere, I will then give it up.

What about you?

Wordless Wednesday

Hamburg, Germany

(It was a pity that my husband didn't get the chance to visit the museum and he only get to take this picture while visiting to other places.)