Graphic Novel Review: Castle Waiting, Vol. 1

Title: Castle Waiting, Vol. 1 (Castle Waiting Omnibus Collection #1) 

Author: Linda Medley, Jane Yolen (Introduction) 

Published June 17th 2006 by Fantagraphics Books (first published January 1st 2006) 

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy 

Page Count: Hardcover, Graphic Novel Collection, 457 pages 

Finish Reading: December, 2013

Synopsis:Castle Waiting graphic novel tells the story of an isolated, abandoned castle, and the eccentric inhabitants who bring it back to life. A fable for modern times, Castle Waiting is a fairy tale that's not about rescuing the princess, saving the kingdom, or fighting the ultimate war between Good and Evil, but about being a hero in your own home.

The opening story, "The Brambly Hedge," tells the origin of the castle itself, which is abandoned by its princess in a comic twist on "Sleeping Beauty" when she rides off into the sunset with her Prince Charming. The castle becomes a refuge for misfits, outcasts, and others seeking sanctuary, playing host to a lively and colorful cast of characters that inhabits the subsequent stories, including a talking anthropomorphic horse, a mysteriously pregnant Lady on the run, and a bearded nun.(less)

REVIEW: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Title: The Paris Wife
Author: Paula McLain
Published: February 22nd 2011 by Ballantine Books
Genre: Fiction
Page Count: Paperback, 314 pages + extras = 331 pages
Finish Reading: April, 2013
First Sentence: Prologue: Though I often looked for one, I finally had to admit that there could be no cure for Paris.  (excerpt)

Back of the Book Synopsis: Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

REVIEW: Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Title: Geek Girl
Author: Holly Smale
1st Published: February 28, 2013
Genre: Fiction
Page Count: Paperback, 378 pages
Finish Reading: April, 2013
First Sentence: My name is Harriet Manners, and I am a geek.

Goodreads Synopsis: Harriet Manners knows a lot of things.

She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves.

As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did.

And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

REVIEW: Stitch Head

Title: Stitch Head (Stitch Head #1)
Author: Guy Bass
Illustrator: Pete Williamson
Published: August 1st 2011 by Stripes
Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction
Page Count: Paperback, 176 pages
Finish Reading: March, 2013

Goodreads Synopsis: In the maze-like dungeons of Castle Grotteskew, the frightfully insane Professor Erasmus conducts his bizarre experiments on living things. His very first creation has been long forgotten - a small, almost-human creature, known only as Stitch Head. Poor Stitch Head has spent years vying for attention amongst a menagerie of freakish monsters. When a travelling circus ringmaster, Fulbert Freakfinder, promises to make him a star, Stitch Head wonders whether there is another life for him. But first he has to catch the professor's latest creation - a monstrous three-armed creature that's just smashed its way to freedom . . .

Google Reader shutting down July first!?

So I recently found out that Google has decided to shut down their Google Reader service. This news makes me sad since I've recently found this great app that works along with it... BUT that isn't the point. The point is that now one has to find other new ways to follow some of ones favorites blogs.

I actually wouldn't know where to take you, but Book Chick City has listed a couple of sites to alternative blog readers in their latest blog post: Google Reader is Being Retired July 2013 – Here Are a Few Alternative Ways To Continue Following Book Chick City and Your Other Favourite Blogs.

I have yet to check out most of those sites, but the only site I have used in the past is Bloglovin'. A site I utterly enjoyed using, if only it had an iPad app maybe then I would use it most frequently.

If you do decide to use Bloglovin' or any other website I hope you decide to follow or keep following my blog.

Follow this blog with Bloglovin'
http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/3860723

REVIEW: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Title: Sisters Red
Author: Jackson Pearce
1st Published: 2010
Genre: Fiction
Page Count: Paperback, # pages
Finish Reading: February, 2013
First Sentence: A Fairy Tale, Seven Years Ago Strangers never walk down this road, the sisters thought in unison as the man trudged toward them. (excerpt)

Synopsis: Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

Grimm Fairy Tales: Robyn Hood by Patrick Shand (Graphic Novel Review)

Title: Grimm Fairy Tales: Robyn Hood
Author: Patrick Shand
Published: March 12th 2013 by Zenescope Entertainment
Genre: Graphic Novel
Page Count: Paperback, 176 pages
Finish Reading: February, 2013

Goodreads Synopsis: In the land of Myst, a tryant rules the city of Bree with an iron fist, leaving its citizens living in fear and terror. But all hope is not lost as a young orphan girl from another world discovers her destiny and becomes the legend she was meant to be. The creators of Grimm Fairy Tales, Wonderland, and Neverland bring you the next great hero in the Grimm Universe!

Q&A: ANSWERS w/ Yami (1/2)

In where my sister and I... ask and answer your questions! The following questions are from YouTube users who commented on a YT video of mine. In where I said I would do a Q&A video in order of celebration of 200 subscribers (on YouTube.) So following peeps asked their questions. My sister is asking the questions of the viewers while I answer them!

REVIEW: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.

Title: Warm bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
1st Published: 2010
Genre: New Adult Fiction
Page Count: Hard Cover, 240 pages
Finish Reading: January, 2013
First Sentence: I am dead, but it’s not so bad.

Goodreads Synopsis: A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

#FridayReads - Books Turning into Movies Edition. xP

In where I talk about the books I plan to read for the weekend!!(:

"Another One I Got..." (Book Haul Pt. 1)

In where I talk about the books I recently  purchased from the Thrift Store.

REVIEW: On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Title: On the Island
Author: Tracey Garvis-Graves
1st Published: 2011
Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary
Page Count: Paperback, 319 pages
Finish Reading: January, 2013
First Sentence(s): CH1 - ANNA: I was thirty years old when the seaplane T.J. Callahan and I were traveling on crash-land in the Indian Ocean. (excerpt)

Goodreads Synopsis: When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day. T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island.

Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

REVIEW: Zed (A Cosmic Tale) By Michel Gagné.

Title: Zed: A Cosmic Tale
Author: Michel Gagné
Expected Publication: February 12th 2013 by Image Comic
Genre: Sci-Fi, Comic, Fiction, Dark Comedy
Page Count: Paperback, 280 pages
Finish Reading: January, 2013
First Sentence: Xandra is

(NetGalley) Synopsis: When a cute little alien named ZED demonstrates his invention to the Hierarchy of the Galaxy, something goes wrong — terribly wrong! Before long, ZED's universe is thrown into complete turmoil and our little hero must face nearly insurmountable odds trying to survive and save the very fate of his home world.

Imbued with a dark edge, peppered with pure silliness, and wrapped up in a childlike sense of wonder, ZED's adventures will keep readers tickled and captivated from start to finish.

Originally published in comic book form over a period of eleven years, ZED has been completely revised and remastered for this definitive edition.

iTalk - 2013 Resolutions. Hello 200+ Subs!! Q&A?!

In where "iTalk" about stuff. Such as reaching 200 subscribers on YouTube... and some bookish resolutions...