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wendythegeekgoddess's reviews
403 reviews
Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen by Serena Valentino
2.0
SYNOPSIS:
Fairest of all tells the unheard tale of the wicked queen and how she came to be a heartless villain. The story opens up with a king visiting the best mirror maker in town when he stumbles upon his beautiful daughter. When the mirror maker dies, the king returns and soon a wedding is taken place. Along with becoming queen, she becomes an amazing stepmother to the kings only daughter, a lovely little girl named Snow. She watches out for the girl as if she were her own child but one day tragedy strikes and the queen and snow are left alone after the king dies in battle. Along the story you see the the queens cruelty growing until she becomes the villain we all know and love to hate.
REVIEW:
Its the tale of Snow White told from the Queen's point of view, seems impossible to make this boring right? Wrong! Unfortunately Serena Valentino does just that! It's like she was telling herself "how can we take an already awesome tale and make it into the most horribly boring fairy tale anyone could ever read?!"
The story was boring and the only part I found interesting was the last few sentences of the book.
RECOMMENDED TO:
No one.
If you liked this you'll like:
I got nothing.
Fairest of all tells the unheard tale of the wicked queen and how she came to be a heartless villain. The story opens up with a king visiting the best mirror maker in town when he stumbles upon his beautiful daughter. When the mirror maker dies, the king returns and soon a wedding is taken place. Along with becoming queen, she becomes an amazing stepmother to the kings only daughter, a lovely little girl named Snow. She watches out for the girl as if she were her own child but one day tragedy strikes and the queen and snow are left alone after the king dies in battle. Along the story you see the the queens cruelty growing until she becomes the villain we all know and love to hate.
REVIEW:
Its the tale of Snow White told from the Queen's point of view, seems impossible to make this boring right? Wrong! Unfortunately Serena Valentino does just that! It's like she was telling herself "how can we take an already awesome tale and make it into the most horribly boring fairy tale anyone could ever read?!"
The story was boring and the only part I found interesting was the last few sentences of the book.
RECOMMENDED TO:
No one.
If you liked this you'll like:
I got nothing.
Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
5.0
SYNOPSIS:
Struck tells the story of Mia Price, a teenage girl thats addicted to lighting. She's been struck countless times and has been forced to move to L.A. where there are no storms... until now. Red lines cover Mia's body from foot to her neck, making her face the only place unmarked by the lightening scars. After an earthquake and a storm hits L.A. everything changes. There are food shortages, homes have been destroyed and abandoned, families share tents and the end of the world is coming. The city of angels is divided into three groups: The followers, the seekers, and those who have yet to pick a side.
~The Followers:~
A group of religious people who follow a blind prophet who predicted the earthquake and the storm just minutes before it happened. They believe god speaks to the prophet and he has predicted the end of the world: four days left to live, four days to ask for god's forgiveness.
~The Seekers:~
A group that believes the prophet is the false prophet mentioned in the book of revelations. They know the end is coming and believe prophet will be the one to begin it. They are against prophet and his followers, they refuse to let the world end and are going to try and stop it. The leaders of the seekers all have "the spark" they've been hit by lightning and have discovered it's powers.
Soon the seekers find Mia at school and tell her they believe she is the so called "tower girl", destined to lead the seekers on the fight on the end of the world. Home's not much better with Mia's mother obsessed with the prophet and traumatized by an incident that happened to her on the day of the earthquake, she refuses to leave her room. On top of that Mia meets a handsome stranger named Jeremy who claims he can see her future and its not a very good one. What's a teenage girl at the end of the world to do?
REVIEW:
This book was AMAZING! To think I almost didn't read it! When I read the synopsis the whole "addicted to lightning" thing was so unrealistic and ridiculous I almost didn't pick the book up. I finally decided to just give it a try and if I didn't find it interesting within the first couple chapters I'd put the book down. Amazingly, Struck was one of the first novels in a long time in which I became instantly hooked! Not only was it realistic, when I would look up from my book outside I half expected to see nothing but ruins around me and would think my days were almost over (I live in L.A.) until I caught myself and realized "wait this is real life, DUH!". I was so sucked in! The story was full of action and was hardly dull, there was always something exciting happening! I mean what else do you expect when the world is going to end right? Although one of the characters seemed a bit two dimensional, most were realistic. The antagonist was horrible (in a good way!) you really don't like him which is how your supposed to feel about an antagonist. I LOVED THIS BOOK! I WAS STRUCK by cupid! I can't wait for the sequel!!!
RECOMMENDED TO:
Those that have a strange fascination with the apocalypse.
IF YOU LOVED STRUCK THEN YOU'LL LIKE:
1. [bc:Prophet|13486348|Prophet (Struck, #0.5)|Jennifer Bosworth|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334706222s/13486348.jpg|19022866] [b:Prophet|13486348|Prophet (Struck, #0.5)|Jennifer Bosworth|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334706222s/13486348.jpg|19022866] By: [a:Jennifer Bosworth|4687048|Jennifer Bosworth|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1329176837p2/4687048.jpg]
2. [bc:Life As We Knew It|213753|Life As We Knew It (Last Survivors, #1)|Susan Beth Pfeffer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328012816s/213753.jpg|206925] [b:Life As We Knew It|213753|Life As We Knew It (Last Survivors, #1)|Susan Beth Pfeffer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328012816s/213753.jpg|206925] By: [a:Susan Beth Pfeffer|1318|Susan Beth Pfeffer|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1228492581p2/1318.jpg]
Struck tells the story of Mia Price, a teenage girl thats addicted to lighting. She's been struck countless times and has been forced to move to L.A. where there are no storms... until now. Red lines cover Mia's body from foot to her neck, making her face the only place unmarked by the lightening scars. After an earthquake and a storm hits L.A. everything changes. There are food shortages, homes have been destroyed and abandoned, families share tents and the end of the world is coming. The city of angels is divided into three groups: The followers, the seekers, and those who have yet to pick a side.
~The Followers:~
A group of religious people who follow a blind prophet who predicted the earthquake and the storm just minutes before it happened. They believe god speaks to the prophet and he has predicted the end of the world: four days left to live, four days to ask for god's forgiveness.
~The Seekers:~
A group that believes the prophet is the false prophet mentioned in the book of revelations. They know the end is coming and believe prophet will be the one to begin it. They are against prophet and his followers, they refuse to let the world end and are going to try and stop it. The leaders of the seekers all have "the spark" they've been hit by lightning and have discovered it's powers.
Soon the seekers find Mia at school and tell her they believe she is the so called "tower girl", destined to lead the seekers on the fight on the end of the world. Home's not much better with Mia's mother obsessed with the prophet and traumatized by an incident that happened to her on the day of the earthquake, she refuses to leave her room. On top of that Mia meets a handsome stranger named Jeremy who claims he can see her future and its not a very good one. What's a teenage girl at the end of the world to do?
REVIEW:
This book was AMAZING! To think I almost didn't read it! When I read the synopsis the whole "addicted to lightning" thing was so unrealistic and ridiculous I almost didn't pick the book up. I finally decided to just give it a try and if I didn't find it interesting within the first couple chapters I'd put the book down. Amazingly, Struck was one of the first novels in a long time in which I became instantly hooked! Not only was it realistic, when I would look up from my book outside I half expected to see nothing but ruins around me and would think my days were almost over (I live in L.A.) until I caught myself and realized "wait this is real life, DUH!". I was so sucked in! The story was full of action and was hardly dull, there was always something exciting happening! I mean what else do you expect when the world is going to end right? Although one of the characters seemed a bit two dimensional, most were realistic. The antagonist was horrible (in a good way!) you really don't like him which is how your supposed to feel about an antagonist. I LOVED THIS BOOK! I WAS STRUCK by cupid! I can't wait for the sequel!!!
RECOMMENDED TO:
Those that have a strange fascination with the apocalypse.
IF YOU LOVED STRUCK THEN YOU'LL LIKE:
1. [bc:Prophet|13486348|Prophet (Struck, #0.5)|Jennifer Bosworth|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334706222s/13486348.jpg|19022866] [b:Prophet|13486348|Prophet (Struck, #0.5)|Jennifer Bosworth|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334706222s/13486348.jpg|19022866] By: [a:Jennifer Bosworth|4687048|Jennifer Bosworth|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1329176837p2/4687048.jpg]
2. [bc:Life As We Knew It|213753|Life As We Knew It (Last Survivors, #1)|Susan Beth Pfeffer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328012816s/213753.jpg|206925] [b:Life As We Knew It|213753|Life As We Knew It (Last Survivors, #1)|Susan Beth Pfeffer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328012816s/213753.jpg|206925] By: [a:Susan Beth Pfeffer|1318|Susan Beth Pfeffer|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1228492581p2/1318.jpg]
The Secret Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
4.0
SYNOPSIS:
It's not fair. While it seems as if everyone in Albert Einstein High School is going to Virginia to build Homes for the Homeless, Mia is not allowed due to the fact that is the nine hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of Genovia and there will be a ceremony in which Mia must attend. Fortunately, Genovia's neighbor Monaco is having a Bruce Springsteen on that VERY DAY! So after a few days Mia heads of to West Virginia for Homes for the Homeless, and you never know what could happen then!
REVIEW:
I am a HUGE Meg Cabot fan and feel the need to read every novel she has written, so when I found out that she had a limited edition book called "the secret princess diaries" that was only given out as part of a gift for those that bought the Princess Diaries set in the UK, I had to somehow get my hands on it. So I went on amazon and bought it of someone. Well when I started reading it, a few pages in the book started to sound very familiar but I shrugged it off thinking it was probably just because it was a sequel so it contained the same characters and all that jazz but then I got to page 11, and I knew: I HAD READ THIS BEFORE! I ran to my bookshelf and opened up one of the books on my shelf, yup! It was the EXACT SAME THING! "The Secret Princess Diaries" was none other than "the princess diaries volume 4 and 1/2: Project Princess". I decided I might as well finish reading it and laugh about it later. So for those HUGE Meg Cabot fans that feel the urge to read everyone book the author has written, no need to purchase the secret princess diaries if you already have project princess.
AGE RATING AND RECOMMENDED TO:
This book is pretty kid friendly though it does contain some challenging words, 12 and over. I recommend this book to the Meg Cabot fans that have NOT and CANNOT get there hands on project princess.
IF YOU LOVED THIS THAN YOU'LL LOVE:
"The princess diaries #5" By: Meg Cabot
It's not fair. While it seems as if everyone in Albert Einstein High School is going to Virginia to build Homes for the Homeless, Mia is not allowed due to the fact that is the nine hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of Genovia and there will be a ceremony in which Mia must attend. Fortunately, Genovia's neighbor Monaco is having a Bruce Springsteen on that VERY DAY! So after a few days Mia heads of to West Virginia for Homes for the Homeless, and you never know what could happen then!
REVIEW:
I am a HUGE Meg Cabot fan and feel the need to read every novel she has written, so when I found out that she had a limited edition book called "the secret princess diaries" that was only given out as part of a gift for those that bought the Princess Diaries set in the UK, I had to somehow get my hands on it. So I went on amazon and bought it of someone. Well when I started reading it, a few pages in the book started to sound very familiar but I shrugged it off thinking it was probably just because it was a sequel so it contained the same characters and all that jazz but then I got to page 11, and I knew: I HAD READ THIS BEFORE! I ran to my bookshelf and opened up one of the books on my shelf, yup! It was the EXACT SAME THING! "The Secret Princess Diaries" was none other than "the princess diaries volume 4 and 1/2: Project Princess". I decided I might as well finish reading it and laugh about it later. So for those HUGE Meg Cabot fans that feel the urge to read everyone book the author has written, no need to purchase the secret princess diaries if you already have project princess.
AGE RATING AND RECOMMENDED TO:
This book is pretty kid friendly though it does contain some challenging words, 12 and over. I recommend this book to the Meg Cabot fans that have NOT and CANNOT get there hands on project princess.
IF YOU LOVED THIS THAN YOU'LL LOVE:
"The princess diaries #5" By: Meg Cabot
Snap by Alison McGhee
1.0
SYNOPSIS:
Eddie Beckey loves to make lists about anything. Her best friend Sally doesn't like list because she believes lists make life predictable. Eddie also wears 6 different colored rubber bands around her wrist which she snaps whenever the event that each band represent occurs. One day Eddie finds out something about her best friends life that will change her life forever and Eddie begins to wonder if their friendship can still survive.
REVIEW:
The story was scattered and all over the place. In one scene Eddie is in a bus with her best friend then all of a sudden she is 7 years old and learning about the "age of wisdom". It was a little to disorganized for my liking. Not only that but all the conflicts, issues, and questions that appear throughout the novel are never answered or solved. All throughout the book Eddie makes lists of things that are unnecessary and unimportant to the story like a list of her best friends hair ornaments, what they ordered for breakfast and the prices of each item, how to braid a braid. Not to mention Eddie was completely unrealistic, what 12 year old thinks about the vast endlessness of space, what the purpose of living was? It was completely ridiculous!!!
RECOMMENDED TO AND AGE RATING:
I don't recommend this book to anyone. For the age rating, it's meant to be a childrens novel but there are words that I believe maybe quite challenging for children so I suggest 10 and over.
IF YOU LOVED "SNAP", YOU'LL LIKE:
"Perfect" By: Natasha Friend
Eddie Beckey loves to make lists about anything. Her best friend Sally doesn't like list because she believes lists make life predictable. Eddie also wears 6 different colored rubber bands around her wrist which she snaps whenever the event that each band represent occurs. One day Eddie finds out something about her best friends life that will change her life forever and Eddie begins to wonder if their friendship can still survive.
REVIEW:
The story was scattered and all over the place. In one scene Eddie is in a bus with her best friend then all of a sudden she is 7 years old and learning about the "age of wisdom". It was a little to disorganized for my liking. Not only that but all the conflicts, issues, and questions that appear throughout the novel are never answered or solved. All throughout the book Eddie makes lists of things that are unnecessary and unimportant to the story like a list of her best friends hair ornaments, what they ordered for breakfast and the prices of each item, how to braid a braid. Not to mention Eddie was completely unrealistic, what 12 year old thinks about the vast endlessness of space, what the purpose of living was? It was completely ridiculous!!!
RECOMMENDED TO AND AGE RATING:
I don't recommend this book to anyone. For the age rating, it's meant to be a childrens novel but there are words that I believe maybe quite challenging for children so I suggest 10 and over.
IF YOU LOVED "SNAP", YOU'LL LIKE:
"Perfect" By: Natasha Friend
Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey
5.0
SYNOPSIS:
The year is 1192 A.D.
Tess is not a normal 17 year old girl, she's lived a tough life. she is the daughter of a blacksmith who brutally beats his wife and her, All her infant brothers and sisters never lived to be more than 3 weeks, she see's the future in fire, and on top of that she gets accused of being a witch and gets tortured. Upon a torture she mentions her friends names: Meg and Poppy and soon all 3 are on the run. Starving in the middle of the woods the 3 girls take refuge in a cave where a huntsman comes upon them and offers them shelter. Tess has never been the kind of girl that wants a man in her life but the huntsman is starting to make her change her mind about that....
REVIEW:
THIS BOOK HAS OFFICIALLY BECOME ONE OF MY FAVORITES! This young adult book fantasy novel is filled with mythical creatures such as dragons and faeries. Of course if fantasy is not your cup of tea I don't recommend this book but if you happen to enjoy an adventurous tale of a brave young heroine who is drawn to a mystical land where the dragons roam free, I say GO FOR IT! The romance in this novel was also brilliant! The love story between the two characters was quite interesting but it didn't overpower everything else that went on in the novel and instead of taking away from the action or adventure it added more fuel to it which made the book much more enjoyable. I must also admit that among the many stand alone novels I've read, Dragonswood is by far the one with the most beautiful ending. (Don't worry, I won't reveal anything). Dragonswood is a tale that can be read time and time again without it becoming a bore. Janet Lee Carey's novel was absolute PERFECTION and there was never a moment where the book went dull (and if you've read any other of my reviews you must know I get bored easily). I give Dragonswood 100 OUT OF 5 STARS!!!
AGE RATING AND RECOMMENDED TO:
Although Dragonswood was intentionally written as young adult fiction I believe this is a wonderful novel to read as children (if you don't mind the bit of witch hunt torture =/), I MOST DEFINITELY recommend this book to all those that enjoy reading fantasy novels, it is a MUST READ!!!!
IF YOU LOVED "DRAGONSWOOD" YOU'LL LIKE:
1. [bc:Dragon's Keep|626096|Dragon's Keep|Janet Lee Carey|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328876064s/626096.jpg|612447] [b:Dragon's Keep|626096|Dragon's Keep|Janet Lee Carey|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328876064s/626096.jpg|612447] By: Janet Lee Carey
Why dragon's keep?
Although unfortunately Dragonswood does not have a sequel it does have a companion novel which follows a similar story, this companion novel is Dragon's keep.
2. [bc:Eon: Dragoneye Reborn|2986865|Eon Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)|Alison Goodman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299076175s/2986865.jpg|3017319] [b:Eon: Dragoneye Reborn|2986865|Eon Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)|Alison Goodman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299076175s/2986865.jpg|3017319] By: Alison Goodman
Why EON?
Dragonswood concentrates a lot on the wise old dragons that live among the people in Dragonswood and Dragons Keep. In EON we also follow Dragons and a brave heroine like Tess.
3. [bc:The Treachery of Beautiful Things|11737311|The Treachery of Beautiful Things|Ruth Frances Long|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334778746s/11737311.jpg|16686497] [b:The Treachery of Beautiful Things|11737311|The Treachery of Beautiful Things|Ruth Frances Long|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334778746s/11737311.jpg|16686497] By: Ruth Frances Long
Why the treachery of beautiful things?
Like Dragonswood, the treachery of beautiful things is both a combination of romance and fairy tale where we follow a woman (much like Tess) who is lured into the trees where she meets faerie's much like in Dragonswood.
The year is 1192 A.D.
Tess is not a normal 17 year old girl, she's lived a tough life. she is the daughter of a blacksmith who brutally beats his wife and her, All her infant brothers and sisters never lived to be more than 3 weeks, she see's the future in fire, and on top of that she gets accused of being a witch and gets tortured. Upon a torture she mentions her friends names: Meg and Poppy and soon all 3 are on the run. Starving in the middle of the woods the 3 girls take refuge in a cave where a huntsman comes upon them and offers them shelter. Tess has never been the kind of girl that wants a man in her life but the huntsman is starting to make her change her mind about that....
REVIEW:
THIS BOOK HAS OFFICIALLY BECOME ONE OF MY FAVORITES! This young adult book fantasy novel is filled with mythical creatures such as dragons and faeries. Of course if fantasy is not your cup of tea I don't recommend this book but if you happen to enjoy an adventurous tale of a brave young heroine who is drawn to a mystical land where the dragons roam free, I say GO FOR IT! The romance in this novel was also brilliant! The love story between the two characters was quite interesting but it didn't overpower everything else that went on in the novel and instead of taking away from the action or adventure it added more fuel to it which made the book much more enjoyable. I must also admit that among the many stand alone novels I've read, Dragonswood is by far the one with the most beautiful ending. (Don't worry, I won't reveal anything). Dragonswood is a tale that can be read time and time again without it becoming a bore. Janet Lee Carey's novel was absolute PERFECTION and there was never a moment where the book went dull (and if you've read any other of my reviews you must know I get bored easily). I give Dragonswood 100 OUT OF 5 STARS!!!
AGE RATING AND RECOMMENDED TO:
Although Dragonswood was intentionally written as young adult fiction I believe this is a wonderful novel to read as children (if you don't mind the bit of witch hunt torture =/), I MOST DEFINITELY recommend this book to all those that enjoy reading fantasy novels, it is a MUST READ!!!!
IF YOU LOVED "DRAGONSWOOD" YOU'LL LIKE:
1. [bc:Dragon's Keep|626096|Dragon's Keep|Janet Lee Carey|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328876064s/626096.jpg|612447] [b:Dragon's Keep|626096|Dragon's Keep|Janet Lee Carey|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328876064s/626096.jpg|612447] By: Janet Lee Carey
Why dragon's keep?
Although unfortunately Dragonswood does not have a sequel it does have a companion novel which follows a similar story, this companion novel is Dragon's keep.
2. [bc:Eon: Dragoneye Reborn|2986865|Eon Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)|Alison Goodman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299076175s/2986865.jpg|3017319] [b:Eon: Dragoneye Reborn|2986865|Eon Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)|Alison Goodman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299076175s/2986865.jpg|3017319] By: Alison Goodman
Why EON?
Dragonswood concentrates a lot on the wise old dragons that live among the people in Dragonswood and Dragons Keep. In EON we also follow Dragons and a brave heroine like Tess.
3. [bc:The Treachery of Beautiful Things|11737311|The Treachery of Beautiful Things|Ruth Frances Long|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334778746s/11737311.jpg|16686497] [b:The Treachery of Beautiful Things|11737311|The Treachery of Beautiful Things|Ruth Frances Long|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334778746s/11737311.jpg|16686497] By: Ruth Frances Long
Why the treachery of beautiful things?
Like Dragonswood, the treachery of beautiful things is both a combination of romance and fairy tale where we follow a woman (much like Tess) who is lured into the trees where she meets faerie's much like in Dragonswood.
The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin
4.0
SYNOPSIS:
One day while Gretchen Rubin was on a bus in New York City she had an epiphany. "Am I really happy? I'm in danger of wasting my life!" She thought. So she does something amazing and daring, she devotes a year of her life to her "happiness project" to make her the happiest she can be. So she reads countless books of the history and art of happiness written by anyone from philosophers to famous men in history. Each month she chooses a task she believes should be improved in her life and commits to making it better. Will her happiness project make her happier or will she have committed a year of her life for no change?
REVIEW:
Gretchen Rubin definitely did her research when writing this book! It was deeply insightful and moving. She quoted everyone from famous philosophers to Saint's! Even though it told of her story and her happiness project you feel yourself growing happier as you get more and more deeper into the book because her happiness is contagious! It's an amazing inspiration to anyone who thinks they need a little boost of happiness in there life (OR A BIG boost). The way she puts so much enthusiasm in her writing is making me so excited to begin my happiness project that I will begin next year. She makes a huge change in life look so easy, by the time you've flipped the last page your gonna be eager to start your very own happiness project right away!
RECOMMENDED TO:
Anyone who needs a boost of happiness anywhere from small to big!
IF YOU LOVED "THE HAPPINESS PROJECT", THEN YOU'LL LIKE:
1. [bc:How to Be Happy, Dammit: A Cynic's Guide to Spiritual Happiness|690400|How to Be Happy, Dammit A Cynic's Guide to Spiritual Happiness|Karen Salmansohn|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320438492s/690400.jpg|676747] How To be happy, dammit By: [a:Karen Salmansohn|117096|Karen Salmansohn|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]
2. [bc:Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life|13414599|Happier at Home Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life|Gretchen Rubin|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344014249s/13414599.jpg|18713712] Happier at Home By: [a:Gretchen Rubin|21246|Gretchen Rubin|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1252934548p2/21246.jpg]
3. [bc:Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Live as TV's Most Influential Guru Advises|6452822|Living Oprah My One-Year Experiment to Live as TV's Most Influential Guru Advises|Robyn Okrant|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344270784s/6452822.jpg|6643028] Living Oprah: My 1 year experiment to walk the walk of the queen of talk By: [a:Robyn Okrant|2923306|Robyn Okrant|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]
One day while Gretchen Rubin was on a bus in New York City she had an epiphany. "Am I really happy? I'm in danger of wasting my life!" She thought. So she does something amazing and daring, she devotes a year of her life to her "happiness project" to make her the happiest she can be. So she reads countless books of the history and art of happiness written by anyone from philosophers to famous men in history. Each month she chooses a task she believes should be improved in her life and commits to making it better. Will her happiness project make her happier or will she have committed a year of her life for no change?
REVIEW:
Gretchen Rubin definitely did her research when writing this book! It was deeply insightful and moving. She quoted everyone from famous philosophers to Saint's! Even though it told of her story and her happiness project you feel yourself growing happier as you get more and more deeper into the book because her happiness is contagious! It's an amazing inspiration to anyone who thinks they need a little boost of happiness in there life (OR A BIG boost). The way she puts so much enthusiasm in her writing is making me so excited to begin my happiness project that I will begin next year. She makes a huge change in life look so easy, by the time you've flipped the last page your gonna be eager to start your very own happiness project right away!
RECOMMENDED TO:
Anyone who needs a boost of happiness anywhere from small to big!
IF YOU LOVED "THE HAPPINESS PROJECT", THEN YOU'LL LIKE:
1. [bc:How to Be Happy, Dammit: A Cynic's Guide to Spiritual Happiness|690400|How to Be Happy, Dammit A Cynic's Guide to Spiritual Happiness|Karen Salmansohn|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320438492s/690400.jpg|676747] How To be happy, dammit By: [a:Karen Salmansohn|117096|Karen Salmansohn|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]
2. [bc:Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life|13414599|Happier at Home Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life|Gretchen Rubin|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344014249s/13414599.jpg|18713712] Happier at Home By: [a:Gretchen Rubin|21246|Gretchen Rubin|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1252934548p2/21246.jpg]
3. [bc:Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Live as TV's Most Influential Guru Advises|6452822|Living Oprah My One-Year Experiment to Live as TV's Most Influential Guru Advises|Robyn Okrant|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344270784s/6452822.jpg|6643028] Living Oprah: My 1 year experiment to walk the walk of the queen of talk By: [a:Robyn Okrant|2923306|Robyn Okrant|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
3.0
RATING: 3 1/2 STARS!!!!!
SYNOPSIS:
Insurgent picks up on where Divergent left off. Everyone now knows, Erudite is trying to eliminate Abnegation and form a new government. Dauntless is now split into two: the loyal and traitors. You no longer know who you can trust, best choice: Don't trust anyone. Soon the loyal Divergent are tossed with the Factionless who are eager to form an alliance and together bring Erudite down. Tris is more than happy to crush every Erudite into pieces until she learns of a piece of information that is so crucial, so life changing: that her parents died for it. Unfortunately the piece of information was given by the man who ruined her boyfriends childhood. Can Tris trust him enough to betray her true love? If this piece of information is truly it can change life as everyone knows it and it will answer the question we've been wondering since the first novel: Why is it so dangerous yet so important to be Divergent?
REVIEW:
I know, I know. It's hard. Divergent was the most amazing book I've ever read so Roth had a lot to live up to. Unfortunately Insurgent didn't live nearly up to its companion. While we have the same characters I found the story a bit more dull and couldn't get as interested in it. There was not as much suspense as surprise as the first novel. You already know where the story is leading to "a fight against Erudite, a fight where the bad guys lose like always". In the first novel you didn't know what to expect from it. You couldn't predict the ending and how things would turn out. The best thing about this book was the ending because it was won of the few suspenseful moments. The end completely turned the book around and sent chills through my body. All in all I wish it could have been better, 3 and a 1/2(!!!) stars!!!
VIEW MY VIDEO REVIEW:
www.youtube.com/bookbeauty1
SYNOPSIS:
Insurgent picks up on where Divergent left off. Everyone now knows, Erudite is trying to eliminate Abnegation and form a new government. Dauntless is now split into two: the loyal and traitors. You no longer know who you can trust, best choice: Don't trust anyone. Soon the loyal Divergent are tossed with the Factionless who are eager to form an alliance and together bring Erudite down. Tris is more than happy to crush every Erudite into pieces until she learns of a piece of information that is so crucial, so life changing: that her parents died for it. Unfortunately the piece of information was given by the man who ruined her boyfriends childhood. Can Tris trust him enough to betray her true love? If this piece of information is truly it can change life as everyone knows it and it will answer the question we've been wondering since the first novel: Why is it so dangerous yet so important to be Divergent?
REVIEW:
I know, I know. It's hard. Divergent was the most amazing book I've ever read so Roth had a lot to live up to. Unfortunately Insurgent didn't live nearly up to its companion. While we have the same characters I found the story a bit more dull and couldn't get as interested in it. There was not as much suspense as surprise as the first novel. You already know where the story is leading to "a fight against Erudite, a fight where the bad guys lose like always". In the first novel you didn't know what to expect from it. You couldn't predict the ending and how things would turn out. The best thing about this book was the ending because it was won of the few suspenseful moments. The end completely turned the book around and sent chills through my body. All in all I wish it could have been better, 3 and a 1/2(!!!) stars!!!
VIEW MY VIDEO REVIEW:
www.youtube.com/bookbeauty1
The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness [With CD] by Mark Williams, Zindel V. Segal, John Teasdale
4.0
Synopsis:
This book talks about curing depression through meditative practices. Along the way the authors will show you step by step how to do each practice and even set up a 8 week progrAm to begin your path to awareness.
Review:
This book was really good, I really love how detailed each excercise was. I only did some practices along the way but the ones I did surprised me by how useful they were and how right the authors were about certain things like pain being just a thought in the mind. I can't wait to get started with the program
This book talks about curing depression through meditative practices. Along the way the authors will show you step by step how to do each practice and even set up a 8 week progrAm to begin your path to awareness.
Review:
This book was really good, I really love how detailed each excercise was. I only did some practices along the way but the ones I did surprised me by how useful they were and how right the authors were about certain things like pain being just a thought in the mind. I can't wait to get started with the program
Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel
5.0
SYNOPSIS:
Young Elizabeth Wurtzel tells the story of her life as a depressed teenager.
REVIEW:
This book really is a page turner. It makes a person realize that depression is a real disease and it takes you into the mind of a depressed girl, we follow Elizabeth through all her heartache and heartbreak. Although it will leave you in a morbid mood, when you finally reach the end you will realize that there is a hope. I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever felt that there was no hope and has dealt with depression, it is a real illness an you can get over it.
Young Elizabeth Wurtzel tells the story of her life as a depressed teenager.
REVIEW:
This book really is a page turner. It makes a person realize that depression is a real disease and it takes you into the mind of a depressed girl, we follow Elizabeth through all her heartache and heartbreak. Although it will leave you in a morbid mood, when you finally reach the end you will realize that there is a hope. I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever felt that there was no hope and has dealt with depression, it is a real illness an you can get over it.