Category: reading

Happy Friday, reading

Happy Friday #4: Shatter Me and other stories

Elodie

Shatter Me

Goodreads summary: Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.  The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

I won Shatter Me at the beginning of the year and as you can imagine, did a little happy dance. It is the first book I win and it is signed by the author (Thanks again, Beth!).  Really, it is signed and with a great reminder too!

I received the book on Tuesday and started reading on Wednesday.

And…I love it! I want to hug it and hug Tahereh Mafi (not in a weird way just in a “Thank you for writing this book” way)

At the beginning I was unsure, the writing looked a bit different  innovative and I wondered if I could get used to it. Honestly, I did not dive into the story right away.  I was intrigued. My oh my, but when I did jump into it, there was no coming back 🙂 I did get used to the visual, I enjoyed it but I especially relished the poetry falling from some of the sentences and…the relationship between Juliette & Adam is jumping out of the pages. Their story made my heart beat a bit faster. For those of you who read the book, may I just say “Shower scene”, for those of you who didn’t let’s just put it that way: it is steaaammmmy and totally makes sense for the story. It’s not one of those shower scenes in a movie where you just know it has been added so the viewers can see a little bit more skin for no apparent reason. My hubby still loves these scenes 🙂

The way Adam handles his little brother is just another factor to root for him and brings on so many more emotions in the story. Of course, Shatter Me brings much more to the table that those two relationships, it handles feeling different, feeling rejected and acceptance in a touching manner.

Some of my favourite quotes:

  • “Hate looks like everybody else until it smiles”
  • “He takes my hand. Intertwines our fingers. Offers me a smile that manages to kiss my heart.”
  • “I grin. ‘So you’re ten years old?’ He crosses his arms. Frowns. ‘I’ll be twelve in two years.’ I think I already love this kid.”

Versatile Blogger Award: Thanks again Ann Elise Monte and S.M. Boyce 🙂

ChangeWriteNow:

Doing pretty well this week – and stopped smoking on Monday, 5.30pm. Technically one of my goal was to reduce smoking not totally quit but I told myself it was time. I am 30 years old, it’s a good age to stop smoking :-). If I could talk to my 23 year old self, I would tell her “It’s not worth it, it will increase your anxiety, not decrease it…and quitting will kick your butt” I am a paradox, never smoked in France where all my friends did and started in the US. Everything is a learning experience, I am trying my best, let’s see how it unfolds.

So, tell me what made you SMILE this week?

Happy Friday, reading, writing

Happy Friday #3 – Anna and the French Kiss and other stories…

Elodie

Yay! It´s already the third edition of “Happy Friday” 🙂 Looking forward to know what made you happy this week? Did you write more than expected? Did you read something amazing? Did you help another writer/reader? Did you enjoy quality time with your loved ones? 

* I finished my first draft!: I am still super excited about this, even though I am now seriously thinking about the best way to tackle the editing process…(and the query :D)…

* Anna and the French Kiss

After diving into several YA contemporary romance novels and loving them, I thought I should dig into the ones I heard so many good reviews about and had not yet read. That is when Anna and the French Kiss comes in. And gosh I´m glad I did!

Awwwww….I had a lot of heart melting moments reading the story of Anna. The voice caught me right at the beginning, right after the first few lines…I actually stopped reading and thought “Wow, I already love the voice”. I mean, I could hear and see Anna from the get go and in just a few sentences!  The story itself wrapped me around its little finger. On top of the love story, the friendships, the first times, I could also see Paris, the streets I know and miss.

I also now read Lola and The Boy Next Door...and let´s just say I cannot wait for Isla and The Happily Ever After

* YA Book club

Tracey announced a yearlong YA Book Club 😀 and I´m quite excited to have joined. It´s starting in February and I am looking forward to discuss the books here and on the blogs of the other YA Book Clubbers 😀 And….I have the badge with the link on the sidebar if you want to take a look and maybe join as well.

* ChangeWriteNow

We´re in our 3rd week and it´s getting a tad easier to fit in the work-outs in the morning…The ladies of my team are still as supportive as ever 😀 oh if you´re not on Twitter or do not check the #ChangeWriteNow you can see a weekly wrap-up here

So tell me any happy stories this week? (anything that made you smile to  is a happy story :-))

Happy Friday, reading, writing

Happy Friday #2 – The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and other stories…

Elodie

Last week, I started the Happy Friday feature and here comes round 2…Looking forward to know what made you happy this week!

This week’s reading

* The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight: Beautiful! Though this is narrated in the 3rd person, I could feel with the main characters. The anxiety of Hadley resonated in me and talked to me in personal terms so I may be a bit partial but for a book to do this, the voice has to be strong. This story is not a simple love story; it is much more than this. It shows difficult family relationships and how love can show itself in the most unexpected places.  Two of my favourite quotes from the book:

  • “And for some reason, that was even worse. in the end, it’s not the changes that will break your heart; it’s that tug of familiarity“
  • “That she’d gadly curl up on the grass for him, make a bed out of the dirt?”

* The Hunger Games trilogy: Amazing! Heart-wrenching! This trilogy will stay in my mind for a long time. It shows the human emotions in such a raw manner, it magnifies them, it blew me away.

I started Cinder yesterday and I’m looking forward to get into the story…

A nice reminder for us writers 😀

Lucky 13s view on “Tough Time Trouble” and especially this part made me smile as it is such a great reminder! (even though I still dream :-))

Most of us will not be the writer who pours out their first book ever in a few weeks, considers drool-ridden offers from 10 agents, has their book go to auction for over half a million dollars, and snags a movie deal as icing on the cake. Those writers are still human. None of these things gives them the ability to poop sunshine or pee rainbows.

A song

I revealed my first name on Wednesday in my Road Trip Wednesday post and I am overwhelmed by the comments this post received. THANK YOU 🙂 and if you wonder how to pronounce my first name…here is a little song from the 80’s


Others:

  • WIP progress: I am almost at 58k…but the moment which made me smile the most had to be writing a steamy scene while commuting and feeling my face getting flushed
  • ChangeWriteNow: I am feeling quite giddy since I did much better than last week. I am falling into a routine, making it somewhat easier and my team is just great! (thank you ladies)

What made YOU happy this week?

Have a wonderful weekend everybody 😀

reading

My list of books for January 2012 :-)

Elodie

As you may already know, I commute. When I am annoyed because I´m tired or because Deutsche Bahn fails me (really, even in Germany trains are late or no shows), I try to remember that this commuting time is actually “me” time. I use it to write and to read. I usually have plenty of time to dive into several novels in one week.

Here is the list of books I am planning to read this month (actually I have already read 4 of them :-))

Young Adult


 Divergent, Catching Jordan, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, The Hunger Games Trilogy (I am totally late on that one :-)) and Cinder I have already read Divergent, Catching Jordan and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and loved all of them 🙂 Great reading month so far! I reviewed Catching Jordan and Divergent in this post.

Historical Fiction

Le Testament D´Olympe (as there is no summary on Goodreads, I translated the blurb from amazon.fr: In the middle of the 18th , two sisters have lost touch with each other. One, serious and resigned, is sent to a convent and becomes teacher in a castle. The other, seeking freedom at all costs, succeeds in going to Paris with the Duke of Richelieu. She dreams of theater but Richelieu gives her to Louis XV who installs her in Versailles). A brilliant destiny opens its door for her…until a tragic end)

I also already read another romantic suspense from Karen Rose…

So that´s my plan for January…

What books are YOU reading this month?

Happy Friday, reading, writing

Happy Friday: I fell in love with my kindle and other love stories…

Elodie

Welcome to Happy Friday!

Alison spoke about finding the silver lining and it stuck with me…I try to see the positive in life, in people, in little things and while I have been called “sunshine” at work (yes I’m talking to you lovely co-workers), it is not always easy to do so and I do sometimes fail miserably. And that’s where Happy Friday comes in. On most Fridays, from now on I will share some writing/reading/blogging stories that made me smile. Today’s special: love stories. Oh and I’d love to hear in the comments what made YOU happy this week!

My fingertips touched its screen and I knew it was right

Do you remember when I wondered if I should get a kindle? I blogged about it, I asked Twitter about it…Hubby kept on telling me that I should (I think the amount of books in our apartment may have play a role) I decided to get one and guess what? I am in love with it! It’s small, it’s light (a definite plus during my commute), it can hold thousands of books. I am also not the definition of patience…Being able to get a book in a matter of seconds? *happy dance*. I will not give up on paperbacks and hardcovers, I love them dearly but the kindle has now a place in my heart too…

My heart melted a litte: Kreative Award!!! 🙂

Yesterday, I just received the Kreative Blogger Award from Jenny 🙂 I am still so happy about this. Thank you again! I also shared 10 things you might not have known about me and passed on the award to 6 wonderful bloggers.

You had me at hello: Divergent & Catching Jordan

 This book really blew me away and it was hard to catch my breath after reading it. The first words that came to my mind were “WOW” and “AMAZING”. After awhile, I was able to put into more words the magic it created for me and the main reason lays in the raw human emotions Veronica instilled throughout the novel. I felt with the characters, they were close to me as if I could touch them…Cannot wait for the sequel (my full review and summary on Goodreads)

You know the happy feelings you sometimes get after meeting somebody for the first time? Before you start overanalyzing every little word and gestures? Well that’s how I felt about Catching Jordan: the happy butterflies. I never played football, don’t really understand it (and yes I still watched the Superbowl while I lived in the US :-)) However, I was tall in junior high and high school until boys started to get their growth spurt. I reached 5’10 quite fast and maybe I identified with Jordan for that reason or maybe it was just that I enjoyed the interaction she had with the football team or maybe because I developed a crush on Henri and Carter…Seriously, Carter is awesome! (summary and my full-fledged review on  Goodreads)

Bonus smiles:

  • ChangeWriteNow update: I am proud to be the team captain of the wonderful International Women of Mystery, who are great motivators…The first week is almost up, it overall went quite well (apart from some water stories :-))
  • WIP update: A new twist appeared out of nowhere and I reached 54k 🙂 YAY!
  • Upcoming blogfest I will be taking part of: In February, Oasis for YA is organizing That’s YAmore Blogfest 🙂
  • All the comments on my blog!: really it made my week I’ll be replying to each and every one of them over the week-end but in the mean time, feel yourself hugged (if you don’t like hugs a handshake is on its way)

Have a wonderful week-end everybody! I’ll be back on Monday with my To Be Read pile of January 🙂 But before you go, I’d love to hear: what made you happy this week?

personal, reading, writing

2012 – Goals, resolutions…and shooting for the stars

Elodie

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you, your family and loved ones. Wishing you happiness, love, success, health and wonderful moments to come in 2012…

I rolled into 2012 with hubby and his family, champagne, good food and lots of laughs…and as I checked my emails in the early hours, I saw that I won a contest! Yay 🙂 I am going to receive a copy (autographed copy!!!) of Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi! Thank you so much Beth!!!! It has been on my TBR pile and I´m so excited about this…

I like the fresh start feeling of a New Year, not the “everything-is-erased-and-I-am-a-new-person” but “I-learned-a-lot-from-you-2011-and-I-am-ready-for-some-changes-in-2012″…On top of learning from the past, one should also never forget to reach for the stars and to dream. So here are my 2012 goals and resolutions!

Writing-related

  • Finish the first draft of my WIP
  • Edit it and make it ready for submission
  • Query said-WIP and find wonderful agent who had desired my manuscript without knowing it, who falls helplessly in love with it and helps me to take it to yet another level…Wonderful agent then sells it to great publishing house and I become part of the class of 2014.
  • Start working on my second novel
  • Establish regular contact with the wonderful people I might swap manuscripts with in the future 🙂 (yes Tarah, Heather and Hannah, I´m talking about you…:-))

Reading-related

  • I am not setting myself a goal of books to read per year because I know I have my commuting time which allows me to read, a lot.
  • However, I will make better use of Goodreads.com and will write more reviews about the books I read (on there and on here).

Other

I joined the Change, Write, Now challenge. It´s not really about the competition, it´s more about the support we will give each other in reaching our goals. I will update you from times to times on how this is going for me 🙂 Part of these resolutions concern:

  • Stepping away from the computer and my cell phone…from times to times…
  • Spend more quality time with hubby (he also says to be nicer to him but it´s wishful thinking cos I´m already super lovely  :-))
  • Become more organized so that I can give myself the gift of time
  • Cut down on some bad habits and pick up some good ones (including working out more often)

In 2012, I will also continue to update my blog regularly and I look forward to “seeing” you on the blogosphere or on Twitter 🙂 because you are awesome! Cheers to you!

Did you set yourself some goals for 2012?

reading, ya

Class of 2011: YA Superlatives blogfest – Best in Show

Elodie

Katy Upperman, Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott and Alison Miller had the great idea to organize the  CLASS OF 2011: YA SUPERLATIVES BLOGFEST! Don´t hesitate to check their blogs for all the links…

For this feature “Best in show”, I am proud to introduce: A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, Die for Me by Amy Plum, The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter, Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper, Passion by Lauren Kate, The Duff by Kody Keplinger…

 

Favorite Cover – A Beautiful Dark

Cutest Couple – Sean and Puck from The Scorpio Races, I mean they´re just adorable and when he kisses her wrist awwww….

Most Likely to Make You Miss Your Bedtime (The book you just couldn’t put down!):  I did miss my bedtime many many times because of several books (YA and non YA). For this one, I chose the latest read which caused my hubby to turn around several times grunting at me: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter.

Best Repeat Performance (Your favorite sequel or follow-up.):  Passion by Lauren Kate. Even though I am a tad disappointed with this sequel, I gotta love the time travel…

Romance Most Worthy of an Ice Bath: Kate and Vincent from Die For Me (with a runner-up: Treygan and Yara from Tangled Tides). Kate and Vincent have that all forbidden love going on while Treygan and Yara, well, let´s put it that way: they may not kiss right away but they still put the heat on 🙂

Pair Most Likely to Stay Best Friends Till They’re 80: Again, Sean and Puck. They understand each other with a look and they have the same goals in life.

Breakout Novel (Favorite Book by a Debut Author): Here it is a toss-up between Die for me by Amy Plum and Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper (I reduced it to 2 which is quite amazing if you ask me :-)). I really enjoyed the characters in Die for Me including the secondary ones, it made me laugh and I loved that it was set in Paris… Tangled Tides just made dive into a different world and one it was hard to leave when the book ended.

Best Old-Timer (Your favorite read of the year, published BEFORE 2011.): The DUFF by Kody Keplinger…

Most Pleasant Surprise (The best book you didn’t think you’d like, but totally did.): The Goddess Test. I read some negative reviews about it and I have to say I did not expect an exact re-telling of the Greek mythology.  Maybe, that´s what allowed me to let myself really enjoy this book. Even though certain parts made me go “whaaat?”, my most common reactions ended up with “awww”

Most Creative Use of a Love Triangle: Tangled Tides…I don´t want to give any spoilers but let´s just say it was refreshing!

reading, Train, writing

Reading memories of 2011

Elodie

I hope everybody is having a wonderful holiday season and enjoying quality time with loved ones…The Class of 2011: YA Superlatives blogfest organized by Katy Upperman, Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott and Alison Miller starts tomorrow. I will be participating on Friday (post already scheduled :-))

I have seen in the past days a lot of 2011 lists popping up on the blogosphere which made me think of my 2011 reading year. Are you ready for some flashbacks?

My top 5 reading memories of 2011

1. Fighting to keep my tears in check in the train (and failing) or laughing out loud in the train (and not caring, well not totally caring about others looking at me like I had gone mad)

2. Finally getting some of my historical fiction fix (especially on the very intriguing time of Louis XIV)

3.  Roaming the bookstore, going for an impulsive buy and falling in love with a novel I had never heard of before (for some of them I now almost own all the author´s published books)

4. Relaxing with a cup of tea, a good book and missing my bedtime.

5. Reading so much that my writing has improved (thank you dear published authors out there for making me a better writer :-))

So tell me what are your best reading memories of 2011?

Observations, reading

Online, in the store, by the river bank: books everywhere!

Elodie

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered.

This Week’s Topic: Where do you buy most of your books? No one is judging!
Hmmm…I buy books everywhere, really, wherever my feet or my fingers take me.I´m sure you heard of an online store called Amazon…Well this is where I get most of my books these days. To be more precise: on Amazon.de (and then I go to the English or French sections). Sometimes, also on ebay if the book I really is out of print (e.g. you know when you discover an author and you want to read aaaaaaaaalllll of their books but they´re just not available)

The train station: if I´m there very early and it´s already late in the evening and I´m tired…I will go in the bookstore of the train station and treat myself to a book. That´s my type of retail therapy (ok I have other ones as well like clothes and trying on shoes…trying on because it´s tough to find ones which just fit…anyways :-))

The city: In the German Barnes and Nobles (i.e. Hugendubel) or in the little independent bookstore which has a lot of books in French and English.

And…when I´m in Paris, I love to roam through the old little bookstores (imagine the kind of story the book in your hand may have already gone through!) and the “bouquinistes” on the river bank.  I simply love getting lost on the other side of Notre-Dame browsing what they have to offer.

Where do you get your books? 

reading

How I fell in love with a Bronze Horseman…

Elodie

“Ask yourself these three questions, Tatiana Metanova, and you will know who you are.  Ask: What do believe in? What do you hope for? What do you love?”

When I first bought a book by Paullina Simons, I was strolling through the sales rack of Barnes and Nobles (I was a student at the time and trying by any way possible to appease my thirst for novels). I saw The Bronze Horseman, read the little blurb, it was about love and war and family and did I mention love? I went home with it and never regretted that decision once. It is one of those epic love stories which stay with you long after you turned off the lights.

The Bronze Horseman: From the author of the international bestseller Tully comes an epic tale of passion, betrayal, and survival in World War II Russia. Leningrad, 1941: The European war seems far away in this city of fallen grandeur, where splendid palaces and stately boulevards speak of a different age, when the city was known as St. Petersburg. Now two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanov, live in a cramped apartment, sharing one room with their brother and parents. Such are the harsh realities of Stalin’s Russia, but when Hitler invades the country, the siege of its cities makes the previous severe conditions seem luxurious. Against this backdrop of danger and uncertainty, Tatiana meets Alexander, an officer in the Red Army whose self-confidence sets him apart from most Russian men and helps to conceal a mysterious and troubled past. (Picture and summary from Goodreads.com)

I fell hard for this book and for its characters. I mean, Alexander, is one of the most attractive character I got to know. Maybe I am bias because my husband´s family comes originally from Russia (yes we are international) and some of the nicknames used are ones I hear from times to times. The numerous references to Puschkin and her love for literature probably helped as well.

Diving into the story, we are transported in a time of terror but through which hope emerges. Tatiana is strong and stubborn. She grows up fast because she has to, her relationship with her grandparents and her sister shine through the book. It is not an easy situation and yes the moral may not come unhurt but the passion and its denyal are there. She holds her ground against him, she tries to stay true to her values and herself, growing up too fast in a changing world.

Of course, nothing can always be perfect and sometimes, I did feel like history was simplified and that there was a strong US vs Russia type of situation: Russian men bad, American men good (a little stereotypical but luckily the love of Tatiana for her grandfather and the honor, respect and good nature of some Russian soldiers do save the situation from times to times). There may be other things one could maybe complain about, but honestly I did not care because I jumped into the story head first.

Why? Because I rooted for Tatiana and Alexander, because one can feel like you are at home with her when she is starting to cook blinis for him and her family…

The Bronze Horseman is followed by Tatiana and Alexander and The Summer Garden. While I enjoyed Tatiana and Alexander, I was not able to immerse myself in the story as I did with The Bronze Horseman. The Summer Garden is different but it teaches us that even the most powerful of love can take awhile to heal the scars and the importance of not drifting apart. It took my breath away, in a different manner than The Bronze Horseman.

Oh and if you end up falling in love with The Bronze Horseman as much as I did, you can even get the recipes from the books (food plays such an important role in it). I have to admit, I only did one dish so far. My husband keeps on telling me the ones I want to make take too long and that his mom can cook them for us (she does and it is indeed yummy…). One day though, I will make piroshki.

Now I´m hungry, off to eat…but before I do a little question for you: is there an epic love story you could not put down and read several times? Or what, according to you, makes a story a beautiful love story? Feel free to let me know if you hate love stories 🙂