A Colloquy on Books

Disclaimer: This post contains spoilers to  The Throne of Glass  series, if you would like to avoid them please skip Heir of Fire . Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass by: Fredrick Douglass Fredrick Douglass was a slave who educated himself through sheer determination, become a freeman, and managed to become one of the greatest American writers, and orators. 2 stars. Outliers: The Story of Success by: Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Gladwell explores the world of "outliers:" the most famous, most successful, the brightest. He wonders what makes them different? Most would say it in what they are but Malcolm Gladwell claims its where they are from. He explains what made the Beatles the greatest rock band, why Asians are so good at math, and the secrets of software billionaires. 5 stars. How to Win Friends and Influence People by: Dale Carnegie Dale Carnegie's classic book that teaches you how to get people to like you and how to change a person's mind witho...

A cargo ship sinks in the Pacific and all that remains is one lonely lifeboat. The lifeboat's crew is: a hyena, a zebra with a broken leg, an orangutan, a Bengal tiger by the name of Richard Parker, and Pi, an Indian boy. As the crew members begin to assert their places in the food chain, Pi has to focus on getting to the top and how to deal with a Bengal tiger that grows hungrier by the day. Will Pi survive an impossible journey? At the mention of Life of Pi  most people begin to gush about how amazing the movie was and how much they loved it. Followed by their shock at the fact that I haven't seen it yet. My reason? My general experience has been that reading the book is a more enjoyable experience than watching the movie. The book is usually richer in terms of content, context, and backstories. I didn't want to spoil the experience of reading the book by watching the movie. Life of Pi  sat on my to-read list patiently waiting and I finally go to it when an extra cr...

Disclaimer: This post contains spoilers to The Throne of Glass , if you wish to avoid them please skip The Crown of Midnight . This post also contains spoilers to The False Prince  and The Runaway King , if you wish to avoid them please skip The Shadow Throne .   AsapSCIENCE: Answers to the World's Weirdest Questions, Most Persistent Rumors, and Uneexplained Phenomena by: Mitchell Moffit + Greg Brown A book that answers all the weird questions that you never got to ask in science class. Answers brought to you by the AsapSCIENCE YouTube channel creators, presented in an entertaining format. Your questions will be answered, asap. 5 stars. Chasing Impossible by: Katie McGarry Abby lets only a few people get to know her. It's common sense in her town that she deals drugs, but not even her closest know why. Abby is suddenly in danger as a drug deal goes bad and she has to lean on Logan, a daredevil who's spirit matches hers. Together they will have to make the choice of...

Discliamer: This post contains spoilers to The False Prince  if you would like to avoid these spoilers, don't read the summary for The Runaway King . It is the last summary. The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists by: Peter Laufer Peter Laufer was tired of answering the question, "What will your next book be about?" Without thinking he answered, "Butterflies" as an analogy for peace and contentment. This simple answer led him to discover that the world of butterflies might not be as peaceful as he once thought. 4 stars. Every Day by: David Levithan A wakes up in a different body everyday and he doesn't know how to stop it  but he has resigned himself to his fate. He has his rules, don't interfere in their lives, don't get attached, and live like a guest and leave. But all that change the day he wakes up in Justin's body and meets his girlfriend Rhiannon and all of a sudd...

Disclaimer: This post contains some minor spoilers to the books  Red Rising  and  Die For Me , if you wish to avoid these spoilers please do not read the summaries for  Golden Son  and  Until I Die . Otto is lost and alone in a forbidden forest where he meets three sisters and becomes intertwined in their story through a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later the harmonica lands in the hands of three children with daunting tasks: Friedrich from Germany, Mike from Pennslyvania, and Ivy in Californa. They have to rescue a father, protect a brother, and keep a family together. But the thread of destiny connects them all in ways they do not know... 5 stars. Golden Son, the sequel the Pierce Brown's breathtaking first book, Red Rising, continues Darrow's story and struggle to lead his oppressed people into freedom. He is now fully embedded into Gold Society and is working on destroying the system from within. But the stakes are ...

Taylor Greer grew up in Kentucky had two goals: don't get pregnant and get away. As she is in the process of getting away, Taylor acquires a three year old Indian girl. Motherhood is suddenly thrust upon Taylor as she has to struggle to survive in the emptiest of places. 4 stars. The death of Kate's parents leave her devastated and in Paris with her grandparents. The only way she can handle this loss is by drowning herself in the world of books and art. That is until she meets Vincent, a revenant, a undead boy who must sacrifice himself over and over again to save others. Will this relationship ever work out safely? 3 stars. A civil war is brewing Carthya. Connor has devised a plan to find an impersonator for the long lost prince and make him the prince. Four orphans have been recruited to compete for a spot, including Sage, a defiant fourteen year old. Sage knows that Connor is a liar but Sage's life is at stake. As more and more lies are uncovered, it might j...

The world is divided, Red or Silver. It is divided by the color of your blood. The color of your blood controls everything, your status, your lifestyle, everything. The Reds are commoners but the Silvers are the elite ruling class with godlike superpowers. Mare Barrow resents this. She hates being at the bottom, and more than that she hates the Silvers, but when she has the chance to work at the Silver Palace it is an offer she can't refuse. It is there, Mare discovers something about herself, she too possesses an extraordinary power, despite the fact that she bleeds red. The Silvers becoming afraid of what she can do, hide her in the palace itself claiming her to be a long lost Silver princess. They engage her to a prince and put her in the center of a deadly court of Silvers ruled by a devious king. Mare knows that one misstep will lead to her death yet she communicates with the Red Guard, a group of rebels, to help bring down the Silvers. But this is a world of liars, oat...

A story about growing up and losing the innocence of childhood set against the background of World War II. Gene is introverted and lonely. Phineas is handsome and a daredevil. What happens between these two unlikely friends will change their understanding of life. 1 star. Right under Yellowstone is a supervolcano, and it's overdue for an eruption. Alex plans to spend the weekend enjoying his house to himself by playing video games and hanging out. But the eruption disrupts his plans as it plunges his world into darkness and ash. He must trek across the country to find his parents. 4 stars. Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel must spends 227 days on a life boat trying to beat all odds, including Richard Parker, a Bengal Tiger. 2 stars. My Review When an unexpected rule change forces all students to join a sports team, an even more unexpected group of kids, with Jack Logan as their leader, decide to make a team whose goal is to lose. But soon they've made a nam...

They came, a long long time ago, from the sky among fire and smoke. They gave us civilization and rules. They needed us to mine gold for them, when they had what they needed they left, but before leaving they told us that they would come back and when they came back a game would be played, Endgame. This game would determine our future. For ten thousand years the first twelve lines of humanity have kept a Player ready at all times to compete in Endgame. Generation after generation after generation have trained in everything. The players are good and evil, smart and stupid, weak and strong, ugly and beautiful, like you, like all of you. When the game starts, the players will be expected to find keys. these keys are hidden on the Earth. Whoever finds the keys first wins. The rules of Endgame are: there are no rules to Endgame. This is the hunt for the first key. Will stupidity beat kindness? Laziness top beauty? Loyalty thwart ruthlessness? Will the winner be good or evil? There is ...

Happy (belated) New Year! I hope you enjoyed celebrating the coming of the new year and I also hope you read many amazing book in the past year. As I welcome 2016 as an opportunity to keep reading many new books, meeting new people, watching new movies, making new friends, and geeking out about books, I would like a to take a moment to name my top 10 favorite reads of 2015 (in no particular order): The Perks of Being a Wallflower by: Stephen Chbosky  Red Queen by: Victoria Aveyard To Kill A Mockingbird by: Harper Lee Thirteen Reasons Why by: Jay Asher Out of My Mind by: Sharon M. Draper Kill Me Softly by: Sarah Cross Lord of the Flies by: William Golding The 5th Wave by: Rick Yancy To Sir, With Love by: E.R. Braithwaite Esperanza Rising by: Pan Munoz Ryan Have a great year ahead and happy reading!