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 ...

For thousands of years pegasi and humans have peacefully co-existed, communicating with each other, through pegasi shamans and human magicians. Each human is bound to his or her own pegasus on their twelfth birthday. On Princess Sylviianel, Sylvi for short, is bound, quite ceremoniously, to her own pegasus, Ebon.  But for whatever reason, Sylvi and Ebon  can  talk to each other. This communication threatens to destroy the peace between their nations. Will their communication actually break apart their nations or are they strong enough to hold them together? Pegasus  started out as nice and interesting, and it ended not as well as it started. I decided to read it because it sounded like a good book. The beginning was all fine and dandy, nice plot twists, good characters, and building of bonds. Then came the middle of the book, it got better, the plot started thickening, Ebon and Sylvi started facing their own troubles, and that means that they are...

Avery West has always believed that she has no family. But her family has found her, and her family just happens to be one of the most powerful ones on the planet. They can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace or they order a bombing when they want to start a world war. They are part of a powerful and secret society called The Circle, and they believe that Avery is a part of a prophecy. Some of them want to use her, others of them want her dead. Avery must unravel a trail of clues, to find the truth, which could send the world in World War 3. But that isn't the only closely guarded secret, the two boys helping her, Steven and Jack, both have secrets of their own, that their hiding. As her normal life crumples around her Avery will have choice to make that will change everything, maybe even the future of the world. If you asked me to you a short phrase that describes The Conspiracy of Us , I would say, "Thirty-nine Clues for teens." Basically you take the...

Clay Jensen comes home one day to find a mysterious box with his name on it, lying on his porch. It has no return address, and Clay Jensen has no way of knowing who sent it. Inside the box are thirteen cassette tapes that have been recorded by his classmate Hannah Baker, the girl he had a crush on, and the girl who killed herself two weeks. Hannah tells Clay that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, she'll tell him how he made the list.  Thirteen Reasons Why  was on my to-read list for awhile and I never got around to reading it (probably because my to-read list is 400 books long). Recently I decided to start clearing my to-read list. Thirteen Reasons Why  was one of the thirty books I read. My favorite thing about Thirteen Reasons Why  was the way it was written. It is the only book I have ever read which is written with the main character having a back and forth with a recording. Hannah talks, tell...

Beka Cooper is not a Puppy anymore, she's a Dog. But things aren't going well, there's counterfeits out in the markets, merchants are raising their prices, and that's not good with the coming winter. Beka and her mentor Goodwin have to undercover but is Beka up to the job? 3 stars. Nimira is a music hall performer who is forced to perform in front of a bunch of leering drunks. Hollin Parry hires her to accompany a piano playing automaton. There's secrets in the air, a mad woman roams Parry's house and a fairy might be trapped in the automaton. 2 stars. Two sisters who will do anything in order to protect each other. Annie can't see the present but she can see the future. Fia can never do the wrong thing, her instincts are perfect. When the sisters are offered a place at an elite boarding school, they agree. This is no ordinary school as Fia realizes, this school does everything from choose stocks to plant bombs. They stole her past. They control...

Darcy has put her whole life on hold to go to New York to publish her teen novel. Lizze accidentally slips into the "Afterworld" in order to survive a terrorist attack. Darcy has a lot to learn about the writing world. Lizzie discovers that there are many stories that need solving in the "Afterworld," the world between life and death. She constantly wonders if she's made the right decision until she falls into a crowd of seasoned and fledgling writers. All of sudden Lizzie is faced with new threats she might not be able to overcome. One writes the words, the other lives them. I enjoyed reading Afterworlds  for two main reasons. One, I liked the fact that it took me into the publishing world through the perspective of a writer. I learned a lot about how books get published and also got "to see" how hard authors have to work before their book actually goes into print. The second reason I enjoyed reading Afterworlds . Before we to my reason, you ne...

Saba has always followed in her twin brother Lugh's footsteps, so when four cloaked men kidnap Lugh, she follows trying to save him. Soon she is forced to team up with Jack and the Free Hawks a group of revolutionaries. As she does she realizes she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. 4 stars. When Brontë starts dating Bruiser, her twin Tennyson isn't surprised but unnatural thing start happening, bruises disappear, scrapes heal too fast, and it seems like their good fortune but it may be more than they bargained for. 4 stars.  Princess Sylvi is bound to her pegasus Ebon on her twelfth birthday, for a thousand years before them the pegasi and humans have lived safely because of their inability to communicate without the help of magicians and shamans. Ebon and Sylvi can  talk. Will their friendship destroy the peace between the nations? 2 stars. Grace moves and starts seeing monsters and a girl who looks exactly like her...

Mirabelle's past is unknown, her parents are dead, and her guardians have forbidden her to return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to find some answers Mira runs away to Beau Rivage. Nothing is as it seems in Beau Rivage, a pale girl has a morbid interest in apples, an obnoxious playboy is a beast to everyone he meets and yet another guy has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life and are played out, again and agian. But fairy tales aren't always pretty and don't always end happily ever after. Mira has a role play, a destiny to embrace or fight.  Everything about Kill Me Softly  drew me in, starting from the title to the cover to the first chapter itself, (says a lot about my tastes doesn't it?). I really liked the way the story started without any wandering. What I mean is that Sarah Cross got right into her story without wasting time, she started with a purpose and delivered on the purpose. Another thing that I enjoyed was th...

The final installment in the Hush, Hush  series. Nora has gotten past a lot of troubles but the biggest one is yet to come... she has to win lead and win war or she's dead. 3 stars. Galen is the prince of the Syrena and he's on a mission to find a girl who can communicate with fish. Emma literally runs into Galen, when they both sense a connection. But it takes several encounters to convince both Emma and Galen of Emma's gifts. Galen knows she hold the key to his kingdom but can he convince her? 4 stars. Doug Swieteck and Lil Spicer become friends and Lil challenges him to find new sides of himself, as he does he fixes his relationships with his father, brother, peers, and his teachers. 3 stars. Melody can't walk or talk, but she's smart. Smarter than all the people who diagnose her, smarter than her classmates who dismiss her as retarded. Melody won't be defined by her disease and she's going to let people know, ready or not. 5 stars. ...