Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, readers!

For the past few weeks, I've been reading a variety of things! In the spirit of Halloween, I'm actually reading a horror story. That's right - the girl who sleeps with a night light every night is reading a HORROR story. It's amazing, too. Cheesy, but amazing - and I'm loving it.
It's entitled Breed by Chase Novak.

I think I enjoy it so much because it's sci-fi horror, really. The basic plot is that Alex and Leslie want to get pregnant and cannot. They have no lack of money (since Alex is from the famous Twisden family) and try everything they can to no avail. Alex refuses to adopt and finally they decide to try one more fertility treatment from a Dr. Kis in Slovenia. Leslie immediately becomes pregnant (with twins no less) after their trip and although Dr. Kis is a weird dude, they go along with his treatments which include getting painful injections of a goby fish (SPOILER ALERT: The doctor fails to realize until it's too late that the goby fish eat their own young - yikes!) 

Fast forward ten years later and the twins are ten years old and are afraid of their parents who have very strange tendencies...

So all in all, I'm very enjoying this animalistic sci-fi. At least for now. 

My little sister (not very little, she's eighteen) is reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer, which I'm going to read next. It's about a cyborg, Cinder, who is eighteen and going to a ball. That's all she's told me thus far, but I'm excited to read it next since I'm all about the dystopian teen lit this year apparently. 

Now for a bit of personal stuff - I was able to dress up and be two different characters because I just adore Halloween so much. Last Friday night I was Elle Driver from Kill Bill and Saturday night I was Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones! Note my awesome tattoo that says "Fire and Blood" drawn by my lovely boyfriend (who was Walter White from Breaking Bad!) Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of me being Elle Driver AKA California Mountain Snake because all the pictures that I had were taken AFTER my eye patch broke. Boo. (At least it was only 99 cents at iParty!)

Hope you all have an amazing Halloween! 

A few quick things...

So, this is hardly a book review entry but I'm writing it anyways because I feel so dang guilty for not writing in simply ages.
That being said, October is a hell of a busy month. I mean, really, it's like every friend's birthday, Halloween, AND Pumpkin Fest (if you're not from NH, then disregard this bit or just google it if you want to have some fun). It's just a lot of things in 4 weeks. I've been getting loads more hours at the library and started babysitting some real cool kiddos, so I've been preoccupied!

In book news, however, I'm still reading The Handmaid's Tale which = dystopian lit-extremist-feminist-awesomeness that I'm nearly finished with. Also I'm still reading Abarat: Absolute Midnight which is taking ages because it's so dark and as I said before insane busy schedule etc.

Now in other news, this is my new favorite blog because, well, I love Natalie Dee. If you don't know who Natalie Dee is, you should probably just get real comfy at your computer with some snacks because you'll be reading her comics (and probably her husband's too) for hours. End of story.

Also, let's talk Halloween excitement. One of my FAVORITE children's books is Coraline by Neil Gaiman and here is a link to not only Neil Gaiman reading Coraline, but also Lemony Snicket does a chapter and there are more to come, too. Sweet, right?

In other news, I'm obsessed with pumpkins. Bookish pumpkins, mainly. Pumpkins that have characters from all our fave books. Look at them, they are actually incredible.

The best news of this month however is that I'm going to be Daenerys from Game of Thrones for Halloween. So that will be AWESOME. (To tell the truth it was a bit up in the air for a while when I wanted to be Elle from Kill Bill since I finally just saw those movies and am desperately in love now. Obviously).

Sorry again for the laziness, but I feel the links have really made up for it. Disagree? Leave a comment and complain, then.

Abarat

October is such a busy month that I've really been slow with reading and also with updating about books I've read! Since I've calmed down from A Dance with Dragons I am finally able to read the third book of Abarat: Absolute Midnight by Clive Barker.

I first read the book Abarat (2002) when I was thirteen and quickly devoured the second book Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War (2004). These books are set in a fantasy world in which every hour of the day has its own island creating the archipelago called Abarat. Enter Candy Quackenbush from the middle of nowhere, America. She is thrown into the world of the Abarat without knowing why or even how. The stories reveal why she is tied to the Abarat ... in time. There are gorgeous illustrations throughout the book to paint a better picture of some of the more colorful characters for the reader.

So you can imagine my extreme delight when Abarat: Absolute Midnight came out ... SEVEN YEARS LATER in 2011. Of course I'm only getting around to reading it now, but I'm completely engrossed in it already. The third book is gripping and filled with even more beautiful artwork. I love the cover and I love the darkness that this book brings to the story. Evil is afoot in the Abarat.

So I'm already giving it five stars, because halfway through, I'm in love. Try the first one and let me know what you think.

An Entry In Which I Finally Review A Dance With Dragons

I've finished A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin. And now I don't know what to do with my life! The sixth book won't come out until WHO KNOWS WHEN!?!?! SPOILER ALERT below the cover picture.

I just have a few things to say about A Dance With Dragons. Obviously, go Varys for defending the kingdom per usual. Go Daenerys I'm THRILLED that you can fly. Ramsay Bolton and Euron should just marry each other as they are both so evil. And go Jon Snow!!! Storm Winterfell! 

I cannot wait until the next one comes out. That's how I feel about this book: I want the next one. 

Plus, the ending image of Daenerys naked, dirty and covered in blood standing next to her dragon in front of an entire khalasar really doesn't leave you in a good place. Thanks for the cliffhanger, Martin. 

SPOILER ALERT DONE!

Moving on from one of my most favorite series of all time, we have a very different book, which I just finished yesterday. This follows the story of Silver, ex-rocker ten years divorced, fat, lazy, and single. His eighteen-year-old daughter comes back into his life asking for help and changes the way he sees everything - and so does the fact that he finds out his aorta is torn. 

I loved the way that Jonathan Tropper wrote this - I'll definitely be reading more of his work ASAP. I love his descriptions, his grittiness, and his unwillingness to hold back on the craziness that ensues. 

This is a five-star book.