Filling the shelf – 14

Filling the Shelf is basically Mailbox Monday (created by The Printed Page) or In my Mailbox (created by The Story Siren ), but with a title that suits my blog  If you’re interested in joining the fun or seeing what other bloggers added to their shelves, I invite you to visit those two awesome bloggers!

As I mentioned in my last Filling the Shelf post, I’ve had a lot of books entering my house recently. I think my prediction that 2010 will see a return to adult literature is getting confirmed by my recent purchases. Not that I won’t read YA anymore, but maybe less of it.

This recent selection includes :

The Girl with glass feet by Ali Shaw
Alice I have been by Melanie Benjamin
Through a Glass darkly by Karleen Koen
While I’m falling by Laura Moriarty
World War Z by Max Brooks
The Believers by Zoe Heller

All books for which I have read good things, enough to make me curious of reading them.

Also, you might remember how I enjoyed Too Good to be true by Kristan Higgins, even though I’m not a huge romance fan. Anyway, I ordered her other novels and the last of them arrived this week, among which The Next best Thing, her most recent one. I can’t wait to jump into those, I think they’ll be perfect to go through the mid-terms!

Fools rushed In, Catch of the Day, Just one of the Guys and The Next best thing by Kristan Higgins.

Now that you know what I got, it’s your turn : what was in your mailbox?

Review : Twenty Boy Summer

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Pages : 290
Genre : YA, Fiction
Stand alone
My Rating :

From the Book’s Jacket :

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie – she’s already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

When the book first came out, it was everywhere. Reviews, interviews, chats, giveaways… It was impossible to open my feed reader and not find a post about it. What made me curious about it was how every review of it was a raving one. Oh, I’m sure some people didn’t like it as much; but the ones I read were all extremely positive.

Having just read the book, I can see why. It was such an amazing novel, both heartbreaking and filled with summer, nostalgic and beautifully written. I loved the story, the characters, the narration : this book gripped me from the first line and carried me right to the end, almost in one single breath. I loved, loved, loved it. I laughed, I cried – yes, I did. I can’t remember the last time a book pulled my strings in such a way, but it did.

What made it so good to me was Ockler’s writing and the way she brings detail into her narration. The story in itself was good, yes, but not something unheard of; it’s the way the story was told that made it such a great read. I think one of Ockler’s strength was how Anna and Frankie, despite having been through a traumatic event, still acted and thought like teenagers. Her descriptions of teenage sexuality were also one of the most realistic I’ve seen in YA fiction : she found the perfect balance between the stereotypes of “easy” and “abstinent”, which made it sound extremely true to me.

I took notes on the passages I wanted to share in this review, and there were just so many, but here are a few that I really liked :

[...] he kissed me, one frosting-covered hand moving from my hair to the back of my neck, the other solid and warm in the small of my back, pressing us together, my chest against his ribs, my hip bones just below his, the tops of our bare summer legs hot and touching. I stopped breathing. My eyes were closed and his mouth tasted like marzipan and cigarettes, and in ten seconds the whole of my life was wrapped up in that one kiss, that one wish, that one secret that would forever divide my life in two parts. (p. 7)

And :

When it happens, you’re totally unprepared, fragmented and lost, looking for the hidden meaning in every little thing. I’ve replayed the events of that day a hundred thousand times, looking for clues. An alternate ending. The Butterfly effect.

[...]

If I could find the butterfly that flapped its wings before we got into the car that day, I would crush it. (p.88)

And :

The whole idea of loosing one’s virginity is kind of ridiculous. To lose something implies carelessness. A mistake that you can fix by recovering the lost object, like your cell phone or your glasses. Virginity is more like shedding something that losing it. As in, “Don’t worry, Mom. You can call off the helicopters and police dogs. Turns out – get this – I didn’t actually lose my virginity. I just cast it off somewhere between here and Monterey. Can you believe it? It could be anywhere by now, what with all that wind.” (p.192-193)

If you’re one of the few who read YA fiction but haven’t read this one yet, I can’t recommend it enough. It reminded me slightly of two of my favorite YA fiction books from last year, Artichoke’s Heart and The Summer I Turned Pretty (probably that second one more than the first), but the writing made it even more memorable for me. I already know that, come December 2010, it will be on my top reads of the year!

The Beauty of Reading – Part II

I really enjoyed doing this post the first time, and as it turned out, it was one of the most popular post I did in my first year of blogging. I thought I would share more of the fabulous pictures I found  that represent this beautiful passion of ours : reading!

To see part I, click here.

Woman reading, Kuniyoshi Utagawa

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Woman Reading a Book, 1845

Young Woman Reading, Alfred Stevens, 1856

Marguerite Gerard. Lady Reading in an Interior

Woman reading in a landscape, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, 1869

Woman Reading near a goldfish tank, Lovis Corinth, 1911

This selection is definitely less erotic than some of the pictures in the first post; however, I realized that, compare to these beautiful women, I am quite under-dress when I read! I can’t remember the last time I dressed in silk and lace to read… or was it in another life?

Hopefully you enjoy these as much as I do : I still have many more to share with you in future posts!

Wrapping Up January 2010

I used to do this in the Sunday Salon posts, but since I haven’t done any in a while, I thought I would wrap up my reading and blogging month in a separate post!  But before I do so, I also want to remind you that January celebrated my first year blogoversary and that I have a huge giveaway going on for the occasion! Click on the picture to enter!

Read in January 2010 : I had a great reading month : I read a lot and very entertaining reading, too!

1. City of Bones By Cassandra Clare
2. My Soul to Save By Rachel Vincent
3. The Season By Sarah MacLean
4. City of Ashes By Cassandra Clare
5. The Lonely Hearts Club By Elizabeth Eulberg
6. Whip It By Shauna Cross
7. L’échappée Belle By Anna Gavalda
8. The Dead and The Gone By Susan Beth Pfeffer
9. Nice Girls don’t Live Forever By Molly Harper
10. City of Glass By Cassandra Clare
11. Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth By Xiaolu Guo
12. Spin By Catherine McKenzie
13. Airhead By Meg Cabot
14. Being Nikki By Meg Cabot
15. Some Girls Are By Courtney Summers
16. The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan
17. Twenty Boy Summer By Sarah Ockler

Twenty Boy Summer was by far the best I read this month. Not only was it heartbreaking, it was also beautifully written! It’s going to be at least a 4.5 stars, but I think I’ll go with my heart and give it a big 5!

Other awesome reads were : The Season (cute novel!), Nice Girls don’t live forever (the best of the three books, in my opinion), Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth (love the different setting and writing), Spin (original and filled with humor, but also with some food for thought), Airhead and Being Nikki (written by Meg Cabot : need I say more?), and Some Girls Are (great and tragic, with writing as only Summers can do it).

Disappointing reads : My Soul to Save (I’m usually a big Vincent fan, but this one didn’t do it for me) and Whip it (the narrator spent so much time being witty, it annoyed me).

Reviews posted :

1. My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent
2. The Season by Sarah MacLean
3. Cracked up to be by Courtney Summers
4. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
5. The Dead and The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
6. Gone by Michael Grant
7. Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo
8. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Comics for January :

1. New Year Resolutions
2. A Twilight Education
3. Huge Giveaway!

Review : City of Ashes

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Pages : 453
Genre : YA, Urban Fantasy
Series : The Mortal Instruments, Book 2
My Rating :

From the Back of the Book :

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who’s becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn’t ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

Having now read the three books in the series, I can say this is definitely my favorite! Lots of actions, many twists and turns, mysteries, danger, great developments for the characters; I really enjoyed it! Clare created a sequel worth of its predecessor and I flew through the pages in just a couple of days.

I really can’t say much more than that without risking spoiling it; however, there is one thing I would like to talk about – or should I say, one character, and that character is Alec. I have to say, I just love what Clare did with him!

Very soon in the first book, we learn that Alec is gay. To be honest, I have some difficulties with the typical homosexuals we often meet in books and movies. You know the one : the fashion-obsessed, gossipy, high-pitched voice, colorful gay who’s function if mostly comic-relief. I understand that some gays fit that stereotype – I worked for many years in the Gay Village in Montreal and I did meet them! But if I look at the guys I personally know that are gays, none of them really fit that description. Anyway, that is a whole other debate that would deserve its own post, so back to the review :

I liked Alec because he was exactly NOT like this. If you take away all the parts discussing his love life, there is nothing pointing at his sexual orientation : he doesn’t walk around in sparkly pants, worship Madonna or panics if his hair gets undone. His sexual orientation is part of who he is rather than being the thing that completely defines him. In other words, I was glad he wasn’t used as a ridiculous comic relief : Alec is a character you can take seriously. He is a complex guy who has yet to completely accept this part of who he is, and I really felt for him (much more than I did for Clary, I have to say).

So yes, I enjoyed this one, and even more after reading the third book since some issues that were bothering me were then fixed. If you’re into fast-pace paranormal novels and you enjoyed the first book, this one is definitely one not to miss!

Series Reading Order :

1. City of Bones
2. City of Ashes
3. City of Glass
4. City of Fallen Angels (published 2011)

Blogoversary Giveaway – YA edition!

As promised, here it is : the first giveaway to celebrate my blogoversary!

One winner will have the chance to read those 6 YA titles ; scroll down for more details on what you can get, and how you can get it!

What You can Win :

All books are in NEW condition!

1. Devil’s Kiss by Sarwat Chadda : First in a series. “As the youngest and only female member of the Knights Templar, Bilquis SanGreal grew up knowing she wasn’t normal. Instead of hanging out at the mall or going on dates, she spends her time training as a soldier in her order’s ancient battle against the Unholy…”
2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore : First in a series (although from what I understand, Fire, the second book, is more like a prequel) “In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.”
3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman : Stand alone. “What happens when you make a promise to bring back a fallen star? Teenager Tristran Thorn is about to find out, as he ventures beyond the wall of his English countryside town. After falling in love with the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester, he sets out on a quest to fulfill his promise to his beloved—and stumbles into the magical realm that lies beyond.”
4. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan : Stand alone. “It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City…”
5. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mean : First in a series. “St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run…”
6. Glass Houses by Rachel Caine : First in a series. “Due to advanced placement, Claire can start college early, but her parents refuse to allow her to go to the distant Ivy League school of her dreams. She goes to Texas Prairie University where she is tormented by the popular girls—but that’s the least of her worries. Morganville, home of the university, is also home to vampires and vampire hunters. Claire finds protection from the horrors of the town in the Glass House with three fellow outcasts, Goth girl Eve, rebellious Shane, and Michael, who disappears during the day…”

And Now, the Rules :

• Due to the size of the prize, this giveaway is sadly open to US & Canada only. (But don’t worry, International giveaways are coming soon!)
• Giveaway ends on February 10th, 2010
• To enter, leave a message answering one of these questions : “Which book are you most looking forward to among these?” or “Supposing you win, if you are planning on offering these books or some of them to someone else, who will be this lucky person?” If you don’t answer, you entry will not count
• Get a second entry by linking to this giveaway via Twitter OR your blog (one or the other; NOT both). Leave a separate comment.
• For all entries, don’t forget to include you email!

Good luck to you all!

Comic : Huge Giveaway!

The promised giveaways are coming soon! Meanwhile, a little comic :

What do you mean, “That’s not how giveaways work”?

Review : Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous youth

Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous youth by Xiaolu Guo
Pages : 164
Genre : Fiction
Standalone
My Rating :

Summary from Goodreads :

Twenty-one-year-old Fenfang Wang has traveled 1,800 miles to seek her fortune in contemporary urban Beijing and has no desire to return to the drudgery of the sweet-potato fields back home. Fenfang is determined to live a modern life. With courage and purpose, she forges ahead, and soon lands a job as a film extra. While playing roles like“woman walking over the bridge” and “waitress wiping a table” helps her eke out a meager living, Fenfang comes under the spell of two unsuitable young men, keeps her cupboard stocked with UFO noodles, and, after mastering the fever and tumult of the city, ultimately finds her true independence in the one place she never expected.

I don’t read enough Asian literature : that’s a fact. A fact that I was remembered of while reading Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth. I loved it, from the first page to the last. The writing was beautiful in simplicity, and yet said so much at once. For instance, on the first page :

My youth began when I was twenty-one. [...] If you think twenty-one sounds a bit late for youth to start, just think about the average Chinese peasant, who leaps straight from childhood to middle age with nothing in between. If I was going to miss out on anything, it was middle age. Be young or die. That was my plan.

Fenfang’s story isn’t told exactly in chronological order; as the title advertises, the book consists in twenty fragments that are presented like snapshots of Fengang’s life. While there was no clear continuity, I didn’t get confused by the timeline either; the author introduces each fragment with a few time markers, making it easy enough to travel through her life. This is not a story with a clear beginning or end : it’s more like listening to a friend who tells her memories in no particular order, as it comes.

I also feel the need to point out that this is no YA novel. I’ve seen in categorized as such in a few places, but I bought my copy in the regular fiction department at the bookstore and I really felt it belonged there. It’s written with an adult perspective, and I really think an “older” public will relate to it more. As a matter of fact, my favorite fragment was the one in which Fenfang shares her feeling when visiting her parents after all these years apart. Having been living on my own for close to ten years now, I could really relate to her feelings, both relieved to have left and longing to be back. Witnessing the passage of time on her parents, she realizes that everything changes, even though it feels like her little village will always be the same.

Twenty Fragments was a little book that went fast but not too fast, but that succeeded in touching me. I will definitely be reading more by Xiaolu Guo.

One Year on the Infinite Shelf!

Happy Blogi.. blogovarsary… versary…

Happy Anniversary!

The Infinite Shelf is today celebrating its one year in existence!

That’s right; today, I can officially say that I’ve been blogging for a year. I have to say, I’m quite impressed : I tried starting a blog so many times in the past, that I never thought this one would actually stick. As much as I complain again and again about how fast time goes, the day I wrote my first awkward post seems really far in the past…

Today, I just want to share some statistics with you all (since I LOVE statistics, for some weird reason!)

Number of Posts : 264 (including this one)

Number of Reviews : 100

Number of Pageviews : 18,286

Number of Comments : 2,468

Month with the Lest activity : January 2009

Month with the Most activity : June 2009

Top Ten Posts : (not including giveaways)

1. Comic : A Book Blogger’s Free Day
2. Top Summer Beach Reads
3. Review : Gothic Art Now
4. A Bookshelf for Everyone
5. Comic : The Book Addict and the stages of Grief
6. Review : The Vampire Diaries – The Awakening and The Struggle
7. Comic : The Book Blogger’s Monologues
8. The Beauty of Reading
9. Review : Leviathan
10. Review : Wintergirls

Popular Search Terms leading to the Blog : best summer beach reads – gothic art now – infinite shelf – cool shelves – leslie ann o’dell – artichoke’s heart – tree shelf – linger book – susan beth pfeffer – the awakening – comic monologues – evermore

Funny Search Terms leading to the Blog :

• fantasy vampires – vampire sensual – hot vampire fantasy : this seems to be a common theme in search terms leading readers to the Infinite Shelf. Seriously!? Well, okay, I like vampires, but I have a feeling these people may not have found what they were looking for here…
• devouring paper bricks : hmm, not recommended?

Of Course, I didn’t do all this all by myself, and so as I celebrate, I wanted to say a HUGE, very HUGE THANK YOU to all of you for following me, commenting, recommending books, helping me when I needed help. I really do appreciate it, and to celebrate both the blog and your presence around it, I have many giveaways and entertaining posts coming in the next weeks.

Happy Blogoversary (not sure I got it right), and once more, THANK YOU!

Is it Cold, or what?

This is a short post to say how sorry I am that I have been kind of m.i.a. lately!

For the second time in 2010, I have been stuck in bed with a cold (or on the couch, actually, buried under covers with a sea of tissues surrounding me). Kind of a funny story, actually : when i had my first cold, I sneezed and hurt the muscles in my back. A week after my cold, my back still hurt so I decided to go to the clinic. I waited 3 hours in the over-populated clinic, sitting between a coughing kid whining about his throat hurting and a woman who was constantly sneezing and coughing. Guess who got sick too the day after? With one injury leading to the other, I’m starting to wonder what’s next!

Well, that’s just to say, that cold hit me hard. My throat was hurting, my ears too, I couldn’t breath and it seemed all I could talk about was how bad I felt! Fascinating how quick you can become one of those whiny self-centered people, isn’t it? I have to say though, that the Man of the House has an almost infinite patience, and makes really good soup. I felt lucky to have him around (not that it stopped my constant whining in any way)

So, that’s basically why I haven’t gotten around the blog or leaving many comments on yours lately. But, fear not! The blog’s anniversary will be celebrated, starting Monday! I have some awesome giveaways coming, and although I have been too sick to prepare all the posts I wanted to put on, I should be back in full force pretty soon.