Tag Archives: Around the world in 80 days

2015 Reading Challenge

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I originally found this challenge on Facebook and few months ago and decided that I wanted to participate in it. It is a year-long challenge that would force me to read books out of my comfort level. I thought it would be really cool and fun. Recently I found the original Goodreads group that set up the challenge and all the mini challenges to read throughout the year. I found out that there are a lot more challenges that what was posted on Facebook. With this new list, I have taken all the books that I have read this year and placed them in each category. I have doubled up on books because a lot of challenges allow you to do that. My goal for the rest of the year is to make updates on this challenge periodically.

  1. a book with more than 500 pages
  • The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
  1. a romance
  2. a book that became a movie
  • Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
  1. a book published this year
  • The Crown of Ptolemy by Rick Riordan
  1. a book with a number in the title
  1. a book written by someone under 30
  2. a book with nonhuman characters
  • Rat Queens Vol. 1 & 2
  1. a funny book
  • The Crown of Ptolemy by Rick Riordan
  1. a book by a female author
  • Adventures of Funeral Crashing #1 by Milda Harris
  • Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
  • Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne
  • How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor
  1. a mystery or thriller
  1. a book with a one-word title
  1. a book of short stories
  1. a book set in a different country
  1. a nonfiction book
  2. a popular author’s first book
  1. a book from your favorite author that you haven’t read yet
  2. a book a friend recommended
  3. a Pulitzer-prize winning book
  4. a book based on a true story
  5. a book at the bottom of your to-read list
  • Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
  1. a book your mom loves
  2. a book that scares you
  3. a book more than 100 years old
  1. a book based entirely on its cover
  1. a book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t
  2. a memoir
  3. a book you can finish in a day
  • Ms. Marvel Vol. 1
  • Ms. Marvel Vol. 2
  • Rat Queens Vol. 1
  • Rat Queens Vol. 2
  • Smile
  • Anya’s Ghost
  1. a book with antonyms in the title
  2. a book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit
  1. a book that came out the year you were born
  2. a book with bad reviews
  3. a trilogy (the first)
  1. a trilogy (the second)
  1. a trilogy (the third)
  1. a book from your childhood
  1. a book with a love triangle
  1. a book set in the future
  1. a book set in high school
  1. a book with a color in the title
  1. a book that made/makes you cry
  2. a book with magic
  1. a graphic novel
  1. a book by an author you’ve never read before
  • Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee
  1. a book you own but have never read
  2. a book that takes place in your hometown
  3. a book that was originally written in another language
  1. a book set during Christmas (or similar holiday)
  2. a book written by an author with your same initials
  3. a play
  4. a banned book
  5. a book based on OR turned into a tv show
  6. 52. a book you started but never finished
So far that is what I have completed for the 2015 reading challenge. I am planning on giving you an update for this challenge either the end of August or the end of September. I am not doing the challenges in order like everyone else since I started so late. I do hope that you will enjoy seeing my progress. See you next time. Happy Reading!

The Character Book Tag

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It is time for another tag post! This one, as you can tell by its title, is about the characters we have read and love(or hate). I saw it on Regan’s channel PurseProject and thought this would be fun. So let’s begin.

The Questions:
1. Who is the best kick-ass character?

Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass. She is an assassin as well as a girly girl, who owns who it. I love how proud she is of herself, as well as being both physically and mentally strong. She is not afraid to ask questions and prefers doing what is right.
2. Which character do you most dislike?

Oh…. Where do I begin? I somehow have a list of characters that I dislike, and amazingly they are all pretty high up there on the dislike list. Let me just list some of those characters for you.

a)Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Not only do I hate this character, but this is a shared hatred with millions of other people both real and fictional. You know it is big when you have characters help another hated and despised character do harm onto this one.

b)Dr. Caldwell from The Girl With All The Gifts.  I said it before, and I will say it again, I don’t see how this person could be the world’s most smartest mind with all the stupid choices she has made throughout the book.

c) Daisy Crispin from Perfectly Dateless. She is the main character of this book, and the main reason why I gave this book such a low rating. She started off with so much potential and strength and lost it all in the end.

d) The King of Adarlan (Don’t Know his name) from Throne of Glass. Let us just call him the king that must die. He is so desperate for power that he is willing to kill off his own subjects and children to gain more power. In addition, this guy makes rules and purposely breaks his own rules. What kind of a leader is he?
3. If you could date any fictional character who would it be and why?

James “Jem” Carstairs from The Clockwork Angel. Jem is very sweet and gentle and was welcoming to Theresa.
4. If you could change a character in any way what would it be?

Aaron Tyler from Trouble. The one thing that I would love to change would be his courage to tell his best friend what really happened that afternoon when everything went down. I would also love it if Aaron realizes that the situation was not his fault.
5. What character to you made all the wrong choices that didn’t add anything to the book?

Aouda from Around the World in 80 Days. The chick did nothing in the book for the exception of being rescued and saying yes to Mr. Fogg’s proposal. The most useless character in all of history.
6. Which character was the best villain whom you love to hate?

Lilith from the Circle Trilogy. If the lady wasn’t just plain evil, have a desire to suck my blood, or just place me as her lowly servant, I would label her as a kick-ass character. She is really good at planning, fighting, and standing up to what she believes in. In addition, she is really good at caring about others in her own way. It is a little sad that she seems a little psychotic.
7. A favorite side-kick character with the most heart?

Brynn from the 80AD series. I love this character! What makes him a great sidekick is the fact that he is not perfect. He is a thief, he tends to lie and cheat, but he is lovable and hilarious. His sense of humor and heart makes him a great pair with Pheniox.
8. What is your favorite fictional romantic relationship?

Jack and Hazel from The Darkest Part of the Forest. I loved the relationship that these two have, and how they bonded over time.
9. What character did you think was the strongest?

Liz Taylor from Just Like Elizabeth Taylor. This girl is not strong physically but has strength in courage. For her to admit a situation and just leave is huge. On top of that, she helps other as well as keeping her best friend safe. It took a lot of courage for her to change her environment.
10. Best protagonist?

Picking your favorite main character is like picking your favorite book. I do not have a favorite main character. However to pick one, I would choose Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and The Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles Crossover. I love how smart she, and isn’t afraid of danger. She gets in there and tries to fix a problem.

I do hope that you have enjoyed this tag. This tag was a bit harder to do, but I enjoyed the challenge. See you next time and happy reading!

Nintendo Book Tag

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I wanted to take a little break from reviews with a fun little book tag. Saw this book tag, from Katytastic, and I thought it would be tons of fun. I provided a link to the tag above. Enjoy reading.

QUESTIONS
1) NES (Nintendo Entertainment System): A classic you want to read

After my adventure with Jules Vern in Around the World in 80 Days, I am a bit Classic out. However, I do need to complete Treasure Island before the end of this week, so I do believe that can be counted. To be honest, I do have some classics that I want to read. The two classics that I have at the top of my list are not books but plays. I would like to read A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
2) SNES (Super Nintendo): A sequel you liked more than the 1st (can be a 2nd book in a series)

I generally label good sequels as the second book being better than the first. At least I have the expectation that the continuing books be better than the first. The first book is going to be a bit slow. You are learning about the world, the characters and about the main problem. The rest of the series you will not be focusing on such details.

Just to put some series in this section, I would say Eragon, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and The Heroes Of Olympus. These are a few of the series in which I know that the following books are better than the first.
3) Nintendo 64: A book that revolutionized the way you look at the world
4) Gamecube: A popular book that did not go over so well with you

I must admit that I did enjoy this book, however the reason why it is in this category is because I am still trying to see why it got the hype that it did. The book that won this category is Blankets by Craig Thompson.
5) Wii: A new favorite book

I do not believe in playing favorite with my books. I either like the book or I don’t. However, I must say that this year my new favorite book has been I Killed the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora.
6) Nintendo Power: Favorite graphic novel series or a series you want to start

So far, this has been the year of the graphic novels. I have been reading so many of them. I am glad that I tried something new this year. This was an easy pic. I have really loved the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi. I just love the artwork.
7) Super Mario: A character that you’d love to squish like a Goomba

I read this question and it took me three seconds to pick a character. It might be because the book is still fresh in my mind, but at the same time it was the easiest pick, even if the character gets to die. The character that I wanted to squish like a Goomba is Dr. Caldwell in The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey.  I don’t care how smart this woman is, she made some pretty stupid choices that almost resulted in some deaths. Again, I am left to question this person’s “brilliance.”
8) Zelda: A newer fantasy that you consider to be a modern classic

We all know that I was going to put this here. I am actually proud of myself for not having it in so many different categories. I do count Harry Potter as a modern classic. I not only feel like the story will be relevant throughout time, but its popularity and morals will last throughout time.

The other book that I do count as a modern classic is Eragon. Even though it is not as popular as Harry Potter, it still shares a lot of the traits that Harry Potter has, and it too will last throughout time.
9) Samus-Aran: Favorite sci-fi novel or one you want to read

A Sci-fi novel that I want to read is Ready Player One. I have heard so much about this book, that I just want to get a hold of it and read it.
10) Pokemon: Book editions that you want to collect

This is why I stick to the library. If I collect editions of the same book over just collecting stories, I would be in trouble financially. There are a couple of books that I do want to personally own in physical form. I do want to own Fangirl, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, Harry Potter (I don’t know what happened to the family copies), and The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica.  That is just a list of a few.
11) Donkey Kong: A book with original characters

I am picking Unenchanted by Chanda Hahn. I do love these characters and feel that they are different and unique. I am enjoying our young heroine and how she doesn’t fit into the mold of the typical super hero, male or female. On top of that, using the Grimm Fairy tales to tell the story and to save her family is a great and original twist.
12) Nintendo Fandom: Favorite Nintendo game(s) or game you really want

My favorite Nintendo game is Mario Cart. I have always loved Mario Cart and enjoyed playing Princess Peach since I was  seven. My favorite level was always the one with the snow and penguins because it was the one that I could beat my brother at the best. In addition, I did enjoy rainbow road for the colors and the view.

Around the World in 80 Day – The Review

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Not only was this book part of my TBR challenge, I also used it for the Cram-a-thon last weekend. I am glad that I have read the book, but even more so that I finished it. I do want to apologize. There will be spoilers. I also want to apologize if I offend anyone.

Around The World in 80 Days, by Jules Vern, is about a classic English Gentleman, name Phileas Fogg, who travels around the world in a set amount of time for a bet.

I gave this book two out of five stars on Goodreads. I will admit that I am not a huge fan of the classics, however I do have some books that are my favorite that are classics. In addition, I will admit that I did go into this book with high expectations due to the fact that this was the book that help put Vern on the map for great authors during that time. I gave this book the following rating for the reasons below.

Let’s start with the reasons why I did not like this book. First of all, all the characters are flat and two-dimensional. There is little to no growth for our characters. Fogg just had a means to get to an end, and everyone else was just there along for the ride. There were a few things that I did expect because of the time period of the novel. I did expect some sexism and racism, and was not surprise that Aouda (are only female) had little to no speaking parts, let alone was labeled as a thing to be rescued. Another thing that I did not like was the writing. I felt that the writing was flat and boring. The book is written as event one happen than another. There were little to no details about the views that our characters were seeing, experiencing, feeling, or about other people. If you do get details about other people, it is mainly because an event is going to happen that surrounds that person. Even then, not everyone is described. For example, I got excited over the fact that we finally got a detailed description of a person that Fogg was fighting with in San Francisco, only to find out that we got to see that person later on. I also felt like I turned in a paper similar to this writing format and I received a C on it. I was very surprised that this was the book the put Jules Vern on the map. I also felt like nothing was believable. I understand that technology has improved in the 142 years since the book has been published. I just felt that the events that happened in the story would not even happen in real life. Almost everything went according to plan for Mr. Fogg. Even in today’s world, we still plan for delays and cancellation of flights and such nots. Even in our best of planning, we still don’t get what we want. I was also surprised in how Mr. Fogg was a void towards emotions throughout the book until the end. No matter what delay our party experienced, everyone was worried for the exception of Mr. Fogg. He claimed it was all “a part of his plan.” You planned for a bunch of Native Americans to invade a train while you were about to start a fight? Who plans for that? It is equivalent to any one of us planning for a hijack airplane. What do you do to prepare yourself for such an event? And even more, Mr. Fogg was upset about being arrested, because that was the one thing he didn’t plan for. Really?  Another problem that I had, was the love interest that exist in the book. You never really got to see it developed, unless it was Aouda. I am still having a hard time believing that Mr. Fogg fell in love with this woman, and wanted to marry her.

Though the main reason why it grabbed that extra star was how the book made me think. Not just about the reality of this obscured fantasy, but what life was like during the late 1870’s. I was very surprised to see Vern writing about a cop drugging an innocent servant to keep Fogg from traveling around the world. In today’s world, the cop would be put under scrutiny with the media and the charges on Fogg and his servant would be dropped. I could not help but wonder how as well as why Vern would add that in his story. Were cops under the scrutiny of the media and public for the same reasons ours are?

To end this lovely review I will say if you are not into classics, this is not the book for you. I am actually not going to be recommending this book to anyone. I was not a fan of this book. I do not regret reading this book, but I am not going to let everyone else waste their time with it either. If you have read the book please let me know what you thought about the book in the comments below.

Thank you for everything. I do hope that your weekend went perfectly. See you next time and happy reading!

Cramathon TBR 2015

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On July 6, I made a post about the Cram-a-thon. I wanted to use this read-a-thon to help me get ready for book-tube-a-thon, later on this month. Today, I wanted to make a TBR about the books that I am planning on reading over this weekend. So let’s begin.

Just as a reminder, I will list the challenges as well as the books below.

1. Read a children’s book

I have a slew of children’s books that I borrowed from the library that I need to pick up and just read. For the sake of just placing a book down, I will choose Once Upon A Banana by Jenifer Armstrong.
2. Read a hardback

I know that this book is big, and big books are not traditionally chosen for this cram-a-thon, but I would like to read Trouble by Non Pratt. The book is almost 400 pages long, and I am hoping to get through it this weekend.
3. Read a graphic novel

I have two graphic novels that I would like to read this weekend. The frist one is Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 Generation Why by G. Willow Willson and Rat Queens Vol. 1 Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe.
4. Read a novella

I have decided to read the book Around the World in 80 Days Jules Vern. This book is only 167 pages long.
5. Read a book written in verse

The book I decided to read for this challenge is Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss. The whole book is about a poem of life.
6. Read 2 books in 24 hours
7. Read 5 books total

Last two challenges I will let you know when I have completed them. I am looking forward to this cram-a-thon. I hope that you will be joining me in all our little adventures. Happy reading!

July TBR 2015

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I have decided to keep my TBR a little short this time since we have Book-tube-a-thon later on this month. I am only putting books that I have not finished reading, as well as books that I need to finish a review or return back to the library.

1. The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R Carry
2. Trouble by Non Pratt
3. Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Geiser
4. Numbers Game by Rebecca Rhodes
5. Compendium by Alia Lurai
6. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Vern
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

For this month TBR challenge, I pulled “To read a classic.” However, classic literature is a very vague term that has different meanings to each person. For me, it is a good popular book that will not lose its value over time. The difference between classic and modern classic is whether or not the author is dead. For this challenge, I decided to pick two books. One is label as a classic and one is considered as a modern classic. For this challenge, I have chosen Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Vern and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling.

I do hope that your summer is fun and exciting. Hope to see you next time. Happy reading!