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The Big Nerd

~ There are too many books to read and sleep is getting in the way!

The Big Nerd

Monthly Archives: June 2014

Shadow of Night Readalong Schedule

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Scatty in Announcement, Read-a-long

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All Souls Trilogy, All Souls Trilogy Readalong, Deborah Harkness, readalong, readalong schedule, Shadow of Night, Shadow of Night Readalong

All Souls Trilogy

Hello dears! We just finished reading A Discovery of Witches and now it’s time to move on to book two – Shadow of Night! Below is the schedule of discussion posts that I will be making. Feel free to join in this readalong any time you want 🙂

  • Week 1 June 22: Ch 1-8 (115)
  • Week 2 June 29: Ch 9-16 (120)
  • Week 3 July 6: Ch 17-24 (119)
  • Week 4 July 13: Ch 25-31 (106)
  • Week 5 July 20: Ch 32-End (114)
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A Discovery of Witches Readalong Part V

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Scatty in Read-a-long

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A Discovery of Witches, All Souls Trilogy, All Souls Trilogy Readalong, allsoulstrilogyreadalong, Deborah Harkness, readalong

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy, #1)Hello beautifuls! Sorry this is up so late. I was dealing with all the stuff I needed to get my car 😀 This is the last discussion post for this book. Below are questions regarding chapters 35 to the end of the book – do not read ahead if you don’t want to be spoiled! I hope you all liked it as much as I did. I forgot how much I truly love this book and everything about it (characters, writing, story, etc.). I won’t be posting my answers to the questions just yet because it’s really late and I want to get some reading done for the readathon I’m participating in. Leave your answers in the comments section below!

How did you react when the letters and missing pages of Ashmole’s manuscript showed up?

 

Why do you think Marthe made the tea? How do you think she knew it might be needed?

 

What are your reactions to the potential that Diana and Matthew could have children? Why do you think the congregation wants to prevent this?

 

How did you react to a witch having a daemon who then is going to have a witch (aka Sophie and her family)?

 

What do you think the Goddess will take in exchange for Matthew’s life?

 

What do you think Diana’s grandmother meant when she said ‘Maybe it wasn’t your blood to give’?

 

Why do you think Matthew chose that certain time and place for them to timewalk?

 

What do you think is in store for our conventicle in the next book?

 

How did you like or dislike this novel?

Treesofreverie June Readathon

16 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by Scatty in Read-a-Thon

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readathon, Treesofreverie June Readathon, treesofreveriereadathon

Treesofreverie Read-A-Thon | June 2014<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
How to register as an Official Participant:</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<p>REBLOG this post<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
Send me a message or fanmail (preferred) to confirm that you’d like to be registered as an Official Participant. Please provide links or account usernames for any social media sites that you’ll be sharing your Read-A-Thon updates on. Please also confirm which Tumblr blog you will be using (if applicable) during the Read-A-Thon. This information will be posted in a similar manner to April’s event. If you don’t have a Tumblr blog, please contact me via Goodreads or Twitter and we can organise your participation details. For more details on this please check the FAQ.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
(optional) JOIN the group on Goodreads! I accept all requests so please take this opportunity to sign up.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
Please read through the FAQ post before sending me any inquiries. If I haven’t answered your questions there, please message me and we can talk directly about your inquiries. Be sure to check that you ask box is OPEN so that I can get in contact with you if necessary.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

Treesofreverie is hosting another readathon! 😀 So of course I had to take part. And it’s going to last for a full two weeks. Below are my goals and daily updates as the readathon continues. Feel free to join in if you’d like!

Reading Goals:

  • Finish A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
  • Read first few hundred pages of Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
  • Finish Wool by Hugh Howey
  • Finish The Flies of August by P. J. Lee
  • Read Cyndere’s Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet
  • Read Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
  • Read Wake by Lisa McMann
  • Read The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
  • Read Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz
  • Read Angelfall by Susan Ee
  • Read Tale of the Music-Thief by Earl T. Roske
  • Read Looking for Alaska by John Green (and maybe An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns)
  • Read Saga Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

Reading Prompts:

  • Read a popular or well-known book
  • Read a book you’ve heard a lot of good things about
  • Read something recommended to you by a friend
  • Read a book from your Goodreads to-read shelf
  • Read a book to go towards a specific reading challenge
  • Read a book you received as a gift or from a giveaway
  • Read a book you received in exchange for an honest review
  • Read one of your best friend’s favourite books
  • Read a book you’ve been meaning to read
  • Read a book you’ve had lying around unfinished

Reading Challenges:

  • Finish an entire book in ONE day
  • Read a book by an author you haven’t read before
  • Read outside
  • Finish a book in a series you’ve not yet completed
  • Read a graphic novel or manga
  • Read a book in the Fantasy genre
  • Read a book in the Contemporary genre
  • Read a book from a genre you don’t usually read
  • Read a book by an indie or self published author
  • Share some of your favourite quotes from the books you read
  • Write a book review for one of the books you read
  • Share your progress and updates through video (book vlogging)
  • Take pictures of your reading progress
  • Show off your books by taking more pictures

Reading Progress:

Monday (6/16)
Wool – 19 pages
A Discovery of Witches – 45 pages (Finished)
Books Read: 1
Pages Read: 64

Tuesday (6/17)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie – 192 pages
Books Read: 1
Pages Read: 256

Wednesday (6/18)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie – 33 pages
Books Read: 1
Pages Read: 289

Thursday (6/19)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie – 145 pages (Finished)
Books Read: 2
Pages Read: 434

Friday (6/20)
Wake – 210 pages (Finished)
Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 644

Saturday (6/21)
Looking for Alaska – 91 pages
Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 735

Sunday (6/22)
Looking for Alaska – 90 pages
Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 825

Monday (6/23)
Looking for Alaska – 40 pages (Finished)
The Flies of August – 73 pages (Finished)
Books Read: 5
Pages Read: 848

Tuesday (6/24)
Of Poseidon – 216 pages
Books Read: 5
Pages Read: 1064

Wednesday (6/25)
Of Poseidon – 108 pages
Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 1172

Thursday (6/26)
Witches of East End – 42 pages
Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 1214

Friday (6/27)
Witches of East End – 15 pages
Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 1229

Saturday (6/28)
Witches of East End – 31 pages
Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 1260

Sunday (6/29)
I read nothing this day because reasons

Monday (6/30)
Fantastical Beast and Where to Find Them – 59 pages
Books Read: 7
Pages Read: 1319

Book Review: Slow Burn – Zero Day by Bobby Adair

13 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by Scatty in Book Review

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Bobby Adair, book review, Slow Burn, Slow Burn - Zero Day, zombie, zombie apocalypse

Slow Burn: Zero Day (Slow Burn, #1)Book Synopsis:

Slow Burn #1
Published July 2013 by CreateSpace
Zombie, Post-Apocalypse | 236 pages

A new flu strain has been spreading across Africa, Europe, and Asia. Disturbing news footage is flooding the cable news channels. People are worried. People are frightened. But Zed Zane is oblivious. 

Zed needs to borrow rent money from his parents. He gets up Sunday morning, drinks enough tequila to stifle his pride and heads to his mom’s house for a lunch of begging, again.

But something is wrong. There’s blood in the foyer. His mother’s corpse is on the living room floor. Zed’s stepdad, Dan is wild with crazy-eyed violence and attacks Zed when he comes into the house. They struggle into the kitchen. Dan’s yellow teeth tear at Zed’s arm but Zed grabs a knife and stabs Dan, thirty-seven times, or so the police later say.

With infection burning in his blood, Zed is arrested for murder but the world is falling apart and he soon finds himself back on the street, fighting for his life among the infected who would kill him and the normal people, who fear him.

Book Review: ★★★★

“Sometimes, a half-bottle of breakfast tequila just isn’t enough to deal with the day’s reality.” – Slow Burn page 3

I picked up this book because I wanted a fast and fun book to read. This novel definitely delivered. The writing was very fast paced and kept me on my toes through the whole experience. It’s not bogged down by unnecessary descriptions or dialogue and I really enjoyed the point of view from the main character. There were instances where we read his thoughts (most of the time it’s swear words) and it was done very well. I loved reading from Zed’s perspective because he is very different from many of the main characters I’m used to. He is very abrasive and level-headed and stubborn – just the type of person who could survive a zombie apocalypse.

The story seemed rather typical for a zombie apocalypse. The outbreak starts in Africa and spreads into China and Europe. However, since it’s Africa the issue isn’t important to the media until it spreads into Europe. By the time it hits America, it’s too late for anything to be done. The uniqueness of this story is the idea of a slow burner. I won’t go into detail about what they are, though, you’ll have to read the book to find out. I am definitely curious to see how they play out in the rest of the series.

Overall, it was a very good book. I picked it up and finished it in less than three hours. I was kept at the edge of my seat the entire time and now I feel the need to stock up on non-perishables and artillery. I definitely do not recommend reading this in the middle of the night (zombie nightmares and what not). It was a great start to what appears to be a great zombie series. Can’t wait to see where Zed finds himself next!

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by Scatty in Book Review

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Tags

book review, Divergent, dystopia, Veronica Roth, young adult

Divergent (Divergent, #1)Book Synopsis:

Divergent #1
Published Jan 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books
YA, Dystopia | 487

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue–Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is–she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Book Review: ★★★★

After a lot of hype and my friend finally pressuring me to read it by buying it for me, I finally picked up Divergent. I was really hesitant and unsure if I would like it because of said hype and because I am not a huge fan of dystopia. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. The writing was well done and I really liked the world that Roth had created with all the factions.

I felt like a lot of this book was world building, but it was done very well. We get to learn more about the factions and initiation with Tris as she is exposed to a new faction. The following action and tests were fun and interesting to read about and I liked a lot of the characters that were present. Four and Tris’s interaction was interesting to read about and I liked how they both simultaneously connected and clashed.

The big twist in the end was definitely a surprise and very fast paced. I was sitting at the edge of my seat and I couldn’t read it fast enough. I immediately bought the rest of the trilogy and I really hope to learn more about the factions because I found that the most interesting.

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