Petuli's Reading

I love summer because there are soooo many read-a-thons (which means tons of reading done! YAY!). Currently I am participating in Summer Biannual Bibliothon and I am very satisfied with number of books I've read so far! So I hope I can do that well in the upcoming weak of Read-O-Rama!! (June, 28 - July, 4)

As with Bibliothon, there are some challenges to help me choose the books. By the way, I don't know how I do that but no matter how much I read my TBR pile is still growing!

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Challenges:

1. Read 7 books - honestly, I don't know about that as my books are not really short. But I do want to read Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. This book is quite short and seems so interesting. I think LittleBookOwl was raving about it so I would really love to go through this book. It sounds mysterious and I caught myself enjoying mysteries very much! Also my friends on Goodreads wrote really good reviews on Living Dead Girl! (I will also read it in e-book form)

2. A middle-grade novel

You know that feeling when you start the series, you enjoy it pretty much but you just don't continue? Hah, sorry Percy Jackson - it's your case. So I thought I might give you another shot with The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. I think you all know what it's about. I have to say that I don't live in the US and where I live Rick Riordan is not that popular - that's why I am starting reading him in the age of 22. I might listen to it on audio book, it will depend on how much time I will have.

3. A fantasy

Okay, I love this challenge. I don't know anyone who wouldn't enjoy a well-thought world with its own rules and magic. It's like a perfect vacation! So for this one I am going to continue with #shadowhuntersummer and read City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. I hope I can get through the Shadowhunter world this summer as I postponed reading those books for too long. And they are fairly enjoyable!

4. Book with blue on the cover

As I look on my TBR pile I see the books that are quite long and not really the easiest ones. So I need something light, funny, fluffy and quick. And as I read Anna and the French Kiss recently I know this challenge belongs to Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephenie Perkins. Honestly, I cannot wait to read this, I loved Ettiene so much! So I am looking forward to getting to know my new fictional boyfriend! But this cover is awful!

5. Re-read

What could I re-read? Huh... Of course it's going to be Harry Potter! As I read the Philosopher's Stone for Biannual Bibliothon I am going to continue with The Chamber of Secrets. As I've read Harry too many times I am going to listen to it when I work on my diploma thesis - so I don't "waste" time working as I still have to do something besides reading... bummer...

6. R-A-M-A in the title/author

Maybe it's a bit unbeliavable but I've never read anything by Jodi Picoult. And I've heard so much praise so I have this voice in my head that tells me I should do it. So, guys, let me listen to my inner voices and read Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer. It's quite a recent release so lots of booktubers speak about it these days. It's nice to know what people are talking about, right! I may start this one even before Read-O-Rama as my Bibliothon pile is almost gone and I have some more time.

7. Read an e-book

I love my e-book reader so the majority of my TBR is on my Pocketbook but I've chosen a book for this challenge and I hope to finish it! As I am currently reading Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson I want to continue with the Reckoners series. Sanderson is so good. I cannot even describe how much I love him - that man... that man... Whoa! Just! Don't! Have! Words! So Firefight is my last book to read during Read-O-Rama!

So guys! I cannot wait to continue with read-a-thoning and I hope that I don't burn myself out with reading (as after Read-O-Rama there's #AYearAThon and 3 weeks of readathoning is soooo crazy!). I love the support of the other participants because sometimes I feel I cannot push myself reading but debating and sprinting keeps me focused! See you soon!

Vystavil Petuli v 1:45 | Štítky: Plans | 0 komentářů | Odeslat e-mailem BlogThis! Sdílet ve službě Twitter Sdílet ve službě Facebook |

We are surrounded by models' photos... we think that their bodies are what society considers to be the ideal of beauty but sometimes we don't realize one very important thing - those girls are PHOTOSHOPED! (and honestly, when you're looking at 80 % models without makeup and pohotshop, they're not pretty!)

So, when you have a book with the main character being a fat girl, it sounds kind of exciting. So when I saw Sugar, I knew I wanted to read this. Morover, this book has a GORGEOUS cover. Seriously, it's so pretty, thumbs up for that! Just look:

The premise of the book:

I’m the fat Puerto Rican–Polish girl who doesn’t feel like she belongs in her skin, or anywhere else for that matter. I’ve always been too much and yet not enough.

Sugar Legowski-Gracia wasn’t always fat, but fat is what she is now at age seventeen. Not as fat as her mama, who is so big she hasn’t gotten out of bed in months. Not as heavy as her brother, Skunk, who has more meanness in him than fat, which is saying something. But she’s large enough to be the object of ridicule wherever she is: at the grocery store, walking down the street, at school. Sugar’s life is dictated by taking care of Mama in their run-down home—cooking, shopping, and, well, eating. A lot of eating, which Sugar hates as much as she loves.

When Sugar meets Even (not Evan—his nearly illiterate father misspelled his name on the birth certificate), she has the new experience of someone seeing her and not her body. As their unlikely friendship builds, Sugar allows herself to think about the future for the first time, a future not weighed down by her body or her mother.

Soon Sugar will have to decide whether to become the girl that Even helps her see within herself or to sink into the darkness of the skin-deep role her family and her life have created for her.

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There's one word that could some up my experience with this book: FRUSTRATION!!! Unfortunately, it's not the good kind of frustration (if there can be a good kind of frustration)... I was so frustrated reading this book that I considered quitting! Sometimes you read books and their topic is very serious, you feel bad for the characters, you sympathize with them and you feel for them. In Sugar, I didn't feel none of it. 

Sugar, as her nickname shows, is a very fat girl that suffers from a really bad case of insecurity. When I started reading this I thought I could connect with Sugar as I myself have never been slim. I've been overweight for the majority of my life but I decided to do something with this and lost the wight. That's the thing, when you don't suffer from some physical condition that prevest you from losing weight, you can do this, you just have to be dedicated to your goal!

Sugar hovewer... she is annoying! Sorry, I guess she has reasons to be so insecure and scared, but girl, you're almost adult, you can do something about your life! And Sugar is just whinny, she pitties herself and guess what! For 80 % of the book she does NOTHING!! to change her life. And is it a good role model for young girls that are overweight? I don't think so. Young girls should know that there are ways to be satisfied with being themselves and that they have no reason to let themselves be bullied! 

Seriously, Sugar lives with her mom, who seems to be the most bitter and horrible person in the whole world. She cannot move from her bed so Sugar has to take care of her. But guess what. Mum is not grateful, Mum just bullies Sugar, yells at her, tells her she is so fat and useless. And Sugar still takes care of her mum... FRUSTRATING!

Also, Sugar lives with her brother Skunk, who is also the most annoying and horrible person in the worls. Again, he bullies Sugar not only mentally, but also physically. He's not really afraid to hit her and harm her. And again, guess what? Sugar does nothing! FRUSTRATING!!

Then comes Even, this perfect guy who is incredibly handsome, obviously likes Sugar and he's the sweetheart of the book. Also, he is just so implausible, that guy seriously cannot exist. I love sweet boys in YA literature, I fall in love with them so quickly, but I have to believe they could exist. Sorry Even, you're not my fictional boyfriend!

My ain proble is that I feel that for the majority of the book nothing happens. And when something finally happens, there's no foreswadowing, you're thrown into it in one sentence. Everything is okay, we live our frustrating lives. By the way, major plot twist happpened yesterday! Can I say something - FRUSTRATING!!!

The message is definitely good. Not skinny girls should realize that they can love themselves. This message is huge. But I don't think that those girl would get it from this book. There's also a very distinct division between black and white characters. There are not 50 shades of gray. There are not even two shades of gray. I guess there's no gray at all. You have absolutely horrible characters - Skunk and mum (and I hope that those characters cannot exist either because who could behave like this??) and than super awesome character in Even. No gray... 

I wanted to enjoy the book so much, I really did. I really wanted to physically harm almost all characters in the book. I didn't like them, I could connect... And that was just too much for me. But I appreciate that there are books about characters that are not perfect. You know, not all girls have beautiful faces and sexy bodies. But what is beautiful and sexy?

I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Children's Publishing!

Vystavil Petuli v 1:02 | Štítky: Review | 0 komentářů | Odeslat e-mailem BlogThis! Sdílet ve službě Twitter Sdílet ve službě Facebook |

Who doesn't like a good mystery/thriller book? I don't know anyone! It's just the tension you feel when you want to figure what had happened, who had done it, that feeling when you find out and you're so shocked! Oh! I love it. 

So when I saw an opportunity to read a book called 52 Likes by Medeia Sharif, I knew I needed to have the book in my life. Just look at this premise, it sounds amazing!

After a brutal rape and near-murder, Valerie wants to get past feelings of victimhood from both the assault and her history of being bullied. Not knowing the identity of her masked rapist and dealing with the nasty rumors about that night are two things that plague her daily. 

Valerie will have to follow ghostly entities, past victims of the rapist-murderer, contacting her through a social media site. Why do all of their eerie photos have 52 likes under them? Their messages are leading her to the mystery man, although he'll put up a fight to remain hidden.

(taken from Goodreads)

So, as we found out from the premise, the book starts with the rape scene. Valerie is a young girl that had made some mistakes in her life. And now, she has done the biggest yet - she went to a wrong house and got raped. 

How can Valerie deal with this? Being raped is one of the worst things that can happen to a girl. Of course, nobody ever thinks it will happen to them.

But there are some clues to the case and Valerie follows them. Morover, the clues seem to lead to a kind of supernatural twist. Wow, that's interesting. 

I mean, this book has a huuuge potential. The topic Shariff dealt with is amazing, I was so pumped to read this book. Rape, young girl, something supernatural, mystery,... you know, it sounds so gripping! 

Unfortunately, I don't think that the potential was used fully. I cannot imagine what rape victims are going through. I really cannot and honestly, I don't even want to. But Valerie's behaviour seemed very implausible in some times. She was ready to go to school, she dealt with very superficial things and honestly, I couldn't connect with her. 

Other things I didn't enjoy very much was the supernatural twist. I mean, it's written in the premise of the book, so it's not a spoiler. I do believe that without this twist the book would be better. More mysterious, more unique. With this some things just seemed rushed - like seriously, if you want ghost entities helping to solve tha case, it should be more difficult for them. Maybe they shouldn't be able to send private messages via social networks. But what do I know, I don't get to know any ghostly entities. Lucky me!

Also, the dealing with the communication about the actual rape was weird. Valerie doesn't want to tell her brother because he might freak out... undestandably. But then she tells her friend like it would be quite casual thing. 

And!! The school Valerie attends is super annoying! The kids basically bully everyone and the teachers are cool with that! And the counselor... why do you have counselor that doesn't counsel? That seems like a very useful thing.

To sum it up, as you can imagine, I started reading this book with huge expectations. I was a little bit disappointed. That doesn't mean the book is bad. It reads super quickly and it is gripping! The topic is very interesting and I like reading about something serious in YA literature. I just had some problems with it. But I wouldn't be against reading some other books byl Medeia Sharif. I can imagine her books. 

I received a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for my review. Thank you NetGalley and Evernight Teen!

Vystavil Petuli v 4:33 | Štítky: Review | 0 komentářů | Odeslat e-mailem BlogThis! Sdílet ve službě Twitter Sdílet ve službě Facebook |

It is very possible that you have this enormous book at home. In fact, it's not only one extra long book, it's many shorter. Yes, you guessed it right - today we are talking about the Bible. Have you ever enjoyed reading your Bible? Have you even been so excited about reading it that you couldn't put it down? Have you ever imagined reading your Bible as you would drink coffee with the God? Just hanging out?

No? Don't be scared, you're not the only one. In fact, you're one of many. But Keith Ferrin wants to help you on your journey and that's why he wrote How to Enjoy Reading Your Bible.

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And who wouldn't make their reading more enjoyable? I certainly do, so I was full of expectation going to this book. And let me say you - I wasn't disappointed!

What does the premise of the book say?

When it comes to the Bible, most of us talk about two things: Is it true? And how should it impact our lives? But you may be missing something vitally important: Do you "like" the Bible? If you don't, consistency will always be a struggle, and the Bible will be less likely to transform you.
Keith Ferrin has been talking to churches about enjoying the Bible for years, and now he's compiled his most helpful tips. Written in a friendly, conversational tone, Ferrin teaches you how to develop a relational mindset and to approach the Bible in a way that lines up with the way your brain learns best. "How to Enjoy Reading Your Bible" will help you genuinely love the Bible more, read it more consistently, and apply God's Word to your everyday life.

(taken from Goodreads)

I don't read non-fiction very often - I have always thought that it cannot be an enjoyable read. That I have to read non-fiction only for my school and studying. Well, I guess that's not true. Even though "How to Enjoy Reading Your Bible" is a non-fiction book, it is a very quicky read. It's quite short (176 pages in paperback edition) but that only shows that enjoying your Bible is no science. 

I love the language! Keith Ferrin knows people and he knows their experience with Bible but he doesn't tell you: YOU MUST DO THIS! YOU MUST ENJOY IT. No, that would hardly help. He knows how to be funny but how not to make fun of a serious topic. He knows that reading The Bible can be difficult and he gets it. He wats to help you!

He gives you 10 tips that are very simple and doable. These tips are some kind of a guide that will help you on your journey with your Bible. And you don't get only the list of tips and bye bye, do what you can. With each chapter - each tip - you also get tasks for the group, or some recommended Scripture reading and what's the most beautiful - prayer at the end of each chapter.

Even though the book is short and very readable and you can definitely finish it in two hours, I would recommend reading it slowly. Take your Bible and switch reading How to Enjoy Reading Your Bible for reading your actual Bible. Try out the new tips. They seem easy, right? I can do that! And you can too! I guarantee you that every tip in this book is super easy. But sometimes the easy way is the only thing you need. Don't overthink it!

At the end of the day, I really think this book changed my thinking about the Bible. And we want books to change our thinking, to influence us and give us new opinions. As a Christian, I know the importance of the Bible but since reading Ferrin's book, my reading has been changed. And for that, I cannot give it less than 5 stars. For me, this is one of the two most influential Christian reads - together with The Shack by William Paul Young.

I received an e-book copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley! I may buy a physical copy of this book - and I don't do that very often!

Vystavil Petuli v 22:37 | Štítky: Review | 0 komentářů | Odeslat e-mailem BlogThis! Sdílet ve službě Twitter Sdílet ve službě Facebook |

You know that feeling, you want to read something light and easy. And you pick up a book that looks like this kind of read. And you start reading. It takes some time but you realize, that this book is not the thing you thought it would be...

That happened to me with Flight. I was in a mood for cute YA romance story and Flight was my choice. Okay, it's definitely YA, there's some romance but I didn't expect that there would be such a huge paranormal part in the book.

Let's start from the beginning. Our main protagonist is called Camille Vanderhale and she comes from a very rich family. Like crazy crazy riich family. Of course, Camille is used to wearing very expensive clothes, to attend every possible social event and do things that go hand in hand with being so high on a social ladder. Camille has two siblings - Joseph about whom she really doesn't care much and Noelle, her younger sister whom she adores. In my opinion, all three of them act like spoiled brats but I guess that's the behaviour that comes with that much money. 

And then there's the romance with a crazy hot guy called Xavier. This part was really hard because the relationship between Camille and Xavier was a insta-love. Seriously, those two clicked perfectly from the second they saw each other - oh, how realistic! But Xavier is very important to Camille as he helps her with her paranormal side. 

What's nice and refreshing is that Camille knows she has some weird abilities! And she knows it from the beginning of the story. She tries to hide them but it's not really possible - sometimes it's hard to hide that you can float. The question that shapes the story is: Who is Camille? Or maybe what is she?

As Camille tries to figure out the answer, she find oout a lot of things about her family - both about the living one and not living one. And her family history is not the best one you can imagine... It's also nice to see that in the family where money play the main character there are realtionships that will suffer. You cannot buy happiness for your family - you have to earn it. 

I also very much enjoyed the role of music in Flight. Music is very important to me in my real life so I understood how music can influence our emotions and how people can express their thoughts through it. More music to YA literature! 

Nonetheless, there are some things that I didn't like:

Sometimes, the language used was really weird and it didn't fit the characters. Seriously, which 18-year-old girl would ever say: "Upon closer inspection, I see that this is no boy, but a young adult." I am 22 and I would never say this. 

And the romance feels cheesy: "I feel the pull - almost familiar to me now - as our breath begins to become one. I lean in, more confident now, and gently place my cheek on his chest." That's so unoriginal. Even if I loved someone with my whole heart (still don't think it's possible), I would loved to breathe on my own - thank you for that! 

And the last thing I didn't enjoy was the pacing. The story was just too slow for me. I felt like nothing really happened in the first 150 pages. The second half of the book was much better, but those first pages were really hard for me. On the other hand, if you enjoy spending time with the characters, you might enjoy it more than me. 

Overall, there's a space for a sequel and I wouldn't mind reading it, so if there's one in the future, I will probably pick it up. 

I received an e-book copy of Flight in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you Netgalley and Smith Publicity.

MY RATING: 3/5 STARS

Vystavil Petuli v 4:36 | Štítky: Review | 0 komentářů | Odeslat e-mailem BlogThis! Sdílet ve službě Twitter Sdílet ve službě Facebook |

I like various read-a-thons. It makes me read - a lot! More than usual. And usually I read a lot. So they make me read more than a lot. But I suck at sticking to some TBR piles. When I know what I am about to read I always lose interest in these books. As I said - I suck at it. 

From June 21 to June 27 we all can participate in Summer Biannual Bibliothon. And I am going to try! Try really hard! (but lately I feel a bit slumpy...) Summer is full of read-a-thons and as I have more time than usual I want to participate in all of them - but so much reading can take its toll. So I am writing here - I AM NOT SURE I AM GOING TO BE ABLE TO READ ALL OF THIS! If I don't want to read, I just want... Simple as that...

There are some tasks to complete during this read-a-thon. I have to admit that I don't like them very much. So I kind of cheated and I picked what I wanted. I just really want to want to read. Get it? Perfect! 

Let's see the challenges:

1. Group Book 

Paper Towns by John Green

I really wanted to read another John Green's Book. I hated The Abundance of Katherines but I liked TFIOS. Moreover, the movie is comming out and I cannot watch the movie if I haven'T read the book, you know, that would be pretty lame. I am thinking that maybe I will be able to read it even before Bibliothon starts.

2. Book from your childhood

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

What other book could a 22-year-old girl choose? Please! This is a no-brainer. And it's still short, so perfect for read-a-thoning.

3. Companion novel, novella or prequel

UnStrung by Neal Shusterman

UnStrung is a novella in Unwind dystology. I read the first book Unwind probably a month or two ago and I loved it! It's so realistic that you get so scared that everything could happen... one day... It's just crazy, but crazy good! So I definitely want to continue with the series and this is obviously the right time.

4. Genre you read the least

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Okay, I am cheating here. I read fantasy a lot. I just don't want to read the genre I don't enjoy. So I consider The Archived as a subgenre I don't read very often - I honestly don't remember if I ever read ghost book. One day I will be a reader that wants to read books which are not their cup of tea... But it will take me some time. Just wait for it, I'll wait with you.

5. Book you did not finish

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I started it once, I didn't finish it. That's the end of this story. I don't know what happened. 

I almost always finish the book - so it was this or Pride and Prejudice - I don't understand why people love this classic so much, I am not able to read it, no, no, nooo... And I am not going to try again.

6. Book set in the foreign country

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

I know that this is a sci-fi book but it's supposed to be set in the USA, like not usual USA, but still the USA. And as I live in the Czech Republic almost every published book is set in a foreign country.

7. Book about the social issue you are interested in

Looking for Alaska

I don't read about social issues much. So I have to used Listopia on Goodreads and some list told me, that this is the book about social issues. And I have it! In paperback - not only in e-book. So there we have the second John Green's book of this week. Show me some magic! Like real life, contemporary magic, you know...

Soooo! These are the books I am plannig to read. I am very excited about them, I actually managed to fill the challenges with books I really wanted to read for some time. 

Follow what is happening during the Bibliothon on Youtube and Twitter. I know I will!

All right! I hope you arw going to participate in various summer read-a-thons and I will be able to meet you and get to know you. I am also soooo curious about the books other people will be reading. 

P.S.: One perfect side effect of my reading - I get tanned! Yay! Reading outside is the best thing ever!

Vystavil Petuli v 23:27 | Štítky: Plans | 0 komentářů | Odeslat e-mailem BlogThis! Sdílet ve službě Twitter Sdílet ve službě Facebook |

When you hear the name Markus Zusak you connect it with The Book Thief. Well, that book is amazing, so I fully undestand that. Nevertheless, very few people have read I Am the Messenger, which is a shame! This book is one of the most influential books to my life that I've read in a long time!

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The premise of the book is:

protect the diamonds

survive the clubs

dig deep through the spades

feel the hearts

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.
That's when Ed becomes the messenger.
Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?

So as we already know from the premise, Ed is a young boy who starts getting card with names or other clues on them. First, he doesn't know what to do with tha cards, you know, imagine you get the card with some adress - What will you do?

Ed starts following the clues and he gets to many difficult situation. Very often he still doesn't know what to do even when he is standing in front of the house he was supposed to find. But somehow, he manages to help the people lead better lives. 

The question and the great mystery of the whole book is: Who sends the cards? Who knows these people so well? Who knows Ed so well?

Ed is an amazing character. As a young boy, you can see that he has many problems, he is not happy and to make it short, he has his own things to care about. But somehow, doing all the task, Ed is becoming the character you look up to, he guides you through so many different life situations and you just cannot help but think about your own life, about what can you differently.

Many situations may bring tears to your eyes, because they are so real! Anyone can go through them. At the same time, Zusak uses so much wit and irony that you cannot help and laugh! Seriously, this is one of few books that made me laugh out loud (okay, I guess I looked like a complete idiot walking, reading I Am the Messenger and laughing... guess what? I don't CARE!)

The moral of the book is just amazing, it blends problems of today's world together with the basic human need - to have a good life! Even though I love the message the book gives me - haha message from I Am the Messenger - get it?, it was quite slow in some middle parts. There's definitely a possibility of re-reading this. Thank you Zusak! (and O boy! Have you noticed that he is actually very handsome???)

Vystavil Petuli v 12:44 | Štítky: Review | 0 komentářů | Odeslat e-mailem BlogThis! Sdílet ve službě Twitter Sdílet ve službě Facebook |