Sunday, June 30, 2013

Genre Definition and Recommendation #24



Genre Definition and Recommendation is a feature where I will define a genre and a sub-genre definition and the make some recommendations.  

This week I am starting a new Genre- Horror. The sub-genres are :

Gothic 
Ghost Story
Monster Literature
Psychological

Horror- Definition found on Wikipedia



Horror fiction, horror literature and also horror fantasy is a genre of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, scare or startle viewers/readers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural.


Psychological Horror: Definition found on Wikipedia

Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that relies on characters' fears and emotional instability to build tension. It typically plays on archetypal shadow characteristics embodied by the threat. The elements of psychological horror focuses on the inside of the character's mind. This includes emotions, personality, mental attitude of individuals, where characters are in a perversive situation that includes high-level immorality, inhumane acts, and conspiracies.



My Recommendations:




Ten
Ten By Gretchen McNeil

  

        
SHHHH!
Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?




I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent, #1)
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

 


        

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?




What Do you Recommend?




Stacking the Shelves #44




Stacking The Shelves is a hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Come join the fun and share all the book you received this week. 

Slow week but I am very excited to read Dangerous Girls!

Review:


The Theory of Everything
The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna  

                                       



One part Libba Bray's GOING BOVINE, two parts String Theory, and three parts love story equals a whimsical novel that will change the way you think about the world.

Sophie Sophia is obsessed with music from the late eighties. She also has an eccentric physicist father who sometimes vanishes for days and sees things other people don’t see. But when he disappears for good and Sophie’s mom moves them from Brooklyn, New York, to Havencrest, Illinois, for a fresh start, things take a turn for the weird. Sophie starts seeing things, like marching band pandas, just like her dad.

Guided by Walt, her shaman panda, and her new (human) friend named Finny, Sophie is determined to find her father and figure out her visions, once and for all. So she travels back to where it began—New York City and NYU’s physics department. As she discovers more about her dad’s research on M-theory and her father himself, Sophie opens her eyes to the world’s infinite possibilities—and her heart to love.



Belladonna (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #2)Belladonna by Fiona Paul

     


In Renaissance Italy, love, lust, intrigue and secret societies converge to stunning results!


In the second in the stunning Secrets of the Eternal Rose series, Cassandra Caravello is trying to forget Falco, the wild artist who ran off with her heart, as she grows closer to her strong, steady fiancé, Luca. But Luca seems to have his own secrets. When he’s arrested by soldiers in the middle of the night, Cass’s life is once again thrown into chaos. She must save Luca, and that means finding the Book of the Eternal Rose—the only evidence that will prove he’s innocent.

So begins her journey to Florence, a city haunted by whispers of vampirism, secret soirees and clandestine meetings of the Order of the Eternal Rose. And home to Falco, who is working for the Order’s eerily stunning leader, the Belladonna herself.

Can Cass trust her heart to lead her to the truth this time?
Nothing is as it seems in this seductive thriller, where the truth may be the deadliest poison of all.





Second VerseSecond Verse by Jennifer Walkup

                                       

Bad things come in threes. In Shady Springs, that includes murder.

Murder Now
Lange Crawford’s move to Shady Springs, Pennsylvania, lands her a group of awesome friends, a major crush on songwriter Vaughn, and life in a haunted, 200-year-old farmhouse. It also brings The Hunt: an infamous murder mystery festival where students solve a fake, gruesome murder scheme during the week of Halloween. Well, supposedly fake.

Murder Then
Weeks before The Hunt, Lange and her friends hold a séance in the farmhouse’s eerie barn. When a voice rushes through, whispering haunting words that only she and Vaughn can hear, Lange realizes it's begging for help. The mysterious voice leads Lange and Vaughn to uncover letters and photos left behind by a murdered girl, Ginny, and they become obsessed with her story and the horrifying threats that led to her murder.

Murder Yet to Come
But someone doesn’t like their snooping, and Lange and Vaughn begin receiving the same threats that Ginny once did. The mysterious words from the barn become crucial to figuring out Ginny's past and their own, and how closely the two are connected. They must work fast to uncover the truth or risk finding out if history really does repeat itself.


On Audio:

The Beautiful and the CursedThe Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

                                       

After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing.

No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.



InvisibilityInvisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

     

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.




Doll BonesDoll Bones by Holly Black   

                                       

Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . .



Of Triton (Of Poseidon, #2)Of Triton by Anna Banks

     

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?



From the Library:

Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays
Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays

                                       

Breakfast on Mars and 37 Other Delectable Essays will inspire students to think differently about the much feared assignment in elementary and middle schools around the country: essay writing.

Rebecca Stern’s fifth grade students were bored to death with essay writing, and the one thing Rebecca needed to inspire them—great examples appropriate for kids—was nowhere to be found. Inspired by a challenge, Rebecca joined forces with her friend, social entrepreneur Brad Wolfe, and the two came up with a terrific proposal—to gather together a collection of unconventional essays by some of the best writers around. They have compiled and edited a collection of imaginative, rule-breaking, and untraditional essays that is sure to change the way you think about the essay.

Contributors include: Ransom Riggs, Kirsten Miller, Scott Westerfeld, Alan Gratz, Steve Almond, Jennifer Lou, Chris Higgins, Rita Williams-Garcia, Elizabeth Winthrop, Chris Epting, Sloane Crosley, April Sinclair, Maile Meloy, Daisy Whitney, Khalid Birdsong, Sarah Prineas, Ned Vizzini, Alane Ferguson, Lise Clavel, Mary-Ann Ochota, Steve Brezenoff, Casey Scieszka, Steven Weinberg, Michael Hearst, Clay McLeod Chapman, Gigi Amateau, Laurel Snyder, Wendy Mass, Marie Rutkoski, Sarah Darer Littman, Nick Abadzis, Michael David Lukas, Léna Roy, Craig Kielburger, Joshua Mohr, Cecil Castellucci, Joe Craig, Ellen.



Friday, June 28, 2013

Feature and Follow #71


Feature Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read!



Featured Blogs:

Paperbook Princess
and




Q: What is your preferred reading format? Hardcover, eBooks, paperback etc?


A: I think I will always prefer the feel, the smell, the look of a paperback book. I like hardcover too and I love my Kindle... but I love paperbacks the most. I like paperback better than hardcover because of the flexibility and the size. I am hard on my books. They are my best friend and I take them everywhere with me. I my purse there is always at least 1 paperback, my Zune- which only has audiobooks on there, and my Kindle. I never leave home without options. So my paperbacks are easier to carry and if they get messed up it's ok. They are meant to be loved.  I hate to admit it but the first thing I always do when I pick up a book... smell the pages as I fan them. I love the smell of books brand new and really old. It's a little hard to do that with Hardcover and impossible with the Kindle. I also like to pet my books. YES I pet them. Before I start them I stare at the cover, inhale deeply and pet the book. Its a committed relationship and I have to let them know they are loved. I like to hold my books with one hand while reading, I tend to read and do other things at the same time. This is hard with hardcovers, not so hard with the Kindle. I like that I can fit more paperbacks on a bookshelf too. So they are also space savers. Of course this only counts against hardcovers because my Kindle still isn't full and I have so so so many books on there.  

 Second to my paperbacks I can't live without my audio.... I never thought I would say I love audio but I do. As I mentioned, my Zune only has audio books, no music, no photos, no games, no apps, no videos.... just audio books. If at all possible I walk around with my ear buds in and listen as much as possible. Its a real addiction. I will start listening to and reading aloud to my grandson as soon as he is born.... August!  So audio books rock! IF you have not taken the plunge yet into audio books do try.
Pick a book you know you will love and see which narrators people like. You just may be surprised how enjoyable they are!


So what's your answer?