Archive: Reposted Reviews 5

Title: Project Paris
Author: Lisa Barham
Copyright date: July 2007
Publisher: Simon Pulse
How many pages: 224 pgs
How long it took me to read: About 3 hours.. It's got really big text and pictures in some of the margins.. (I feel like I cheated hah)
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: Reading the first book.

This book was purchased at: Barnes and Noble
This book is: silly, short, but unsatisfying
Other books by these authors: A Girl Like Moi: The Fashion Forward Files of Imogene
Favorite characters: Imogene, I guess
When and Where the story takes place: Paris (obviously)
Plot in a nutshell: Imogene goes to Paris to get stories on the Couture Week for the magazine she's interning for. Couture Week gets cancelled, and she finds something brand new to scoop!
Main characters: Imogene and Evie
What I liked best: I can't really pinpoint something, unfortunately.
What I liked least: I really wasn't a fan of the book.. I don't like that I feel like I cheated by reading this, and that I could have been using the time reading this by reading something with more substance.

Overall rating: C. This book was rather flat, incredibly predictable, and kind of confusing. I'd forgotten a lot about what Imogene had gone through in the first book, and Imogene wasn't going to refresh my memory. She spent a lot of time telling the reader she'd 'get to this part' in a minute, and never did. It was like talking to a 14 year old. Not enough description, plot, or substance. I merely read it to see if I was right about all my conclusions. And I was.

Title: Jinx
Author: Meg Cabot
Copyright date: July 2007
Publisher: Harper Teen
How many pages: 262 pgs
How long it took me to read: about 2 breaks at work, and 2 hours at home (so... 3 hours total? Works into about 2 days spread out)
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: being a rabid meg cabot fan

This book was purchased at: Barnes and Noble's website
This book is: a cute little supernatural bit of fluff
Other books by these authors: Princess Diaries series, All American Girl Series, Mediator series, 1800WhereRU series, Queen of Babble Series, Pants on Fire, Avalon High.. etc.. etc...
Favorite characters: Jinx (Jean) of course!
When and Where the story takes place: New York
Plot in a nutshell: Jean (Jinx) moves in with her aunt and uncle's family in New York to get away from something that happened back home in her conservative Iowa home. Things go wrong.
Main characters: Jean/Jinx, Tory, Zach
What I liked best: I liked how randomly it reminded me of the Craft (in a good way)
What I liked least: I've read so many of Meg Cabot's books that it felt a little... predictable. I hate saying that. But I knew what was going to happen.. for the most part. There were a couple of surprises.

Overall rating: This was a good book. I didn't waste my time on it, but it was kind of predictable.. Rated on the scale of how I rate Meg's books, it's better than Pants on Fire, How to Be Popular and All American Girl... but not better than the rest I've read from her (Oh my god she needs to publish the next Queen of Babble before I fall over).

Archive: Reposted Reviews 4

Title: As Seen on TV
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Copyright date: 2003
Publisher: Red Dress Ink
How many pages: 384 pgs
How long it took me to read: About 2 days, reading it on my break at work and then all in one night
Category: fiction
I learned about this book from: doing an author search

This book was purchased at: paperbackswap.com
This book is: A fluffy read
Other books by this author: Milkrun, Fishbowl, Monkey Business..
Favorite characters: the main character, obviously. Sunny.
When and Where the story takes place: Florida and New York City (mostly)
Plot in a nutshell: Sunny needs a job, and her father's girlfriend mentions going on a reality show!
Main characters: Sunny, and the other contestants a little bit...
What I liked best: Sunny was.. well.. honest. She was a great character to follow, and didn't seem too flighty.
What I liked least: Her boyfriend bothered me. He acted like all the things she did for him weren't good enough. I hate the unsupportive boyfriend characters....

Overall rating: It was a really fun read! Give it a 7.



Title: Forever Princess (Princess Diaries 10)
Author: Meg Cabot
Copyright date: 2009
Publisher: HarperTeen
How many pages: 400 pgs
How long it took me to read: About 4 hours. I didn't want to have to stop reading it.
Category: fiction
I learned about this book from: being a rabid Meg Cabot Fan

This book was purchased at: BN.com
This book is: a great way to close The Princess Diaries
Other books by this author: Princess Diaries 1-9, Heather Wells Mystery Series, Queen of Babble series, 1800WhereRU sereies, Mediator series, etc etc..
Favorite characters: Mia! Of course!
When and Where the story takes place: Mia's surroundings, school/home/wherever, NYC
Plot in a nutshell: Mia's a senior in high school, and graduating. And writing. And accepted to every college she applied to (but was it because she's a princess?) And denied from publishing her book! (Because she's using a fake name?)
Main characters: Mia, JP, Michael, Lily..
What I liked best: Meg didn't skimp on this book. She didn't seem to write it to try to please the fans (as some authors do) and cop out. Mia did what she was supposed to do, she had her own mind. She wasn't out of character in the least.
What I liked least: I just wish I could have figured out Mia's revelation at the end myself. I felt naive! I was like 'OF COURSE!'.

Overall rating: 10. Of course. I loved this book..



Title: Fishbowl
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Copyright date: 2002
Publisher: Red Dress Ink
How many pages: 360 pgs
How long it took me to read: About 2 days. I just spent most of the day reading it in between being sick..
Category: fiction
I learned about this book from: author search

This book was purchased at: paperbackswap, but the person that swapped with me got it from goodwill (and I don't know why but that bothers me..)
This book is: Actually realistic in a way
Other books by this author: See above regarding As Seen on TV
Favorite characters: I didn't really have a favorite.
When and Where the story takes place: Montreal/Ottawa/Toronto.. I forget which primarily hah.
Plot in a nutshell: Allie, Jodine and Emma are roommates. And their kitchen burned down. Now they need money. (That sounds like a bad porn haha)
Main characters: Allie, Jodine, Emma
What I liked best: None of the characters were.. perfect. I personally didn't side with any of them. I kind of found Jodine to be obnoxious, Allie kind of annoyingly naive, and Emma to be a bitch. But honestly? I wouldn't have liked the book half as much if the author tried to make them likable.
What I liked least: A couple of the little subplots were a little too annoying. Jodine and her non boyfriend Manny were too rushed.

Overall rating: I'll give it a 6. I liked it, but I'm not sure I'd read it again.

In My Mailbox - The First!

Welcome to In My Mailbox! Here, I'm participating in The Story Siren's meme on books that I've bought/received in the past week! If you want information on how to join the meme, go here.

Short list today. Probably because it's the Christmas season and I'm not buying for me right now!

1. Going Too Far - Jennifer Echols (Amazon) [Kindle buy]
2. Crazy For You - Jennifer Crusie (Amazon)
3. Wuthering Bites - Sarah Gray (Amazon)

Current status on 100 books for 2010: 85 read out of 100. Getting there...

Archive: Reposted Review 3

Title: Flowers in the Attic
Author: V.C. Andrews
Copyright date: Dec 27, 1979
How many pages: 384
How long it took me to read: 2 days
I learned about this book from: Originally? My mother. When I was 9, my parents were called down to my school to chat about me. I was reading at a college aged level. My parents, not sure what to do with that information (except get me the pet bird I'd always wanted), gave me two books of their own. My father gave me Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King. My mother gave me Flowers in the Attic.

This book was purchased at: amazon.co.uk (I collect different editions of the book)
This book is: trashy, wonderful, everything
Other books by these authors: the rest of the Flowers in the Attic Series, along with many others that were published before and after her death, some written by a ghostwriter.
Favorite characters: Cathy
When and Where the story takes place: Foxworth Hall
Plot in a nutshell: After the death of their beloved father, 4 children are forced to live in a small room attached to an attic in a large mansion, while their mother tries to win back her father's love and get put back into his will

Main characters: Cathy, Chris, Cory and Carrie Dollanganger
What I liked best: There's so much I love about this book. I've read it about 18 times. Once a year since I was 9, and a couple of times more when I wasn't feeling well, or needed to get away from the world. VC Andrews wrote such a story, something that no one would ever believe possible.
What I liked least: Normally, I'd say nothing, but this edition of the book cut out a few parts that my brain had cemented in. It omits a good 4 pages from the first chapter, to the point where I wondered if I imagined them. Upon searching one of my US copies, I found what was lost. I'm not sure why some of those things were omitted, and as I read, I remembered little phrases, little things that were cut as well. It makes me wonder what else I didn't notice that they'd decided to take out.

Overall rating: This is my favorite book in the entire world. I can't help but give it an incredibly high rating. After reading it so many times, I'm still not bored with it. I was able to pick it up easily and re-read it just as fast as ever, and immerse myself in the story. Nostalgia didn't make the book better than it was; it was still just as grand. A lot of people dismiss this novel as trash, a gothic piece of garbage, or a guilty pleasure. This book is what made me fall headfirst into the adult reading world, and what made me want to be a writer.

Archive: Re-posted Review 2

Title: As Seen on TV
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Copyright date: 2003
Publisher: Red Dress Ink
How many pages: 384 pgs
I learned about this book from: doing an author search

This book was purchased at: paperbackswap.com
This book is: A fluffy read
Other books by this author: Milkrun, Fishbowl, Monkey Business..
Favorite characters: the main character, obviously. Sunny.
When and Where the story takes place: Florida and New York City (mostly)
Plot in a nutshell: Sunny needs a job, and her father's girlfriend mentions going on a reality show!
Main characters: Sunny, and the other contestants a little bit...
What I liked best: Sunny was.. well.. honest. She was a great character to follow, and didn't seem too flighty.
What I liked least: Her boyfriend bothered me. He acted like all the things she did for him weren't good enough. I hate the unsupportive boyfriend characters....

Overall rating: It was a really fun read! Give it a 7.

In the Archives: Re-posted Review 1

Title: The Pretty One
Author: Cheryl Klam
Copyright date: 2008
Publisher: Delacorte
How many pages: 368 pgs
I learned about this book from: seeing it on a bookshelf at the store

This book was purchased at: Barnes and Noble
This book is: ..Kind of.. I don't know
Other books by this author: Learning to Swim
Favorite characters: i guess, Megan, the main character
When and Where the story takes place: Chesapeake School of the Arts, and a little bit around the houses that they live in
Plot in a nutshell: Megan was ugly and fat, and she got into an accident, and now she's pretty and thin. And dealing.
Main characters: Megan, her sister Lucy
What I liked best: Megan was honestly not just "oh hey I'm pretty! Look! Pretty!" and dancing around and becoming a diva montage. She actually didn't really.. meld well with her pretty outside self, as she was still her normal self inside.
What I liked least: She was so naive, and everyone else was treating her like she was SUPPOSED to become a vapid girl to the point where they treated her as if she was! As if she knew how to act in these social situations and it was pissing them all off. I wanted to yell at her for some of her dumb thoughts.

Overall rating: I'm still digesting it. I'm not sure how I feel completely....

2011 Debut Author Challenge

Now like I said before, I took the idea of this blog from The Story Siren. What the Story Siren has, which is awesome, is a Debut Author Challenge.

And I've decided to join it!!
Here's my starting list of 2011's debut authors and their books.

1. XVI - Julia Karr
2. Choker - Elizabeth Woods
3. Other Words for Love - Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
4. The Visconti House - Elsbeth Edgar
5. Where I Belong - Gwendolyn Heasley
6. Darkness Becomes Her - Kelly Keaton
7. The Subrosa Semesters - Alissa Grosso
8. Like Mandarin - Kirsten Hubbard
9. 10 Miles Past Normal - Frances O'Roark Dowell
10. The Liar Society - Lisa and Laura Roecker
11. The Lipstick Laws - Amy Holder
12. Saving June - Hannah Harrington
13. Moonglass - Jessi Kirby
14. The Sweetest Thing - Christina Mandelski

If you wish to participate too, you can do so here! Happy Reading!

100 Books in 2010: A Challenge

Last year, I participated in the “100 books” challenge, which was to read 100 books in 2009.

Actually, I didn’t quite think I could do 100 books in a year, so I started with 50. Then, I grew to 100, and actually finished!!

This year, however, I’m lagging. According to the math of the whole thing, I should be on book 88. As of today, I’ve finished book 79.

So here’s the list. Strikeouts have been read, bold books are on my kindle. If they’re italicized, they’re re-reads.


*100 Books in 2010*
1. Just Like That – Marsha Qualey
2. Being Nikki (Airhead book 2) – Meg Cabot
3. Banana Splitsville – Catherine Clark
4. Rocky Road Trip – Catherine Clark
5. Keeping the Moon – Sarah Dessen
6. Someone Like You – Sarah Dessen
7. Feeling for Bones – Bethany Pierce
8. Crazy in Love - Dandi Daley Mackall
9. The Comeback – Marlene Perez
10. The Keys to the Golden Firebird - Maureen Johnson
11. So Inn Love – Catherine Clark
12. Wish You Were Here – Catherine Clark
13. Dead is the New Black – Marlene Perez
14. Talk of the Town – Lisa Wingate
15. Summer in the City – Elizabeth Chandler
16. The Vinyl Princess – Yvonne Prinz
17. Fancy White Trash – Marjetta Geerling
18. Evermore (The Immortals #1) - Alyson Noel
19. Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney
20. Undone – Brooke Taylor
21. Twenties Girl – Sophie Kinsella
22. Some Girls Are – Courtney Summers
23. By the Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead – Julie Anne Peters
24. Sophomore Switch – Abby McDonald
25. The A-List Hollywood Royalty – Zoey Dean
26. Pretty Little Liars – Sara Shepherd
27. Flawless: Pretty Little Liars #2 – Sara Shepherd
28. Perfect: Pretty Little Liars #3 – Sara Shepherd
29. Unbelievable: Pretty Little Liars #4 – Sara Shepherd
30. Wicked: Pretty Little Liars #5 – Sara Shepherd
31. Killer: Pretty Little Liars #6 - Sara Shepherd
32. Heartless: Pretty Little Liars #7 – Sara Shepherd
33. Take Me There – Susane Colasanti
34. If I Stay – Gayle Forman 
35. Sweethearts – Sara Zarr
36. Unraveling – Michelle Baldini
37. Wanted: Pretty Little Liars #8 – Sara Shepherd
38-41. The Year I Turned 16 (Omnibus featuring the books Rose, Daisy, Laurel, Lily – Diane Schwemm
42. Possessions – Nancy Holder
43. The Devil Wears Prada – Laura Weisberger
44. Insatiable – Meg Cabot
45. Percy Jackson and the Olympians book 1: The Lightning Thief – Rick Riordon
46. Percy Jackson and the Olympians book 2: The Sea of Monsters – Rick Riordon
47. Percy Jackson and the Olympians book 3: The Titan’s Curse – Rick Riordon
48. Beezus and Ramona – Beverly Cleary
49. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 – Beverly Cleary
50. Ramona and her Mother – Beverly Cleary
51. Ramona and her Father – Beverly Cleary
52. Ramona Forever – Beverly Cleary
53. Ramona’s World – Beverly Cleary
54. Percy Jackson and the Olympians book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth – Rick Riordon
55. Withering Tights – Louise Rennison
56. When it Happens – Susane Colasanti
57. Kiss of Life – Daniel Waters
58. Waiting for You – Susan Colasanti
59. Dead Until Dark – Charlaine Harris
60. Living Dead in Dallas – Charlaine Harris
61. Club Dead – Charlaine Harris
62. Dead to the World – Charlaine Harris
63. Dead as a Doornail – Charlaine Harris
64. Mini Shopaholic – Sophie Kinsella
65. Definitely Dead – Charlaine Harris
66. All Together Dead – Charlaine Harris
67. From Dead to Worse – Charlaine Harris
68. Dead and Gone – Charlaine Harris
69. The Wedding Girl - Madeleine Wickham
70. Zombie Blondes – Brian James
71. A Touch of Dead - Charlaine Harris
72. Carrie – Stephen King
73. Dead in the Family – Charlaine Harris
74.  I Now Pronounce You Someone Else - Erin McCahan
75. The Summer of Skinny Dipping  -Amanda Howells
76. Forget You - Jennifer Echols
77. Something Like Fate - Susane Colasanti
78. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - Morgan Matson
79. The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot
80.The Princess Diaries 2: Princess in the Spotlight - Meg Cabot
81. The Princess Diaries 3: Princess in Love - Meg Cabot
82. The Princess Diaries 8: Princess on the Brink - Meg Cabot
83. The Princess Diaries 9: Princess Mia - Meg Cabot
84. The Princess Diaries 10: Forever Princess - Meg Cabot
85. Second Helpings - Megan McCafferty
86. Going Too Far - Jennifer Echols
87. Charmed Thirds - Megan McCafferty88. Prophecy of the Sisters - Michelle Zink
89. Witch and Wizard - James Patterson
90. Life as We Know It - Susan Beth Pfeffer
91.The Dark Divine - Bree Despain
92. Ruined - Paula Morris
93. The Immortal Realm (The Faerie Path: Book #4)- Frewin Jones
94. Pretty When She Dies - Rhiannon Frater
95. Dreaming Anastasia - Joy Preble
96. Witchling - Yasmine Galenorn
97. The Last Olympian - Rick Riordan
98. Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine
99. Same Difference - Siobhan Vivian
100. Dead is a State of Mind - Marlene Perez

Post the first, where I introduce myself.

Hi! Welcome to A Bit Bookish, my book blog. Here I’m going to try to be the girl that actually reviews all the books she reads. Hopefully it’ll work, and if not, well, at least I’ll try!

I was influenced by The Story Siren herself, and in my way, this is almost a tribute. Enjoy!