Monthly Archives: July 2012

Top 10 Most Vivid Worlds/Settings in Books

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I haven’t done this in a while, and I thought that today’s Top Ten topic (created by the ever fabulous The Broke and the Bookish) would be a very good one to get back on the train again! The setting of a novel is what makes it or breaks it for me — if I’m not captivated within the first chapter or two, it’s hard to get me totally invested in the novel. I love when the author (or the narrator) takes me away to a place that I can only dream about, to a place where I would love to visit. I’ve read many books in my life, but here are my Top 10 Favourite Worlds/Settings in Books:

10) Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

I’ve been obsessed with this little orphan girl (and no, I’m not talking about Annie) since before I can remember. I think it was Anne’s rich imagination and language that really drew me into her world, and that made Prince Edward Island one of my top places to visit. From the Lake of Shining Waters to the White Way of Delight, Anne has such a way of making her surroundings come alive and place you right there next to her.

9) Night by Elie Wiesel

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, this is one of the most terrifying novels I’ve ever read — and that’s because it’s all true. It’s hard to recall a moment in time that was as scary as the Holocaust, and Elie Wiesel’s account of what happened to him and others in the concentration camps really plays with your mind. You see things you don’t want to see, hear screams you don’t want to hear, and smell the decay and destruction of lives that you don’t want to smell.

8) The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

I’m a big fan of fantasy novels, and this series is one of my favourites. I love the mix of modern day New York City with the twist of Old World (and Underworld!) charm. The characters are fantastic, but what I love most is the setting. It’s like I’m there with Clary on her adventures and can feel the anticipation and fear with each breath at every climax. Love it!

7) The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Pretty much every person acquainted with literature knows about The Hunger Games, and for good reason! It’s an amazing novel written in a dystopian country called Panem. With every single new scene, Katniss takes the reader on an unforgettable (and often times nerve-wracking) journey — from District 12 to the Arena, and everywhere in between. It’s hard to think of much else once you finish the novels and it’s most difficult to return to reality after being immersed in a world so unlike (and yet so eerily parallel) our own.

6) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

For many of the same reasons as why I both love and hate Night, The Book Thief also is set in World War II. But instead of it being set in the concentration camps, The Book Thief follows Leisl in Nazi Germany, around her town and within her unique relationships with her family and friends. By the time I read half the novel, I was so engrossed with her tragic surroundings and events. And when the final climax happened that put an end to the novel, I couldn’t breathe for the longest time. Her world was gone, and with that, my world too.

5) Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Who doesn’t love the sweeping landscapes, the cool waters of Mermaid Lagoon, the swashbuckling pirate ship of Captain Hook and the heated Indian tribe of the infamous Neverland? There is so much to relish in and enjoy as one heads to the second star on the right and straight on till morning, and J.M. Barrie couldn’t have created a more captivating world.

4) A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

This is one of my all time favourite books ever. I’m in love with Victorian and Steampunk settings, and this is the best. But the reason it’s a cut above the rest is because it doesn’t only take place in the 1800s — it also takes place in a great and terrible place called the Realms (ha, pun totally intended).

3) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Much like Neverland, Narnia is another amazing world set apart from our reality. With beautiful waters and grand hills, lovely castles and mysterious woods, C.S. Lewis’ fantasy world is amazing — and hey, the talking animals don’t hurt either!

2) The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Middle Earth is one of the most famous literary worlds out there. Even though the books aren’t necessarily the most exciting, it’s the setting that I will remember forever. The Shire, Rivendell, Lothlorien, Helm’s Deep, Fangorn Forest, Dead Marshes and Mina Tirith… all the many haunting, beautiful and grand places of Middle Earth make the trilogy so worth the read.

1) Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Thank you J.K. Rowling. Thank you. I’ve pretty much lived in the magical world of Harry Potter since its inception, and my heart and soul will always remain there. Hogwarts is my home. Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade are my playgrounds. The Burrow is my vacation home. A beautiful quote by Rowling herself says it best: “The stories we love best do live in us forever. So, whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”

The Help: Book Review

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Book Review #15: The Help

Author: Kathryn Stockett

Genre: Fiction

Days to Read: 8

Synopsis (as taken from Chapter’s): Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who’s always taken orders quietly, but lately she’s unable to hold her bitterness back. Her friend Minny has never held her tongue but now must somehow keep secrets about her employer that leave her speechless. White socialite Skeeter just graduated college. She’s full of ambition, but without a husband, she’s considered a failure. Together, these seemingly different women join together to write a tell-all book about work as a black maid in the South, that could forever alter their destinies and the life of a small town…

My Thoughts: After watching The Help when it came out in theatres, I knew this was one book that I just had to read as soon as possible. And while many months went by before I picked it up from Chapters, I did read it in the end. The movie had me crying, laughing and reflecting, so I knew that the book would only intensify those feelings and reactions. And boy, was I underestimating its power. It took me all of 8 days to read it (granted, I had been working during those days; if I had my way, I’d have read it all in a day or two) and even so, 8 days truly wasn’t long enough for me to indulge myself further into the novel.

Kathryn Stockett is absolutely amazing in my opinion. She has this undeniable gift of creating characters, creating settings, that are parallel to our own lives and experiences, and yet are set apart from us too. The black maids undergo such trials that it’s hard to believe life was actually like this in the 60s. Stockett spoke with such rawness, such honesty, that it was impossible to tear myself away from her words.

From the get-go, I was rooting for every single black maid in Mississippi and Miss Skeeter — and hated Hilly Hollbrook with a passion. I wanted to slap Elizabeth Leefolt for her naivety and stupidity. And I wanted to embrace Celia Foote in the tightest hug, patting her on the back. Each character was so strong in his or her own way, whether they were right or not. The dialogue was flawless and the plot was seamless. There is a reason why this is a national bestseller — The Help can touch even the most skeptical person out there.

My Rating: 9/10

To view this book, click here.

“A Rose By Any Other Name…”

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This is such an interesting list by Mentalfloss on 17 famous literary characters that were almost named something else — from Hermione Granger to Scarlett O’Hara, Detective Holmes to Tiny Tim.

I think my favourite change has to be Nancy Drew, though. Her other names are just too funny.

Which ones do you like best?

And Three Awards Later…

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I’ve been so busy these past few months that I have to apologize for sliding my blog to the back burner as of late. I’m sorry! It’s tough working full time, being an editor for The Student’s Life, maintaining a social life and a relationship, reading and keeping up with Books, Tea & Me. Needless to say, it’s tough. But it’s so worth it.

Anyways, this post is to thank three unique blogs for the award nominations they gave me because it’s most certainly overdue. Because each award will generally have me nominate blogs that I enjoy, I’ve decided to nominate a flat 15 blogs in this post (that’ll be five blog nominations per award) to make it easier on me. I hope you all check them out because they truly are fantastic!

Dear Wilhelmina Upton from Lazy Happy Bored Happy Sad gave me this 7×7 Link Award on May 7th (told you these awards are from a long time ago) and I have to thank her again for the nomination! I’ve never heard of this award before, but apparently I need to tell one unknown thing about myself, link to seven of my favourite posts and then nominate seven other bloggers. But like I said, I’m only going to nominate five blogs to make it easier.

So. One thing you don’t know about me… I have a cockatiel named Sunkist and she’s the best. She’s bright yellow with orange cheeks and is probably one of the mellowest birds you will ever meet! Love to death.

My seven favourite posts:

  1. The Fault In Our Stars Book Review
  2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Book Review
  3. Pride and Prejudice: Adaptions
  4. Top Ten Books You’d Like To See Made Into A Movie
  5. The Most Beautiful College/University Libraries in the World
  6. RIP Jan Berenstain
  7. Loved Preview

My five blog nominations:

  1. Two Busy Brunettes
  2. Coffee and Wizards
  3. Adventures With Words
  4. The Loud and Clear
  5. Monica Leonelle

Thank you so much to The Streetlight Reader for nominating me for the Sunshine Award on June 7th! It means a lot that she nominated both my own personal book blog and the online magazine I write/edit for (The Student’s Life). Again, I’m not familiar with this award, but it looks like there’s a couple of things I must do for it: answer 10 questions about myself and nominate other great bloggers.

Q. 1: What is your favourite childhood memory?

That’s a really good question because I have so many of them. But I think my favourite isn’t just one single memory, but a collection of memories bundled under the same heading: camping. I pretty much grew up camping each summer with my family and our close family friends and their children. I’ve gone everywhere in BC and Alberta — Penticton, Christina Lake, Fernie, Invermere, Bow Valley, Canmore, Kananaskis… gosh, I could go on. It’s because of this tradition that we’re as close to these families as we are today, and that the kids I grew up with feel like cousins to me. I will always remember camping and plan on making it a tradition when I have children one day.

Q. 2: What is a real fear for you?

I could take the easy way out and say spiders, which would be the truth because I’m terrified of them. But I think the thing I fear the most is rejection or abandonment. I hate feeling like I’m not worthy enough and I hate being excluded from others. When I was younger, I had been bullied like most children, and I guess it always stuck with me growing up that there must have been something wrong with me to be treated that way, that I could be rejected like that again. And while I haven’t been bullied since, my hormones took over in my teens — and with that, the continual rejection from guys and abandonment from friends took its place. I seem to shut down whenever that happens and lose my way for a while until I find my place again.

Q. 3: How would you describe yourself?

Hmmm… Loyal, quiet (but I can be the outgoing one sometimes too), a bookworm, a contemplator, a dreamer, passionate, odd, friendly, unique.

Q. 4: What countries have you lived in?

Just Canada and The United States.

Q. 5: What is your style?

Honestly, my style’s changed so much over the many years. I don’t even know what I’d classify it as anymore. Casual? Comfy? Let’s just say I don’t dress to impress most of the time.

Q. 6: What is your favourite breakfast food?

That’s easy: the classic Stampede breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, hash browns and bacon/sausage. For some reason, Calgary Stampede breakfasts just taste amazing.

Q. 7: What are some of your hobbies?

Reading, writing, watching movies/TV, spending time with friends and family, baking, daydreaming.

Q. 8: If you could tell people anything, what would be the most important thing to say?

Oh that’s a good one… Umm… Don’t be afraid of death.I lost my grandma when I was very young and then my grandpa in Grade 7. I didn’t think I’d have to go through that pain again for many years, but that was not to be. I lost my Nanaji (grandpa, in other words) six days into this new year, and I can’t even begin to describe all the emotions I went through and what I’m still going through. But if there’s something I can take away from it all is the fact that one should never take life for granted, but to never fear death either. Death will come one day whether you like it or not, and the only thing you can do about it is to live your life with the upmost happiness and love. Both my Grandma Jean (from what I hear) and Grandpa Len, and my Nanaji believed this and spread their love around — and at the end, that’s what we remember most.

Q. 9: What is one of your passions?

Harry Potter. Don’t mock me, but he’s a big part of my life. I always say that when I get married, my husband needs to love Harry Potter too, so we can raise our children on the Potter culture and foster a love of reading at an early age. And if our children decide Harry Potter is stupid? Well, they’ll learn the way to their grandparents’ house pretty quick. I’m kidding. Except not.

Q. 10: What is one truth you have learned?

As cliche as this may sound, I’ve learned in my 20 years that life truly is a roller coaster. You can be high on life one moment, and then plummet to the ground — heart in mouth — the next. Change is constant, and there’s nothing we can do about it. All we can do is pick ourselves up and continue along the ride.

And now for five other awesome blogs:

  1. Catherine, Caffeinated
  2. A Dash of Cinema
  3. Crazy for Books
  4. As I Turn the Pages
  5. Brilliantly Novel

And last but not least, I want to thank Read N Cook for the One Lovely Blog Award she gave me on July 3rd. The fact that she thinks my blog is lovely makes me happy, so thank you! For this award, I am to share seven facts about myself and nominate 15 blogs that I think are lovely in their own way.

Seven Facts That You Probably Don’t Care About Knowing But Will Now Know Anyways:

  1. I’m short. Like 5’1.5″ short.
  2. Even though I’m 20 years old, I still read Seventeen magazine.
  3. I want to travel the world one day, and I will.
  4. I built houses in Tijuana, Mexico over my Grade 12 spring break.
  5. I love to eat. And bake.
  6. If I could have a pet tiger, I would.
  7. Even though my boyfriend’s only been gone six days, I already miss him. Only nine more days to go.

Six Lovely Blogs (because I had to choose one more!):

  1. Pocketful of Books
  2. Belle’s Bookshelf
  3. It’s a Book Thing
  4. Teaching Literacy
  5. Just Another Nerdy Girl
  6. The Whirl Cure

Well, that’s it! I want to thank you all so much for following me on my love of the written word because it really means a lot to me!