Loving the Bookish Life.....

So Booklover's Day has come about again this year and as always it reminds me that everyday is Booklover's day. 

After blogging, discussing and loving books all these years I can say there is nothing like be bookish. When I was younger I was made fun of for loving to read, even now some of my family seriously does not understand my obession with books. I have to stop at every bookstore; have to spend time organizing my reading materials. I even make lists of what I plan to read by season. (Speaking of which my fall list will be up this week!) While they may not understand my love of words; I can not really understand their dislike of reading. Reading, I believe, just makes us better human beings. It makes us smarter, makes us better problem solvers etc. Not that non-readers can not be these things. However, there is just something so magical about us bookish folks. I wish you all a wonderful and tea filled Book Lover's Day evening! 

A little stroll through Downtown Dover

I spotted the Tardis but....no Doctor....that's definitely not a Good sign...hopefully he's off running around saving the citizen of Dover, Delaware! 

So today is Dover Comic Con....I will warn you guys so am not all that nerdy but....I do have a love for all things Whoivan and Potter. But there are a few other nerd things I love! Like The Ghostbusters....Brings be back to my childhood...I only wish I could have seen more Doctor Who, Potter, even Supernatural respresented! Maybe next year. All in all, I had a pretty good walk around the area and got to scope things out. Dover Comic Con is definitely worth braving the humidity and crowds! 

Do you really want to disturb me....think wisely!

A Return to Caldwell: The Bookbabe Reviews Lover Mine by J.R. Ward

We all know that I am a fan of the black dagger brotherhood series; there is really nothing like a good bit of vampire paranormal fiction. So here I am again, back in Caldwell, among the Brotherhood. In Lover Mine we are introduced yet again to Xhex and John Matthews. We are quickly caught up to the fact that Xhex is still missing. Having been taken by Lash; due to his obsession with her. And John is on a mission to find her - without the help of the Brotherhood. What I loved the most about this book is the fact that Ward did not really feature sex as heavily as she has in some of the other books. 
Which was extremely refreshing -because sometimes you just need a break from all of that.  Also, this book is infused with more action and some of the bit players are bought to the foreground. We see more of Quinn and Blay. Finally we get a little bit of a view into this relationship and begun to see it shaping itself into something else. I mean it really was about time. Quinn was beginning to get on my last nerve. And Blay, who was finally getting sick of Quinn's crap decides to go out with someone new. Which might be a mistake because that someone is Quinn's cousin (yikes). One of the most awesome thing of this book is to see how John and Xhex slowly connect to one another after she is back within the brotherhood. 
Xhex, as usual, is hard headed. She does not want to just be sitting on the sideline, allowing John to settle things with Lash on her behalf. She is interested in taking Lash out herself, and she will not allow anyone kill her but herself. Of course, at first, John is not willing to go along with that because (as a typical male) he feels the need to defend the woman that he loves. But, once Lash is cornered and Xhex is injured he sees the error of his ways. He allows her to dole out justice as she sees fit. This was one of my favorite moments of the book because  John was being selfless, he was looking beyond himself and really caring about Xhex - something I think that she never really experienced in her life. Of course, there are many more surprises in the book...but you will have to read it to find out more. I gave this book 3/5 stars on goodreads. 

Here are some of the quotes that I loved from this book:

"The truth was...he was in love with her. Totally over-the-line, no-going-back, not-even-dead-would-he-part kind of shit"

"No, you've got it all wrong, John...You're not half the male you could be because of what was done to you. You're twice what anyone else is because you survived"

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU: My review of 1984 by George Orwell

This was one of the books I choose from my book jar. I had been planning to read it this year for several reasons 1) I was born in 1984, 2) its an election year so why not? Let me get started by saying this is book is very different from any other dystopian novel I have ever read. It was frightening and carried in it some wisdoms and (I think) a bit of a warning about the way society might actually look like in the year 1984. Its important to note that the book was published in 1949; just five years after the second world war. During this time some people in the world were still struggling to put the pieces of their lives back together. This novel seems to take a look at what might happen under socialist party rule. In this world that Orwell has created Winston is a young man that seems very much a lover of the party but, also hates everything that his party stands for. He hates the rigidity of his life. Hates that he can not truly be his own man and express himself. He and others in Oceania are not even allowed to truly think for themselves. As part of their motto says "ignorance is freedom". They are not meant to play outside the party lines; because this means you will have to pay the ultimate price, by giving up your life. 

What I found very frightening about the society built into this novel is that everything is so closely monitored. The citizens from Oceania are not really allowed to marry, they can have children but are not expected  to raise them or have any connection to the children. Even when they do raise their children the kids are taught to spy on the parents and are even encouraged to turn them in; because after all there is no real loyalty - unless it is your loyalty to the party. Nowhere in this world can you be an individual. No way that you can be completely free. 

To a point, especially with the election in the United States looming large; I can see how this book fits one of our political parties and who one of the candidates for President could fit the role of Big Brother. When I looked at it that way the book was very damn scary. 

One of the over all themes of the book was really trust no one. Do not trust your "friends", do not trust the person your "fooling around" with because anyone can be the thought police. Because even when you do not think you're being watched you are. Anyone in this world can betray you. For winston this happens via a co-worker and a man whom he purchased a journal from. 

During the story, Winston is silently being watched for months. The thought police giving him enough time to really implicate that he has done something. 

What I loved about this book is that Winston was extremely relatable. He was a character that you could really see yourself getting behind; a man who you wished you could be like in that situation. Someone that is willing to face betrayal and even death in order to change your society. 

I am very happy to have finally read this wonderful dystopian classic. On Goodreads, I gave this book 4/5 stars.

Here are some of the quotes I liked:

"War is peace...Freedom is slavery...Ignorance is Strength"

"It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words"

"Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they can not become conscious"

 

Why...did I read this?! Life is to short to read bad fiction

Okay so....I am not a complete prude but why are all the sex scenes so corny and we so damn frequent! I am a fan of J.R. Ward's BlackDagger Brotherhood series and (yes) they have sex but they are much better written! I could have just read the manga and skipped these! I usually never complain about a book but I have given this series two books to get better and I can't do it any more. There is very little action and a little to much sex. None of which really advances the story. I wanted to enjoy this book; because I enjoyed the manga....but damn! I think I will be avoiding the rest of these. 

Its all about the quotes...

I have not read as many books as I would have liked to so far this summer. But, I have managed to read a few books that have had some lovely quotables. I love them so much I just had to share them!