[Novel Status + New Books] as of Nov 18, 2010

I've been buying even lesser books than usual now! Hurrah!
But it didn't exactly make the number of books I actually finish get higher in number.... ahahahaha. Trying my best to catch up again, but for now, here's the current status:

DROPPED:
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
I read it because the movie's coming up..... but now matter how many more pages I read... I still cna't see what's so great about it x_x

READING:
The Tapestry #1: The Hound of Rowan by Henry H. Neff (116 of 414)

NEXT:

• The Tapestry #2: The Second Siege by Henry H. Neff
• Chronicles of Narnia #5: Voyage of the Dawn Trader by C.S. Lewis
• The Bartimaeus Trilogy #1: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
• Breathe by Cliff McNish
• ~ and so many other choices

TO REVIEW:

• Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
• Peter & the Starcatchers by Barry and Pearson
• The Oracle Prophecies #1: The Oracle Betrayed by Catherine Fisher

TO READ FROM THE START AGAIN (previously on-hold):

• Leviathan by Scott Westerfield
• Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Sussana Clark

NEW BOOKS:

• Roar - Emma Clayton
  I saw Eoin Colfer having a positive review on it.... and it was about a twin brother searching for his twin sister... and they're involved in some violent game between mutants.... can't resist... plot~ Haha!
• Artemis Fowl 4: The Opal Deception - Eoin Colfer
  I've already read this actually because a good friend had lent it to me. I just bought it for the sake of collection, hehe. I love this series.... even if I'm quite behind on it.
• Coronado - Dennis Lehane
  I love Shutter Island, which is a work of the same author. This one seemed to be a collection of intriguing short stories... I think I can only expect good stuff from someone who was able to think of Shutter Island, hehe.
• Uncle Boris in the Yukon - Daniel Pinkwater
  I still haven't read the other Pinkwater novel that I have but this one was about the love for dogs and it was on sale! I'm a dog lover and the difference from the original price was REALLY BIG so it was hard to resist, hehe.
• Mistborn 1: The Final Empire - Branden Sanderson
• I saw the third book and was already tempted to buy it until I realized that I haven't read the first book yet. So when I finally found it, on sale even, I didn't have second thoughts on grabbing it, hehe. Hopefully it is indeed as good as the reviews say.

[New Books] Sept 21 to Oct 17 2010

== NOVELS BOUGHT:

• The Last of the Angels by Fadhil al-Azzawi
  I haven't read an Iraqi novel.... so I was so happy to have the opportunity to be able to read one when I found this on sale~ And I see World War I, a pair of brothers, and a boy meeting three men claiming to be angels, literally. Me likey *_*
  
• The Angel Maker by Stefan Brijs
  A haunting tale of a mad scientist doing... something... on male triplets.... and it's said to be somewhat like Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyl and Mister Hyde.... and it involves issues related to ethics, morality, science, and religion. Sweet~
  
• How to be Good by Nick Hornby
  The title... intrigues me xD And there are so many positive reviews on how witty and funny it is. I can't ignore *_*
  
• Howl's Moving Castle #2: House of Many Ways by Diana Wyne Jones
  I haven't read the prequel... but I have seen the animated movie version and I LOVE IT!
  
• Many Waters by Madeline L'Engle
  I have yet to read the first book but I quickly browsed this one and saw the magic word, "unicorn". So I didn't have second thoughts anymore, teehee~
  
• Madman Dreams of Turning Machines by Janna Levin
  It's about geniuses that went insane~ I find that interesting =D I took a glimpse on some lines in the book and it already amused me~
  
• A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li
  It's an anthology that had several awards and I don't get to read stories about Chinese people in abroad much. So it's something new for me~
  
• Fable Heaven #2: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull
  I have not read the prequel but I've already been eyeing on it for a long time so maybe's it's a sign that I'd actually like it. I saw the sequel on sale... I hope I'm right on the risk of buying this one. I would really regret not getting this if I ended up falling in love with the prequel.
  
• The Keys to the Kingdom #1: Mister Monday by Garth Nix
  I kept on seeing the third book but I can't buy it because I haven't read the first two books! Now I finally found the first one (on sale even, yay!). I like Nix's Abhorsen trilogy and this one, though it sounds a bit cliche, it has something to do with the Seven Deadly Sins (corresponding to the seven days of the week). Stuff like that always get me interested~
  
• The Neddiad by Daniel Pinkwater
  It's about three weirdos in some wacky adventure.... and Neil Gaiman enjoyed it.... so it must be fun and awesome =D
  
• An Obsession with Butterflies by Sharman Apt Russell
  THE TITLE IS EPIC *loves butterflies* 'nuff said ;P
  
• Anathem by Neal Stephenson
  A group of intellectuals isolated then brought to the outside world. It has a LOT of positive reviews and was said to be very intellectual.... that alone got me so intrigued. I'm so happy I managed to find its version that is on sale... I almost bought the copy that is not on sale form another bookstore, ehehe.
  
• The Amnesiac by Sam Taylor
  A person obsessed with a certain past he couldn't remember... and there's some murder mystery involved. Interesting *_*
  

I've been buying less novels than usual now... (In the past, I already managed to buy this number of novels in a WEEK but this time it took me almost a MONTH) I'm improving!

It also appears that the novels I've both are more varied in terms of ethnicity/setting this time (there's an Iraqi, Dutch, Chinese, etc.). I also risked some sequels even though I haven't read their corresponding prequels yet, ehehehe.

All of them were both at least lower than half of its orginal price ^^ I'm so happy to be able to get such interesting books in a decent price ^^ Yay!

Now for the time to read them....

[Novel Review] Demons of the Ocean (Vampirates #1)

Demons of the Ocean (Vampirates #1)
by Justin Somper

Connor: My twin sister and I got separated when we were shipwrecked.
Grace: Connor was rescued by the pirates.... while I landed into the ship belonging to the Vampirates!
Connor: Grace is in danger! I must find her!
Grace: I'm worried about Connor! I must find him!

I love stories involving vampires, but this recent vampire romance craze is making me sick. What a relief I had to read something about vampires again that is not entirely focused on romance! It made me happier that not only are the vampires her not mushy, their pirate traits make them kickass as well. The idea of a vampire and a pirate in one was really cool~

However, it might have been better if the existence of pirates that are vampires as well in the book had been a twist or at least a mystery instead of something that is obvious from the title of the series alone. Actually, not many of the twists in the story had been that surprising, even if it's so action packed and fast paced.

So many things happened in the book in every freakin' chapter yet there are still many things that are left unexplained. It appears that because the story tried to progress too fast that it didn't have time for character development.

Even the two main characters didn't have enough of it. If you think about it, they aren't really that different from what they were at the beginning. I have to admit that it's quite sickening to see Connor being too good in everything even for a newbie in a new way of life (it didn't take him too long to adjust to his new lfiestyle), and Grace being so lucky to be protected and pampered despite her selfishness and uselessness. I prefer seeing Connor having more weaknesses... and for Grace to be truly as smart as how the book tries to portray her to be.

My biggest problem with the twins is that... they're so special yet we don't know WHY. There has to be some explanation or significant clue at least on why our main characters take all the glory on its very first book. Harry Potter was The Boy Who Lived; Percy Jackson was The Son of Poseidon; so Connor and Grace are....?

The problem with the main characters isn't really the worst of it. I had so many other concerns with the flaws of this book but none of them could beat my problem with the setting. I mean, it's set in the future, where everything is supposed to be more advanced and high-tech... YET the main characters don't act like children from the future but some kids in the early 1900's. They didn't have problems in adapting to an environment that lacks technology because they appear to have no experience or idea about it. With that, I didn't see the sense of making the setting futuristic. It might've also been a great idea to have our pirate characters be on a high-tech ship... but they aren't. So the time period seemed pretty pointless.

I admit my disappointment with this series because I really could see it to be much better than what it is right now if only it did more interesting twists and avoided some annoying cliche. Nonetheless, I applaud to this series for its use of vampires: the vampires here are smart people, use a system, and still drink human blood. The sunlight weaknesses made them a little boring though (oh come on, does this mean they could only do battle at night?) unless the author does something about that limitation.

Many of the characters of this series have been charming and interesting in their own way; I love a number of them~ It was very enjoyable to read and had a satisfying ending (Hooray to focus on family love instead of romantic love for a change!). I look forward to reading more from this series.

C (OKAY! Not that great but isn't bad either!)
It's nowhere near fantastic but had several remarkable points~
3.5 Hearts ---> LOVE
I enjoyed reading this and I LOVE LORCAN!!! Hehehehe....