BR: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

Can I just say? Now I want my own persnickety Snarl. Maybe I should start wearing majorette boots and catch babies who get knocked out of their strollers by gigantic dogs named Boris.

Totally adored. Who DOESN'T want to come across a red notebook in a bookstore connected to a possible true love, daring you to go around New York during Christmas time and leave notes to each other? Yes, please. Very much so, yes please. This was one of those books that I totally laughed out loud at, and made me wish that I was more witty. Dang.

You probably know the authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan from Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, and are possibly already aware that each author takes a character, and they tag-team write, each "character" writing parts of the story in their own view; they claim to not plan anything beforehand and just let the story come out, chapter by chapter.

The first few chapters, it was like Cohn and Levithan were trying to out-ridiculous each other, like they were setting each other up, playing a game of who's-more-clever, which was hilarious, but at the same time, you were wondering just how serious this whole book was going to be. Eventually, the ridiculousness and out-doing each other toned down, and a real story played out. I mean, seriously, how fun would it be to have a secret pen pal who left your shared notebook in random places, with random people, giving you the opportunity to do all sorts of strange things you'd never get to do otherwise? Rub Santa's belly, decode secret messages in random books around a huge bookstore, go to a wax museum, make your own muppet....

I was surprised I liked it, to tell you the truth. Having read Nick & Norah's, I was hesitant, just because I was so sick of horny teenagers, but decided to give it a shot. Decision: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares is like a horny-free version of Nick & Norahs, and much better, anyways.

I particularly enjoyed Dash's persnicketyness, Aunt Ida, the way Lily legitly wore the one boot and one sneaker, and all the fun word references. Hooray for people who enjoy words as much as I do.

BR: ENTICE, Carrie Jones

By far the best in the series!

The silliness of Zara is still there, but toned down as she starts maturing more and more through all sorts of trips around the world, wounds, losses, and, of course, the eternal quest to save Nick from Valhalla...

The ending promises a FOURTH BOOK, which I'm actually rather excited about. Usually, I'm peeved when I get to the third book and IT DOESN'T WRAP UP (*coughcough-alysonnoel-coughcough*), but for once I'm pretty excited. Actually, way excited.



(book one)





(book two)



*Alyson Noel wrote the whole Evermore... series. I was super peeved when it didn't wrap up in book three--- which you can read all about my peevedness at my previous review right here. After book four, I just stopped. I stopped caring long ago, and I was just done. Did it ever end? Did anyone read Night Star? Is it STILL GOING? I know she wrote a spin off abotu Riley.... Oh my gosh, does it never end?

Anyways. Entice was fantastic. Love it. The whole character of Zara is very unique and loveable--- from her friendliness, to her love for Amnesty International and strong enthusiasm for justice, to her habit of chanting fears when she's nervous, she's great and a keeper. Plus the Pixie's thing instead of the normal Faeries thing was semi-original, which is always appreciated. Here's to hoping for the next book!

New Kindle

So, I got a Kindle for my birthday last month, and can I say? Adore it.

Crazy surprise right? I was so anti-electronic books... What changed my mind? I read that you can get hundreds (maybe thousands, I don't know) of the classics FREE on Kindle. It pays for itself after a few free books. Plus, when gifted from my parents? Yes please!

It was only weird for a few pages of electronic book, then I got used to it. Less words can fit on the page, so you turn pages all the time... but you can do it one handed, instead of needing two to seperate and turn real pages.

Make no mistake, I am not 100% converted. I still love spending hours browsing Barnes and Noble, and the smell of new books, and the crinkle of pages and the shiny covers and the weight of a book in my hands... No, I will never STOP loving real, 100% paper books. Kindles are shnazzy and convienent, but mixing it up with a real book here and there makes all the difference. I still have my books shelves and stacks of books littering every surface of my room, and were I to get rid of them, half of my soul would die. No, no; Kindle will not be REPLACING real books in my life. Just making it a little bit more electronically-savy.

Although it is waaay too easy to get new books on Kindle. Waaaaaay too easy.

The nonperks I've found on my Kindle:


1. There's no clock. I can't tell when I've spent 3 hours reading, or 4, or 8...

2. No page numbers! What?! Just a "63%" (or whatever %) line at the bottom... So, I can't tell just how thick any given book is that I'm reading. Huh.

3. No color. That makes me sad. Although if I had paid more, I could have gotten one with color, but the whole idea was to be saving money...

4. You don't get to see the cover, hardly. It's small and noncolored, and only pops up if you search for it. I miss seeing the covers all the time.
5. And most importantly: Having a brand new book instantly at your fingertips (and paying $8-$20 for it) is easy as

click, scroll, click, click!

It's waaaaaaaaaay too easy to buy books when they're magically at your fingertips! You can have a new book in ten seconds, delivered instantly. While incredibly handy, TEMPATATION IS TOO GREAT!