Day 28 – Favorite title

I... don't have a favorite title. Not that I know of. But I usually like that the book I'm reading has memorable titles. If they're stand-alones I don't have many preferences. But if they're part of a series, I kind of like to see some sort of consistency in the title. For example, most of the books in J.R Wards's Black Dagger Brotherhood start with the word "lover" (except the first one which ends with it). So I like that there's a pattern and something common to the titles of each of the books in a series. Especially if the author you're reading writes multiple series at the same time and you need to pinpoint a certain book into a series. (Yes, you can say that I have a little OCD *blush*)

Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending

I'll have to choose In Love With An Angel (original title: Innamorata di un angelo) by Federica Bosco - read my review here.

SPOILER ALERT.

The whole book is built upon a love story so beautiful and innocent, a forbidden love, an unlikely love. You'd think there's a HEA in there somewhere, right? Or at least a HFN (Happy For Now)? Wrong. At the end of the novel, out of the blue, the heroine's lover drowns and (obviously!) dies and the heroine ends up in a coma, after trying to kill herself. While I get the idea that in some cases authors either choose or have to kill a certain character, I have to wonder why kill a main character? Why write one of those dream-like love stories, just to tear it apart in just a few pages? Yes, I know, there will be a second and a third book in this series, but I'm still trying to reconcile with the fact that Pat died and Mia is in a coma.

Anyway, this is the most surprising plot twist that is still fresh in my head. There have been others, but this is the most recent.

What about you?

Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something

Besides Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings there has been one book that changed the way I saw things at a time. I remember I was about 12 when I first read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Now, for a girl who doesn't like classical books, it seems unlikely that this book is, to this day, one of my favorite books I've read over the years (and there have been a few since then).

The thing that this book changed for me was the actual reading experience. At the time I first read it my English wasn't what you'd call "good".It was terrible, actually. But I remember I wanted to read it in English, desperately so. I have no idea what made me want to read it in English, but there you have it. I also remember the cover. It looked something like this, only my copy was a shade darker, or so I remember it.

See how he's leaning over her, either to whisper a secret or to take a better look at her, now that she's sleeping? *sigh* I loved the cover! Anyway, I remember I struggled while reading it, but I made it to the end. I remember rereading the book in my mother language years later and feeling a little...cheated? The translation was perfect, flawless, but it still wasn't the same. So you could say that this book changed the way I look at the idea of reading translated books. Of course, if the original language is one that I don't know, I'll read the translation :P

But other than that, I can't say a book changed my opinion about a specific subject.

What about you? Did you ever read a book that changed your opinion about something?

Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most

Hmmm. I'm thinking part of me is suspiciously similar to Emma from Sophie Kinsella's Can You Keep A Secret? I mean, I have secrets *gasps* And I have to be honest, with the way my life looks right at this moment, it feels like I'm having a new career choice every few months/years. (Though I do hope that mess ends soon)

What about you? Who do you relate to the most?

Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read

Whenever I read a book that I consider to be awesome, bestseller material, I start talking about it and basically do some "book pimpage" to all my dear friends and even my family. So I would say that every book I love needs to be read by a lot of people. I don't really have an answer besides that. There are too many books I feel readers need to learn about, but it also depends on your own tastes and likes and dislikes. So whatever floats your boat. As long as you read and you enjoy the experience, I don't think it really matters how much exposure/fan base a book has or hasn't.

What about you?

Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is my answer. I remember when it came out in my country, I was in my last year in high school. I loved the premise. Mysteries and Dracula. Finding out the truth about him and I wanted to know how he was shown in the book, the real "Dracula", Vlad the Impaler. At the time, though, I was a huge Anne Rice fan. I wasn't ready to read some other vampire descriptions and stories. Also, the prospect of college scared the living hell out of me, to be honest and I didn't have time to read what I wanted.

In the years that followed, I discovered many books, many vampires, many authors, many genres. And with each book I read, my TBR pile got bigger and bigger. For some reason, The Historian got pushed back. I don't know if I'm ready yet to read it. It may sound stupid, but it's like I'm afraid of being disappointed. I do want to read it, so maybe I should make it a goal: read the book before the year ends. I think I'll do that, actually.



So, what about you? Do you have a book that's been sitting in your shelf for a long time, waiting for you to pick it up?


Blurb (from Goodreads):

For centuries, the story of Dracula has captured the imagination of readers and storytellers alike. Kostova's breathtaking first novel, ten years in the writing, is an accomplished retelling of this ancient tale. "The story that follows is one I never intended to commit to paper.. As an historian, I have learned that, in fact, not everyone who reaches back into history can survive it." With these words, a nameless narrator unfolds a story that began 30 years earlier.

Late one night in 1972, as a 16-year-old girl, she discovers a mysterious book and a sheaf of letters in her father's library -- a discovery that will have dreadful and far-reaching consequences, and will send her on a journey of mind-boggling danger. While seeking clues to the secrets of her father's past and her mother's puzzling disappearance, she follows a trail from London to Istanbul to Budapest and beyond, and learns that the letters in her possession provide a link to one of the world's darkest and most intoxicating figures. Generation after generation, the legend of Dracula has enticed and eluded both historians and opportunists alike. Now a young girl undertakes the same search that ended in the death and defilement of so many others -- in an attempt to save her father from an unspeakable fate.

Day 22 – Favorite book you own

Without a doubt, Lord of the Rings. It's not the only book that I own that is my favorite, but this one is special. It was the first book (or set of books, as it is) that I bought from my savings and I remember I was actually incredibly proud when I got home to show off my treasure. 

*Note: the picture below is not of my set, I just found it on the net and thought it looked very cool, so I thought I'd share it.

What about you? What is your favorite book you own?

Day 21 – Favorite book from your childhood

This one's easy. Harry Potter, of course. I won't repeat the reasons why (read the About Me section for the entire story LOL). I'll just say this: I am completely grateful to my friend from school who made me read it and to  J.K Rowling for changing my childhood and, in the end, my entire life (no, really!) and for helping me become the avid reader that I am today. That is all :D



What about you?

Day 20 – Favorite romance book

I completely forgot that I didn't finish this challenge *iz ashamed*
Um, I don't have a favorite romance book. I know it sounds weird, but for me every book I read, even if they're part of the same series, is different and unique in its own way. So it would be almost like comparing apples and oranges. That said, the one book that pops into my head right now is Kat Martin's Nothing But Velvet.

It's the first historical romance I've read and it's one of the few books I reread every year. I remember when I first read it I was still pretty bad at English and it took me a while to finish it, but I'm glad I did. I loved it then and I love it now even more.

What about you? What's your favorite romance book?

Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie

Pride and Prejudice. And especially the TV show (1995) with Colin Firth. Let's face it, besides his sexy accent, he's a VERY good actor. And I liked him as Mr. Darcy. That and it was a BBC production. When do those guys ever make a bad movie?

  

Hmm...I might watch the movie again. What's your choice for this topic?

Day 18 – A book that disappointed you

I was prepared to say there wasn't a book that disappointed me, but then I remembered that's not completely true. Before I go on telling you about a book that disappointed me, let me tell you what it takes for a book to let me down.

I'm not a strict reader, I don't care if the book isn't what I expect it to be. So if I'm hoping for a book to be funny and it's actually tragic, I don't mind, as long as it makes sense. It takes a lot for me to be disappointed by a book, but the chances increase when that book is part of a long series. Series that I actually love, mind you! 

What really disappoints me is when a character acts in a manner that is so different than anything he/she ever did in the series/book. So if  a strong, manly, smart guy acts like a complete wimp all of the sudden, that might make me lose my focus. It's not about doing the logical thing. Even if I want to roll my eyes when a character does something that to me seems stupid, I realize that it makes perfect sense for said character. And to be honest, I'm not one to judge, I do stupid things all the time, like all people do. So it's ok for a character to make a mistake. But have a complete transformation and become someone else? That's something I don't understand. 

A book also lets me down when the focus changes too much. If the real main characters of the book aren't the same as the one's the blurb said they would be, that is so disappointing for me. It pisses me off when I'm supposed to be reading the story of a certain character, but instead the subplots take charge one too many times, making the main character actually become second character in his own story. 

There aren't a lot of things that can let me down, but when that happens, I get sort of pulled out of the story and I feel like I'm looking at the words, instead of "seeing" them come to life. Sounds weird, but it is what I feel.

Anyway, a book that has disappointed me was Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris. The reason is that for some reason, in this installment of the series, Eric is a shadow of himself. He's not the sexy, dangerous, powerful, strong, sarcastic, fun, entertaining, manly vampire we've known for 9 novels. I don't remember anything happening that could make him change that way. It's actually the only reason I didn't finish the book the first time I tried reading it and I'm really wary of trying to read it again. I liked the old Eric, with or without his memory. But the Eric we have in DITF isn't the one I like.




What book disappointed you?

Day 17 – Favorite quote from your favorite book

I'm choosing a quote from a book that is very dear to me, Pride and Prejudice. I can't exactly remember when Elizabeth said this, but I love it so much:

"Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.”

 I do believe I need to reread this book. Maybe I should do a Jane Austen marathon. That would be cool :)

What's your favorite quote?

Day 16 – Favorite female character

Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She's a smart girl, very independent, confident in herself and does what she feels is right. Also, she speaks her mind, which can sometimes get her in trouble, but she doesn't lie to win someone's respect or appreciation. I love confident, independent heroines. 

What about you? What's your favorite female character?

Day 14 – Favorite book of your favorite writer

This one's easy. Since yesterday I said Marc Levy could be called one of my favorite authors, the book I love most is Seven Days for an Eternity. I don't know if the book has been translated in English, though. They really should, in my opinion.

This book is funny, romantic, witty, sarcastic, what's not to love about it? It's about God and Lucifer, making a pact. Each has to send their best warrior on Earth and do more deeds in the name of his "boss". They have seven days and the one that at the end of the week has a bigger score, wins and gets to rule over Earth and human kind for ever. God sends Zofia and Lucifer sends Lucas.

Lucas and Zofia weren't supposed to meet, but they do and, naturally, fall in love. There's one very funny scene where Lucas was trying to be romantic and send her flowers. Thinking any flower will do, he sends her water lilies. He actually filled her bathtub with water lilies. It's a very funny scene, but not the only one in the book.

I love all of Levy's books, but this one for some reason is more dear to me. One thing I love most about Levy's books: most of them have two or three characters that are in all of them. They're not main characters, but they sort of connect the books. Of course, all books except The First Night and The First Day are stand-alones.

So this is my favorite book by my favorite author. What's yours?

Day 13 – Your favorite writer

Difficult choice. I think the only writer that makes me want to read everything he's ever written in the French author Marc Levy. You probably know the movie Just Like Heaven with Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon. That movie is based on one of Levy's books, If Only It Were True. So if wanting to read every book he's written makes him my favorite writer, then that's what he is for me.

But honestly, I have a lot of authors that I love and try to read as much of their works as possible. I'm really weird, if I get to read something by an author and I like it, chances are really high that I'll like his/her other books.

Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore

No book comes to mind that fits this category. I mean, if I loved a book five years ago, chances are I still do. Of course, I believe every book has it's moment when it makes more sense and it has a special meaning. If I would read now the first romance book I've ever read, I probably would have a more cynical take on what happens in that book. That doesn't mean I'd hate it.

Do you have a book that you used to love but now you don't?

Day 11 – A book you hated

I missed yesterday's appointment and I'm sorry. Had to do some stuff and I didn't have time. Ok, a book I hated.

After I started being what could be called a "serious reader" (one that reads more than 3 books a year and finished those books in less than a month) I wanted to see how far could I go in terms of genres and explore my limits. Like I said a while ago, my first contact with horror stories was through Anne Rice's vampires and while I loved the books, I wanted to see if I could handle stories that where scarier, bloodier, with more graphic details and more...let's say gore. Before you think I'm a psycho, I'm not. I come from a family full of doctors, so detailed stories about surgeries and bodily fluids during lunch where a daily occurrence. That and I studies psychology. So to say I can handle a lot of gore and graphic details is to put it mildly. (Just please, no insects or injured kids. That I can't handle!!)

So I started to ask around and most of my friends that liked horror novels told me Stephen King was so much more than Anne Rice. I was excited. I immediately tried to find a book that had the two things I loved most at the time: suspense and vampires. My best friend heard me talking about that and she bought me Salem's Lot for my birthday.

Color me excited. I tried reading the book twice. There where so many things that drove me crazy about that book. First of all, nothing happened for about 200-250 pages. NOTHING. The only thing I remember was that the main character was going out on a very, very boring date. There where also tinny, tinny details about the house. I don't exactly remember why the house was so special or so scary, but it was.

Also, no vampire in those first pages. I was disappointed. You know how in the movies you sometimes get a little scene with a guy/girl going inside a house and it's dark outside and the door closes after him/her and a second later you hear a scream? I was waiting at least for a scene like that. There wasn't one.

I remember seeing a colleague of mine from college reading the book and I asked him at what page he was and if something had happened until then. He was halfway through it and he said "Nothing new".

I can't deny that I liked his descriptions, the way he built his characters. But I think this book is for someone who likes slow-paced books. I am aware that this is one of King's first books, so maybe his writing style improved, but I'm not really sure I'm ready to try another of his works.

Anyway, this is a book I didn't like. What's yours?

Day 10 – Favorite classic book

I'm ashamed to say that I didn't read many classic books. I tried to, but they didn't appeal to me. The only classic book that I loved and read more times than I can count, is Pride and Prejudice. I can't give you an honest answer as to why I loved it. I just do. Maybe it was because I loved Elizabeth Bennet and her strength, charm, wit. Or maybe it was because of Mr. Darcy, who, despite being rich and uptight, he has a certain something, sort of a boyish attitude sometimes. I remember thinking he was even a little shy around Elizabeth and he was trying to act tough and bad to hide the way he felt about her.

It's also a very special book to me, in terms of firsts. It was my first classic book, my first book read in English (I remember I was about 12 or 13 and it was actually a hard read, but I managed to read it :P ), it was my first
historical romance, my first British novel. You can imagine, at 12-13, this book meant a lot of firsts in my journey as a reader. Mind you, it wasn't my first book though LOL



What's your favorite classic book?

Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

Oh, there are a number of books that I start reading with this fear. I had this fear when I started reading The Warlord Wants Forever, thinking that it couldn't be that different from other paranormal books I read until then.   I was glad I was wrong and I enjoyed it a lot and I had to read the rest of the books.

Another book I was having doubts about but ended up loving is, like I said hundreds of times before, Harry Potter.

I think about a third of the books I read start like that. I'm skeptical with recommendations so that's why I start the books this way. Just because someone liked a book doesn't mean I will, so I usually don't start those books too hopeful or too skeptical. I just pay extra attention to detail :D


So what's your answer?What's a book you didn't think you'd like but you loved instead?

Day 08 – Most overrated book

Oh I like this one! *rubs hands* Ok. Before I start, I want to let you know that I'm not criticizing the readers and the fans of the books I'm going to talk about. I know a lot of people talk trash about someone based on their tastes and that's not what I'm going to do. I'm simply saying what I think about the books, nothing more and nothing less. Just because you're fans of these books doesn't make you inferior or superior to me, it just means you like something other than me and that's fine, because we're all unique and we have different opinions.

So back to the topic. I love vampires. With all my heart and soul and I'm not ashamed to say that I'll read (or try to read, anyway) all books with vampires. Call me obsessed it you like. In my opinion vampires can be sexy, fun, strong, dangerous, terrifying, beautiful or ugly. But they cannot sparkle. I'm sorry, but in my head the sparkle takes away something from the myth of the terrifying creatures thirsty for blood. And I grew up in a country that has so many horror stories with vampires, so it's difficult to accept sparkly creatures as part of the scary myth. So no Twilight for this girl. I tried to read it, but I didn't enjoy it.

Then there's the second book that I consider overrated. Now, if you're writing a horror story about a vampire, shouldn't there BE a vampire in it? It's a book that I didn't manage to finish reading, because the horror in it was missing for the first 250 pages. I'm talking about Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I know a lot of people love his books, but after my first go at his work, I'm not sure I want to try again. Yes, I do have a high tolerance for how much gore and suspense and gross a book can have. But I didn't feel any suspense or any indication for that matter that there was something wrong or scary in Salem's Lot. Where was the big, bad, scary vampire? Probably in the last pages, but I felt like the book was so slow, I wasn't intrigued enough to turn another page. I realize it's one of his early stories, so maybe if I tried reading one of his newest novels I'd be surprised. Do I want to? I seriously don't know. If it's horror, it should at least make me think my heart's pounding faster than usual, but all I was thinking the whole time I tried reading it was "ok, where's the bad guy?". I was actually more a little bit more scared by Anne Rice's The Tale of the Body Thief than Salem's Lot.

So these are the two books that I consider overrated. Like I said, if you like these books, then good for you. I didn't and that's that.

What is a book that's overrated in your opinion?