Ursula K. le Guin

This was not the way I wanted to get back to book blogging (really, I have a draft on rebirth and challenges and whatnot started, but alas, work happened) but I arrived late at home today/yesterday, no power on my cell for at least a few hours, turned up the computer, hoping to work a bit more (presentations to prepare for a meeting the next day) only to find that Ursula K. le Guin has passed away.

And while this was something that was bound to happen during my lifetime (has happened with other authors, will happen again, certainly), I was not prepared.

The works of Ursula K. le Guin have been with me since my early teen years, and have shaped me and my views of the world in many ways. Discovering Earthsea and loving it, moving on from book to book, until there were no more left - until I decided that if there was no more fantasy, I would go read science fiction (which at that time, silly me, I believed I didn't like, and I hadn't realised that like everything else, fixed categories are mostly artificial, and I gravitate towards the spaces in between).

The Left Hand of Darkness was my choice, and it opened up worlds that I hadn't imagined (even if it is in a very gendered version, but that's the Portuguese version for you). Since then, I've tried to read everything she has written (I'm a completist), and although I've made some headway, there are still more stories, and essays, and poetry that I haven't read yet.

According to LibraryThing I have 39 works by Ursula K. le Guin (3 unread, and 3 part of omnibus edition)

The Left Hand of Darkness was followed by Four Ways to Forgiveness and the Lathe of Heaven, before I discovered that her books had been published in Portugal for ages, and at every book fair I would hunt down the books that I could find. Eventually I started reading in English, and I started acquiring those that had yet to be published here.

And while different books have marked me in different ways, and many of her books and stories are my favourite, one that I often remember is Changing Planes, a collection of short stories that feel more like field reports.

You see, I find myself often waiting at airports (something that didn't happen when I read it, but has been a constant while I did my masters, and now that I'm working), and sometimes I work, sometimes I read, sometimes I rush from one place to the other trying not to miss my flight, but often times I'm bored. And wouldn't it be so much fun if we could just jump to another place, see new peoples, new worlds, while we wait for another flight?

It took me awhile to understand (in fact, it took me the time of waiting a few times at an airport) that we can. We can make up our own stories and travel to that world, or make a quick stop to different ones in between the pages of a book. It can be a story that starts to present itself while you listen to a song, or a podcast, or simply starts as if by spontaneous generation. It can be a place you've been so long ago, and now you remember again, and decide to visit. And it doesn't necessarily need to be on airport. It can be while you walk to work, while you stay in line at the supermarket, waiting for your doctor's appointment,...

And maybe I don't remember the stories in Changing Planes anymore, some of them didn't feel like stories, after all, more like prompts, given by the author: Here's a world, go imagine a story in it. Or a dare: I built this world, now build yours (I've shown you mine, now show me yours).

But I remember that sense of possibilities, of different worlds. Of daring to imagine a world like our own. A world not like our own. People like us. People not like us. And in all these worlds, with all these characters, there being stories.

So the the world may be poorer now that Ursula K. le Guin has left it, but it is also extremely richer that she has lived in it.

Liebster blog

This post is in Portuguese.

Recebi este selo vonito da Carla @ Cuidado com o Dálmata e da Ana @ Floresta de Livros. Thanks Girls!

O que fazer:

1 – Link de volta com o blogger que lho deu;

2 – Cole o selinho no seu blogue;

3 – Escolha 5 blogues para repassá-lo, que tenham menos de 200 seguidores;

4 – Deixar um comentário avisando que estão recebendo o selinho.

 

E agora, escolher 5 blogues a quem passar isto? E tenho de ver quantos seguidores!? Bem, 2 escolhas óbvias seriam as meninas que me fizeram tag neste jogo, mas vamos seleccionar outros 5 blogues, shall we?

 

1 - Bookeater/Booklover

2 - Livros, Livros e mais Livros

3 - Cantos Quebrados

4 - Este meu cantinho

5 - Ler e Reflectir

E é tudo! Agora façam o obséquio de ir visitar estes blogues :D

Challenges, Challenges, Part 3

Yes, one more challenge, but this one seemed too good to pass.

Fairy Tales Retold Challenge
Hosted by Debz Bookshelf



Basics
It goes from January 1st 2012 to December 31st 2012
To sign up, go here
You can sign up any time from now until June-ish
I would love you forever if you would follow me, and if you're interested in fairy tales, then you'd probably find my blog interesting anyway!

What Counts
Any retelling at all, or original fairy tales. When I say original fairy tales, I mean books that include many elements of many fairy tales, but aren't actually based on any fairy tales. Some examples are The Princess Bride by William Goldman or Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (BEST BOOK EVER!) Basically a book that should have a fairy tale based on it, but it's too late for it to be the other way around.
here

I'm going for level: Witch: 9 books


On a related note, I'm also doing a book bingo with some friends, you can see my progress here.

Challenges, Challenges, part 2

Just another one, because it sounded fun. Most categories are somewhat easy, but I'm having some trouble finding something in my TBR pile with a creepy crawly in the title. Maybe I'll have to (finally) get a copy of Lord of the Flies...

What's in a Name 5
hosted by Beth Fish Reads



Here's How It Works

Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: Black Hills, Purgatory Ridge, Emily of Deep Valley
2. A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: Moon Called, Seeing Stars, Cloud Atlas
3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title: Little Bee, Spider Bones, The Witches of Worm
4. A book with a type of house in the title: The Glass Castle, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Ape House
5. A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary
6. A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title: Day of the Jackal, Elegy for April, Freaky Friday, Year of Magical Thinking

The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.

Other Things to Know

• Books may be any form (audio, print, e-book).
• Books may overlap other challenges.
• Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
• Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed but encouraged.
• You do not have to make a list of books before hand.
• You do not have to read through the categories in any particular order.

Challenges, Challenges

In 2010 I challenged myself to read 75 books - I barely made it, but because I didn't count the graphic novels towards that goal. In 2011 I decided not to do any challenge - this, until Goodreads decided to do the 2011 reading challenge. I chose 80, because it was about the number of books I had read the year before (with graphic novels, that is). I have completed it (I am, at the moment, at 84 books read and I hope to get to 86, or at least 85 before the year ends).

Next year I'll be back to the challenges. Not one, not two, but three!



Challenge 1:
2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge
hosted by The Book Vixen



Details:

• Runs January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012 (books read prior to 1/1/12 do not count towards the challenge). You can join at anytime. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
• The goal is to outdo yourself by reading more books in 2012 than you did in 2011. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. Nothing is set in stone; you can change levels at any time during the challenge.
• Books can be any format (bound, eBook, audio).
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• Grab the reading challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you could track your progress on Goodreads or LibraryThing.

I'm going for level: Out of breath – Read 6–10 more books
Which means, I'm challenging myself to read 96 books (supposing I read 86 this year). Why 96?, well, I quite like the number, that's it!


Challenge 2:
Off The Shelf 2012
hosted by Bookish Ardour



The Deets

• The Main Rule: Do not include books acquired during 2012, it defeats the purpose, read those books from before 2012 started!
• Running Dates: 1st of January – 31st of December 2012
• When Can I Sign Up: All the way up to the last two weeks of December 2012!
• Crossover Genres: Anything! The name of the game is to turn those unread books into read ones.
• Mr Linky: To use the Mr Linky you’ll need to click on the graphic then enter your link. These will be updated and posted into this page every couple of weeks or so.
• Further Details: Crossover challenges are fine, you can change levels at any time, this is eBook, short story, and graphic novel friendly, and you don’t need a blog to join in (read further for details).

The How To

• Choose Your Level: These are listed further down and you can change levels at any time.
• Grab The Badge: Place it somewhere on your blog, profile, or in a signature where possible and link back (main page or this page, it’s up to you).
• Sign Up Post: Create a post on your blog, in a group, or on a forum (only if allowed) to let others see what you’re aiming for (a predefined list of books is optional).
• Link Up: Grab the direct URL to your sign up post, not your blog, click the Mr Linky graphic and enter your link!
• Blogless? Don’t worry, you can sign up with your social network profile (YouTube, Twitter, GoodReads, Shelfari included), just make sure you link to your review list, shelf, tweet, or category. If you don’t have any of those feel free to comment!

I'm going for level: Flying Off – Choose 75 books to read
75 books that are already cluttering my shelves. I have lots of those, so it should be easy, no? Combining with Challenge 1 it leaves still about 20 books that can be acquired next year.


Challenge 3:
Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge 2012
hosted by Reading the Paranormal and The Unread Reader



Here is how it works:

• Should you choose to participate in this challenge, your goal is to read at least twelve (12) legally obtained FREE e-books. While twelve is the minimum there is no maximum limit.
• Anyone can join. You don't have to be a blogger, and you don't have to live in the United States. 
• Any E-Reader will work for this challenge, including: iPad, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony Reader, enTourage. 
• Please Note: If you don't have an e-reading device, you can still join in with Amazon's Free Kindle Reading Apps which you can download for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC, Blackberry and more.
• The challenge runs from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. You can join at anytime.
• e-books in ANY genre count for this challenge as long as it was FREE at the time that you downloaded it.
• Every month in 2012, I will make a post for the Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge 2012 so you can link your reviews.  Based on participation, monthly link ups may be combined.
• Those that link their reviews will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a different prize each month, such as an Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card, a bookmark, or a GelaSkins for your e-Reader.

Challenge Guidelines:

• If you have a blog, create a post announcing your participation in the challenge. Please include a link back to this post.
• Non bloggers: participate by linking up your profile URL from the site you plan to post your reviews on such as Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.
• When you post your book review, you MUST reveal how you obtained the free & legal download. Please make your source clear.
• You can list your books in advance or list them as you read them.
• Crossovers to other reading challenges is acceptable, but ARCs/galley e-books DO NOT count. Again, this is a Reading Challenge to read as many of the FREE e-books legally offered for your e-reader. To get started, check out the Top 100 Free books on Amazon, or the Free e-books on Barnes & Noble.
• Any linked reviews that do not meet the guidelines will not be entered into the monthly drawing for the prize of the month.

I'm going for level: Coupon Clipper: 12 Books
Yep, on this challenge I'm going for the basic level. It's not that there aren't plenty of free ebooks (I have downloaded tons!). It's just that this one goes a bit against Challenge 2 - I never count these freebies as To Be Read. And since they are digital, they don't really clutter the bookshelf, do they?


And that's it. For now... If I find any more interesting Challenges (that I can mash with these) I might joined them too.

"Let's help the elves" Giveaway - Winner

So, Christmas has come and gone, and it's time for cleaning up, eating the leftovers and coo over the amazing presents I'm sure everyone received. Oh, wait, there is something else that has to be done, isn't there?

Of course there is! The winner of the Let's help the elves giveaway!

But before I tell you actually won this one, here are some stats:

Most people said they were good or at least more good than naughty, but there are quite a lot that were naughty and proud of it! But since I always like the naughty ones in books, I won't crossed them from Santa's list.

And what people wanted the most for Christmas? Well, it was rather surprising. People asked for books. Or bookshelves. Or eReaders. Really, people? All you want for Christmas is books and book related stuff? Great! Me too!

So, now that these stats are over with, it's time for a winner. Let's click the button on the Rafflethingy and cross my fingers that I get picked...oh wait, I'm the hostess in this one.

And....drumroll please... wait, it seems there's more clicking involved, keep on with that drumroll, for a while and...

Here it is! The winner is:

Veronika who wanted books for Christmas, so she'll get one more from Spoilers and Nuts. I will be emailing you soon!


And that's all for now. There will be reviews coming (hopefully, I'm soooooo behind those) and during this week I'm doing the Top 10 of 2011 - so, a post every day - speaking of which, I have to prepare some of those...

Spoilers and Nuts wishes you a Merry Christmas

A rather meek try of this dessert (photo from best angle,
although it was hard to find one)

It comes rather late, it's almost time to sit at the table with the family around, but yours truly has been rather busy in the kitchen. But the desserts are ready, and the meal is cooking, so I have a little time to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Hope there are enough books for you under the tree (I have my fingers crossed for some!).


Also, don't forget that the Let's Help the Elves giveaway ends tomorrow.

"Let's help the elves" Giveaway

So, it's Christmas time, and the blog has turned 2 and I didn't even notice (much less celebrate). But there is still time! And since I still have a few Christmas shopping left to do, here is my idea:

Not THAT Santa's Little Helper

I'll help the Santa's Elves with their presents too, and take care of one of those for them. All you have to do is sit in a comfy place, pretend it's Santa's lap, and wish away, aka, fill the Rafflecopter thingy. That's it. It should end on December 25th (if I got this thing working right), so it means the gift will be a little late for Christmas, but Christmas it's whenever one wants, right?

And what about this gift thing? It will be a book (of course) - any book of your choice, within a reasonable prize. Reasonable is for me to decide and will depend on my mood. (It will be after Christmas, my mood is bound to be good.)

So here it is:

"Let's help the elves" Giveaway

An update, or, "I'm not dead yet! Stop poking!"

By popular demand (and by popular I mean one person, with whom I talk almost everyday via Twitter or Messenger), I shall post a brief update. I've been meaning to do so for some time, specially because it seems there will be a lot less reviews this year.

First, I arrived well in Spain, and I am already working. Of course this wasn't without some bumps, and I still don't have everything settled.

The place I'm living is only temporary (Thank God!), and I still haven't heard from the people who live on one of the flats I've gone to see. Fingers crossed for a positive reply. Where I am right now there is no internet, which explains my absence from the online world. And it's amazing to think that 15 years ago, I had no problem living without internet, and 10 years ago with having only limited access to it. And now, I spend 3 days without it and I'm going nuts!

Of course, after the initial shock of not having internet, and then of only having a very slow internet connection in my mobile (praise to smartphones!), I went to all the phone carriers and phonehouse shops I could find until I got a mobile connection. It's not fast, or cheap, but it will do fine for the next week.

Work was another bumpy road. There I was, Monday (last week), all pretty and smart, looking very nice and formal, ready to work. But the place I work only opens at 9:30. I was supposed to be in the offices at 9:30. I tried to explain it (in my rudimentary Spanish) to the security guard. He wouldn't let me in until 9:30.

He turned out to be actually very nice, he just couldn't leave the doors so close to opening hours. After he had done all that, he took me to where I needed to be, and explained me how to get in when the Mall is still closed.

And of course 9:30 doesn't really mean 9:30 because the bosses (I have more than one - thinking about it, and the work I've done, pretty much everyone is my boss there) hadn't arrived, and they still had to prepare my desk. Meaning moving the guy that was sitting there to a desk where he remains hidden from everyone, and setting up my computer.

And here is another funny story. They start taking the components from the boxes. Keyboard. Check. Mouse. Check. Computer tower. Check. Computer Screen. ermmm... Did they send a screen? Where is the screen? Not in the box. So I had everything set up, except for the screen, which makes everything else pretty much useless.

So my work the last week was mostly dealing with shops (delivering magazines from last December and June, and asking them to sign for December, June, August and October, and explain why so even though I didn't understand it myself), archiving transport records from last year because they don't do that (even though they must), checking and archiving all kinds of records (at least they are environment related), and on the afternoons working on small things on Excel files, on the computer of a girl that only works mornings. Interesting, hum?

But between work and looking for a definite place to live I managed to do some sightseeing, mostly during my lunch hours (they give me 2 hours for lunch!). I've been to Sagrada Familia (only to take a picture), to Passeig de Gracia and Casa Batlló (not pictures there, I was looking for a shop in which to buy a mobile phone card), to Port Vell, to the Ramblas and Plaza Catalunya and most of the center walking around.

And I've been to a few bookshops. So many bookshops, so many books! I managed to buy only one (meaning I had to stop myself from bring the entire shop home), but I'm sure my collection will increase a lot in these next 6 months.

Continuing with the news on this after-all-not-so-brief-update, I've set up a new blog, Spoilers, Nueces y otras cosas, where I've proposed myself to review books in Spanish and post updates of my stay in Barcelona. Of course it is suffering from the same problem as this one. Lack of internet (and time).

I still need to post the reviews for last year's challenge, but I've seemed to lost my mojo on writing them :( I'll try to write two proper reviews (for Seer of Sevenwaters and A Sabedoria dos Mortos), and 3 small ones for the books that are missing.

This year I've read very little so far. One book and one graphic novel. I'm reading 2 at the moment, although I haven't picked one of them in ages. I hope that one I get settled and into rhythm with this city I might pick up my reading pace.

An update on Life, the Universe and Everything

Hello all! After a 4 days stay in the south, with no computer and limited internet access, I'm back to blogging.

And I finally know where I'll be in the next 6 to 9 months. Well, kind of. So far I know the country and the company.

These past 4 days were a mix of fun and stress. The Course in International Practises that I was forced to attend was tiring, starting at 8:30 am and only finishing at 6:30 or 7:00 pm. With little time for lunch and coffee breaks. And we had homework on the first day that kept us all awake till 2:30 am.

But I've met a lot of new people, from different places of the country, which was fun. I also re-encountered some people that I hadn't seen in years!

Some of the talks were really good - mostly the ones dealing with adapting to different countries and people telling their stories - others were completely dull and mind-numbing - the ones dealing with management of international corporation and globalization and imports and exports and *snore*.... But all the talks were just keeping us all (us 563 interns that didn't know where we would go) in a severe state of anxiety. Some talks made us want to go to that country (China! USA! Japan!), others made us dread it (China, Angola.). And the time for the big reveal seemed to never come.

But when it did come, we where all on our toes, keeping silent and praying, wishing for some places and dreading others. And they revealed the destinations alphabetically. By the name of the country.

So we started with Germany (Alemanha in Portuguese), Angola, Austria, Brazil... and my name never appeared. Each new country that showed on screen made me instantly think whether I would like to go there or not.

My destination was a country that I was both wishing and dreading. On one hand it was close to home, I could come here any time I wanted to, and I knew what it would be like. On the other hand it was close to home and I knew what it would be like, so no surprise there. As you might have guessed, the destination is Spain.

I don't know yet where in Spain I'll be, but it all points to Madrid. I'll need to train my Spanish, because right now I can understand it most of the times, but I am crap at speaking - I foresee that I'll be reading a lot of Spanish books, in Spanish.

The company is Sierra, which is part of a big Portuguese group. It is responsible for shopping centres, so I'm a bit of a loss on what I'll be doing.

I'll try to keep on posting book reviews (and maybe some recipes) in the next year.

And this is also a good time to wish everyone:

Happy Holidays!

Spoilers Blogoversary Giveaway: We have winners!

Good News Everyone!
(yes, I've been watching Futurama)

It appears we have some winners. I used random.org to draw the names, and the lucky one are:

...drumroll please...

Ana Nunes who recommended Robin Mckinley's Sunshine

Stella (Ex Libris) who recommended Master of None by Sonya Bateman and Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

Mika who recommended If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Congratulations to the three of them!

I've sent emails to confirm their choices, but if for some reason you don't receive it, contact me at quiguiigmail.com

I received a lot of good suggestions with this giveaway, so I'm sure I won't be lacking any reading material for the next year. Thanks to all who have participated.

Here is the list of all the recommendations:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Awakened by Miss Ednah Walters

Beautiful Creatures

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

FEED by Mira Grant

Going Too Far - Jennifer Echols

Gulliver's Travels

Heist Society - Ally Carter

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Julio Cortazar's "Rayuela"

Master of None by Sonya Bateman

Matched by Ally Condie

Memoirs of a Geisha!

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

Never let me go

Nina Wilde/Edie Chase 1: The Hunt For Atlantis

Rites of Spring, by Diana Peterfreund

Roman blood by Steven Saylor

Rot and Ruin by Maberry

Sunshine - Robin McKinley

Suzanne's diary for Nicholas

The Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neil

The Cirque De Freak series

The Distant Hours-Kate Morton

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

The Riddle-Master's Game trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip

Where Rainbows End (by Cecelia Ahern)

Wintergirls (or Speak, or Twisted) by Laurie Halse Anderson

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Daughter of the Blood - Anne Bishop

(I've read these last two, but I really liked them. Very good recs.)

Spoilers Blogoversary: A year in Reviews

One year of Spoilers

So, one year ago I started posting reviews here at Spoilers and Nuts - with the review of one of my favourite book of all times: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I've read and re-read this book countless times, and simply love it. That makes today the 1 year Spoilers Blogoversary.

...well, kind of. It is the blogoversary, but that review was written on October 2009 and posted on LibraryThing. It took me about one month and a half to remember I had a blog that was supposed to be updating.

And that's the kind of blogger I am. I am usually a shy person (except on some weird days that I'm able strike interesting conversations with random strangers and generally make my options known to everyone), and internet-wise, I'm a lurker. I rarely comment (sorry folks) unless I feel like what I have to say is really important. And when I receive a comment I get all giddy because someone took the time to read what I wrote AND to comment on it. So:

Thank you all! For reading and commenting! You're the best!

It's nice to feel that someone reads what you write.


This year I challenged myself to read 75 books. So far I've read 68, which a pretty good, even if it seems I might not make it to the 75 mark. Never mind that, what is important is that I've read a lot good books (and some not so good), and I had a lot of fun doing so. Also, one of the reasons I set this challenge was so that I could ermmm... force myself to write reviews. Because I'm extremely lazy when it comes to writing, even thought I love to do it. And I've been a bit lazy lately, I have 4 books yet to review! But all in all, I consider that part of challenge completed!


And, what about next year? I'm not making any plans yet for next year because it's all a big question mark to me. I'll explain.

I've been accepted into an international internship programme that is going to start on the 15^th. And that's about all I know about it. They have asked me to be available from the 15^th onward, and to go to Lisbon on that day for a 3 day course. I've yet to know what I'll be doing and where in the world I'm going to be next year, and that includes knowing if I'll have time to read (gasp!!) or if I'll have internet so that I can update Spoilers and Nuts.

I'll probably know more on the 17^th. Until then, I have my fingers crossed for a place where I can get a lot of books :D

And this is the majority of my books :)

Finally, the Blogoversary giveaway ends today. You have until midnight (GMT) today to enter. That means about 7 hours.

I have been reading the recommendations the participants have made, and I'm liking them. Very good recommendations in there.

Spoilers Blogoversary and the end of the year coming - Time for a Book Giveaway

Like the post title says, Spoilers and Nuts' Spoilers blogoversary is approaching. And there is also the end of the year and all the festivities associated with it, so there is yet more reasons to celebrate. And, although I'm still not sure I'll meet the 75 books mark I proposed myself to reach, I'll get very close to that.

If only I could find a way to celebrate it all together..... Oh wait, I can! Let's host a giveaway!

So here are the rules for the first giveaway I ever hosted. Mmmm, let's call it Spoilers and Nuts giveaway, and make things really complicated for people to enter.

Not really, but I do ask for some things.

Vouchers, Reviewing and Writing

Vouchers
Bookdepository is giving away -10% vouchers that we can share with friends, so if you want one, just fill in the form below - I'll send you one.





Reviewing
A few days ago The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really) posted about an article about the top 20 most annoying book reviewer cliches and how to use them all in one meaningless review. It's a very interesting article, and some of those clichés do make me think of reviews right away. I'm even guilty of some of them.

Here is the list:

1. Gripping

2. Poignant: if anything at all sad happens in the book, it will be described as poignant

3. Compelling

4. Nuanced: in reviewerspeak, this means, "The writing in the book is really great. I just can't come up with the specific words to explain why."

5. Lyrical: see definition of nuanced, above.

6. Tour de force

7. Readable

8. Haunting

9. Deceptively simple: as in, "deceptively simple prose"

10. Rollicking: a favorite for reviewers when writing about comedy/adventure books

11. Fully realized

12. At once: as in, "Michael Connelly's The Brass Verdict is at once a compelling mystery and a gripping thriller." See, I just used three of the most annoying clichés without any visible effort. Piece of cake.

13. Timely

14. " X meets X meets X": as in, "Stephen King meets Charles Dickens meets Agatha Christie in this haunting yet rollicking mystery."

15. Page-turner

16. Sweeping: almost exclusively reserved for books with more than 300 pages

17. That said: as in, "Stephenie Meyer couldn't identify quality writing with a compass and a trained guide; that said, Twilight is a harmless read."

18. Riveting

19. Unflinching: used to describe books that have any number of unpleasant occurences -- rape, war, infidelity, death of a child, etc.

20. Powerful

The prize of the competition

Writing
The final item of this post is about writing, my own writing. Juliet Marillier Café and Mundo Mariller, together with the author Juliet Marillier held a creative writing competition to win a copy of her new book, Seer of Sevenwaters (that I'm anxiously waiting for).

I participated on JM Café, with a prose text. Unfortunately I didn't win. If you are curious about my piece, you can read it here.

More books and a Thank you

In these last 3 days I received 3 more books (plus 2 more that I borrowed from a friend).

Jen7waters from Cuidado com o Dálmata has given me a copy of Dark Moon of Avalon by Anna Elliott, signed by the author. She won two copies of this book on Therese Walsh Facebook page, and decided to gift me with the second copy!


So, a big thank you to Therese Walsh, Anna Elliott and Jen7waters for this book.


The other two books were bought by me. They are Tithe by Holly Black, which has been on my wishlist for ages, and Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner.



The borrowed books are Catching Fire and Mockingjay, so I can finish the Hunger Games series.


And with these 5 books for me to read, my evergrowing To-be-Read list of books has reached the number of 165. It means that, if I keep with my reading rhythm, it should take me more than 2 years to read all of them. Maybe it's time to read more, and buy less books.

Back from Holidays and New Books in

I'm back from my holidays in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, and finally I had time to stop. Yesterday I had to go to Lisbon (3-hour train trip) just to do an English test for a job interview. That was done in 30 minutes. Finally a day to rest! (I usually need holidays to recover from the holidays :S) 

I was waiting for some books to arrive, and today, finally, came the last one. A jibe from the mailman as well. He says I need a bigger mailbox, industrial size. I have to agree.

Sunny Beach, view from the Swimming Pool

So, first the holidays. I went to a resort in the Black Sea, where there is not much to do besides beach, sun, pool and reading. So I read a lot.

I finished Perdido Street Station (reviewed), and started on the books that won the What should I take with me in Holiday Poll. I started with Brother Grimm, which was fast (440 pages is 2 days :D). Then came Watership Down, that took me awhile (or at least felt like it - it was just 3 days). I started The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy on the day of my return, and finished it on the plane (still with another 3 hours of flight ahead of me - and no paper to write a review in). When I got the chance to go to my cabin luggage I picked up Across the Nightingale Floor, and finished it yesterday, on my trip to Lisbon.

I still have reviews to write for the last three books, though. The only book left from that poll to read is The Beginning Place, which I started today!


And today I received the book I won on the Book Lovers Inc. 450 followers Giveaway. Thanks so much for this book!

This week I also received 3 books that I bought (no mooched books, those came all before I went on holiday). And with 2 of the books came bookmarks (I love bookmarks, although I rarely used them)

Sojourn by R. A. Salvatore, the Graphic Novel - I already have books 1, 2 and 4 on the Legend of Drizzt Graphic Novel series. This one seemed to be out of stock everywhere, so I got it second hand.

The City & The City by China Miéville - I bought it while I was still reading Perdido Street Station (and realised that I still had one Bookdepository voucher to use and I had to so before going on holidays - so I bought this one and Palimpsest while waiting for the plane in the airport). It has been nominated (and won) a lot of prizes this year, including the Hugo, Arthur C. Clarke and Locus awards.

Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente - This one had been stalking me for a while, popping up everywhere, and it was nominated to a few awards (losing the Hugo and Locus to China Miéville), so I decided to give it a try.

Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch - The book I won! It has a great cover and the blurb says:

Katherine "Kitty" Katt joins forces with gorgeous aliens to protect the Earth, kick evil enemy butt, and save the day...

Looks like a fast and fun read.

One Lovely Blog Award

One Lovely Blog Award

Kah Woei from The Books of my Life has awarded me with One Lovely Blog Award. Thank You so much!!!

The Rules:

• Accept the award, post in on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
• Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
• Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know that they have been chosen for this award.

15 blogs that I've recently discovered:

1. 5 Line Reviews
2. All Booked Up
3. Bookworming in the 21st Century
4. Cuidado com o Dálmata
5. Daisy Chains Book Reviews
6. Ex Libris
7. In Which a Girl Reads
8. My Fluttering Heart
9. Page Turners
10. Queen of Happy Ending
11. Reading Teen
12. Reading with Tequila
13. Red House Books
14. Speculative Horizons
15. There's a Book

I write like...

I write like David Foster Wallace

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

So, I found this on a Library Thing topic: it analyses your text and, based on the words you use and the writing style, it tells you which author's your writing resembles.

I ran it through 14 reviews and this is what I got:

• David Foster Wallace - 4
• Vladimir Nabokov - 2
• Jonathan Swift - 2
• Dan Brown - 2
• Mary Shelley - 1
• James Joyce - 1
• Charles Dickens - 1
• Kurt Vonnegut - 1

I also ran it through some original texts and I ended up with:
(The results are ordered by age of the texts, older ones first)

• Dan Brown (I really need to revise this one :S)
• Vladimir Nabokov
• Anne Rice
• David Foster Wallace 

Now, I never heard of David Foster Wallace, or read anything by him, but after this I will probably try it.

You can try it for your writing here.

Design Change

Decided to make some tweets to the design of the blog, add more stuff to the sidebar and make a masterlist of the reviews and a list of the books on the Reading Challenge (which is a good way to know which reviews I will be doing).

It's looking good, isn't it?

Actors to play Juliet Marillier's Characters

On a discussion on Juliet Marillier Oficial FB fanpage many actors were suggested to play the different characters.

Here is a summary of what has been suggested. Comment if anything is missing or to suggest more.

Sevenwaters Series
Saga of the Light Isles
The Bridei Chronicles
Wildwood
Heart's Blood




EDIT: Nerwen Elendil has created an website for this, with galleries for each book with the actors suggested here. Go see it!

EDIT 2: Actors in need of role here.

EDIT 3: Another blog has been created to vote in the characters: Casting Sevenwaters. It's slowly coming live. The characters in this blog which name is a link, direct to the voting page.