WOW! It's been way too long

I'm junior now in HS and a lot has happened during sophomore year. I had some serious emotional roller coaster going on in my life and I know that it's never excuse to stop blogging about books.
Honestly, I haven't been true to my words and I feel guilty for that. I really want to try and read more but sadly my poor time management skills isn't helping me. I think this is the perfect time to renew myself from everything that has happened and become a much smarter and stronger person. I will prove to myself that I can do this and read all the things that is listed on my blog. I don't think homework is an excuse... I'm just a slacker.

My goodness!!!!

It's been way too long since I have yet posted anything; I haven't been reading for awhile but that's no excuse from not reading.

There had quite been a lot of distractions in my life lately..blame love for that.
But I won't go any further details about that I really need to keep up for my day to day reading.

I feel as though I'm not as accomplished because I have already broken my "New Year's Resolution" promises. I might as well try as hard as I can to keep up with my goals.

I'm currently reading Pride and Prejudice for school and we have to annotate it. I'm thinking about showing you guys my annotations here :)

Have a Happy Reading

Review: The Martian Chronicles

Title: The Martian Chronicles

Author: Ray Bradbury

Leaving behind a world on the brink of destruction, man came to the Red planet and found the Martians waiting, dreamlike. Seeking the promise of a new beginning, man brought with him his oldest fears and his deepest desires. Man conquered Mars—and in that instant, Mars conquered him. The strange new world with its ancient, dying race and vast, red-gold deserts cast a spell on him, settled into his dreams, and changed him forever. Here are the captivating chronicles of man and Mars—the modern classic by the peerless Ray Bradbury.

My thoughts:

The Martian Chronicles is basically a variety of short stories set chronologically in different time periods. Ray Bradbury is brilliant at staying with the main topic which is the colonization of Mars and has captured many readers with his imaginative intuitive about the universe. Most of the short stories set a similar emotion that connects the whole book all together. I've also noticed that he loves his imagery; his descriptions about every detail is lucid. This book has certainly influenced my perception of the world. It teaches us the dangers of human selfishness and obsession of technological advancement. No wonder this book is considered an all-time classic.

Overall: ♥♥♥♥

New Years Resolution 2012!!!

My new years resolutions!!

1. Read a book every single day; it must be consistent & should hopefully turn in to a habit

2. Read at least one poem every day (this is for my SAT Subject II Test Prep)

3. Practice the ACT as much as possible (if not everyday)

4. Manage time wisely

5. Every free time must be spent on either reading or ACT/SAT II

6. Get straight A's on junior year

7. AP TESTS ARE CRUCIAL!

8. Exercise 30 min/day

9. Avoid pacing around the house for no apparent reason (break this habit b/c I've noticed that it wastes a tremendous amount of time)

Most of my resolutions are based on education

Review: Looking For Alaska by John Green

Title: Looking For Alaska

Author: John Green

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

My thoughts:

Intense! John Green is truly brilliant; he deliberately takes you inside a world that is quite realistic and yet very powerful. This book is so real and the character development is flawless. I love every bit of each character; they are very tangible and at the same time unique because of their diverse personalities. His allusions to novels also gave me an idea to read some of the books mentioned in the story. Looking For Alaska is indeed truly a powerful story as it questions about the struggles in our life and teaches you how to approach realistic situations. This book is complex although I do recommend reading it for ages 15+ since there are some explicit scenes and crude language but overall this book is AMAZING I'm definitely planning on reading John Green's novels soon.

Overall: ♥♥♥♥

Winter Break!

Finally it's winter break, I have long been waiting for this day to come. After all the final exams and all-nighter studying I can finally rest in peace (for awhile) and read more and more books. I haven't read in awhile and I'm trying to make up everything for this 3 week winter break. I've come up a list to read this 3 week break:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

The Song of Hiawatha An Epic Poem by Henry Wadsworth Long Fellow

Scottish Literature - Nuff Said :)

A

• Lin Anderson

B

• Iain Banks aka Iain M. Banks, (born 1954) writes mainstream novels under the first name, science fiction novels under the second.
• J. M. Barrie (1860-1937), author of Peter Pan among others.
• Christopher Brookmyre (born 1968)
• George Mackay Brown (1921-1996), Beside the Ocean of Time
• Mary Brunton (1778-1818)
• John Buchan (1875-1940), The Thirty-nine Steps

C

• Keith Charters (born 1965)
• Dominic Cooper (author) (born 1944)
• Iain Crichton Smith (1928-1998)
• Samuel Rutherford Crockett (1860-1914)
• A. J. Cronin (1896–1981)
• Andrew Crumey (born 1961)

D

• Colin Douglas pseudonym of Colin Thomas Currie (born 1945) Edinburgh medical novels with many thinly-disguised real characters.
• O. Douglas pen name of Anna Masterton Buchan (1877-1948)
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), creator of the Great Detective, discoverer of the Lost World, believer in fairies.
• Niall Duthie (born 1947) novelist

G

• Janice Galloway
• Richard Gordon, science fiction.
• Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Sunset Song
• Alasdair Gray, Lanark
• Andrew Greig
• Neil Gunn, The Silver Darlings

K

• James Kelman
• James Kennaway (1928-1968)

L

• Ross Laidlaw

Mac/Mc

• George MacBeth (1932-1992)
• George MacDonald (1824-1905), Phantastes, The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith
• Iain McDowall
• William McIlvanney (born 1936)
• Pat McIntosh
• Helen Clark MacInnes (1907-1985), suspense novels
• Compton Mackenzie (1883-1972), Whisky Galore!
• Alistair MacLean (1922-1987), The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare
• Ken MacLeod, (born 1954), science fiction
• Candia McWilliam (born 1955)

M

• Laura Marney
• Bruce Marshall
• Allan Massie
• Rosaline Masson
• Peter May (writer)
• Denise Mina
• Naomi Mitchison
• Neil Munro

O

• Agnes Owens

P

• Andrew Picken (1788-1833)

R

• Ian Rankin (born 1960)

S

• Andrew Murray Scott (born 1955), novelist[1]
• Michael Scott (1789-1835)
• Sir Walter Scott, (1771-1832), innovator of the historical novel
• Alan Sharp (born 1934)
• Nan Shepherd (1893-1981)
• Sara Sheridan (born 1968)
• Ali Smith (born 1962)
• Iain Crichton Smith (1928-1998), Consider the Lilies
• Tobias Smollett (1721-1771), The Adventures of Roderick Random, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle
• Muriel Spark (1918-2006)
• D. E. Stevenson (1892-1973)
• Robert Louis Stevenson, (1850-1894), Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Treasure Island etc.
• Luke Sutherland (born 1971)

T

• Nigel Tranter, (1909–2000), Scottish historical novels, westerns, contemporary adventure, children's books, non-fiction (history, Scotland, Scottish architecture).

W

• Alan Warner (born 1964)
• William Watson (1931-2005)
• Irvine Welsh (born 1958)
• George Whyte-Melville (1821-1878)
• David Wishart
• David Wolstencroft (born 1969)