artsy musings of a bibliophile

Top Ten Tuesday: Secondary Characters

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Secondary characters are important and if it were up to me then I’d have made one on Harry Potter alone. But I restrained myself and went hunting through my shelves. Here are the results:

Hermione Granger has been a solid rock throughout for Harry even when Ron wasn’t. This is what I love about her. Not only that, she’s also smart, insightful and have a sharp tongue. As much as I believe in self-reliance, having Hermione in life would be a blessing.

Severus Snape. Oh, just where do I begin with him. He’s been the most infuriating character in the whole series, second only to Dolores Umbridge and I just hate him so much. I don’t even know why he’s in this list. Wonders of J.K. Rowling, maybe.

It doesn’t get any better than Dee in Just One Day. He’s such an expected character that I was taken aback by him. He never failed to surprise me. Dee is just an awesome friend to have!

Hassan Harbish is a friend anyone would be glad to have because they’re up for anything despite almost failing at life. Instead of being whiny and down, they’re there for their best friend’s crazy moments. And I love that.

Harrison is a good person overall. A combination of chilled out and caring which is really hard to achieve but Kody Keplinger did it awesomely.

Pushing the Limits would never be what it is if there was no Mrs. Collins. Seriously, that woman is the woman. I loved her role in the book.

Laila is the best friend in need. And Addison needs her throughout. They’ve have a very strong bond of friendship which we all aspire to have in life.

Will is such an enthusiastic character from being a partier to willing to do just about anything because why not. I love people who have such an approach to life. It’s refreshing and oh-so-cool.

Rue is one of the characters Katniss needed in that point in the arena and I was glad Katniss had someone like her. I loved all their scenes.

Cinna is the best character from Capitol. He’s a solid rock for Katniss and a guide who helped her in all the best ways possible. I loved him.

What do you think about my list? What secondary characters did you end up choosing? Leave a link, I want to know!

Book Club: SS&D Week Three

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The other day Epic Reads decided to revamp their Book Club on Goodreads and picked up Something Strange and Deadly for the month of August. I decided to join in because I seem to need an extra bit of motivation when it comes to reading books set in the past. There are pictures of 1876 Philadelphia, first impressions of Daniel Sheridan and a discussion going on about favorite characters in the series.
Then I happen to discover that Susan Dennard also started her own book club for both the books in the Something Strange and Deadly series. It’s a lot of fun because there’s happen to be discussion questions going up every Monday and there’s also participation and weekly giveaways (if you want to participate, click here).
Onto week three discussion question:

Eleanor finds herself more and more intrigued by (perhaps even attracted to) Daniel Sheridan, the inventor of the Spirit-Hunters. What is it about him that appeals to her? And vice versa, what do you think attracts Daniel to Eleanor?
Then there’s Clarence Wilcox, the seemingly perfect eligible bachelor. Why do you think Eleanor doesn’t like Clarence?
Daniel is complicated, he’s mysterious, arrogant and intelligent. It’s an interesting combination as opposed to Clarence who is merely someone who does things for himself and to his advantage. It took one meeting for Eleanor to figure Clarence out. He took her to be gullible, underestimated her.

On the other hand, Daniel simply chose to be indifferent to her which is far more interesting than someone who opens up to you after you call on their bluff. So I think that Daniel’s personality is appealing to Eleanor because he fights Death despite it giving him no personal benefit on top of endangering his life. While, Clarence’s selfishness isn’t because she cares about other people and it’s hard to connect with someone who’s only looking out for himself.

What do you think of Daniel and Clarence? Do you agree with me? Disagree? I want to know!

Book Club: SS&D Week Two

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The other day Epic Reads decided to revamp their Book Club on Goodreads and picked up Something Strange and Deadly for the month of August. I decided to join in because I seem to need an extra bit of motivation when it comes to reading books set in the past. There are pictures of 1876 Philadelphia, first impressions of Daniel Sheridan and a discussion going on about favorite characters in the series.
Then I happen to discover that Susan Dennard also started her own book club for both the books in the Something Strange and Deadly series. It’s a lot of fun because there’s happen to be discussion questions going up every Monday and there’s also participation and weekly giveaways (if you want to participate, click here).
Onto week two discussion question:

Magic and ghostly elements frequent the Something Strange and Deadly series. Even though corpses do awaken from time to time and hauntings are hardly that uncommon, the people of Philadelphia seem determined to pretend the Dead are not a growing threat.

Do you think that’s part of human nature? To push on and ignore the danger at our door? Or do you think Philadelphia’s ignorance—or for that matter, any ignorance/false sense of safety in modern days as well—can be pinned on politicians? Can you think of any examples where something similar happened, but rather than the Dead, it was a natural disaster/growing crime rate/etc.?
It is very easy to overlook things in life than to deal with them head on. Human nature has always been good at adaptation which could be a blessing and a curse. However, it’s not always a bad thing to ignore danger. I say this because death itself is something which is inevitable and if we lived with a constant awareness that we could die any moment then what’s the point of living? Not that constant awareness is bad but it is when it becomes an obsession because it’ll simply speed up the inevitable.

That being said, part of Philadelphia’s ignorance is due to that human nature and part due to the actions of the governing bodies. In order to feed upon the ignorance, humans tend to gorge on anything that would sustain it and so a simple reassurance will go far enough.

Today we’re using up fresh water at an alarming rate (highest 600 litres per person per day), the freshwater which makes up a total percentage of 0.37% of all the water on earth. We’re running out of water and instead of taking care in lessening our daily usage of water, what do we do? We console ourselves with the fact that seawater could easily be made into drinkable water. Yes, it can be through a desalination process. But is that reason enough to go on living as we are? No. But we still do because it’s just human nature to ignore the danger at our door.

What do you think? Is this really human nature or something else entirely?

A to Z Book Survey

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Jamie, from The Perpetual Page-Turner, does it again! She came up with a fun book survey and I’ve been wanting to take part in it ever since I came across it. So here I am.

Author you’ve read the most books from:

Sidney Sheldon. 18 books. I went through this phase when I was probably too young to read his books but I did anyway because I loved them (and still do) so I had to read every last one of them. Naturally.

Best sequel ever:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the whole book was such a mindfuck  and I wasn’t expecting to go all crazy eyes when I read the last line. I still got the chills.

Currently Reading:

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard. There’s a whole book club going on which is just awesome. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick and Where It Began by Ann Stampler.
Yes, I’m the queen of reading three books at a time but I’d be lucky if I don’t get the urge to pick a fourth one. Go me.

Drink of choice while reading:

Chai tea. Whenever I do feel like having something to drink.

E-reader or Physical book?

Physical! But I don’t mind e-readers.

Fictional character you probably would have dated in high school:
Trevor from Pivot Point by Kasie West. He’s artsy, a little bit of a net, mysterious and just all around someone who I’d have loved to go out with.

Glad you gave this book a chance:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Hidden gem book:
Take Me There by Carolee Dean. I discovered it on a whim, decided to read it and fell in love with it.

Important moment in your reading life:
When I discovered Living Social: Books. It shut down back in 2011 which is why I had to join Goodreads (unwillingly) but it was so great to finally have a bookish platform.

Just finished:
Heist Society by Ally Carter. I’m glad I read this book; it’s good to be goal-oriented.

Kinds of books you won’t read:

I don’t like books that dabble in religion. So not my thing.

Longest book you’ve read:
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. It was more than a 1000 pages long and I was fifteen when I read it.

Major book hangover because of:

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Seriously, the adventurous me goes crazy over all those things. Divergent makes me want to become an adrenaline junkie. Also, Just One Day by Gayle Forman.

Number of bookcases you own:
Bookcases? More like 2 shelves and each cannot hold more than 10 books. I never actually had a proper shelf (there’s this L-shaped huge bookcase that’s always been in the home but I got tired of it fast). But since I moved after doing my BSc I’ve been planning on getting one built. It is going to look beautiful. Oh yes.

One book you have read multiple times:
French Kiss by Sarra Manning. It’s been a long time since I read it last but I was so addicted to it!

Preferred place to read:

My bed. Or my orange beanbag.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:
I’m going to go with a quote from Take Me There by Carolee Dean: “How far can you go down the wrong path before you can’t get back on the right one?” I had tears in my eyes when I read this line, it just broke my heart. Oh, Dylan… Needless to say, I love that book to pieces.

Reading regret:
That I discovered the book blogging so late! But it happened when it was supposed to so I’m fine.

Series you started and need to finish (all books are out in series):
The Matched trilogy by Ally Condie. I’ve yet to read Reached and while, I liked Crossed a lot I’m not that excited for it which is weird.

Three of your all-time favorite books:
I can’t, I just can’t narrow it down to just three because I feel like I’m betraying the others. But oh well. Okay. Take Me There by Carolee Dean, Just One Day by Gayle Forman and Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon.

Unapologetic fangirl for:

Just One Day by Gayle Forman. I can’t even.

Very excited for this release more than all the others:

Just One Year by Gayle Forman. Seriously, give me it.

Worst bookish habit:

Worst bookish habit? You mean I have a worse and a bad one, too? Nah, I’m perfect.

X marks the spot. Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

Since all my books are stacked on top each other right now, I got Speechless by Hanna Harrington (which I haven’t read as yet, oops).

Your latest book purchase:
I bought six books last month: If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman, Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, Inferno by Dan Brown and Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis.

Zzz-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
Just One Day by Gayle Forman. Sigh.

So, do I pass the a to z test? Let me know ha. Also, if you’ve participated in the survey, leave a link. If not, join in the fun!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Tech-Heavy Surroundings

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Technology could be bad and it could be good but it never stops being cool. There, I said it. I like to read books set in the present because I can relate to the technological aspects mentioned in them. I like to read books set in the future because duh, new never-thought-of-before technology! Technology is one of the reasons I’m attracted towards sci-fi, dystopia and apocalyptic books. There’s just something so mesmerizing about the tech-heavy surroundings.

The tech-heavy surroundings of The Hunger Games cannot be missed out on! After all, there’s a whole district for its development! The weapons are technologically modified and that’s not the only thing! Remember the jabberjays, forcefields, holograms and of course, the hovercrafts? Just wow.
Simulation serum. Fear landscapes. Makes-you-a-robot serum. Dude, those are so freaking awesome! The technology in the headquarters of Dauntless and possibly Erudite are in a stark contrast to the untouched abandoned areas of Chicago. Go Divergent!
Provided that the technology is pretty much at a standstill in All These Things I’ve Done as the New York City faces a bleak future filled with crime, poverty and a severe lack of resources, the surroundings are tech-heavy where there is need and that is intriguing enough.
The technology in Pivot Point is advanced to the point that living in the human world is boring with the doorbells, phones and the zero action football games. It’s all very hush hush in the Compound so I’d love to know all the techy deets in the second book!
GenTex lab has made human-alien hybrid a reality by combining extraterrestrial DNA with human DNA and this is not even the coolest part in The Rules. There’s the chase, a mystery and major plot twist ahead.
While I wouldn’t ever want to live in the dystopian world of Matched, the concept of limited technology to humans is definitely one of a kind. Food, clothes, education, job; each and everything is predefined and carried out with the help of technology. Daunting.
Being a techno-thriller novel, Digital Fortress is full of gadgets, supercomputers and what not. It’s fast-paced, engrossing and so very techy!
In ExtraNormal, Mira is from Nreim which is a highly advanced planet that have overcome the flaw in genetics where humans failed to. There are electromagnetic fields, the ability to sense emotions of other people and the best of all, being able to stream with people back on Nreim through her mind. It’s all very innovative and engaging.
Spies and Prejudice is not exactly a techy-heavy book but it does make use of little technological inventions. It’s a spy story so that’s kind of a given anyway. I liked the use of the sunglasses doubling up as a spy camera.
Anti-matter? Anti-matter. When I was reading Angels and Demons and Dan Brown mentioned that there is opposite for everything out there then why not matter, I was speechless. It is pretty mind-blowing and scary! Imagine negative gravity or this gravity gun being real. I can’t even.

What do you think about my list? Good, bad, meh? What setting did you choose? Leave a link, I want to know!