(CLOSED) Haiku Contest - Win a copy of Sometimes I Forget You're A Robot (Open to US only)

"For a boy who’s always wanted a robot, actually getting one isn’t what he expected at all. The robot can’t do any of the things robots are supposed to be able to do. He can’t fly, or swim, or even talk. All he does is beep beep beep like a toy. But the boy soon realizes that his robot does have a hidden talent for building tree houses – and for being a great friend. 

This unexpectedly sweet story about adjusting expectations and appreciating what you have teaches us that while no one is perfect, a good friend can come close."

Happy Monday everybody. To start this week right I'm having a haiku contest where the winner will receive a copy of Sometimes I Forget You're A Robot by Sam Brown.

Write your best robot related haiku and make sure it's in the 5-7-5 style.

Example:

A reading robot

Quickly comprehends it all

Makes reading look cool

* The contest will run November 18-24th November 25th - December 1st and the winner will be announced on November 25th December 2nd. A winner will be chosen by me and Tiny Reverse Vampire.  

* One winner will be chosen and contacted and if they don't contact me back within a week a new winner will be chosen. The contest is US only because the publisher will be shipping the book.

* Make sure when you comment with your haiku that you don't forget to put your email, facebook, or twitter so I have some way to contact you if you win. Thanks :)

Top 5 Sundays - Best Books to Read on Vacation!

This feature was thought up by the awesome Larissa's Bookish Life

Rules:

1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.

2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.

3 - Feel free to use the Features image

4 - After you've finished your post, add your link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.

5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)    

Top 5 Sundays - Best Books to Read on Vacation!


All of these books make great vacation reads either because they're interesting, a really quick fun read, or because I've reread them so many times that it's just great to immerse myself in that world again.

 

 

 

 

Book Mail of the Week

Was thrilled to receive Alien Research in the mail this week. :)

Mini Review - Hyperbole and a Half

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

I adored this book. The set up of the book is fun because each chapter is on a different color paper. It’s kind of like a giant graphic novel. Brosh is hilarious and her words and pictures just really bring all of her stories to life. You’ll be laughing out loud one second and then seriously contemplating how some of her stories might compare to your own life.

Sentence Sneak Peek - Hyperbole and a Half

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

The first sentence from each chapter of Hyperbole and a Half, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

“It seems like there should be some sort of introduction to this.”

“When I was ten years old, I wrote a letter to my future self and bur-ried it in my backyard.”

“A lingering fear of mine was confirmed last night: my dog might be slightly retarded.”

“One of the most terrifying things that has ever happened to me was watching myself decide over and over again—thirty-five days in a row—to not return a movie I had rented.”

“My mom baked the most fantastic cake for my grandfather’s seventy-third birthday party.”

“A few months after we adopted the simple dog, we decided that we didn’t have enough dog-related challenges in our lives, so we set out to find a friend for the simple dog.”

“Some people have a legitimate reason to feel depressed, but not me.”

“I remember being endlessly entertained by the adventures of my toys.”

“One morning, shortly after my family relocated to the mountains of northern Idaho, my sister and I woke up to find our mother lurking im-patiently in our bedroom doorway.”

“Packing all of your belongings into a U-Haul and then transporting them across several states is nearly as stressful and futile as trying to run away from lava in swim fins.”

“At some important point during my formative years, I accidentally demonstrated a mildly surprising fortitude against spicy food.”

“I have repeatedly discovered that it is important for me not to sur-pass my capacity for responsibility.”

“The toy parrot was given to us by a family friend who either didn’t understand children or hated my parents.”

“The noise started while Duncan and I were watching a scary movie.”

“I have a subconscious list of rules for how reality should work.”

“We’ve known each other for a while now, dogs.”

“At some point during my childhood, my mother made the mistake of taking me to see an orthodontist.”

“I like to believe that I would behave heroically in a disaster situation.”

“On a fundamental level, I am someone who would throw sand at chil-dren.”

"Waiting On" Wednesday - Pawn

"Waiting On"  Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on...  

Pawn by Aimée Carter

* Book will be released November 26, 2013

Check out the description from Barnes & Noble:

"YOU CAN BE A VII IF YOU GIVE EVERYTHING. 

For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country. 

If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter. 

There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed…and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand."

I still have to finish Carter’s other series but I liked what I’ve read so far. I’m looking forward to this series because it looks like quite an interesting theme. Also the whole masking thing sounds kind of like Face/Off (which was a ridiculous yet awesome movie.) Here’s hoping it has some good drama mixed with fun.

Review/Rant - Allegiant

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

2 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes

Oh Allegiant,  why did you have to go and break my heart like that. I’m afraid that we can’t be friends anymore and I may have to shelf you apart from the first book in the series which I loved. You start off strong first but things go downhill when the reader starts getting some answers.

Don’t get me wrong I adore the characters of Tobias and Tris and most of the other characters. The choices that are made will make you raise your eyebrows and wonder what exactly these characters are thinking.

Thinks pick up right where they stopped from the last book. The message is now out but nobody can agree what to do. Tris and Tobias make the decision that you know they’re going to and this leads to some major revelations.

I should have known things were headed in a shaky direction when purity started being brought up so much. There city is not the only conflict out there and the world is not exactly what they were expecting.

What everyone thought was the truth isn’t really so much and I’m not sure that I at all like what the truth is.

These characters go through quite a journey and it’s a very very very final ending and let’s just say you better be ready for one heck of a depressing ending and that in my opinion the last chapter is a tad cheesy for the series.

**SPOILERS BELOW**

Rant =

Tiny Reverse Vampire saw how the book was going to end long before I did because as she pointed out why else would a series  change to two points of view unless one of the characters was going to die… Of course she was right and I didn’t think of that because I guess I have a blind spot after reviewing a lot of YA books (I just know that dual points of view are popular and thought the author was trying to cash in on that.)

I was so freaking mad/sad at this ending because I really thought a different ending was being set up. Here’s why I think that:

* When David has the truth/fear serum cocktail and they want to know the password to get into the room he sounds crazy yes but he also keeps saying her name and I was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about Tris. It is obvious that he was in love with her mother so I thought the ending being set up would be that the password for the room was Natalie so then no explosions or secondary measures would have ever been set off and Tris still could have faced David but without the other issues.

* After David is injured and in the wheelchair they make such a big deal about how weak he is and even how people have to push him around.  Yet he’s strong enough to shoot Tris at least 2 times, killing her. If he was so weak why couldn’t she overpower him, sure she was weak from fighting off the death serum but she was also Dauntless trained and a darn good fighter.

* Death serum...really? The heroine of the whole series survives freaking death serum only to get shot!!! Infuriating is pretty much how this made me feel.  Yes I read Roth’s reasoning for this and can see why she feels that way and why she went there but I think it would have worked better without the getting shot part or you know not killing Tris at all…. :)

* They do all this to just erase the memories of one compound of people...There are other cities/experiments that do not agree at all with the genetically damaged people being allowed to do what they want. I assume that they will be checked on eventually or you know shut down the hard way where everyone gets to lose their memory or you know a new war may break out or the death serum will be discovered and unleashed killing everyone.

* With this ending I kind of wish that this trilogy had been a standalone.