Follow Friday

Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of course and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

Q: Go count the number of unread books sitting on your shelf. How many?

A. Sorry can't do it :) My books are still packed away from the move. We are taking our time finding the exact shelving/set up we want for our book room.  The number of books since we've moved that I haven't read is around 20 but I'm sure I would be in the 100s like a lot of people with all my books.

Have a Great Weekend! Happy Reading and Hopping!

Waiting on Wednesday ~ A Perfect Blood

A Perfect Blood (the Hollows #10)
by Kim Harrison
published by Harper Voyager
expected release date: February 21, 2012

Summary: Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in to help investigate by the FIB, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth — a would-be creator is determined to make his (or her) own demons. But it can’t be done without Rachel’s blood. 

As a bounty hunter, Rachel has battled vampires, witches, werewolves, demons, and more. But humanity itself might be her toughest challenge.


**I love this series and have started a reread of it. currently on the 3rd book and cannot wait to read this one.


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine.It's a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating

Book Review ~ Divergent

Divergent (Divergent #1)
by Veronica Roth
Published by Katherine Tegen books

Summary: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. 
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

My Thoughts: I loved this book more than I thought I would. Dystopians have been really hit or miss for me. 
This book is set in a beaten down Chicago. Part of what helped was I'm familiar with the landscape and could easily imagine a dried up marsh, etc.  The community being broken into different factions based on their virtue/personality was intriguing. The differences were almost jarring when looking at how different they went about their day to day lives. We learn this from the group of transfers that become friends after they all switch into a different faction. 
Beatrice/Tris became a very strong female lead throughout this book. I liked watching her go from a seemingly weak (of mind and physically) girl to a very strong individual who would not only stand up for herself but her friends as well. The rest of the characters added to the overall feel of the book. Whether they feel into the friends category or evil, they all helped shape Tris in some way.  The romance aspect between her and Four was well done. It wasn't overdone and didn't have that insta-love that always turns me off in books.
Overall this story flowed from beginning to end in an enjoyable roller coaster of a ride. From the ups of jumping off moving trains, buildings, and zip lines to the lows of betrayal and death I couldn't put it down. Cannot wait for Insurgent.  


Rating: 5

2012 Challenges

It's that time of year again. I will probably be adding to this throughout the week.

Goodreads Challenge
I signed up to read 150 books again this year. I almost made it in 2011 (128)

Debut Author Challenge
The Debut Author Challenge is hosted by Kristi @The Story Siren. To find out more about the challenge go here.

Some rules: Books must be a Young Adult or Middle Grade novel.
DO NOTE: Just because a book has a teen character or is about a teen, does not mean that it is necessarily a Young Adult novel. 
This must be the authors debut with a release date in 2011. 
If an author has a previous novel published under adult fiction/nonfiction or children's fiction/nonfiction, they can still qualify for the challenge if they are releasing their YA or MG debut. 


Tentative list
1. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
2. Everneath by Brodi Ashton
3. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
5. Above by Leah Bobet
6.Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
7. The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges
8.Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan
9. Destiny's Fire by Trisha Wolfe
10.

Year End ~ 2011

This has been an interesting year for me. I've been blogging for just over a year. I'm still trying to be more consistent with my posts and will continue to work on that in the coming year.
Stats
Books read: 128 I didn't make my Goodreads goal of 150, but I only read 61 in 2010 so still a win.
First book finished: World's End (Age of Misrule #1) Mark Chadbourn rating: 4
Last book read: Divergent (Divergent #1) Veronica Roth rating: 5
10 books rated 5, 81 books rated 4 It was either a good reading year or I was being really lenient
Challenges
Debut Author Challenge: I didn't make 12 ( I did read 5 of original 9 posted) I enjoy this challenge more for finding new authors than the actual challenge.

Looking forward to more reading and blogging in 2012