[Books] The Hobbit Movie Cover

Hello! Let's start by remembering me saying that I hate books with movie covers. I don't know why. Maybe it's because the authors go through a lot of effort to pick their covers and in some cases these covers take a lot of work. So suddenly slapping the movie poster on the book feels wrong. Also, I feel like buying the book with the movie covers is telling the world you're reading it because of the movie. Hahaha petty things but oh well.

Now every now and then a movie poster will be incredible. When the last movie in the Hobbit trilogy was being announced they released several covers. The one I loved the most was the one with Martin Freeman, playing Bilbo Baggins, who was kneeling with his head down holding Sting in one hand. He looks resigned, sad and solemn, dirty with the grime of the battle field. Knowing everything that happens in the Battle of the Five Armies (the event not the movie title), I feel like this image portrays all the emotions that Bilbo was probably feeling in the wake of the battle. So I love that cover. Seeing it on the book didn't cause that sense of wrongness I sometimes feel, but it just brought all the feels! I couldn't resist buying it, even if I already have two versions: one belonging to my brother and is the original cover with Smaug laying over his hoard, and a beautiful leather bound version with golden edges. And it looks awesome next to my Tolkien Collection (still in process of acquiring titles ^^).

What about you? What's your opinion towards books with movie covers? 

[Wrap Up] October

Okay so October is up and these are the books I read during the month of ghosts and ghouls! Ohoooo *insert scary noise*

Now, for the past months I've been reading whatever I wanted, mostly YA series and so on, but at the same time I had started doing the famous 2015 Reading Challenge, only I didn't notice how many of the books I was reading didn't exactly fit any criteria. So I am way behind.

Yesterday I finished the GoodReads challenge, which was 50 books. I've edited it to 56 for now and I might change it again later. Now I'm going to be focusing on ticking off the boxes I have left, which are around 13. With NaNoWriMo though I might not manage but the glory is in the trying.

These are the books I read:

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (A Book Published this Year) GoodReads
I was a bit disappointed with this book. The plot sounded awesome and mysterious but I thought it centered too much on the main characters and her not so good life. The ending was great in my opinion cause it wasn't a really feel good ending to the problem. I'll say no more! I gave it 4 stars anyway.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (A Book Written by Someone under 30) GoodReads
Now according to my research Aveyard was 24 when she published this book. Not sure if I'm right or not. Excellent story, you can see my complete review here. 5 stars!

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (A Book Based on a True Story) GoodReads
There are no words to describe my love for this book. I thought it was heartbreaking and a testament to fortitude. The story is about an airman, Loius Zamperini who is lost at sea and rescued by the Japanese and taken to a POW camp. I gave it a well deserved 5 stars!

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (A Book at the Bottom of your TBR List) GoodReads
Not a big fan of this book. I thought the plot had a lot of potential, but I couldn't stand Clare at all. At the end it became another romance story with the typical couple problems and sex thrown in the mix. The time traveling got lost on the way. 1 star.

Holes by Louis Sachar (A Book with a One-Word Title) GoodReads
A short tale about a boy being sent to a camp for 'bad boys', where the Warden makes the kids dig 5 meter holes every day looking for treasure. It was a nice story and brought back many fond memories of when my teacher read it to us in class. 5 stars.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (A Book with Antonyms in the Title) GoodReads
It took me awhile to get into this book full of women gossiping and rarely doing anything of consequence, but in the end I thought it was funny and was dying to see how it all unraveled. 4 stars.

[Crafts] Origami Bow Tie

Hello! So, as you may know, I love origami. I don't do it as often as I'd like (I blame work lazyness), but every now and then I'll get the itch to do something.

I was always intrigued by these figures made of paper. I had some books but I just could not get them. The instructions for me, even if it was with images and arrows as to which way to fold something, were always beyond me.

And then... YouTube. I realized that the only way I'll ever create an origami figure is by watching a tutorial. This way there is rarely room for error. You see when you have to turn the paper over, which way to fold, how to fold etc.

My last great project was an origami flower bouquet that I did for the daughter of a friend of my mom's who was getting married and is battling cancer.

This weekend I was tagged to an origami bow tie tutorial by my cousin. I couldn't resist the challenge so today I took a piece of wrapping paper, so I had a lovely pattern, and started folding. Let me tell you that folding wrapping paper is not easy. At least the one I had because it was pretty thick. But it turned out alright.

Here is a link to a tutorial. It's not the one I used since that one was on Facebook but the steps are the same. Enjoy!

Any favorite origami figures you'd like to share? 

[Book Review] Red Queen

Title: Red Queen (Goodreads)

Author: Victoria Aveyard (Go to her Blog)

Date Published: February 2015

Genre: YA, Dystopian, Fantasy 

Personal Review:

The Plot

Okay. The plot is pretty straightforward. There are two classes in this world: those with silver blood (Silvers) and those with red blood (Reds). Now the special thing about the Silvers is that they have all kinds of superpowers. You have Strongarms, who as the name suggests have super strength, Nymphs who control water, Whispers who can read your thoughts and control you, Magnetrons who control metal, and so on. 

Our main protagonist, Mare Borrow is a Red. Coming up on her 18th birthday and with no job she's going to get conscripted into the army, where she'll be sent to the front lines of a war between other kingdoms. She's a thief and she absolutely hates the Silvers who lord over them with an iron fist. One night, she tries to pickpocket the wrong person. She knows immediately this guys doesn't belong but for some reason he lets her go. The next day she gets summoned to the Silver's palace (which is their summer house), and is given a job as a servant, to her complete confusion. 

On her first day she'll witness what is known as the Queenstrial. The oldest daughters of the High Houses (basically royalty), will show their powers so the Prince can choose his future Queen. Mare is caught in the middle when the impossible happens.

Now, the King and Queen will have to hide her amongst them, pretending she is a lost Silver Princess and engaged to one of their sons. Hiding the fact she is a Red and trying not to get killed by the angry Princesses, she'll try to help the rising rebellion group known as the Scarlet Army. 

The only problem is, in a world with superpowers and uncertainty, anyone could betray her. 

No pressure girl. 

There is romance (of course there is romance), betrayal, mind games, violence and plain old heartbreak. 

Thing I Liked

It's funny how many different comparisons are being made to explain this book. On several websites, like Amazon, they say it's Graceling meets The Selection. I've read in some other places that it's more of a Hunger Games meets the X-men, although I don't really see any Hunger Games characteristics. Unless you count a people being oppressed by an elite (which most dystopians are so lets not automatically compare it with just one popular trilogy).

I still haven't gotten my hands on Graceling and The Selection is on my TBR list for next month, so I can't really comment on the first comparison. But I do know that in an interview with Aveyard she comments that the X-Men had a big influence on her. 

"I’ve always been a huge fan of the movies. I unfortunately never got into the comic books. I was such a Harry Potter freak so those I was just mainlining those at all times, but I was definitely inspired by the X-Men and it was a kick-starter. I thought, okay, 100 years into a war with people and superheroes, there’s no way they’re going to be running from the government. They’re going to be the government. If you have a mind controller, they’re not going to sit at home and twiddle their thumbs."  

(Complete Interview as Publisher Weekly) 

I think that's one of the things that really drew me in. I love superpowers and it's not usually a theme you see in books. 

Something that surprised me were the characters. I'm always very picky with them. I may love the plot, the complexities behind a world an author created and the writing styles, but if the characters disappoint me, all that goes out the window.

Especially when it comes to the main characters. There's been many YA series that I thought were incredible but were slightly ruined because I couldn't stand the main character. In this case though, I was very happy with Mare Barrow. She's a strong character, smart, resilient, quick witted and best of all, not prone to breaking down when things are tough. I liked most of her choices, her logic and her reactions toward certain events and people. 

The writing style was simple but elegant and very detailed, all traits I love. 

Things I Didn't Like

It's a small thing I suppose, but I thought there was very little detail as to what the deal is with this war young Reds get sent to. They mention battling against other Silvers, but for what? Why? Or maybe they do mention it but in my haste to see what happened next my mind just said 'screw it keep reading'.

The High Houses weren't explained in full. We know the names, their colors and their powers to a degree. But what else? Basically I just want a background check on everyone and a history lesson. 

Do I Recommend this Book?

Hell yes. I thought it was an ambitious book. There's a lot of fantasy in it and many people might not like it. Since I love fantasy, having powers, rebellions and mind games this books was my cup of tea. I finished it in two days!

Have you read the book? What's your take on Mare? 

[Book Wrap Up] September

September is over, we're on October 13th and I just took the time to grab the books read last month. They're just a few books this time, though the fault lies in health issues and binge watching Person of Interest. As you can see, this time the genres were all over the place. Mystery, romance, short stories and a slice of live short of book. I have written reviews for Death on the Nile and The Best of Me, the other two are still in the wind. Not sure if I'll write a review for them though, so no promises. 

A short summary on these books: 

Loved Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. I'm just discovering her work. I knew about her of course, but never felt the desire to read any of her books. Now I can't stop, though I'm getting my hands on them slowly. This is the fifth book I've read by her. The other four are: At Bertram's Hotel, Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None and The ABC Murders. Can't wait to buy some more!

I was a bit disappointed with Nicholas Spark's The Best of Me. The plot had a lot of potential but I feel like it focused too much on what the two main characters are thinking the whole time. The ending was like a punch to the face though, and made me change my mind, if only because I'm a sucker for books that make you cry at the end. There was one thing I didn't like, but I won't spoil it for you.

Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro is a collection of short stories focusing on the theme of people and how music plays a role in their lives. It can be a mayor role or a small one. I found the stories simple but enjoyable, with a hint of melancholy. 

Last but not least, Matthew Thomas' first novel We Are Not Ourselves is a rollercoaster of emotions. You don't know whether to hate the characters, sympathize with them or just throw the book across the room. The story is centered around a woman and her life, from when she is a littler girl to when she was her own family. You'll find heartbreak, deaths, health issues and everyday problems. Even now I don't know how to feel about it. The style is simple, to the point and leaving you wanting to know more. 

Well, those were my reads for Septembers.

What about you? Have you read these? What did you think about them? 

[Book Haul] September!

I'm so excited! Getting English books is becoming increasingly easier here in Lima, Peru. Before, I had to content myself with ordering on amazon every now and then. Then I found a bookshop called SBS Librería Internacional - Special Book Services and was happy for a while. But during the July book fair, I found another awesome bookshop called CarolyLibros. Nearing the end of September I took a quick trip down to the shop, which is actually a house whose first floor was converted into a shop. Books, everywhere! All of them in English. I was in heaven. I didn't plan on buying so many, but I couldn't resist.

From top to bottom, I bought The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey because I've been hearing it's name everywhere and with the movie coming out I just have to read it before watching it. The plot is really alluring, with each wave of something (and I really wanna see that it is), chances of survival lower. 

Marie Lu's Legend trilogy (Legend, Prodigy and Champion) sounds awesome. In a dystopian world where the Republic is fighting against everyone else, two people from two extreme social classes will meet when the elite June's brother is killed, and Day, a known criminal is the prime suspect. Questions arise that will make June suspect her own government. 

Kiera Cass' The Selection series (this boxset comes with The Selection, The Elite, The One and The Heir). Basically 35 girls are going to compete for the Prince's hand. America hates that she got selected. She already has her eye on someone and doesn't want anything to do with a stupid crown. You go girl. Of course, things will start to change when she meets the prince. I'm not going to lie, the first thing that went through my head when I heard about this series was that it was going to be a strange mix of Cinderella, the Hunger Games and America's Next Top Model, which prompted the image of girls in dresses cat fighting. I found it hilarious. We shall see how it turns out. 

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver. Two sisters, Dara and Nick, become estranged after an accident leaves Dara's face scarred. But she goes missing alongside another girl, Nick is convinced there is a connection and strives to find her sister. How? No idea, I'll have to read it to find out.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I was really interested in this book since it started appearing on everyone's TBR list. I was a bit skeptical at first, but the summary sounds promising. Two classes of people, the Reds (commoners) and the Silvers (the Elite). Mare Borrow hates them, but there appears to be more than meets the eye with her and she's taken in by the Silvers, declared a lost princess, and engaged to the prince, Mare has to survive and find out the truth. Oh, and help the Red rebellion group that wants to bring down the Silver regime. Who doesn't love a good Revolution?

And last but not least, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Rachel takes the same train every day and always sees the same couple, giving them names and a life of their own in her head. It sounds like the perfect unchanging monotonous life. Until she sees something. Something apparently shocking, which makes her go running to the police. However, now her life is linked in the case and she no longer knows if she did the right thing. What is this shocking thing she saw? I must know! 

Anyway, I don't know when I'll start with these beauties, I'm still finishing a book I started in September: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. 

Will post my September Wrap Up later today or tomorrow. Been busy binge watching Person of Interest. I swear, this series... will write a post on it soon.

Any recommendations on which book to start first? Any new books you guys bought you'd like to recommend for future buys?

Bloggers, Booktubers and Readers

(First of all sorry for the late post, I fell victim to a stomach bug as did most of my family so we were in our own quarantined world)

Anyway, Sunday the 30th was incredible! I met tons of interesting people and many of the famous BookTubers here in Lima, Peru. We had many interesting games like trivia questions, charades, hame books in alphabetical order. It was crazy! We got to talk about our favorite books, characters, editions. The whole thing. Down below I'm leaving a link to the facebook page of Guild of all Trades where you can see the pictures and some videos.

PHOTO ALBUM of the morning

First Blogger, BookTuber Conference / Primera Conferencia de Bloggers - BookTubers

If you're anywhere near Lima, Peru this Sunday 20 of September, there's a first conference of Bloggers, BookTubers and readers being held. It's in Campo de Marte from 10-1 a.m. There'll be many prizes, trivia, books and of course you get to meet another book lovers and bloggers. Don't miss it!

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Si están cerca de Lima, Peru este domingo 20 de setiembre, se esta llevando acabo la primera conferencia de bloggers, BookTuber y lectores. Será en el Campo de Marte de 10-1 a.m. Van a haber muchos premios, trivia, libros y por supuesto, podrás conocer a otros amantes de libros y bloggers. ¡No te lo pierdas!

 

New MockingJay Trailer - "For Prim"

Right. So, the Hunger Games. I have to say I wasn't so impressed by the trilogy. I read the books back in 2013 during my holidays.

I thought the first book was interesting and new (if you don't count Battle Royale). Wasn't all that moved by Katniss and Peeta. I know, probably a first.  I loved the second book. I did, I thought it was better planned, more original and with a deeper look into the psychology of the districts and the characters. Haymitch is my favorite character in the whole trilogy, by the way. The third book left me a bit confused at times and of course... emotionally destroyed by the end.

Anyway, the second trailer of the Mockingjay Part 2 came out and... my eyes got suspiciously watery. I blame onion cutting ninjas.

The trailer is spectacular. It's even titled "For Prim", which is how the whole thing started in the first place. Now I don't mind romance, but in a world where people are dying left and right and forced to kill, it always feels out of place. But this trailer summarized the best parts of the book and of humanity. Katniss volunteered for her sister's sake. Not for love, not for glory, but for family. That is what I wanted to see more of, but during the course of the book it got lost, to be replaced by the Peeta and Gale dilemma. Until the very end where Collins rips your heart out and stomps it.

This trailer... watch this trailer. It's heartbreaking!

What did you think? Heartbreaking or what? Would love to see different views on the whole trilogy. Who was your favorite character and why? (Mine was Haymitch, guy is a badass!)

Consigue Seguidores Con "+1" - Get More Followers With "+1"

Buenas! Hoy vengo con una propuesta para todos esos blogs que necesitan un poco de ayudita para subir su número de seguidores o simplemente que están en busca de nuevos, se llama "+1" y consiste en colocar una entrada con la imagen que les dejaré por aquí abajo, pidiendo a las personas que sigan tú blog y que ellos dejen el link del suyo en los comentarios de tu entrada para que de esta manera tu puedas seguirlo también. 

Esta propuesta viene del blog Pétalos de un Libro. No olvides colocar el banner en un lugar visible del blog y dar créditos. 

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Hey there! There's this proposal going around called "+1" for all those blogs that are searching for more followers or just wanting to spread the word. It consists in posting an entry with the image below, asking people to follow you and to leave a link to their blog in the comment section so you can follow them as well. 

The proposal comes from the blog Pétalos de un Libro (Petals from a Book). Don't forget to place the banner in a visible place on you blog and to credit. 

[Reading Challenge] My Books So Far!

I'm sure most of you know about the 2015 Reading Challenge. If not, let me tell you a bit about it.

Basically, it's a list of books to read that fit a certain requirement. For example, you have to read a book with a color in the title, or a book published in the year you were born.

Some requirements are easy: a book by a female author, a trilogy, or easier still, a book that became a movie (because lets face it, almost every movie in the cinemas came from a book). Some, on the other hand, are a bit harder. You have: a book with an author with your same initials, a book with antonyms in the title or even a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't. At least in my case I'm panicking with that last one.

As far as I can see, the list that seems to be the most popular (you can find many reading challenges floating around), was posted on PopSugar. You can download the list on the site or you can look for it on Pinterest, along with some other challenges.

So far, I've managed to complete almost half of the list. I've read 43 books according to Goodreads this year, but not all of them have met the requirements of the Reading Challenge. Let's see if in the last four months of this year I can complete the challenge!

How about you? Any books to recommend with a specific requirement? Are you doing the challenge? Let me know how it goes!  =)

[Monthly Reads] August Book Wrap Up!

Wow August was tough!

In July there was the International Book Fair here in Lima, Peru where I'm currently living.

There, of the books you see here, I bought Sister Noon, Wonder, and the Maze Runner box set. The last two mentioned I adored and Wonder made my cry. Sister Noon, not so much. Although the writing is lovely.

The Husband's Secret and the Matched trilogy I bought when I went to Buenos Aires to visit my grandparents.

I'll post fuller and more detailed reviews in the future (I need them fresh in my mind for that XP), but all I will say at the moment is that I expected more from the Matched trilogy. It's good enough to suggest for a light reading, but I felt like some parts were rushed. The idea behind the trilogy is excellent and very thought provoking. The whole society Cassia (the main character) is living in is complex and interesting, but not explored enough, for my taste.

As for the Husband's Secret, I liked the main plot and the way it was written, linking three women together to a specific town in Australia through their own perspective. Moriarty (and what an epic surname!) uses these POV chapters to her advantage and leaves us with several cliffhangers. However, the secret ended up being too obvious for my taste, and I ended up not liking any of the women. I'll leave the reasons to your curiosity. I do recommend this book though, it's a fun and easy read.

[Book Review] Death on the Nile

You Can Buy Here

Title: Death on the Nile (Goodreads)

Author: Agatha Christie

Year Published: 1937

Edition Read: 2011

Genre: Crime and Mystery

Personal Review:

Crime is afoot on the famous river, the Nile. This book explores all the positive motives. Money, jealousy, love, vengeance, opportunity, vanity. The crime? As the title of the book suggests, murder is the favored evil. 

Christie is a criminal mastermind of her own. One of my favorite things about her is that she presents numerous characters that all have a role to play. No one is there as a simple background character. Whether it be a small comment, an observation, a past relation which might be part of the bigger scheme of things, or the very same culprit, they are all important. And the best part is that it keeps you guessing.

[Book Review] The Best of Me

You Can Buy Here

Title: The Best of Me (Goodreads)

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Year: 2011

Genre: Romance

Personal Rating:

What better way to start this blog with a quick book review?

Now, mind you, there will be spoilers ahead. But first a general review for those that are thinking about reading it.

The book is about two teens who fall in love in a Romeo and Juliet style. She's from a respectable and wealthy family while he's the complete opposite. His surname, Cole, brings fear into the hearts of all who hear it. His family is like this giant small town mafia that nobody pisses off. But here we have young Dawson, who hates his family, is nothing like them, and has fallen in love with one Amanda Collier, a girl way out of his league, status and general lifestyle.

Needless to say her family did not approve. Not in the slightest. As is mentioned in the summary, their paths go different ways. Twenty years later they reunite. Does love bloom again? Have their hearts' desire changed?

The answer is no. At least on Dawson's side. Let's give the guy some point though, he never dated anyone since he was sent to prison for accidentally killing a famous (and only doctor) in small town Oriental.

Amanda, though madly in love with Dawson, moved on. Now, if she had gone to visit young Dawson in prison and said youngster had told her "move on", great. But she didn't, and so he didn't. Don't let the movie fool you. She never went.

She went to college like she wanted, she met a future dentist and got married. Had three kids (a fourth who she lost to cancer), and lived happily ever after. Or she would have, if Frank, her husband, didn't start drinking to the point of being a certified alcoholic.

Now, while all this was happening, Dawson was off in prison. After he got out he stayed a year back home on probation. He had left his family long ago, went to live with a widower named Tuck, who aside from letting his stay in his garage didn't really talk to the kid.

After the year on probation Dawson left for Lousiana. Why there, no idea. He worked on a rig, and one day for some reason it exploded, sending his crashing into the water below. This is when he starts hallucinating. Yup, you heard right. But don't be mistaken, this isn't a negative point toward the book. It was brillinatly handeled. The hallucination very important. Read to find out why.

Tuck's death is what brings them back together. They get a call from a lawyer saying he asked them to take care of something. Now here's the thing, they don't know that their first love is going to be there. Tuck, apparently, shipped them hard. I think he was counting down the days till he died so he could get both of them together. It was rather funny.

Funnier still, is that while both of them are falling in love again, but it being difficult for Amanda who is married, Dawson's cousins know he's back and want him dead. Yet be it fate or Tuck having a laugh, they miss each other almost until the end of the book.

Things happen and Amanda decides that she can't break up her family. Which, is actually being a decent and responsible human being. Yes her husband is a drunk, but he's not violent, works, loves his kids and loves her. Just also loves his booze.

Dawson, being all noble dies. Won't go into detail about how or why. But it turns out that while he was dying, Jared, Amanda`s oldest was in a car accident and in desperate need of a heart transplant. Guess who's heart he got?

Now the first half of the book was boring for me. But the second half was much better. When the accident happened I almost cried. And when it is mentioned that Jared was going to need a heart transplant I did shed a lonely tear, knowing where this was going.

I wasn't a fan of Amanda not telling her son where the heart came from, specially after he had asked her to find out about who's heart was beating in his chest. One, he has a right to know. Two, it feels like she's compeltly killing Dawson off, instead of sharing his story with her son. The truth of who Dawson is, the good person he was, never tainted by his Cole blood, dies with her. It just left me with a bad taste.

In conclusion, it's not my favorite Sparks book. That slot still belongs to Safe Haven.

So, any opinions? Thoughts? Do you disagree, agree? Remember though, keep it civil.

Welcome!

Image: Gladstone Library 

Hi there! Welcome to the Guild of All Trades. I hope to meet new people and interact with them, share ideas and generally have a great time. A small note first. 

In 2009 I started a blog on Livejournal.  Although, it was rather more of a place to post stories than an actual blog. I won't say it crashed and burned because it's still around... floating in the ocean that is the internet and it has some success. 

I had moments where I would post every week and then months of inactivity. I still love writing but I like to think I matured in that regard, which is why I decided to start from scratch. 

I might post a ficlet or two, original stories (I've been saying that for years so don't hold your breath), book reviews, book vs movie reviews (I can just tell it'll involve a lot of venting and cursing), talk about teaching and dancing and all kinds of artistic topics. Basically, I'd like to write about things that interest me that I can share with all of you, although books will probably be the main theme. 

I chose the name for this blog for two reasons. One, because I want to write about more than one thing. The second, because thousands of people, worlds, cultures and stories hide inside of books. I love the idea that you can find them all in one place -a library, a bookshop, the internet or your own room-a sort of guild, and each contains something unique.

This journal is my guild, and the trades are many.

(On a side note, I'm crossposting to my Livejournal, s-ren, if anyone is interested.)