Lemony Snicket Appreciation Post (Part 3)

The moral of Snow White is never eat apples.

— Lemony Snicket.

Madame Lulu

A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.

— Lemony Snicket

Mr. Snicket

It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.

- Lemony Snicket

A good library will never be too neat or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them.

— Lemony Snicket

Carmelita Spats

If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if that thing is cats.

— Lemony Snicket

Teaser Tuesdays, April 21

So, Teaser Tuesday! What's it all about? (Though you can probably disregard these this week as I haven't followed any of them...)

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share 2 "teaser" sentences from the page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• No spoilers! Just teasers :)

I haven't done Teaser Tuesday is waaaaaaaay too long.

Our words sound very loud. They take up all the room in my head and sit there echoing back at me.

I've had Before I Die by Jenny Downham sitting around for ages and I had to quickly pick something up to take with me to the hairdresser for a four-hour stint and I chose this one! Luckily I chose wisely and wasn't bored at all.

Review: The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren by Wendy Toliver

The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren by Wendy Toliver is from the Simon Pulse rom com range, which I must say I am a fan of so far. Well actually, I've only read two books from it so far and they have both been by Wendy Toliver so it would probably be more accurate to say I am a fan of Wendy Toliver. Oh well, both are probabyl true :)

In The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren, Roxy is a plain band geek - that is until her 16th birthday when she transforms into a beautful siren who can make men do whatever she wants just by playing her flute ("Geeky to gorgeous in sixty seconds..."). She quickly has all the guys lusting after her, and bewitches the popular guy she's been crushing on to start going out with her. It comes at a price though, all her old band friends feel like she's ditching them (which she is).

I read the first part of the book a bit tentatively, I thought it was either going to go one of two ways - either it would be incredibly vapid and superficial with Roxy just getting everything she wanted as a siren (with the moral I suppose that you have to be pretty to go anywhere, lol) or else that Roxy would discover that she didn't have to be stunningly beautiful and would decide to go back to her old ugly ways and have a huge moral lesson about inner beauty. Fortunately, the story didn't follow a predictable path and found a happy medium between the two.

It really enjoyed reading this book, it's light, fun and not too taxing, I pretty much read it in one sitting. Lots of funny moments, good doses of romance. Nice, interesting characters. The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren has everything you'll look for in a romantic comedy. I give it 4/5 stars.

You can read my interview with Wendy as well as my review of her other book Miss Match here.

Review: Watchmen by Alan Moore

Watchmen by Alan Moore is pretty much the first graphic novel I've ever read... so I am obviously not much of an authority on the format but I will try to write a review anyway! I pretty much chose to read it because it sort of dominates the 'best graphic novel' list, plus the film was coming out and I found it at my library so I thought I'd give it a go.

For those who don't know; the story is interesting, it's very dark and gloomy. There are a group of character's who used to fight crime in costumes (they don't have super powers) but have mostly retired and the story switches between them as they start getting killed off and discredited.

The artwork is amazing and the writing is fantastic. It was very well done and I can definitely understand why it's received so much praise since its publication in '86. However, I didn't really love it - I think that superheroes just aren't my thing so the story was never really going to appeal to me.

I give Watchmen 3/5 stars. For an introduction to graphic novels for me, it was an okay start! I'm going to read Maus by Art Spiegelmen next.

Lemony Snicket Appreciation Post (Part 2)

If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk, then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf.
— Lemony Snicket

The Cast of the Marvelous Marriage

For Beatrice- When we met, you were pretty, and I was lonely. Now, I am pretty lonely.
— Lemony Snicket

As I’m sure you know, a good night’s sleep helps you perform well in school, and so if you’re a student you should always get a good night’s sleep unless you have come to the good part of your book, and then you should stay up all night and let your schoolwork fall by the wayside, a phrase which means 'flunk'.
- Lemony Snicket, The Austere Academy

One can remain alive past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.
— Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril

The way sadness works is one of the strange riddles of the world. If you are stricken with a great sadness, you may feel as if you have been set aflame, not only because of the enormous pain but also because your sadness may spread over your life like the smoke of a great fire. You might find it difficult to see anything but your sadness, the way smoke leaves its ashen colors and scents on everything it touches. And you may find that if someone pours water all over you, you are damp, distracted, but nor cured of your sadness, the a fire department can douse a fire, but never recover what has been burned down.

— Lemony Snicket, The Grim Grotto

In My Mailbox (8)

Is it Sunday already? Wow the week went fast. In My Mailbox is brought you by The Story Siren. This is what I got in my mailbox this week...

Delia Truesdale has no idea her life's about to change forever. She's too busy enjoying the California summer. Her internet tycoon mother, T.K. Truesdale, is out of town, and that means Delia can spend all her time at the beach, surfing. That is, until everything unravels.



Jealous whispers.
Old rivalries.
New betrayals.

In this next thrilling installment of Anna Godbersen's bestselling Luxe series, Manhattan's most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: Wealth. Beauty. Happiness. But sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets. . . .

Waiting On Wednesday, April 15

It's kind of not Wednesday anymore, huh. Oh well, I am still waiting on It's Not You, It's Me by Kerry Cohen Hoffman. The cover is too cute and it sounds awesome.

Here a synopsis from Kerry's website:

Zoë loves Henry. Henry dumps Zoë. Zoë wants Henry back - at any cost. Zoë's two best friends come up with a plan to help Zoë get what she thinks she wants. The plan: make Henry jealous. But the plan takes a surprising turn... Spanning thirty-one days in the cycle of a breakup, Kerry Cohen Hoffmann's funny and touching novel depicts a girl whose single-minded focus on her ex-boyfriend has pulled her far from the person she most needs to win back - herself.

It comes out in June! Eeee! :)

An Abandoned Library, In Pictures

From English Russia

Lemony Snicket Appreciation Post (Part 1)

It is always cruel to laugh at people, of course, although sometimes if they are wearing an ugly hat it is hard to control yourself.
— Lemony Snicket

Miracles are like meatballs, because nobody can exactly agree on what they are made of, where they come from, or how often they appear.
— Lemony Snicket, The Carnivorous Carnival

Everyone, at some point in their lives, wakes up in the middle of the night with the feeling that they are all alone in the world, and that nobody loves them now and that nobody will ever love them, and that they will never have a decent night’s sleep again and will spend their lives wandering blearily around a loveless landscape, hoping desperately that their circumstances will improve, but suspecting, in their heart of hearts, that they will remain unloved forever. The best thing to do in these circumstances is to wake somebody else up, so that they can feel this way, too.
— Lemony Snicket

The Snow Scouts

It is one of life’s bitterest truths that bedtime so often arrives just when things are really getting interesting.
— Lemony Snicket, The Grim Grotto

Duncan and Isadora Quagmire

Taking one’s chances is like taking a bath, because sometimes you end up feeling warm and comfortable, and sometimes there is something terrible lurking around that you cannot see until it is too late and you can do nothing else but scream and cling to a plastic duck.
— Lemony Snicket

An Interview With Me!

In awesome news, Steph from Hey, Teenager of The Year has featured me on one of her book blogger interviews. I am Book Blogger Interview #8.

Go have a read!

Other Uses For Books

You could build a house.

Or..

ENCLOSED CONTENT CHATTING AWAY IN THE C0LOUR INVISIBILITY
2009 by Anouk Kruithoff.

Fun!