Blogmas Day 19: Interview With Amber

Hey guys!

So I had the chance to interview Amber, of The Mile Long Bookshelf, and I guess this is how it went! Haha

Amber, for the few people who haven't heard of you, how about you tell us a bit about yourself and your blog?

Hello, thanks for having me on your awesome blog! My name is Amber and I'm 15. I love drawing, writing, painting, playing guitar, listening to music...basically anything creative. Oh, and I'm obsessed with Twitter, I seem to be on there all the time! My blog is called The Mile Long Bookshelf and I review books, start discussions, host giveaways (a LOT of giveaways...) and anything bookish!

I know you've been blogging for quite a while now, how did it all get started?

I actually started blogging when I was 7 years old, which means I've been blogging for over half of my life! That first blog was like an online diary, I guess, and it started because lots of stuff was happening in my life at the time and I needed somewhere to publicly express my thoughts. I've set that blog to private, now - it's so embarrassing!

How has blogging changed, for you, in those years since you started?

Book blogging has changed so much in the last four years since I started. It used to be a lot less competitive, for a start; now we all seem to be competing for ARCs (advanced review copies) etc. And it seems way more stressful!

I think we all know it can be hard to get a blog started. What advice would you give to new book bloggers who are considering giving up because they feel like nobody's reading?

Don't give up. A lot of the time it will seem like nobody's reading, but it's likely you will have a few 'silent' readers - the ones who read, but don't follow or comment. Or, if you know for certain that nobody is reading it, think about why that might be. Something new bloggers need to know from the start is: No one is going to read your blog unless you get the link out there. So, you could get a Twitter account and interact with other bloggers (we don't bite!), or you could comment on other blogs and make friends that way instead. Readers will be flooding in, soon enough!

How did you feel when you received your first review request from an author?

I remember it so well! Leila Rasheed emailed me out of the blue and offered to send me her latest book in return for an honest review. I was just sat at the computer, my mouth open in shock. I was probably shaking with excitement, too. It was such a cool moment!

You're a big reader, that's obvious. What's your favourite book or series at the moment?

I love how you added 'at the moment', because my favourite books change all the time! At the moment I am loving The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, and I also just finished A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson which is out in March 2014. It's a stunning book!

What book would you like to be adapted into a film, or if it has been already, what do you think of the adaptation?

That's a hard question! I would love Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher to be made into a film, but that book is written in the format of letters so I'm not sure how well that would adapt for the big screen. I'm really looking forward to The Fault in Our Stars movie - not long to go now!

You recently celebrated your Blogoversary Festival, what was that like?

It was so fun! It was my 4th blogoversary and usually I'll just celebrate with a giveaway or something but this time I decided to go all-out and schedule a 2-week-long celebration with a festival theme. There were guest posts from YA authors Emma Pass and Cathy Cassidy, a couple of blogger interviews and some massive giveaways! I'm actually really proud of myself for sticking with book blogging. Hopefully there will be many more years of it to come!

What's the best thing, blog-wise, that has happened to you this year?

There are two things that instantly stood out for me when I read that question. Through my blog I managed to get a paid job working for a magazine! I can't say anything more about that for now though, but that is basically my dream job so to get that before I'd even turned 15 was amazing! I also got to interview David Levithan over Skype which was nerve wracking but really cool because he's very well-known and I adore his books.

And to celebrate the year's end, you hosted a huge giveaway. How long had you been planning it?

I'd been planning the giveaway since July! I got a bit carried away and gathered way too many prizes together...that's going to cost a lot to send to the winner. Oops!

Huge thanks to Amber for taking the time to answer my questions! She's a fellow blogger, been blogging for half her life, bit of a professional really! You guys should really check her out, if you haven't already, her blog is awesome!

See you guys tomorrow with day 20!
(Wow Christmas is getting really close!)

Blogmas Day 18: Insurgent Book Review

Title: Insurgent
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: YA/Dystopian
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
Source: Hughes and Hughes
Easons  Amazon

I have done bad things. I can’t take them back, and they are part of who I am. 

 Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

 Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever… because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.

- Goodreads

Hey guys!

I'm reading Allegiant at the moment, and thought I'd get in a review of Insurgent before I finished and reviewed the third in the Divergent trilogy!

After the first book, readers are on a high, that's almost guaranteed, and Insurgent begins with out characters arriving at the Amity compound. It's great that we readers were given a whole new setting. Don't get me wrong, I loved and still love everything about Dauntless, but exploring the Amity faction was a nice breath of fresh air. Did that work? Did you get my comparing Amity to a breath of fresh air, because they're free and whatnot? Anyway..

Also exciting, is how we're introduced to the whole new world of the factionless! That, and how we figure out Four's Mother isn't actually dead, and instead, is leading said factionless! It's the kind of stuff that itches at the farthest parts of your mind, and you sort of expect it, but when it happens, you're surprised anyway!
The world building in the second book undeniably trumps that in the first, Divergent, which is really important in any dystopian. We are brought to Amity, where Tris saves Peter's life which indirectly saves her own later on. We are brought to Candor, where everyone learns Four's real name, which doesn't suit him at all, haha! And we are brought back to Erudite, where Tris is almost killed. I know some fans were disappointed with the world building in Divergent, but in Insurgent, this is definitely not a problem!

Character personalities in Insurgent were greatly amplified. For example, we all knew Peter to be the selfish little coward, who took pride in beating up girls half his size. But as the plot stretched on, his character, and many others, were really fleshed out. Peter was now a misunderstood guy, with strange principles yes, but that's just it, he had principles! He believes in the 'eye for an eye' moral code, and though it isn't the most ideal, it presents him in a better light than how he was in Divergent.

Oh and another character that really surprised by was Tori! She was so nice back in Divergent, and by 'nice' I don't mean nice, I'm mean likable, and cool, and other positive adjectives I can't be bothered to think of, but in Insurgent, she's.. changed man! Simply put, I did not like her by the end of the novel.

Of course our favourites were also developed further. Tris, still as awesome as ever, but Four, he isn't the perfect training instructor everyone knows him to be. He can actually get mad, believe it or not. Evelyn's appearance also brought out a new side to him. Well not so much bringing out a new side, more developing an aspect of his personality that was just hinted at in Divergent. That's the vulnerable side, of course. Being around his Mother was obviously going to being back memories of his rough past, and that's evident in the book.

Though this book was awesome, on so many levels, I'm sad to say that I was disappointed by the ending. It was probably intentional, and in that light the ending makes so much sense, but I felt like it was so rushed. One minute the Dauntless are fighting the factionless, then a whole load of things happen, then a clip is played, revealing that the whole system was just an experiment. Perhaps I was just sleep-deprived when I got to the end, but I couldn't comprehend everything that happened.

Apart from that, Insurgent was a great read. Dystopian lovers should really check this series out!

Have you read 'Insurgent' yet? What were your thoughts on it? :)
I'll see you guys tomorrow with Day 19!
(Oh and p.s, I'm finally on Christmas break now and couldn't be happier!)

Blogmas Day 17: Film Adaptations I Can't Wait To See

Hey guys!

You wouldn't believe how relieved I am that my exams finish tomorrow! Then it's three weeks of pure bliss! Christmas, my Birthday, New Year AND a holiday to Orlando? It's going to be perfect! Haha
Anyway, back to the post!

As we, the lovers of books, all know, more and more of our beloved titles are being adapted into films in recent years. So I thought it's be a good idea to name my top ten most highly anticipated film adaptations of the coming year, 2014!

I just recently finished this book (finally), and I loved it! I think I'll just save my thoughts for the review I'll eventually write out, but I just want to say, and I think everyone will agree, that this will be one of the top movies next year. Or so I hope..

I think Shailene Woodley was a great casting choice, and though I'm not as certain with Ansel Elgort, I still believe the film will turn out brilliantly! I haven't heard of the director before, and if my sources are correct he's only directed one film previous to this one, but you got to have faith right? Everyone starts somewhere!

6 June, 2014

My inability to put into words how I feel about this book being made into a film just shows how excited I am! I read the book over the summer, when I was on holidays in London, and finished it so quickly! The story was amazing and I just know it'll make a great film!

As for the cast of this film, I was slightly disappointed with the director's choices, especially with Minho, but because I love Dylan O'Brien and his work, those disappointments may very well just dissipate! James Dashner is co-writing the screenplay, so that's good, and again, I know nothing about the director, but I just know he'll do a good job.. He has too! Haha

19 September 2014

You guys have seen the trailer, right? The movie looks awesome! Everyone knows how violent the book is, filled with action and all that, but the movie seems almost more action-packed, and for me, that's a bonus man!

Shailene Woodly is going to be a very busy girl next year, we can all conclude on that! I haven't seen too many of her films, yet already love her! I think there was quite the controversy with Theo James as Four. I, personally, agree that he doesn't exactly fit the image of 'Four' I had in my head, but I'd rather judge him on his performance. That, I can't wait for!

21 March 2014

This book is so woefully underrated, that it actually saddens me! The series has a great plot and really interesting characters. I mean, a prophecy about two twins with magical abilities, one twin to save the world and one destroy it? How does that not get you excited?

Unfortunately, because they only recently announced that they would be making a film adaptation, there's no info on it. The cast and release date have yet to be decided! I have such high hopes for this movie!

Date TBA

And finally, the film I'm looking forward to most of all, the first part of Mockingjay! If you've been reading my blog since last month, you'll be well aware of my love for 'The Hunger Games' series! I think the majority of fans were thoroughly satisfied with Catching Fire, I know I was anyway, and it did really well in the box office, so I just know Mockingjay will be brilliant!

The cast of Catching Fire could not have been better, in my opinion, and because most of that cast will still be the mains of Mockingjay, I have absolutely no problems!
The most exciting part is that it's being split into two movies! As we already know, the books were all in Katniss' POV, so I'm also excited to see what they do with Peeta and Johanna, and other aspects of the plot, outside of District 13.

21 November 2014

What film adaptations are you guys buzzing for? Tell me in the comments!
Alright guys, I'll see you all tomorrow with Day 18!

Blogmas Day 16: Musing Monday #1

Hey guys!

So I've decided to start up a few memes on my blog, nothing major, maybe once or twice a week, and what better day to start off with than Monday?

'Musing Monday' is a meme hosted by the blog 'Should Be Reading', and basically what you do is muse on one of the topics they give you. Nice way to ease into the week, huh?

This week the first suggestion was to "Describe one of your reading habits", which is perfect for me, because my list is endless! Haha

Recognise this?..

Yeah.. this has to be the worst reading habit ever!

Whenever I'm reading a book, the physical copy that is, I always find that, to get comfortable, it's almost necessary for me to curl the front cover. On second thought, it's not even just with physical copies. I've noticed that I fold the front cover of my Kindle case too, around to the back, and because it's leather, it really weakens the spine of the case. The solution to that one is obvious though, I can just take the Kindle out of the case when reading, but my poor books, they can never be fixed! Haha

Alright so that's it for today's post! Please tell me, in the comments, that some share the same habit, so I don't feel too weird! Haha. If you have a different reading habit tell me! You're clearly not the only one! ;)

See you tomorrow guys, with day 17!
(Oh and p.s. I only have two exams left, so happy!)

Blogmas Day 15: The Lost Hero Book Review

Title: Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: YA Fantasy/Greek Myth
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: October 12, 2010
Source: Easons
Easons Amazon

Jason has a problem.
He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.

 Piper has a secret. 
Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on? 

Leo has a way with tools.
His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.

Hey guys, just a quick book review because, you know, who doesn't like quick book reviews right? Haha. No I'm only kidding, I'm just really busy  but I did say I was going to write an actual blogmas post, so here it is!

First of all, I've to say that I thought Riordan's splitting the book into three different point of views, was a stroke of pure genius. I don't know if I was the only one, and I'm sure I wasn't, but I constantly found myself reading on even though I'd said I would stop two chapters ago. The reason for this, I believe, was that I'd get invested in a particular character's point of view and what they were doing, for two chapters, but then another character brought me in, and then another, and by the time I'm back to the first character, I'm itching to read about the second and the third! I'm unsure of whether it was Riordan's intention, but it was an absolutely brilliant, and I finished the book rather quickly as a result.

With the conclusion of the 'Percy Jackson' series, I was expecting to be flooded with new characters in the new series, but I wasn't, and appreciated that fact. Riordan developed the three characters incredibly well, with help from the varying POVs, and I ended up loving each of them. The movement of the plot was very well written, and the plot itself was enjoyable. The one problem I had with, however, was the ending.

I don't know what it was about the conclusion and saving Hera that disinterested me. I just couldn't get into the last few chapters, having to read them once or twice over, which was a huge disappointment because the proceeding chapters were very captivating.

Despite the disappointing ending, all in all, I did really enjoy this book. Fans of the Percy Jackson series will really like it!

Feature And Follow Friday #1

Alright guys, I know it isn't Friday, but it took me a while to actually understand how the whole feature and follow Friday thing works! Haha

So this is a blog hop, which basically means, if my understanding is correct, that it's a way to find and follow new blogs! I also  understand that there are a few 'Feature Follow's, but this particular one is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Check out their blogs to get more info on the feature follow! If you're participating, and actually want to follow my blog, because you're just so awesome like that, just become a member of my blog in the little sidebar GFC thing! Haha

Bookselling Time: Go to your biggest bookcases. Go to the second shelf from the top and pick out the sixth book from the left. Handsell that book to us - even if you haven’t read it or if you hated it. (if you don’t have bookcases, done have six books on one shelf, etc, pick a book at random).

It's been a while since I've seen this cover haha. I read it a little over two years ago and even though it came across as another YA vampire lovestory, it was actually really interesting. I vaguely remember the plot, but this girl, Quincie, has been turned into a vampire, or 'blessed' by evil Bradley Sanguini and her life is turned upside down as a result.

I haven't actually reviewed this, because I didn't fancy a re-read too much, but I did enjoy parts of the book. For one, the shifters in the story aren't just werewolves, there are actually various other type of 'were' people, which is unique to this novel. Also, if you're not into the whole mushy love stories, this gory and spicy love affair will hit the spot!







Oh and by the way, this won't be counted as today's blogmas post, I just wanted to join in and meet a few other bloggers! Leave a comment saying hey or something, I'd love to hear from you! :)

Until later today, probably..

Blogmas Day 14: What Books Have Taught Me

Hey guys!

Alright so I'm not posting a book review today, because I'm actually finishing up on a few reads and want to post reviews to them either next week or the week after! But I had a really cool idea, where I talk about what books have taught me..
I know, I know, doesn't sound too interesting, but let me just ask you this one question. Have you ever heard of Jenna Marbles? She's this really big Youtuber and she's previously made a few videos on the topic of what various things have taught her, but not in the way you'd anticipate. If you've ever seen one of the videos, you'll know what I'm talking about! Anyway, she absolutely hilarious in these videos, especially the one with the Disney princesses, so I thought it'd be cool to do the same, but with books?..


Alright let's see how this goes! Haha

 Okay, what have I learned from the beloved Divergent book? First of all, Tris so selflessly taught me that at the first chance I get, I should leave my parents and everything I'm used to because I admire the way people jump out of trains. Four taught me that I should tattoo my back, and I mean fill the canvas, with tattoos, because I never want to forget where I come from, even though I probably won't ever be able to see the full thing.

Ah, 'Die For Me' written by Amy Plum also taught me a few things! For starters, the main character Kate, taught me that whenever anything bad happens, I should just curl up in my bed, all day every day, for weeks upon end, just reading. It's not like I'd be trying to worry my family or anything, I just don't think the world is too scary and that my blanket will protect me from everything!

 Even though I've never read it, I do believe that there is a multitude of lessons to be learned by this book series in general, and also by the admirable protagonist Bella. I think everyone here knows of Bella's story, and I hope you got the message she was offering. From her I learned that even though someone I have a crush on could potentially be the cause of my own death, that it's alright, I'll just go after them anyway! I also learned that if someone breaks up with me, I should never leave my bedroom, just sit in my chair watching the seasons go by, and almost kill myself multiple times to get them back.




Not really a book you'd expect to hear much of on a fictional YA book blog, but it's just so iconic, I had to include it, you know! This beautiful love-story taught me that the length of time you've known someone doesn't make a difference in the very slightest, as long as you absolutely love each other. Romeo taught me that it's okay to change your mind about who you love every five seconds, and Juliet taught me that faking your own death is a small price to pay once you end up with the love of your life, whom you've known for a week or so?

And just because Shakespeare was so brilliant in his conveying lessons through his masterpieces, I'll talk about a second by him. Actually it's because I'm studying it in English class, and it's just.. indescribable.. Othello taught me that if someone accuses my wife of cheating on me, the only thing to do is to kill her. No talking needed, she just needs to get the boat! Also, the brilliant mastermind Iago taught me that I should vow insatiable revenge upon anyone who looks me over for a job. Oh and yeah, then I should kill my wife because she's annoying.. This play is just chalk-full of lessons man!




Hahaha well that's that! For anyone who didn't cop on halfway through the post, I was indeed joking, being sarcastic, call it what you will. I think we all know that I love those stories, and dissing them was actually harder than I'd thought.
Anyway, yeah, that was fun, especially the last one. Hopefully I drew a tiny smirk from at least one person. How about you try it on your blog as well? That is if you liked it and knew of Jenna Marbles' videos before reading this! Haha

I'll see you guys tomorrow with Day 15 of Blogmas! By the way, I'm turning 16 in 16 days.. Just thought I'd mention it because it sounds cool.. Okay.. bye!

Blogmas Day 13: 20 Books! 20 Words!

Hey guys!

Alright so I've been a bit lazy today, but I'm justifying it with the fact that it's Friday and I'm absolutely knackered as a result of my exams! Haha
Anyway, I just saw a video on Youtube, where this guy, Jeremy describes twenty books in twenty words, and I loved it! It's almost a lazy way of reviewing twenty books, perfectly suited to my current mood! Haha

Let's get started, shall we?

Creative

Other-worldy

Divine

Vivid

Inventive

Intense

Lively

Phenomenal

Enchanting

Captivating

Passionate

Charming

Surreal

Sensational

Magical

Riveting

Extraordinary

Impressive

Compelling

Exceptional

Well that wasn't as easy as I thought! You'll have to excuse my repeating myself in different ways haha!

I don't know if this is a tag, so I'll just end by challenging you all to give it a go, and I'll see you tomorrow with day 14! (Wow we're already halfway through Blogmas!)