Liebster Award

 I got nominated for the Liebster Award by Grace from lovingmylit. 

It's very nice to know she thinks I deserve this award! Thank you, Grace! :)

  

The Rules:

1) Acknowledge the blog who nominated you and display the award

2) Answer the 11 questions the blogger gave you

3) Give 11 random facts about yourself

4) Nominate 11 blogs you think are deserving of the award

5) Let the bloggers know you have nominated them

6) Give them 11 questions to answer

Lovingmylit's questions:

Which one do you use more: the library or Amazon/bookstores?

(Online) bookstores! I mostly read in English an my local libraries don't have many English books, therefore I buy what I need.

How many books do you own?

I've never counted them. Altogether in our flat there are hundreds of books (my father is an avid reader too).

How do you organize your bookshelves: rainbow or alphabetically? If you have a Kindle/iPad, do you categorize your ebooks?

Mostly I organize it by book size and writer or topic (e.g.: my Shakespeares are next to each other, also I have a collection of books about the son of Napoleon, the Duke of Reichstadt, those are together as well). 

I categorize my ebooks by genre.

Are you on Goodreads? What’s your user name?

Yes. Here.

What’s your relationship with John Green?

I love the guy, even though I haven't read any of his books yet. I've watched his and Hank's videos. They are funny and thoughtful.

Are you religious?

I'm Roman Catholic, although I don't frequent the church any more (I went regularly until I was 18).

What’s your favorite kind of cover: simplistic, hand-drawn, or photographed?

There are many different things that can draw me in a cover. From these listed above, I'd say I prefer the simplistic ones.

Do you follow book ‘trends’? 

I read what I'd like to read, it depends on my mood, not on the trend.

Do you have a local bookstore?

Sure, I do. With lots of Hungarian books in it and few English ones.

Do you read comics? Do you consider them ‘books’?

I want to start reading comics. I haven't read any so far. I might start with Saga, because the art seems pretty in that one. And yes, I consider them books.

Have you ever bought a book for its cover alone? Which one?

Yes! The book is called The Outcast (by Sadie Jones). I bought it, because the man and the woman on the cover reminded my of Tom Hiddleston and Rachel Weisz from the movie 'The Deep Blue Sea' which I adore. In the end I liked the story too, in spite of the fact that it was very depressive. 

11 random facts about myself:

1. I'm Hungarian
2. I'm a teacher trainee (and currently am working at a language school)
3. I love watching movies and tv shows
4. I always obsess over something
5. I speak English and some Spanish and I'd like to learn Danish someday
6. I must be the only one in the world who started Gone Girl and didn't finish it
7. I love owls and stuff (clothes, bags etc.) with owls on it
8. I have a 7 year old little brother
9. I have a sweet tooth
10. I want to set out on a literary tour in England someday
11. I hate wasting paper

Questions for my nominees:

1. What's your favourite book cover?
2. Favourite reading position?
3. If you could choose one book to live in, which one would it be?
4. Can you imagine yourself as the hero of a book? If yes, what genre your book would be?
5. Agatha Christie or Conan-Doyle?
6. Poirot or Miss Marple?
7. Do you/Did you struggle with compulsory readings?
8. What books will you read to your kids?
9. What were your favourite bedtime stories?
10. Do you read in other languages than English?
11. What was the most influential book that you've ever read?

Nominees:

Kate - thelawandthereader

Lexxie - unconventionalbookviews

Stormi & Kathy - booksmoviesreviewsohmy

Sophie - seamlessreade 

Carina - carinabooks

Sarah - treesofreverie

Aleksandra - my-book-obsession

Alma - journeythroughfiction

Andrea - theoverstuffedbookcase

Jessica - jessabellareads

Megan - bookgeeksanonymous

Daniel Deronda - Favourite Quotes

 

As you can see I'm currently reading Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (among other things). I admire this book; truly, I'm obsessed with it. George Eliot's writing style is amazing (this is the first Eliot book I've ever read) and the story is fascinating – I never knew Jews were so frowned upon in Victorian England (too). Also, I might or might not be a little bit in love with Daniel.

I thought I'd share some of my favourite quotes with you. I'm only halfway through the book, so there might be another post coming later with another bunch of quotes. Enjoy!

"Development and catastrophe can often be measured by nothing clumsier than the moment-hand."

"Attempts at description are stupid: who can all at once describe a human being? Even when he is presented to us we only begin that knowledge of his appearance which must be completed by innumerable impressions under differing circumstances. We recognize the alphabet; we are not sure of the language."

"One couldn't carry on life comfortably without a little blindness to the fact that everything had been said better than we can put it ourselves."

 

"We know that he [Deronda] suffered keenly from the belief that there was a tinge of dishonor in his lot; but there are some cases, and his was one of them, in which the sense of injury breeds

– not the will to inflict injuries and climb over them as a ladder, but a hatred of all injury."

 

"Outsiders might have been more apt to think that Klesmer's position was dangerous for himself if Miss Arrowpoint had been an acknowledged beauty; not taking into account that the most powerful of all beauty is that which reveals itself after sympathy and not before it."

 

"There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms."

 

"I think I dislike what I don't like more than I like what I like."

 

Review - Beyond Reach by Siobhan Davis

Title: Beyond Reach (True Calling #2)

Author: Siobhan Davis

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Synopsis:

Back on Earth, Ariana is caught in a dangerous crossfire between clandestine rebel organization Clementia and the power-hungry government. Refusing to divulge the location of the secret information entrusted to her by her late father, she desperately tries to bargain for her Mom, Lily, and Cal’s rescue. She’s fighting a losing battle, and the clock is ticking.

Presented with evidence of her fiancé Cal’s apparent betrayal, she loyally defends him despite her concerns. With her emotions in turmoil, matters become even more complicated as she grows closer to her ex-boyfriend Zane.

When the stakes are raised, a succession of shocking revelations rocks her world, setting her on a path that will not only change her destiny but the fate of humanity.

Confronted by a memory so abhorrent comes a truth she would do anything to forget.

But some things just can’t be undone.

I received a free ebook copy of this book from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My thoughts:

This action packed sequel of True Calling just didn’t work for me. I had my issues with the first book and I had high hopes that the second one will win me over, but it didn’t. The plot, I like. It is fast paced and many things happen, the conspiracies and secrets that come to light from time to time are engaging. I could almost overlook the fact that there are too many elements drawn in from other popular YA books, too. 

But… the thing is, the love triangle became too much for me in this instalment. One quarter of the book was basically like an emotional ping-pong match with Ariana and Zane playing on one side and Cal on the other, and another quarter was the same only with Cal playing next to Ari. And it was tiring to ’watch’ to be honest.

Too bad, because new interesting characters were introduced and the book ended with a cliff-hanger – which bugs me, because at the moment I’m not planning to pick up the last book in the series.

Read my review of the fist book in the series here: True Calling

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