Monday, May 30, 2016

It's Monday...What Are You Reading?



This meme started with J Kaye's Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.  It's a meme where you share what you read last week, what you're currently reading and what you plan on reading that week. 

Also wanted to say Happy Memorial Day! I'm a huge supporter of our military, seeing as two of my brothers were in our military!  So I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has served and came home and to those that haven't. 






Last Week I Read

A Girls Guide to Moving On by Debbie Macomber 


This Week I Plan To Read 



 Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

I'm super excited to read this book, it's been on my TBR for awhile now and it's a book that I've heard so many great things about.  I'll be starting this one tonight!   


 After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.


 What I'll be Listening To


The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward

I am almost finished with this one and will hopefully have it done by Friday.  I'm loving it so far, but I knew I would.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood delivers the first novel in an enthralling new series set amid the shifting dynamics of a Southern family defined by wealth and privilege—and compromised by secrets, deceit, and scandal....

For generations, the Bradford family has worn the mantle of kings of the bourbon capital of the world. Their sustained wealth has afforded them prestige and privilege—as well as a hard-won division of class on their sprawling estate, Easterly. Upstairs, a dynasty that by all appearances plays by the rules of good fortune and good taste. Downstairs, the staff who work tirelessly to maintain the impeccable Bradford facade. And never the twain shall meet.

For Lizzie King, Easterly’s head gardener, crossing that divide nearly ruined her life. Falling in love with Tulane, the prodigal son of the bourbon dynasty, was nothing that she intended or wanted—and their bitter breakup only served to prove her instincts were right. Now, after two years of staying away, Tulane is finally coming home again, and he is bringing the past with him. No one will be left unmarked: not Tulane’s beautiful and ruthless wife; not his older brother, whose bitterness and bad blood know no bounds; and especially not the ironfisted Bradford patriarch, a man with few morals, fewer scruples, and many, many terrible secrets.

As family tensions—professional and intimately private—ignite, Easterly and all its inhabitants are thrown into the grips of an irrevocable transformation, and only the cunning will survive.

 Up Next:

The Angels Share by J.R. Ward 
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick






That's it for me this week, both of these books are rather large, but if I finish one I'll probably be adding one from the list above.  


Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Audio Book Review: Ready Player One




Ali Listens is my new review title for Audio book Reviews.  I wanted to start splitting up my reviews into categories.  Something I've been wanting to do for awhile, just haven't had the chance.  More categories coming soon, but this is the one I wanted to start with.











Title: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Publisher: Random House NY
Audio Publisher: Random House Audio
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
Length: 15 Hours and 46 Min.
Read From: October 10th - October 17th
Reading Challenges: None


Authors WebsiteGoodreadsBuy This
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.









I have put this review off for awhile now, mainly because after reading this book my mind was in a million different places at once and I wasn't sure how to explain to you how amazing this book was.  If you're a gamer like me or anyone that likes comic books, you will love this book.  It's filled with tons of references to other things from our pasts, but it in a good way that didn't make me feel old while reading.

Ernest Cline is an extraordinary author that drew me into this future world he came up with right away. I loved every second of reading this book and I caught myself many times on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. The best thing about this book was how unpredictable it was, I wasn't sure what was going to happen in the end.

The characters themselves were ones that I connected with on a great level, being a gamer (Yep people I'm a gamer who plays World of Warcraft and her Xbox all the time!) this book and made me feel right at home, but the characters felt like people I had known my whole life.

The audio book was fantastic as well, the story of course drew me in and kept my attention wrapped up in the story, but the narrator they chose to read the book was perfection! There are times when I'm listening to books and the voice drives me nuts so I just stop listening or I have to force myself to listen, not with Ready Player One.  Wil Wheaton was perfection for this story! 

As you should know, I'm a spoiler free review blogger and I don't like spoiling anything for readers, but seriously I really loved all the action in this book and the tasks were fantastic! It made me want to go back and play those games again or watch those movies that were referenced.  Ready Player One is a book that I could read/listen to over and over again and still love it even more every time I re-read.  Which I intend to do! 

The only thing I didn't like about this book was when it ended, I need more of what happened next, I need more of these characters. Author Ernest Cline if you're reading this, please write more!!! 

If you haven't read Ready Player One, what are you waiting for? Seriously, this book has made it to my Top 10 Favorite Books of All Times List! (I'll link this list as soon as I post it!)  I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves adventure, games, movies, music, damn I would recommend this to any adult! Go get you a copy today, that is if you don't already have it.   This is a book that will stay with you forever.  I know I could talk about it all day, especially with someone who has read it, so go do that and come back and chat with me about it. 



I'm guessing you know what rating I'm going to give Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  If you read the review above it's not really that hard to figure it out. 


The Story Rating 



Audio Rating





 Here at Ali's Bookshelf we accept books in exchange for a honest review. The book above came from my own self.   The Audio, I bought myself through Audible. We also use Amazon Affiliate links at times.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Mini Me Corner Review: Please Say Please




Mini Me Corner is a post I created here on the blog, it's a place where I can showcase Children's books that I have read with my kids.  This week we have another great Scholastic book to share with you. 







Title: Please Say Please! 
Author: Kyle T. Webster 
Publisher: Scholastic Press 
Publication Date: July 26th, 2016
Ages: 3 to 5 years old
Pages:  32 pages
ISBN #: 0545844851 
Format: ARC

(I couldn't add buy links to this book yet, due to it not being released yet, but I will as soon as it is.) 
How do you ask for what you'd like? Do you shout "I want!" to get your way? Or do you say "please" each and every day? With energetic rhyming text, dazzling art, and loads of fun, a little girl learns that good things come to those who say "please"! But be careful what you wish for!









Like most Mini Me Corner Reviews here on the blog, I involve my kids in the reviewing of each book.  This book was no different.  As most of you know I have an eight year old boy who has Autism and a 11 year old daughter.  Both of my kids actually ended up liking this book, honestly they both liked it more than I thought they would.  So much so that my son begged me to go ahead and review this one, even though I usually wait closer to the release date.  He just couldn't wait to share it with all of you!

My son Braxton, loved the art work and the rhyming words.  Rhyming words tend to sooth him and this book made him laugh, that alone makes me want this book in my house. The part that really got his attention was that the Tiger in the story's name was Fluffy.  He thought that was the best name for a tiger ever.  

For me, this book is a perfect balance of fun and learning.  It teaches children that saying Please is the only way to really get what you want and it's the most polite way to get it.  It also shows in a very polite way, to be careful what you really ask for.  The illustrations are something I really want to talk about as well in this short review, I really enjoyed the bright colors that kept my sons attention, which in itself is a hard thing to do. At the same time though, the illustrations weren't too  busy and distracting from the story, again a great balance. 

All in all Please Say Please! is a fantastic book that will be read over and over again at my house.  If you would like to teach your younger child about manors and saying please, this book is the perfect one to pick up.  Though you will have to wait till July. 





We are going to have to give Please Say Please an Ali's Bookshelf rating of....








  Here at Ali's Bookshelf we accept books in exchange for a honest review. The book above came from the publisher. We also use Book Depository Affiliate links at times.

Take a Break...Watch A Vid




Take a Break Watch this Vid is a post that I have her on Ali's Bookshelf from time to time.  It showcases a lot of book trailers or movie trailers that I'm excited to see/read. Today however, I wanted to showcase a movie trailer for a book. 





I am beyond excited to show you today's trailer, not sure you all know this, but Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorite Disney movies.  It should have been obvious if you didn't, I mean come on huge library and Belle is a book lover! Anyway, they are making a live action movie just like they did for Cinderella and a few others now.  I've been excited about it since they announced it, now they released a teaser trailer and I almost cried just hearing the music.  See what you think...






Okay I can't take it, what did you think? 




Teaser Tuesday #94





Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:




  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.


Six months was all it took. Then it started up again and I knew. And Sean knew that I knew.





This book is really good so far, I love the writing style, but I knew I would.  I usually love most of Debbie Macomber's books.  She's a fantastic author.   Anyway, I would love to see what you're reading and hear a little bit of a tease as well.  If you'd like to, please leave me a tease below in the comments or link me to your Teaser Tuesday post.  Hope you all have a great Tuesday! 


Monday, May 23, 2016

It's Monday...What Are You Reading?






This meme started with J Kaye's Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.  It's a meme where you share what you read last week, what you're currently reading and what you plan on reading that week. 




Last Week I Read

The Crown by Kiera Cass


This Week I Plan To Read 





A Girl's Guide to Moving On by Debbie Macomber

This is a book that's been on my radar for some time now, so I'm super excited to read it, plus it's a Debbie Macomber book and I love her writing style. 


Listening to This Week 


The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward 

Do I even need to explain this one? Anyway, I'll explain, I was approved for the second ARC for this series and I couldn't turn it down.  Plus this book has been on my TBR since it came out and I just haven't had the chance to read it.  I love J.R. Ward's books they are always fantastic! 


Next On My TBR 

After You by Jojo Moyes 
The Possibility of Now by Kim Culbertson 

 


So there you have it, my reading list for the week.  What do you plan to read this week? 



Summer Time Book/Series Binge





It's almost Summer!!! That means it's also almost time to grab those books that have been on my shelf that I really want to read.  That also means reading outside! Seriously what is better than taking a book outside and reading? 

Anyway, I wanted to share the books/series that I'm planning to binge this summer.  So this post is something that's been in the works for almost two months, mainly because I wanted to make sure I had the best TBR list for my binge reading.  Also this post was even more inspired by this fantastic post over at Peace Love Books . So here we go...


Let's start with the list books that are in a whole series that I want to read.  



First up is a series that's been in my shelf for years, I've read the first book a long time ago, but will have to re-read it to continue on with the series.   When I first read Hush, Hush I actually liked it, so I'm hoping I will fall in love with the rest of the series as well. 











I still need to buy the last book in the series, but I can do that as soon as I finish Silence.  This will more than likely be the first series I read this Summer.









For the Percy Jackson Series, I own all of the series, but I've only read the first book.  I would like to change that this Summer.  The same goes for the next series as well.  I've only read the first book, but own all the others. 



So that's three whole series that I'll be bingeing this summer.  I do have a few other series that I would like to read, so I might add more to this list at a later time, depending on if I finish these first.  I also have some fantastic stand alone books that I plan to read as well.  Might have to see what Read-a-Thons are during the months of Summer so I can possibly get some of these finished faster.


What series are you planning to read this Summer? I know I'm super excited to read these books and so many more outside in the Summer air. 






 

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