Books - Pixels | Featuring You | Faith

As some of you may know, there is a little segment on the blog called "Books-Pixels." Originally created for me to feature some of my book inspired photography. I have now only realized that I am going to be having less and less time as the year goes by, so what I was thinking is that we could feature some of your work! 

One of my favourite parts of being in this community is seeing the endless amounts of creations that many of you are capable of. Another thing that I love is that I get to intereact with some of you, that is defininetly one of the highlights of doing this for a hobby.

So basically, you can submit anything you want (drawing, fan-art, photography, jewllery etc..) as long as you are following these guidelines. 

#1: It must be book related, afterall it is called books-pixels.

#2: The work that you submit must be your OWN WORK. Plagerism WILL NOT be tolerated.

Now, some of you may by be thinking... Can we send in stories? The answer is YES but this isn't the segment you want to be looking at. Go ahead and look at our "Showcase Your Stories" page!

HOW TO SUBMIT | INSTAGRAM:

#1: Follow Me (BookishFandomz) optional

#2: Post and Tag me!

#3: Must hastag to: #bookishrandomzblogsubmissions

#4: Brief background on piece (what book inspired...etc.)

#5 Give first name, last name (optional) and prefered social media links

HOW TO SUBMIT | EMAIL:

#1: Email submissions to bookishrandomzblog@gmail.com

#2: Brief backgrund on piece (what book inspired... etc)

#3 Give first name, last name (optional) and prefered social media links.

NOTE: NOT ALL SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED

Thank you so much for reading! I look forward to seeing your work! 

And The Mountains Echoed: Khaled Hosseini | Review | Raquel

I started writing this review last year, but my review got corrupted and deleted. I had worked very hard on it and I just had trouble rewriting it. My friend recently read this book and I decided I would reread it and actually complete my review this time. So here it finally is!

"An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else.

Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations.

In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most.

Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page." - Goodreads synopsis

“It's a funny thing... but people mostly have it backward. They think they live by what they want. But really, what guides them is what they're afraid of. What they don't want.”
- Khaled Hosseini

WARNING SPOILERS!!!

August Wrap-Up | Raquel

The first book I read this month was BZRK Apocalypse by Michael Grant. I started this series a little while ago and I just hadn't read the last book. I think I had exams or something that came up that cause me to put it off and then forget about it. I was looking for some summer books to read and then I remembered I never actually read this one. This story was actually really good! I really love Michael Grant books, they are definitely some of my favourite! This particular story is a science fiction type novel. It brings up the idea of nanobots and biots which essentially are the same thing but have a more biological component. There are two groups who are battling each other. One wants to take over the world and the other wants to save it. Things get a lot more complicated, people die, people go mad. Id say this story is pretty far from a happy ending, but it sure does end very uniquely. Throughout the series more gets revealed about each of these groups and their origins. This story has a sense of mystery as a lot of things surrounding these groups are anonymous. I would rate this book 3.8/5 stars.

The second book I read this month was Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley. I read this book mostly on the recommendation of Faith. This book I can say for certain was nothing like what I thought it would be. I had this story pictured in my head and it was completely different. I actually really liked the idea of the story. The whole idea is really fascinating and I am kind of curious how this author came up with this story. I will say that I think that she could have done more with the story. I think that this idea had a really great potential to be some sort of intricate story, but instead she wrote it a lot more simply. I wouldn't say the story is bad at all, just that it could have been a really awesome story. I liked how she introduced this world into the story though, sometimes when you read a book the way that this new world or whatever enters in is really unnatural. It just seems to quick or too unrealistic. In Magonia though it had a full back story and its not necessarily that the world was suddenly be introduced its almost like this new world was just always there. I would rate this book 4/5 stars.

Next I read Messenger of Fear by: Michael Grant. I have had a real obsession with his books lately... There is just something about them that I love. I don't know if it is his brilliant stories or his amazing writing style but all I can say is Michael's books are truly phenomenal. They also usually tend to be Science Fiction novels which I am really into. This story in particular was very unique. It is one of those books that intentionally keeps you in the dark about pretty much everything until about the end. Even towards the end we still only have a glimpse of what really is going on,but we just now have some back story. It is this withholding  of information that really hooks me into this book. I am an extremely curious person and this book just takes advantage of this curiosity. I couldn't even think of putting this book down because I wanted to know what was going on that bad. The way the story is written at first it is really hard to tell what is reality. As it goes on you kind of learn that things aren't as simple as real/not real. Also some of the situations that the Messenger shows her really make you think. It kind of made me see things and think about them in a different way. I always love when a book can make you do that because then it shows that the book really did affect you. Sometimes books aren't just stories you read to pass the time. They too can help shape your view of things, of life, of pretty much everything. Books and stories can give you a new understanding of the different ways of life and all the cruelty that really is out there. I feel that this series would be one of those types of books even being a science fiction novel. I would highly suggest people read this book! I rate this book 4.3/5 stars.

This last book I have read before and it is And the Mountains Echoed by: Khaled Hosseini. What happened was is that last year I read this book and I wrote a review for it. (It was a pretty awesome review if you ask me) However it got corrupted and 75% of what I wrote was gone. I was pretty thrown off by what happened and I just had no drive to re-write it again. I decided that this summer I would read this book again as my friend was reading to for the first time. I will be re-writing a review for this book finally.. It will probably contain pieces from my old review in it so if there are some parts that sound odd like it was written from a version of me from a year ago that's well because it was. I am not going to rate the book on here I just thought I'd mention that this review finally will be coming..
(I wrote notes throughout the book to even make sure that I had all my thoughts and ideas in order- I usually am not this organized with this stuff)




Note: I didn't read a lot of books this month as things got a tad busy unfortunately. I was going to mix my wrap-ups but I haven't really posted much so I decided against that. Instead I am just going to list the next three books I plan on reading in a post which you can view here. Whether they will make it all into my next wrap-up I can't promise, though they all should... but knowing me I never know. (A new book could come out and I could read that one first..)

To Be Honest: T.C. Booth | Review | Faith

A freak accident left Starla Emerson with a deformed hand, low self-esteem, and a need to fade into the background. However, she finds it impossible to be invisible at her new high school where she is pushed front and center by a behind the scenes internet bully.

She joins forces with newfound friends to launch a counter attack in order to expose the cyber bully, aka grizzlygirl2015. Part of the plan involves the school’s bad boy Chase McFall. Star feels more for this golden eyed boy than she should as the plan progresses. The plan backfires and lands Star in a mountain of trouble.

Will she have the courage to be honest about her part in the plan and her true feelings for Chase? Or will she be left heartbroken? Once the truth is out…there’s no turning back.

- Goodreads Synopsis

This Review Will Be SPOILER-FREE

September TBR | Raquel

This month is the start of school and other things for me so I chose to only pick three books for this month.


The first book I want to read next month is The Fate of Ten by: Pittacus Lore. This book is coming out in the beginning of September and I am so excited as this is definitely one of my favourite really large series! This was one of the first big series that I started to read.

"The sixth book in the thrilling, action-packed, New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series! For years the Garde have fought the Mogadorians in secret. Now all of that has changed. The invasion has begun. If the Garde can't find a way to stop the Mogs, humanity will suffer the same fate as the Lorien: annihilation.

There is still hope. When the Elders sent the Garde to Earth, they had a plan—one which the Garde are finally starting to understand. In the climax of The Revenge of Seven, a group of the Garde traveled to an ancient pyramid in Mexico known to their people as the Sanctuary. There they awoke a power that had been hidden within our planet for generations. Now this power can save the world . . . or destroy it. It will all depend on who wields it." -goodreads

The second book I want to read is every day by: David Levithan. Faith also is reading this book soon and I just thought this book really looked interesting. I have also heard good things about it and I just thought I'd give this book a shot.

"Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day." -goodreads

The last book I want to read next month is The Catcher in the Rye by: J.D. Salinger. This book is very well known and talked about. This is one of those books that when you tell people your an avid reader that they usually assume you have read it already. I have decided that I am not going to be left out of this circle of people and I am finally going to read it!

"'...the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them.'

Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation." -goodreads

September TBR | Faith

Since we already do monthly wrap ups, it only makes sense to include out TBR's (To Be Read). I'm not really trying to set up a big list for myself, since school is starting very soon. So I just tried to list a number of books that I would usually during the school year.

The first book I plan to read this month is Every Day by: David Leviathan. I have had a small interest in reading this book for a couple of months. I am actually currently reading this now, and it is absolutely fantastic and I don't want to put it down. This book is definitely not what I was expecting.

The second book I want to read is The Heart Of Betrayal by: Mary E. Pearson which is the second book in the Remnant Chronicles. I had read The Kiss Of Deception and I enjoyed it, it wasn't the best book in the world but I enjoyed it enough to continue on with the series. I don't really have any expectations for this book, but I do hope that I will enjoy it.

The third book that I hopefully will read is, The Martian by Andy Weir. I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation before going to see The Fantastic Four and it just seemed really interesting. I haven't really seen much reviews for this book, but it's popping up every now and then. So if I can get my hands on a copy of this book from the library, hopefully I will read this.

The fourth book is Ready Player One by: Ernest Cline. I never really was motivated to read this book. It just never interested me, until his recent book Armada was released. Armada did seem very interesting but I told myself that I would have to read this book before I pick Armada. There are so many people who love and worship this book so I thought that I would give it a chance. Again, if I can get a copy from the library, hopefully I will read this, this month.

I hope you enjoyed reading my September TBR. Please tell me what you are planning to read this month in the comments or through my Instagram or our Twitter!

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Queen Of Shadows Release Day Blitz | Rockstar Book Tours | Faith

I am so excited that QUEEN OF SHADOWS by Sarah J. Maas releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an awesome giveaway!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful series by Sarah J. Maas, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a set of the first 3 books in the series (in paperback format). US only. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About The book:

Title: QUEEN OF SHADOWS

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Pub. Date: September 1, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Pages: 656

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth volume.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

Read Chapters 1-5 of QUEEN OF SHADOWS HERE!

Sarah J. Maas is the author of the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling Throne of Glass series–Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, and Heir of Fire, and the series’ prequel, The Assassin’s Blade–as well as the New York Times and USA Today bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses. She wrote the first incarnation of the Throne of Glass series when she was just sixteen, and it has now sold in twenty-three languages. Queen of Shadows, the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series, will release worldwide on September 1st, 2015.

A New York native, Sarah currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and dog. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hamilton College in 2008 with a degree in Creative Writing and a minor in Religious Studies. 

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest | Instagram| Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive the first 3 books (in paperback) in the THRONE OF GLASS Series. US Only.

Ends on September 11th at Midnight EST!

a Rafflecopter giveaway