[Teaser Tuesdays]: September 30

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. 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 TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!








First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by Sea. It lets us share the first paragraph or (a few) of a book we are reading or thinking about reading soon. 








After being disappointed with the previous book I read, I hope that what I'm picking right now is the right choice. I really feel the need for some good book.

What I am reading now:




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First paragraph:

First the colours.

        Then the humans.
        That's usually how I see things.
        Or at least, how I try.

Here is a small fact: You are going to die.

I am in all truthfulness attempting to be cheerful about this whole topic, though most people find themselves hindered in believing me, no matter my protestations. Please, trust me. I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the As. Just don't ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me.






Random teaser:

The fire was nothing now but a funeral of smoke, dead and dying, simultaneously: On this particular morning, there were also voices.

~p. 239, "The Book Thiefby Markus Zusak.







Wow, I really like the first paragraph. What makes this book look more interesting to me that it is narrated by Death :]
Please share with me your Teaser Tuesdays or First Chapter First Paragraph on the comment box so I can visit your blog too :)

[Teaser Tuesdays]: September 23

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. 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 TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!








First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by Sea. It lets us share the first paragraph or (a few) of a book we are reading or thinking about reading soon. 









New experiment today. I'm trying to join Diane's meme and combine it with Teaser Tuesdays :D Mentioned above are the rules of the memes, and my choice this week is another work of Gayle Forman, Just One Day.



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First paragraph:

What if Shakespeare had it wrong?
To be, or not to be: that is the question. That's from Hamlet's-maybe Shakespeare's-most famous soliloquy. I had to memorize the whole speech for sophomore English, and I can still remember every word. I didn't give it much thought back then. I just wanted to get all the words right and collect my A. But what if Shakespeare-and Hamlet-were asking the wrong question? What if the real question is not whether to be, but how to be?


Random teaser:

By this point, more than three weeks have passed since I mailed my letter, so I'm losing hope on that front too. The chances of finding him, never all that great, dim.

~p. 241, "Just One Dayby Gayle Forman.



What do you think about the book? Have you read this one too? Please drop the link of your Teaser Tuesdays or First Chapter First Paragraph on the comment box so I can visit your blog too :)

[Book Review]: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

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Image Source: Goodreads
Book Title: All the Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Publisher: Scribner
Source: Purchased
Genre: Historical Fiction
Year: 2014
Page Count: 530
ISBN: 9781476765655
Find it at: The Official Website of Anthony Doerr
Warning: Mild violence and sexual contents.
Add to your Goodreads shelf.
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0

Goodreads' Blurb:
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, a stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.


Doerr's gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.





This book is written in third person point-of-view, of mostly Marie-Laure and Werner's. All chapters are very short, with occasional ones consist of five pages at most. Each chapter alternately tells between Marie-Laure and Werner's story and ends in the most dramatic ways (this is what I like the most about the book).

I admit that this Anthony Doerr's work is the very first historical fiction I ever read. I bumped into New York Times' bestseller list, found this book and was willing to give it a try. On the first twenty pages, I was a bit surprised at the short chapters, as the books I read this far consisted with conventional long chapters. Nevertheless I found it to my liking and it brought a special feeling that despite the short space of writing (this what makes the 530 pages does not feel that much), the author managed to fit the most important details without being a reckless fast-paced story.

Through the uncommon prose, the author really convinced me that this was really what happened at the World War II in Europe; the bombings, the sieges and the feeling where you were unsafe once you were outside of your house wall. Even though what were written in the book were not that ugly like I have heard before from television and other historical non fiction books, but they were much more convincing, as they enticed me by the author's prose and gave me the unexplained feelings of the fear, tumult and the worry. It was just like the author personally experienced all those by himself.

My most favorite character from this book is Jutta, Werner's younger sister, by being all outspoken, unwavering and bold. Much to the contrary of Werner's, who seems like a meek boy, complying to what we call as an mainstream things, as in the book is by enrolling in Nazi academy.

What forestalling me from giving the book five stars is the part where Marie-Laure and Werner's finally meet in like the last six chapters of the book and they instantly fall in love. Only because of Werner frequently turned on his radio and listened to Marie-Laure's soliloquy and tales and then he saved her from the Nazi's quest. Apart from that, Anthony Doerr's ten years of hard working should really be rewarded.

[Teaser Tuesdays]: September 9

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. 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 TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



I'm so glad I found so many new books (at least 'new' as to me) and already put them on my TBR list:

Already ordered and currently waiting:


17623975          19063          6936382          3636

It was so hard for me to get The Giver with original cover, and eventually I had to settle with the international edition one. I don't know why but for me personally, the original one is more tempting than the newest.

On my TBR list:

3521484          6624871          8470445          8079815


6763730          18054175          8475505          10757749


8922087          8527904          9464733          6665671


82434          9711714


Eighteen books! I don't know how my pocket and myself will keep up with them at the end! But I'm gonna find out soon (a sad story of a frustrated bookworm lol)

Meanwhile, below is my Teaser Tuesday for this week!


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"They surge into the museum, scatter into the departments. The windows go black with blood."

~p. 66, "All the Light We Cannot Seeby Anthony Doerr.


It was rather difficult for me to find a proper teaser for this book, since every chapter is so short and there is almost nothing I could write that is not really a spoiler.

[Book Review]: The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier by Thad Carhart

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Image Source: Goodreads
Book Title: The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier
Author: Thad Carhart
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperback
Source: Purchased
Genre: Non Fiction, Memoir, Music
Year: 2002
Page Count: 268
ISBN: 9780375758621
Find it at: Thad Carhart's Official Website
Add to your Goodreads shelf.
My Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0




Goodreads' Blurb:
Walking his two young children to school every morning, Thad Carhart passes an unassuming little storefront in his Paris neighborhood. Intrigued by its simple sign — Desforges Pianos — he enters, only to have his way barred by the shop's imperious owner.
Unable to stifle his curiosity, he finally lands the proper introduction, and a world previously hidden is brought into view. Luc, the atelier's master, proves an indispensable guide to the history and art of the piano. Intertwined with the story of a musical friendship are reflections on how pianos work, their glorious history, and stories of the people who care for them, from amateur pianists to the craftsmen who make the mechanism sing. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank is at once a beguiling portrait of a Paris not found on any map and a tender account of the awakening of a lost childhood passion.



Some of you might still remember all the hype from me on how I really wanted to read this book. And voila! I'm now finished with this baby ;)

So how to put it...

This book is an autobiography of Thad Carhart, using first-person narration from his perspective, recounting on his long lost passion to piano. The book begins when he comes across a unique atelier in his neighborhood and thus tries to enter the place, even though he is unwelcome at first. Then luck is on his side, one of his acquaintances is a customer at the atelier and at the acquaintance's recommendation, he gains the permit to find what cryptics are inside the place.

The book is mainly brought in present, with some flashbacks to Carhart's past on how he first found his interest and love in piano. The writing style of this book is intriguing, thus made me feel like I was not reading a non fiction, but a fiction one. Sometimes the author will put in some antics and joke that will make the readers laugh.

I admit that this book is a little bit tough to read since there are copious musical terms, particularly those pertaining to pianos. But I enjoyed them as it broadened my knowledge on music (I should mention to that I'm a huge fan of music and being able to play piano is one of my unachievable dreams) and I got to learn some French too!

Pour conclure, je l'aime ce livre :P This book also teaches me to never let your deepest passions just go away like that and you don't have to live that passion to become your professional life, instead you can just keep it as your hidden pleasure. That doesn't make you love that thing less than a professional does.

If you are a pianist or have a hidden passion for piano, this book is a must for you to read. Don't miss it!

[WWW Wednesdays]: September 3

WWW_Wednesdays4WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme originally hosted by Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?





My answers:

16051What are you currently reading?
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier by Thad Carhart. Just as I have guessed, I think I will need quite a time to finish this one. There are countless of sophisticated vocabularies (even in French! I suppose I'll turn out to be fluent in French once I finish this lol)










18172471What did you recently finish reading?
The Selection Stories: The Prince & The Guard by Kiera Cass. What a beautiful cover we have here, right? ;) It's 4 out of 5 stars for me. Click here to read my review.












18335634What do you think you’ll read next?
Out of those all piling book hauls, the selected one is Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. Can't wait to see how the secrets about Will will be unraveled!

[Teaser Tuesdays]: September 2

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. 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 TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!




Tough week, but have to keep up with my books anyway. Here's my Teaser Tuesday:


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"Life is a river," he once told me, "and we all have to find a boat that floats." This was not said cynically, but rather as a simple observation of how the world works.

~p. 52, "The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelierby Thad Carhart.

[Book Review]: The Selection Stories: The Prince & The Guard by Kiera Cass

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Image Source: Goodreads
Book Title: The Selection Stories: The Prince & The Guard
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Genre: Dystopian Young Adult
Year: 2014
Page Count: 173
ISBN: 9780062318329
Add to your Goodreads shelf.
My Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0





Goodreads' Blurb:
Two novellas set in the world of Kiera Cass's #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series are now available in print for the first time. The Prince and The Guard both offer captivating views into the hearts and minds of the two men fighting to win America Singer's love. This collection also features exclusive bonus content, including a sneak peek at The One, the eagerly anticipated third novel in the Selection series.

Before America arrived at the palace to compete in the Selection, there was another girl in Prince Maxon's life. The Prince opens the week before the Selection begins and follows Maxon through the first day of the competition.


Raised as a Six, Aspen Leger never dreamed that he would find himself living in the palace as a member of the royal guard. In The Guard, readers get an inside look at Aspen's life within the palace walls—and the truth about a guard's world that America will never know.







1817003915820748This edition is a renewed one which compiles two novellas, The Prince and The Guard, into one book. The Prince is narrated by Prince Maxon Schreave, while The Guard is recounted from the first point of view of Aspen Leger.

Not much can I retell about this book aside from the blurb above. The two novellas originally were published in separate. The Prince was published in 2014 and The Guard in 2014. If you can take a look of both sides, they were the original cover for each book. I must say that the author and publisher have really good taste that it can captive readers easily.

From the story, the compiled book has nothing really new at all. The Prince only puts in a bit about a girl who loved Maxon before the Selection takes place. As for the rest, both Thee Prince and The Guard only retell what are already inside those three books from Maxon and Aspen's point of views. From the experiment, I can argue that the author a bit more skilled in writing from Maxon's point of view than when she has done in America's. Not that bad if you are looking for a light reading.