I'm finally on Pottermore (and my overall thought of it)

Ever since J.K. Rowling announced her new mysterious project I've been so excited for Pottermore. The day she was going to release the information about it, I sat bunked in front of my computer screen and watched the seconds tick down to zero. And then I found out that I would have to try follow some owls on July 31st to gain access to the website. What a disappointment. Especially since I was in England on that exact date, so I wouldn't have time to be on the Internet. Well, somehow I succeeded with getting an account on the fourth or fifth day I think. And yesterday I finally got my welcome email.

I spent about two hours on the site that Sunday and have played through the ten first chapters. And well, I've had some fun with it. The pictures of the scenes are amazing and I really enjoy the extra information you can read. It's a bit slow though and the site crashes from time to time. And it lacks in sound. Also, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do there after I've played through the first book, but I like it at the time being. 

If anyone would like to add me as a friend, my name is NightChaser95 (seriously Pottermore, what's with all this super high privacy stuff, I want to choose my own username!) I'm in Ravenclaw! (so happy about this, me luvs it!)  I feel like I'm one of those few lucky people who got in the house they wanted, haha. And I got the best wand ever; Elder, Pheonix feather core, 14½ inches, hard. A little tip to Pottermore, can't you start up an online shop where I can buy the exact wand I got and some Ravenclaw clothes? Please? It would be so cool!

Have you gotten into Pottermore? Do you like it? 

Books I feel like I'm the last one to read

Inspired by this weeks Top Ten Tuesday (a meme which I don't participate in) I wanted to share a list of books that almost every book blogger has read, except for me.

Anything from Sarah Dessen I've heard so many good thing about her books, but haven't had the time to read anything by her yet. Anything from John Green I feel like the worst nerdfighter / vlogbrothers fan. Well, I've read Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which hardly counts since it's co written by David Levithan. I loved that one, and am really looking forward to reading more by John. I have Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns waiting on my shelves, soon my darlings!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater This is even one of the books that I heard about before I started blogging. But I've never really felt eager to read them. Maybe I'll pick it up one day. Matched by Ally Condie I want to read it so bad! It sounds so awesome, and that cover .. Gorgeous! Across the Universe by Beth Revis No I haven't read this one yet! I own it and two people have borrowed my copy and loved it. Have to read it now!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee If you look this book up on Goodreads, about 90% of the reviews on the first page are people who have rated the book 5 stars. The other 10% gave it 4 stars. I want to read it to see why everyone love it so much! Various other classics Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, Jane Eyre, Lord of the Flies, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz etc. The list can be made long.

Which books do you feel like everyone have read except for you?

Spellbound - Review

Spellbound (Spellbound #1)
by Cara Lynn Shultz
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Published: June 28, 2011
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads | Author Blog | Twitter

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

Spellbound is an awesome paranormal-type book. Actually, I would call the genre modern fairy tale, because it really did have a fairy tale-is feel. I've never read anything like it, which is great. I love discovering new genres and crossovers!

Emma moves from her crazy stepfather to her rich aunt in New York, where she gets to attend an expensive private school. And she doesn't really feel that she fits in with all the other snobby students. But then she meets a boy called Brendan, who she instantly feels drawn too. When I was reading the beginning I thought "oh no, not one of these books again" And with that I mean the paranormal romance books in which a girl falls in love with a vampire/angel/warewolf/whatever and their love is impossible.

But I was wrong. Spellbound isn't one of those books. This book was so much more.Spellbound is twisted, extraordinary and not at all what I expected. It was a very interesting read.

And the ending? The last few chapters were so intense. I was holding my breath and didn't do anything than read. I needed to know how everything would end!

Spellbound is a great debut that paranormal romance and fairy tale fans will love. I'm a  bit confused about this being a series though. According to Goodreads, the next book will be released next year. But I think this book would've suited perfectly as a standalone and can't really figure out how a sequel would be written. I'm very interested in seeing what Shultz does with that!

Insurgent cover revealed!

The cover for Insurgent (the sequel to Divergent by Veronica Roth) was released today. I love it and think it will probably look gorgeous on the shelf together with Divergent!

The book will be released in May 2012. You can read an that was released with the cover on EW.

I'm done

Books are piling on the floor of my room and my wallet is empty. But I just can’t stop buying new books! I get more and more of them and I don’t have time to read them all.

So I’m done. With buying books that is. I just can’t do it anymore. I want to take a few months and not buy new ones, concentrate on those that I have. There s a ton of great books waiting to be read. Books that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time, but haven’t had the time to get to. During the last three-ish months of this year, I’m going to focus on my already owned books and not put any money at all on buying new ones. I'm going on a book buying ban.

I hope I can do this. It’s only a bit more than three months. I should be able to do it. Right?

I hereby solemnly swear that I, Olivia, will not buy any new books until the end of the year 2011. Instead I will read all of the amazing books that I’ve bought and been meaning to read for a long time.

Do you buy more books than you have time to read?

Life update and Dreamland trailer

Hi you guys! I know that I haven't updated my blog in a while, I blame real life on that. I've had a lot of home works, test and have started working out again. It feels like every time I take care of my irl life my blog suffers! But that's not going to happen anymore, I have a lot of reviews and blog posts written down in my notebook. Everything's going to be fine, I promise.

Since it's Thursday, it's Trailer of the Week day. (Though last time I talked about moving it to Fridays .. We'll see about that) The trailer I'm going to feature today is one that's been seen around the book blogging community these last few days. Dreamland by Alyson Noel!

The books sounds really interesting, I love the whole Afterlife thing. I'm so excited to read this one. And the cover is just gorgeous ..

Top 100 Most Popular YA Books

Update! This list was created by the Swedish book blogger Anna, who has the awesome book blog Boktycke! She created it by comparing popularity lists on different book sites.

I've seen this list over at various other bloggers. I don't know who made the list, but apparently it's supposed to the the top 100 most popular YA books. I don't know if someone just made it up, or if there's some research behind it. But since I've enjoyed seeing which of the books other bloggers have read, I'm going to go through this list and mark the ones I've read as well.

Which of these books have you read? Which ones do you want to read?

I'll write the ones I've read in bold. If I have any comments to add, I'll write them in this gray italic font.

1. Alex Finn – Beastly
2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie – Matched
5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3)
18. Christopher Paolini – Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green – Looking for Alaska
38. John Green – Paper Towns 
39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44. Lemony Snicket – Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52. Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60. Meg Rosoff – How I live now
61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks
79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever 
84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85. Scott Westerfeld – Leviathan (1, 2)
86. Scott Westerfeld – Uglies (1, 2, 3)
87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephanie Meyer – The Host
93. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

I've read a few, not that many. Actually, there was a lot of books that I didn't even recognize. And there's a lot of series that I haven't finished .. I'll try to read more of these, since I've heard good things about many of the books. I'll come back here and update the list whenever I read more of the books!

Ladybird, Ladybird - Book Trailer + Giveaway

I love book trailers, but think that they don't get enough attention in the book blogging community. That's why I started Trailer of the Week. Every week I'll feature one amazing book trailer that really grabs my attention.

This weeks' Trailer of the Week is a bit different than usual. I was contacted by the publisher for about this book trailer. To celebrate the release the ebook and book trailer for the Ladybird Ladybird, they are hosting a giveaway. They're going to give away five $50 American Express Giftcards! You can sign up to the giveaway by clicking here, and please tell them that you were directed there by Magical Books! 

The trailer looks really cozy and I instantly start thinking about nights at summer camps! I have to say that I'm pretty interested by this book.
Check out Ladybird, Ladybird on Goodreads

Kansas and lasagna

Hello, I'm from kansas! I loooove lasagna! I'm Olivia's oldest weirdest friend. Goodbye! And remember, i'm from kansas!

Michael Grant's new and exciting "transmedia" experience

I'm a huge fan of Michael Grant. He's one of my favorite authors and I just love his raw and intimidating writing. So when I was emailed about his new project, GoBZRK, I got filled with excitement. Partly because it's Michael Grant, and partly because it's not only a new book. It's, what he calls, a "transmedia" experience. There's websites to visit, blogs to follow and stories to discover here on the web.

Here's some quotes from an interview with Michael Grant.

What is “Go BZRK”? Is this a book or some kind of interactive story?

Both. The book comes out this winter, but the interactive part starts now. One leads up to the other, but they’re part of a complete package.

Why “transmedia”?

There are different approaches to transmedia. Most people take a single story and reproduce it on various platforms. My philosophy has been to make each element – ARG, app, web, book – a thing unto itself, each revealing some aspect of the world of BZRK. I’ve been fascinated with this is as a new way to tell stories. The book remains central, but now I can reach beyond the book and create a much more complete world. I can tell stories that enhance the book, and stories that parallel the book, and stories that are offshoots of backstory. I guess the answer to “why” is “because it’s fun.”

Still confused? (Text taken from the official GoBZRK website)

“Go BZRK” is a transmedia narrative based in a universe created by writer Michael Grant for his upcoming series of “BZRK” novels. This is not a marketing stunt or a traditional “alternate reality game.” “BZRK” was fully conceived as a multi-platform experience with the books only being one aspect of a bigger picture.

The transmedia narrative now running is story and character driven. While there are game elements, it’s the narrative that’s most important. Michael Grant is known for delivering strange, compelling worlds filled with rich characters and “Go BZRK” is no exception… it just happens to live online in assorted formats like websites, blogs, games, and video, rather than through the printed word alone."

I'd lie if I said that I'm not dying to know more about this project. The story is right now starting out at Societytwins.com and NexusHumanus.com. I've been looking around at both websites and I have to tell you, this does sound really creepy indeed. I'm looking forward to finding out how everything proceeds. You can find more information on GoBZRK.com