As the page turns..

The Maze Runner Files

❝ Classified files from the world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent. The first and second books, The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, are now major motion pictures featuring the star of MTV's Teen Wolf, Dylan O’Brien; Kaya Scodelario; Aml Ameen; Will Poulter; and Thomas Brodie-Sangster! Also look for James Dashner’s newest novels, The Eye of Minds and The Rule of Thoughts, the first two books in the Mortality Doctrine series.

It's #DashnerWeek and we're giving away the audiobook of THE MAZE RUNNER FILES by James Dashner!❞

 

Click here to download

NOTE: You can also listen on your phone when you download the Volumes app. Free on the App Store℠ for iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® in the U.S. and Canada. Offer is for 48 hours and ends on April 28, 2017, at 11:59 AM ET.

*sigh*

Great. Another Harry Potter cover.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a big fan. I worship these series. But the releasing of yet another cover? This has to stop at some point, right?

Wrong. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the first book, aka 'The Philosopher's Stone', will be released with a brand new cover featuring your favorite house.

Are you a Gryffindor, a Slytherin, a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff? 

According to Pottermore, the Gryffindor red on the covers is meant to signify military strength, a unicorn is for purity and courage, and the antlers are for strength and agility.

In the Hufflepuff crest, there are beech leaves to symbolize tolerance and a little lamb to show gentleness. In heraldry, gold or yellow is seen to represent generosity.

The crescent in the Slytherin crest represents glory and honour, and has been used in several coats of arms throughout history. Slytherin green is for endurance and the dragon-like cockatrice suggests Slytherins are fierce warriors.

Lastly, the Ravenclaw crest gets a parchment scroll to symbolise academic achievement, an owl for wisdom, a spearhead for sharpness of wit and a book for knowledge.

The idea is pretty neat to be honest - I am a proud Ravenclaw myself. BUT I hate having mixed editions of a series, and this one dominates my shelves: I have in greek the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th books (I was too young to read them in english) and the original UK edition of the 6th and 7th books. I had been looking online to complete my english collection- in first editions preferably, when Jim Kay started his gorgeous work.

Now I'm buyin' the illustrated ones which are truly breathtaking and they do add something new on the inside too (although if you have seen Jim Kay's work something is an understatement).

*mini rant*

I got the american  edition of "The Chamber of Secrets" by mistake, which doesn't match the english edition of book one - something that will bug until the end of time. So instead of a neat pair like the one above I now have this:

Look at the font difference for crying out loud! why would they do that? 

*end rant*

Now this is something I might consider:

as I don't own "The Cursed Child" (yet). Actually scratch that because google tells me that these are a part of a boxed set that is pretty expensive. I'll pass. I have to start saving for the 3rd illustrated edition anyways.

Wishing a "Happy Valentine's Day" to my fellow book lovers! Click here to send some bookish love to your significant other! xxx

~M.

Descender, Vol. 1: Tin Stars has some exceptional artwork and the story is very engaging. I recently watched the series, "Westworld", sparking my interest in stories with androids. This series by the talented Jeff Lemire certainly doesn't disappoint. The main character is the cutest bot ever! Illustrated beautifully the first volume begins with TIM 21 embarking on a journey to find his human companion, Andy. Full of mystery this strange new world is very intriguing! Little bot, big universe, indeed.

This is fantastic news! It has already been showing up as a feature in my books and I have to say I really like it. Having correct reading dates on my books and not adding a different edition to account for a reread, made Goodreads a lot more appealing as my main book-catalog-keeping-tool.  

Now another requested feature is the half star rating (sidenote: both features are available here at BL). 

Written: Joseph Conrad

Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh

Length: 3 h 51mins

(Unabridged Audiobook)

Release Date:11-23-10

Prose that demands to be read aloud requires a special kind of narrator. For the Audible Signature Classics edition of Joseph Conrad’s atmospheric masterpiece, Heart of Darkness, we called upon four-time Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh.

Branagh’s performance is riveting because he reads as though he’s telling a ghost story by a campfire, capturing the story’s sense of claustrophobia, while hinting at the storyteller Marlow’s own creeping madness.

Heart of Darkness follows Captain Marlow into the colonial Congo where he searches for a mysterious ivory trader, Kurtz, and discovers an evil that will haunt him forever. With this landmark work, Conrad is credited with bringing the novel into the twentieth century; we think Branagh brings it into the twenty-first. Stay tuned for more one-of-a-kind performances from actors David Hyde Pierce, Leelee Sobieski, Tim Curry, and more, only from Audible Signature Classics.

Every month "Amazon whispesync" offers a classic title for free; this february it's "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. To get the deal first get this kindle version (for free) and then get the free audiobook here. There is also another narration for free once you get the kindle book; one narrated by Frederick Davidson. You can choose or get both!

Happy Listening!

~M.

Here is an overview of my recent purchases/library holds/pre-orders/arcs (man I spend a lot on books!)

cartoon by Sarah Andersen

✍ Pre - orders:

✍ Purchases:

✍ Library Loans:

✍ Netgalley/First to read ARCS:

WOW...It has been ages since I did one of these..With the issues BL had and my personal life getting in the way I didn't blog enough (*cough* not at all) Soo, 2017 is a fresh start.

January was a good month and the theme of the month was "graphic novels". I couldn't find any interest to finish an actual book, but I did finish a couple of awesome comics, thus officially declaring January 2017 my graphic novel month. 

☕ I finished

 ◈ the American Vampire series (issues 3-8)

 ◈ and the "Abigail and the snowman" series (issues 2-4)

☕ I read the first issues of Sandman and Giant Days

☕ And some adorable kids books

Total month tally: 13

Not bad. I do have a lot of "currently reading" books and tomorrow I'm continue with my "Harry potter chapter by chapter" review! Stay tuned!

~M.

Written: Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Length: 40 hrs

(Unabridged Audiobook)

Release Date:30-06-10

Vladimir Nabokov called Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina "one of the greatest love stories in world literature." Set in imperial Russia, Anna Karenina is a rich and complex meditation on passionate love and disastrous infidelity.

Married to a powerful government minister, Anna Karenina is a beautiful woman who falls deeply in love with a wealthy army officer, the elegant Count Vronsky. Desperate to find truth and meaning in her life, she rashly defies the conventions of Russian society and leaves her husband and son to live with her lover. Condemned and ostracized by her peers and prone to fits of jealousy that alienate Vronsky, Anna finds herself unable to escape an increasingly hopeless situation.

Set against this tragic affair is the story of Konstantin Levin, a melancholy landowner whom Tolstoy based largely on himself. While Anna looks for happiness through love, Levin embarks on his own search for spiritual fulfillment through marriage, family, and hard work. Surrounding these two central plot threads are dozens of characters whom Tolstoy seamlessly weaves together, creating a breathtaking tapestry of nineteenth-century Russian society.

From its famous opening sentence—"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"—to its stunningly tragic conclusion, this enduring tale of marriage and adultery plumbs the very depths of the human soul.

I don't know about you but I am on a mission to get some classics on audio! Every month Tantor Media has a new title for free much like amazon is doing with their "whispesync" deal. For February it's Anna Karenina. I have the title on audible already but I think my version is from a different narrator. It's quite a long book but no matter I'd love to have this on my library!

Get the free audiobook here.

Happy Listening!

~M.

Hello my bookish friends!! I saw this tag being done by lots of you, so I thought I'd join too! (Thanks to Spooky's House of Books for starting this)

1. Do you have a certain place in your home for reading?

Yes - a super comfy chair. However, I don't have a favorite position...lol

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

I mostly read on my kindle, so no physical bookmarks are involved. I just push the power button whenever I have to be pulled out from my latest virtual adventure. 

3. Can you  just stop reading or do you have to stop read after a chapter / certain number of pages?

There are two scenarios: a) I fall asleep reading - if I am lucky i don't accidentally skip ahead many pages when my nose/finger/whatever touches the screen before it goes into sleep mode, or b) life gets in the way - you know eating, talking to other people...etc. 

On the first scenario, it depends on my sleepiness level, but I usually will myself to read "just one more chapter". 

On the second scenario, I prefer to finish a chapter and then close the book. Or you know keep reading....

4. Do you eat or drink while read?

Drink. Coffee, or tea.

In case of a suspenseful novel: eat. My nails. 

5. Multitasking: music or TV while reading?

Neither. Okay, maybe music. Sometimes. But no singing. Usually I study with classical/instrumental music. I don't want to confuse my brain.

6. One book at a time or several at once?

Several. I rarely have one book at a time. However, I don't read many at the same genre.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

Everywhere. True story.

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Silently. Out loud is only for professionals I paid for when I bought the audiobook.

Or my mom.

9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

I used to read the ending when I got too anxious about the protagonists' fate. But now I don't do that anymore. I'm all grown up.

Sidenote: If the book is getting boring, I do skim and move forward.

10. Barking the spine or keeping it like new?

I rarely buy physical books anymore, so the precious few I actually bought in the last few months are like new. I am always super careful of my copies.

11. Do you write in your books?

Nope. I do make occasional notes on my virtual ones.

That's it!

This was fun!! Join in!

Do you want to read from other booklikes' members? Head over here.

Hey everyone! I finished Westworld on Saturday and I have to say I'm impressed.

It was a solid journey through a dystopian future that raised valid and interesting questions about technology and humans; like for instance "Can we create consciousness?". The actors were really good and the overall production was up to the HBO's standard.

I liked the conclusion it had and I looked around to see in which book this was based on (usually when something is good on the screen, it's almost always based on a book). Unfortunately there is no Westworld book per se; only the script of the old film (yes this was also on the big screen). 

But there are out there books that have the technology theme and I have compiled an interesting list; I haven't read any of them but some were on my radar even before Westworld spiked my interest on androids. 

I know I have mostly audible updates but I have been working on coming back to the website! *queue happy music*

I have two more promo codes that you have to redeem today! One is Trevor Noah's "Born a Crime" (use code: ACRIME1) and the other is a self help book called "Magic of Tidying Up" (use code: TIDYUP1). 

I want to read Trevor's memoir as I really enjoy his show at Comedy Central. Sidenote: his memoir as expected is narrated by him which is a nice touch. I'm not sure what the other book is about but hey, free audiobook! 

Be quick with both as the offer expires today (1/31/2017)!

Enjoy!!

This a fantastic bargain! I read the book and loved it and cannot wait to listen to this!

All you have to do is go "redeem a promo code" and type in " CALLEDOVE1" then claim your free copy!

The code will expire on 31st of january so hurry up!!!