Tag / novels

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

New Goodies!

This week has been amazing and super stressful at the same time. We moved buildings for work so it was heavily taxing for everyone involved. However, I received some really awesome bookish goodies in the mail so that made up for the stress 🙂

Thank you to Machpherson Publishing for sending me some books to review for them which I will get to as soon as I am done my review for STORGY!

20171127_194458_hdr-1816145929.jpg

And then on top of that, I received a card from Kathy @ Books and Munches from our Christmas Card Exchange! It was everything I could have hoped for in a nerdy card 😛 and she made damn sure that I never forget about Dobby the house elf again…. 😀 (Best bookmark ever).

wp-1512186054916-1113483754.jpg

I have some reviews coming up and stayed tuned on the Instagram as I am doing a Harry Potter Photo Challenge for the month of December.

My friend Elizabeth showed me this cool morphing mug that changes colour with heat and reveals the Marauders Map so I had to show you guys. Here it is along with other cool Harry Potter stuff 😛

I wish I could buy all this things to satisfy the inner nerd in me. Anyways, have to get back to reading but talk to you soon bookworms!

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Book Review: Critical Critters

I was recently sent a copy of Critical Critters by Ralph Steadman and Ceri Levy from @Storgy and Bloomsbury Books. The book is about the animals all over the world that are on the endangered species list and are in need of saving.

Critical-Creatures

Ralph brings the animals to life through his intricate watercolour artwork and Ceri brings all the facts to the table that are justified with thorough research and a genuine exploration of the species.  The way these two can tell a story about each specific species and makes it interesting to read is amazing. I will admit that when I first looked at this book proof, I thought “Oh no, not another textbook”. But after I started to read, I found myself wanting to know each and every thing about all the different species in danger and how I could get involved to help.

I also enjoyed how they had a little side narrative going throughout the entire book. Ralph and Ceri would banter back and forth while they were in the process of creating the book and it gave the reader insight into how some of their ideas took shape.

There are so many species in this world and every single one has a different way of life. One quote really stuck out to me because it shows that we do take the natural world for granted.

Perhaps we refuse to accept their intelligence because we would then feel guilt for everything we have done to them.

 

The book did take a little while to get through but that only goes to show how many species are in danger and that the ecosystem needs our help to maintain the peace so to speak. We are the main reason a lot of these species are in danger in the first place. All the resources and websites that can help with protecting the ecosystem and different habitats are posted in the back of the book.

Overall, it was a very informative book with a comedic twist on the scientific side. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about endangered species and why they are on the endangered list.

Book Rating: 4/5

You can also see the post on the STORGY website!

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

What book have you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t?

There are sooo many books that I have wanted to read for a long time. Too many and that’s why its called a TBR (To Be Read) pile so that I will make myself get to it. But one I have had on my shelf for a long time is Armada by Ernest Cline. I fell in love with his writing style for Ready Player One and then bought Armada but never got to it so it has been on my shelf ever since.

16278318

Synopsis: Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe.

And then he sees the flying saucer.

Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders. No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?

This books sounds really good and if you read Ready Player One, you will understand why I want to read this one! Ernest Cline is a great writer and he really embodies the soul of a true gamer in his characters. I’m not sure what else to write here because I haven’t read the book ;P

Let me know what book you have been putting off and should be getting to in the comments!

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

What is the first book you remember reading?

I don’t know about you guys but when I first learned to read, it was the most exciting thing in the world to me. I could explore anywhere through imagination an become immersed in different adventures all without leaving the couch or reading nook. The first full book I read that I can remember is the 1st book in the Magic Treehouse series.

824734

Synopsis: Where did the tree house come from?

Before Jack and Annie can find out, the mysterious tree house whisks them to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark . . . or will they become a dinosaur’s dinner?

If you grew up in the 90’s, then you definitely have read these books. There are over 100 of them now, you would think that they would run out of adventures to go on but nope. I remember feeling so proud of myself for finishing this book all in one sitting. These books were great for learning to read. This probably started my obsession with having a treehouse.

Let me know what the first book you remember reading is in the comment below. Talk to you soon bookworms 🙂

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

What book disappointed you?

There are not many books out there that disappoint me. I like to put a lot of faith into mostly everything that I read and they usually turn out pretty great. But if there was one book that I had very high expectations for and it disappointed me, it would be An Abundance of Katherine’s by John Green.

49750.jpg

Synopsis: Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun–but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

Now the reason why I may have been disappointed is the fact that I read other John Green books and absolutely loved them. I like how he writes and brings out emotions I didn’t know I could feel. But this book just didn’t do it for me. There wasn’t enough of an exciting storyline or really any plot twists to keep me into it. There was too much put on chapter development for the main character and not enough time spent on the actual storyline. I finished it because once I start a book, I get kind of OCD where I have to finish it.

By all means, read John Green’s other books because I only have good things to say about them but if you do feel like skipping one of his books, this would be the one.

Let me know what book let you down in the comments! Lets chat bookworms 🙂

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

I have been nominated for an award!

Hey book bloggers, guess what!?!? I have been nominated by Ari Augustine from Ravenous for Reads to win the 2017 Liebster award! If you get a chance, go check out her blog. She is an avid book blogger and does fantastic reviews along with interviews and content for writers. She has a book tube channel which is also really cool and something I hope to get to myself someday.

Now you may say, what is a Liebster? I am not too sure either but it sounds cool right? I checked it out and here is more info on the 2017 Liebster Award. I also grabbed the image from Ari’s blog because I didn’t know where else to find it but this is the official badge for the award.

Liebster

So in the rules, it tells me that I should write about my favourite blog/blogger. That would have to be Kathy @ Books & Munches because she basically started talking to me when I started blogging (which was only a month ago) and has made me laugh with her hilarious comments. She also takes the time to comment on almost all of my posts which was the whole reason I started blogging; to be able to talk to others about books and overall just geek out (plus review books for authors). She is a great book blogger and shares a lot about her reading lists, hosts contests and brings the book community together through conversations and even card exchanges 🙂

Alright so Ari left some questions for her nominees (the questions are in bold and my answers are italic):

  1. Do you judge a book by its cover or give the blurb the benefit of doubt? I tend to give the blurb the benefit of the doubt as I have read so many books that turned out to be fantastic even if they had a crappy cover. I do really enjoy a beautifully laid out book cover though 😛
  2. What are you reading at the moment? Right now, I am currently reading the last book in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series. It is called the Library of Souls.
  3. If you could only take one book with you, what would it be? Hmmm this is a tough one. If I had to choose one, it would be The Glass Castle as it shows and teaches you that no matter where you come from or what happens to you, you can always move forward and live a happy life if you make it for yourself. Pretty much look after yourself because you are who you live with for your whole life (if that doesn’t make sense then we have reached the inner workings of my mind and I have started to babble).
  4. This one is a two-part question: Favorite villain? Favorite hero?My favourite villain would have to be the Jackal from the red rising series and my favourite hero would have to be Daredevil (no making fun….unless you want to, I won’t be offended)
  5. What do you enjoy most about blogging? The part I enjoy most about blogging is the different conversations I get to have with likeminded people about books that we have read. Talking about books and their fictional worlds is so fun and you get to see how others interpreted something in a novel that you may have seen differently in your imagination.
  6. What’s your blogging routine like? My blogging routine is generally done at night as I work 9 to 5 as a web developer. I will write my posts between 10pm and 11:30pm to be published next day around 10am.
  7. When did you begin your blog and where do you hope to take it? I began my blog about a month ago and I plan to eventually get to a point where I am following a lot of book bloggers and have attained a following so that my reviews will be seen by many and maybe companies will approach me to represent them in the book blogging community.
  8. Tea, coffee, or cocoa? Coffee all the way but mix some cocoa in and you have yourself a Mocha.
  9. Hardback or paperback? Paperback (not as heavy and easier to read with one hand while brushing your teeth or cooking or whatnot)
  10. If you could visit anywhere in the universe, in or out of time, parallel or present, where would it be? This is going to sound lame but I would just go to Australia. It has been my dream to go there ever since I wrote a speech about the country in grade 4.
  11. You’re going on an epic adventure to save the world. Name two characters who would help you succeed. Katniss Everdeen because she is badass at rebellions and Gandalf because he proves his loyalty and is an excellent mentor/friend.
  12. What’s your favorite word? Potential.

 

My nominees for the award are as follows and you guys can answer the same questions that I did because I really liked them:

I hope you guys can participate by writing your own posts to keep the love going and I look forward to reading all of your posts!

To finish it off, it says to write 10 random facts about yourself so here you go:

  1. Chocolate Oranges are life in my eyes.
  2. I like music better on vinyl (nothing like that scratchy sound).
  3. People say my spirit animal is a giraffe (it’s because I slap people with my neck lol jk)
  4. I play a lot of League of Legends (if you play, my summoner name is Krundor so add me up)
  5. I eventually want to have a Golden Retriever and a Border Collie.
  6. My preferred beer of choice is Pabst Blue Ribbon.
  7. Scary movies and awesome.
  8. I am a huge comic book fanatic (ask me about my collection, I dare you)
  9. Arkells are a great band (take a listen, you will like them)
  10. My favourite movie of all time is Its A Wonderful Life.

And that’s all for now! Talk to you later book worms and I will be resuming with the book challenge tomorrow!

 

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Quick Update

So for the delay in posts. I had to postpone the book challenge posts for 2 days because I was travelling and visiting with family. I will be back at writing up some posts up today. There will be lots to share, the giveaway will be ending tomorrow and I will announce a winner on November 1st (I’m going to wait till after Halloween so everyone gets an extra day to submit an entry). I have also been nominated for the 2017 Liebster Award by Ari Augustine from Ravenous for Reads so I will be writing a post on that and nominating some fellow book bloggers I enjoy chatting with for the award!

Stay tuned bookworms, more to come very soon 🙂

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Which book was remade into a movie and totally desecrated?

There are a lot of movies that were adapted from books that I am not a big fan of but this one takes the cake. Drumroll……. it is If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

4374400

Synopsis: Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it’s the only one that matters.

This book was really good in my opinion and I was drawn in very quickly. I loved it and how she was constantly battling with the decision to go with her family into the afterlife or stay with Adam and live. There was one part with her grandfather that actually got me teary eyed. But when it came to the movie, they skipped so many huge parts of the book that I just couldn’t be happy with it. I hate when books are adapted to movies and they skip huge parts or just erase characters all together. So for me this was the book that I couldn’t handle being turned into a movie. However if you were to see the movie without reading the book, I think it would be very good. I just knew what was being taken away from the plot so it ate at me the entire time I was watching it.

Let me know which book to movie adaptation bothers you in the comments. I feel like some of you will have the same opinion on a lot them. Talk to you later book worms 🙂

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Who is your favourite writer?

My favourite writer would have to be Pierce Brown, the author of the Red Rising series. I know I talk about this series a lot but it is because I love love love the writing style and I am pretty sure I would like anything that he writes.

Sci-fi is his main topic that he writes about but it works for me because I love that genre. I could read this series over and over again and never get tired of it. I really hope they adapt it to a movie but they better not f**k it up! He has an addition to the series called Iron Gold coming out in 2018 which I can’t wait for.

He even had the series adapted into comic books which is the key to my heart (besides food). Yea I don’t have much else to say. I am much better at talking about the books than the authors.

Tell me who your favourite writer is in the comments! I would love to know who everyone is fond of reading. Talk to you later bookworms!

by Erik McManus | Breakeven Books

Giveaway!!!

Hey Bookworms! I have decided to do a small giveaway since I have been having so much fun with book blogging and have enjoyed many conversations about books with the blogger community. So I am giving away a copy of a mystery Hardy Boys novel (which is what I read a lot as a kid)! All you have to do is follow Breakeven Books and share this blog post (you can also do it on the other social media channels for extra entries).

Winner will be announced on October 31st so better get your entries in quick! I will be doing more giveaways as the year goes on so stay tuned for more 🙂