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Showing posts with label Quickie Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quickie Reviews. Show all posts
Quickie Review: Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Mar 4, 2014
Note: As of the writing of this post, Once Upon a Book has 3997 pageviews! Just 3 more to go until 4000~ <3 y'all are the best :)
20 Ways to Draw a Cat and 44 Other Awesome Animals: A Sketchbook for Artists, Designers, and Doodlers by Julia Kuo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I know that this is a pretty high rating considering
a) it's not even a real book (at least by some standards, as it's partly labeled as a sketchbook )
b) at least 1/4 of it is blank... there's blank space on every other page at least.
c) most of the illustrations aren't even in colour.
However, the four stars I gave this book is not relative to others; my personal satisfaction regarding this book was insanely high for almost no reason, except that I really really like looking at the gorgeous illustrations and designs.
I knocked off a star because I didn't particularly like how it's designed as a sketchbook; the paper is not suitable for drawing, and I had thought it would be good as a reference book when making your own designs or copying these, but not to draw in.
Perhaps I'm somewhat biased as I received this book FREE from my school library's book fair book raffle, so I'm super pleased with that :3
Also, just to note, but I read the Chinese version of this; physically it's not much different though, with just an addition of the Chinese name for the animal under each page's heading and a Chinese introduction.
Obviously you have to look out because this book contains barely any words (I would say, fewer than 50 in all, except for the introduction/preface thing), so you may not find this purchase worth it (if you are buying...?) As another reviewer said, this book doesn't contain any how-to instruction, and it seems that some of the designs were produced with graphic-design software, which is pretty hard to replicate by hand. However, it's still a very nice book with pretty illustrations, so.....
More about the pictures:
I really liked them :) Even in (mostly) black and white, they were really inspiring at least to me. Clean lines and not cartoony looking, while still being creative-and-sketchy.
View all my reviews
20 Ways to Draw a Cat and 44 Other Awesome Animals: A Sketchbook for Artists, Designers, and Doodlers by Julia KuoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I know that this is a pretty high rating considering
a) it's not even a real book (at least by some standards, as it's partly labeled as a sketchbook )
b) at least 1/4 of it is blank... there's blank space on every other page at least.
c) most of the illustrations aren't even in colour.
However, the four stars I gave this book is not relative to others; my personal satisfaction regarding this book was insanely high for almost no reason, except that I really really like looking at the gorgeous illustrations and designs.
I knocked off a star because I didn't particularly like how it's designed as a sketchbook; the paper is not suitable for drawing, and I had thought it would be good as a reference book when making your own designs or copying these, but not to draw in.
Perhaps I'm somewhat biased as I received this book FREE from my school library's book fair book raffle, so I'm super pleased with that :3
Also, just to note, but I read the Chinese version of this; physically it's not much different though, with just an addition of the Chinese name for the animal under each page's heading and a Chinese introduction.
Obviously you have to look out because this book contains barely any words (I would say, fewer than 50 in all, except for the introduction/preface thing), so you may not find this purchase worth it (if you are buying...?) As another reviewer said, this book doesn't contain any how-to instruction, and it seems that some of the designs were produced with graphic-design software, which is pretty hard to replicate by hand. However, it's still a very nice book with pretty illustrations, so.....
More about the pictures:
I really liked them :) Even in (mostly) black and white, they were really inspiring at least to me. Clean lines and not cartoony looking, while still being creative-and-sketchy.
View all my reviews
Nov 17, 2013
The Good Earth by Pearl S. BuckMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ahh <33
This book is kind of long, so it has a lot of ups and downs. I didn't find this particularly good, because Wang Lung in general is not really an interesting character. It may just be my bad memory, because I read this almost a month ago, but although I plowed through it, I didn't read any parts that jump out at me in particular.
Sigh, I really wanted to like this book as a friend recommended it to me with glowing reviews. I guess I'm just not as cut out for these kinds of books....
Best part of this book: (view spoiler)
Favorite Character: My favorite character would have to be Wang Lung's mute and mentally disabled daughter. She does not have a name, but is Wang Lung's especial pet, and he often says to her: "Oh, poor fool! You poor little fool!" in a way that is meant to be a compliment.
View all my reviews
Sep 22, 2013
The Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. BakerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
So.......... I found out that this has a sequel! Squee~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyway. I rather liked this book, even though I found the part about the knight a little more than unbelievable. It's been almost three months since I read this, though, so please forgive my bad memory! Anyway, I always love fairytale retellings, different perspectives, etc. But once in a while I think that it would be fun to have a girly fairy tale heroine... I think that we tend to reward more 'tomboyish' girls nowadays and I'm just like.... what's wrong with girly girls, you know? Like, they don't have to be super 'delicate' and 'fragile', because that's annoying, and I get that. But honestly I wouldn't have thought that Princess Annie would have been the exact opposite of Gwendolyn.
Also. Another thing that bugged me was the thing about Annie that makes her so "special": (view spoiler). It's an..... interesting twist, I suppose, although how that would work I have no clue, because (view spoiler). I would have expected Annie to make a bigger deal out of it, or at least be more concerned that she wasn't as "good" or whatever as Gwen. Instead, Annie is all like, "Lalala I really couldn't care less."
So, that's all I really have to say about this book. A little bit of a disappointment if you ask me, but I would definitely read the sequel, and........ does this series have a third book?
View all my reviews
Aug 30, 2013
The Menagerie by Tui T. SutherlandMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
I found this book to be very entertaining. The premise is simple, and at times cliched-- but it was enjoyable, in the least. Although I prefer deep, thoughtful, well-written books, I still like a good light read now and again, so this book was perfect for it!
I don't read much fantasy, mostly because not much of it interests me (vampires? zombie? ghosts? goblins? ugh.). But I decided to give it a shot because it sounded okay.
I didn't like the main character, Logan, mostly because it was like, (view spoiler), even if Logan really couldn't help it and it wasn't his fault at all....
I am SO DONE with totally precocious main characters. Hello? They should have flaws too! UGH.
View all my reviews
Aug 28, 2013
An Abundance of Katherines by John GreenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow. just......wow.
This book's title has always intrigued me, and I'm so glad that I decided to check it out.
This book was just beautifully written and thoroughly entertaining. I'm sure that if I look closer and scrutinize it as I have in some of my other reviews I am sure to find some mistakes, or some part that is faulty in some way. And sure, some of the language just did not sit well with me. But the characters were so quirky and fun, and I was on Colin's side from the beginning. I wasn't sure about Hassan for a while, but he grew on me, too. And Lindsey! Oh, she was such a delight to read about.
The part about the factory wasn't very clear, I think, and at first I thought Hollis was Lindsey's adopted mom or stepmom or something because Lindsey calls her by her first name.......
But if I step back and think about it, I can't honestly say that this book was perfect. Still, it was a refreshing and interesting read, and I think that it was funny and amazing enough for me to really really like it.
So........... I found this book to be an enjoyable and good read (ha-ha, see what I did there?) and I would recommend it to many other readers.
View all my reviews
Aug 17, 2013
Dead Girls Don't Lie by Jennifer Shaw WolfMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!
This book was an honest-to-goodness, nail-biting thriller. It was very frightening in the descriptions of the gang activities. I felt that this book was very well-written. Although I myself am not an avid fan of thriller-mystery-suspense type books, I have wholeheartedly recommended this book to my friend, who loves that genre. I would recommend this book to fans of the Pretty Little Liars series. The friendship between Jaycee and Rachel was done well and realistically portrayed. All in all, I liked this book, although I would not read it again.
View all my reviews
Jan 30, 2013
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine ApplegateMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this book as soon as it was announced that it was a Newbery winner. Actually, I remember going to the library, when the Newbery Awards were to be announced at around 11 a.m., and when it was one I had gone to the library and I remember saying, "Wow! They've already got the 'Newbery Award' sticker on it!" That seemed like a big deal to me, haha.
Anyways, I really liked this book. I don't remember much about this book, the main reason being that I read it almost a year ago or 5/6 of a year ago. However, I recall it being quite poignant and interesting and having many quotes worth dog-earing the pages among other things :)
Also, I really liked the ending. <3 It just brought so much closure to the book as a whole.
View all my reviews
Jan 22, 2013
I am going to be introducing a new kind of review for this website, the "Quickie Review." Sometimes, I don't have a lot of time to write a review, so I'll write a quick one that usually isn't very long. Don't worry, it doesn't mean it's bad or anything, just shorter than the others and less detailed.
Princess Lessons by Meg Cabot
Synopsis: A self-help book directed at teenage girls teaching about all sorts of "princess" etiquette and fashion and makeup.
Thoughts: Very sensible advice, I presume, for a teen, and the illustrations just seal the deal for me. The pink theme goes well with the tone of the book and Princess Mia's comments underneath the "experts'" words are hilarious! In particular, I enjoyed the one about combat boots as Princess Mia explains how she loves to wear combat boots, and then right underneath that Grandmother Clarisse writes, "Combat boots are not suitable for a princess." Haha.
I would give this book 4/5 stars (In fact, I will be checking out the movies: "Bring it On" and "Save the Last Dance" which were mentioned in the book's "Movies in which Characters Reach Self-Actualization or otherwise Behave In a Very Princess-like Manner" list.)
And I must say, I was rolling on the floor laughing at Chesley McLaren's picture of a man bowing on pg. 78. And, this book is not 100% nonsense like those franchise continues, such as How to be a Vampire or whatnot. Instead, this book was a real, honest-to-goodness self-help book disguised as a princess lesson book! Ingenious.
Princess Lessons by Meg Cabot
Synopsis: A self-help book directed at teenage girls teaching about all sorts of "princess" etiquette and fashion and makeup.
Thoughts: Very sensible advice, I presume, for a teen, and the illustrations just seal the deal for me. The pink theme goes well with the tone of the book and Princess Mia's comments underneath the "experts'" words are hilarious! In particular, I enjoyed the one about combat boots as Princess Mia explains how she loves to wear combat boots, and then right underneath that Grandmother Clarisse writes, "Combat boots are not suitable for a princess." Haha.
I would give this book 4/5 stars (In fact, I will be checking out the movies: "Bring it On" and "Save the Last Dance" which were mentioned in the book's "Movies in which Characters Reach Self-Actualization or otherwise Behave In a Very Princess-like Manner" list.)
And I must say, I was rolling on the floor laughing at Chesley McLaren's picture of a man bowing on pg. 78. And, this book is not 100% nonsense like those franchise continues, such as How to be a Vampire or whatnot. Instead, this book was a real, honest-to-goodness self-help book disguised as a princess lesson book! Ingenious.
Jan 17, 2013
Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Wow. This book was an eye-opener, for sure.
I believe that it was my mother who first thrust this book at me. Or maybe I had just seen the pretty spine or the "Historical Fiction" sticker or something. Anyways, as soon as I started reading this book, I was intrigued. Not hooked, necessarily, but intrigued.
The story is well-written and the facts are well researched. However, it did not make much of an impression on me now, so that's -0.5 stars.
But this book let me rediscover historical fiction, and the subject is so well done. This book actually kind of reminds me of The Hope Chest for some reason, although the topics are similar yet different at the same time. :3 I'm bad at explaining things, but hopefully you'll understand...?
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