New on the Shelves

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These are my new acquisitions!! I decided to delve into a few classics. I've always wanted to read The Three Musketeers. Especially after I read The Count of Monte Cristo.

1. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
2. The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
4. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
5. Unnatural Creatures - Stories selected by Neil Gaiman
6. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

I really loved Cinder by Marissa Meyer. So I am really looking forward to Scarlet. And Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors. I really loved American Gods.

Here is to hoping I get to these books soon enough.

July Recap

Hello All!! So I thought that I would put up a Recap Post. This post will recap all the books I have read (regardless of my reviewing it here on the blog).

I tried reading a lot of books this past month. But could only finish 4 Novels. I also read 4 Graphic novels. Here's the list:

1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer - Reviewed
2. Fables Vol. 2 - Bill Willingham
3. Fables Vol. 3 - Bill Willingham
4. Fables Vol. 4 - Bill Willingham
5. Fables Vol. 5 - Bill Willingham
6. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn - Reviewed
7. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl - Reviewed
8. Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder - I really enjoyed this book. The review for this book will be put up probably over the weekend.

So this was it for the July Recap. Coming to the books I plan on reading in August, I've lined up a few books I would like to tackle the following. This is the number of books I would like to read this month but it depends on how busy work keeps me. It could also be that I might not read any of these books at all as I read a book if the fancy strikes me.

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine l'Engle
2. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (if I receive the book in time. I just placed the order for it)
3. The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna
4. Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

So that is it for the August Reading. I know that there are a few holidays coming up (Eid and Independance day) but I am planning a trip on those weekends so I might not be able to read too many books.

Book Review : Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I've been coming across Cinder in a lot of people's favorite lists on Goodreads and on blogs. The first time I came across it I liked the premise, though I did not pay much attention to it. As my friends would tell you I tend to like almost everything when it comes to books and especially when it comes to movies. I have also watched a couple of movie adaptations of the classic Cinderella story - Ella Enchanted and Ever After. I loved the former more than the latter. One of the reasons being that in this version she mostly helped herself instead of a mythical Fairy Godmother who waves her magic wand and makes the problems disappear.

So this book has always been at the periphery of my to be read books list. So when there was a major discount on this book online I took it as a sign and bought the book. I loved this book so much that I've already ordered for the 2nd installment in the series, Scarlet.

This was one exciting read. More than anything the best part was Cinder Linh. I LOVED her!! I mean, at least in the movie Ever After, Danielle - played by Drew Barrymore. had a kind of fairy Godmother in the form of DaVinci. But Cinder has no one. Just an android friend named Iko. Not only is she the Step Daughter that the Step Mother loathes, she also has to contend with being a Cyborg.

Whenever I think of a cyborg I think of the Bionic Woman. You know with increased strength and super sense and gadgets. Lots and lots of gadgets. But that is not the case with Cinder. She has to survive with a leg that she was fitted with when she was 11. And even though she is the sole earner (she's a mechanic) in the house hold, being a cyborg, she is the property of her Step Mother.

Cinder is one of the most kick-ass female heroines out there in the book world. She is right beside Dagny Taggart (from Atlas Shrugged) for me. The story has been paced really well. Though there are places in the books that the story is a bit predictable but the classic Cinderella story has been given quite a spin. I mean not only are people on earth suffeeing from a plague to which there is no cure, they face a huge threat from the Lunars. Descendants of humans who set up a colony on the Moon and now have extraordinary powers that lets them manipulate normal Earth humans.

And the Prince is being pressurized to marry the Queen of the Lunars - Queen Levana. So this book is a melting pot of genres and Marissa Meyer has a great recipe. I just hope this continues with Scarlet.

One of the best scenes for me was when Cinder stands up to her Step Mother and the part where she goes to the ball completely soaked from head to toe in a dress that is a had me down of sorts and silk gloves covered in grease. She is a girl that has not known love at all. And all those that have come close to loving her have left her (either voluntarily or involuntarily). She is ostracized but she still has a back bone (though it is reinforced). She still manages to open herself up a little in this book.

I cannot wait to read Scarlet where I'll meet Cinder and Kaito and hopefully Iko again. I'm thinking this will have something to do with Little Red Riding Hood. I hope it gets delivered by next Monday. In the meantime I am reading Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout on audiobook and a physical copy of Divergent by Veronica Roth. I would rate this book a 4.5/5.

I am hoping this counts towards my Dystopia challenge. This will be a read count of 1/6.