Me on Night of Cake & Puppets

Title: Night of Cake & Puppets
Author: Laini Taylor
Release Date: November 26, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her “rabid fairy,” her “voodoo eyes” are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or “Violin Boy,” her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to meet him, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It’s a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter’s night before finally leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy’s not going to know what hit him.

Night of Cake & Puppets is a short burst of a story, a sweet and magical tumble into love. During Karou's search in Daughter of Smoke & Bone, her best friend in the whole world, the puppet-maker Zuzana, decides to take action and claim the object of her desires, violinist Mik.

Taylor's prose is just as magical, just as lyrical and expressive and moving, as her novels. Reading her words is always a joy, they fill the pieces of my soul that crave fairy tales and monsters. But there's an added sweetness here that I feel is all Zuzana (and Mik as well, not to exclude him), all first love and falling snow and secrets lying in wait in the shadows.

This only serves to whet my appetite for Dreams of Gods & Monsters, for more Karou and Akiva, but also for more stories of Zuzana and Mik. I don't think I'll get the latter, but at least I only have to wait until April 2014 for the former.

(I borrowed a copy of this e-novella from the library.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (128)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Shadow
Author: Amanda Sun
Release Date: June 1, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

From Goodreads:

Meet two teens whose worlds are about to change forever in this paranormal Young Adult novella, a prequel to Ink by debut author Amanda Sun…

Katie Greene’s worst nightmare comes true when her mother dies, and she’s devastated to learn that she will have to leave the only home she’s ever known. Desperate to find where she belongs, she must decide if she has what it takes to start a new life across the ocean.

For Yuu Tomohiro, every day is a nightmare. He struggles to control his strange ability, and keeps everyone at a distance so they won’t get hurt—even his girlfriend, Myu. At night, a shadow haunts his dreams, and a mysterious woman torments him with omens of death and destruction. But these haunting premonitions are only the beginning…

Sometimes, I'm intrigued by prequel novellas or between books 1 and 2 novellas. Sometimes you want to know more about what's happening, more about certain characters, and possibly the little bits that led to the start of book 1. I've read Ink multiple times already, but I'm so curious as to what this will reveal about both Katie and Tomo. :)

Me on Kobo (1)

Me on Kobo is a new thing here at Me on Books. Every Thursday (or every other Thursday, I'm trying to work out a schedule) a new post will go up as I discuss the bits I've discovered about the new Kobo Aura HD, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Kobo Aura HD releases on April 25th.

Week 1: The Basics

I'll be going through the setup and the general look of the Kobo Aura HD this first week. Later on, I imagine I'll be getting into the features, the readability of different kinds of e-books (PDF and ePDF, etc.), and all the extras.

(Disclaimer: I received a free sample of the Kobo Aura HD from Kobo in exchange for an honest opinion and evaluation of the product.)

First, the setup.

The setup was quick and easy. I've already been through a Kobo setup previously (I was given a Kobo Wi-Fi as a present a couple of years ago), but this was far simpler and ran much faster (same computer for both setups). The booklet (pictured above to the right of the device) is quick-forward and simple, but one recommendation for anyone going through the setup for the first time (with any type/version of Kobo): download and install Kobo Desktop and set up an account FIRST before plugging in the device. It's possible that, after the initial download and install of the desktop app, you'll need to reboot your computer. Of course, this is a personal choice thing. In the end, it's up to you. For this, I opened the desktop app first in case there was an update (and there was, but no reboot was needed) and then plugged the Kobo into my laptop.

It's all basic setup instructions. Pick a language, wait for it to sync with the desktop app. Then you're pretty much free to go nuts adding books (to a point, you will need to add a credit card to your Kobo account to be able to purchase books, but there are a number of free books available to download immediately.)

Second, the looks.

As you can see, this one is black. It looks rather sleek. It also comes in white and dark brown. For comparison purposes, I have set it next to the Kobo Wi-Fi version. (NOTE: the Kobo Aura HD also has Wi-Fi. The selling point of my previous Kobo was it was just like its predecessor, only it had Wi-Fi so you didn't need to plug it into your computer to add books to it.) There isn't much of a size difference between the two, slight variations in height and width, similar thickness. The Kobo Aura HD is a bit heavier and the screen is bigger (I've left the protective film on to protect the touch screen).

The back is rather interesting. The Kobo Aura HD claims to have an "iconic and ergonomic design" in order to fit in your hand "just like a physical book." As I use it, I'll have more to say on that feature.

At the top edge is the sliding power button (far right) and the ComfortLight button (right but closer to the middle). The bright red of the power button bothers me. On such a slim, sleek device, a red button just doesn't work for me. Perhaps small icons to show which button does which, or perhaps the light button could also light up when turned on. For a device that is all black with some dark grey text, the red just doesn't work.

So far, after the initial setup and first glance, it looks nice. It has the look of a regular tablet and not just an e-reader. It looks crisp and clean and, in black, very professional.

Next time, I'll go deeper into the device, perhaps look at the different features like the light, the altering of fonts, and how enhanced the readability really is. Of course, you are welcome to suggest topics. :)

Me on This Week's Book Week (48)

This Week's Book Week is like Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews only there are no shelves or any mentions of stacking. ;)

So... this was an odd week.

The PICC line for my antibiotics went in on Monday. Then on Tuesday I woke up all dizzy and nauseous, but after some water I felt better, then after lunch I felt better, then I felt weird again and napped, and then I felt better for the rest of the week. Kind of goes so show that I'll need to take it easy for the next little while. My sister and I went through the home training for my antibiotics, so instead of going to the clinic every day it's only once a week for a check-up and some blood work. Yay. :)

During the week I got an e-mail from someone at Kobo in Toronto asking if I was interested in testing out the new Kobo Aura HD before it comes out on the 25th. And I said yes. And it arrived on Friday. Now, you guys know how I'm still not that interested in reading by e-book, that I resist often and cave as a last resort, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Compared to my plain Kobo with Wi-Fi, it's a nice upgrade. There's a lot I don't like about my old Kobo, so we'll see how this new one goes. I might do weekly updates on how I'm doing with it, maybe on Thursdays. Let me know what you guys think. (My sister asked if I'd have to give it back after a while but I said I wasn't sure, it's a valid question.) (My sister was also interested in playing the games it has.)

It's a three review week next week. Reviews will go up on Icons by Margaret Stohl (Monday), Invisibility by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan (Wednesday), and The Originals by Cat Patrick (Friday). :)

Received:
The Uprising by Lisa M. Stasse (to review from Simon & Schuster Canada)
The Oathbreaker's Shadow by Amy McCulloch (to review from Random House Canada through NetGalley) (Amy's a debut Canadian author, even though she lives in the UK. :) Her book comes out at the beginning of June.)
Kobo Aura HD (as discussed above)

Purchased:
What Really Happened in Peru by Cassandra Clare & Sarah Rees Brennan (e-book)
Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels by Hélène Boudreau (e-book)

Me on In My Mailbox (16)

IMM is hosted every week by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

This broken ankle of mine has become less painful and more inconvenient. Can't go out and buy books. Can't go out and pick up library books. Can't buy snacks. I miss walking. Thank god I can borrow e-books from the library.

Bought:
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Hélène Boudreau (e-book)

Borrowed from the library:
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (e-book)

There were some other e-books I bought, but they're not YA. :)

Me on In My Mailbox (10)

IMM is hosted over at The Story Siren by Kristi.

Slow week this week. More reading than getting new books to read, and more waiting. Waiting for books to come in the mail, especially when they're not out yet and I have no idea when they're going to get here, is nerve-wracking. Monday through Friday I stalk the mailbox and hope there's a package there addressed to me (it's Canada, no Saturday mail like in the US).

*sigh* Oh, well. Next week there will be more books. Going to the library on Friday. :)

Borrowed from library:
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (e-book)

Got for free online:
Magyk by Angie Sage (e-book, free for a short time on Kobo website kobobooks.com)

You don't need an ereader for Kobo, or a smartphone. There's a desktop app. :)

Happy reading, people. :)

Me on In My Mailbox (6)

IMM is hosted every week at The Story Siren. :)

So, I haven't done one of these since the 5th of December, but that was because I held back on getting any new books and waited for Christmas. Of course, now I'm kicking myself for not just ordering Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss for myself right when it came out. There might've been a couple of copies in a couple of bookstores up here in Canada, but last I saw Chapters (the big chain, like Borders) doesn't have it and Amazon.ca says 'usually ships within 1 to 2 months.' But I ordered a copy on the 27th so it should get here sometime this week. If it doesn't, I might go insane.

So, here are the books I've gotten over the past couple of weeks. :)

Presents:
Evermore by Alyson Noel
Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz

Bought:
The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook (not YA, but I loved the prequel short story)
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Library:
Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs (not pictured cause it's a library e-book)

Oh, and then there's the Kobo. I got surprised on Christmas with a Kobo e-reader. And it's got about 100 free e-books. Mostly classics, but it means I can read e-books from the library on it. Yay. :)

Here's to 2011. :D