Musing Monday (8)

Musing Mondays is a weekly Meme by Mizb @ Should Be Reading

This weeks musing asks... Do you listen to audiobooks? If not, why not? and if so, what has been one of your favourites, so far?
I don't actually listen to audiobooks because I know that I won't be able to concentrate on the story if I listen to it. When I'm reading a book, I have to concentrate on the physical pages and words, and actually absorb the story. I just know that if I listen to an audiobook, my mind will wander and I won't absorb that story as well, which means I'll having to listen to that same chapters over and over again, and I just don't have the patience for that!
What about you? Do you listen to audiobooks?

A to Z Blogging Challenge - W,X,Y,Z are for...

...Working Hard

I had every intention of doing the last of these posts on their actual days, but uni decided to attack me with tests and work, and it just didn't happen - I have been working hard indeed!

...Xylophone
I actually played the xylophone in Year 7 and 8 at school - good times indeed. I would say that if you want to learn an instrument but are not the musically inclined type, the xylophone is a good instrument to try.

...Youtube

...Zzzzz

Sleep! I love sleep, don't you?

Book Review: The Necromancer (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #4) by Michael Scott

The Necromancer (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #4) by Michael Scott
Release Date: 26th April 2011

Publisher: Random House
Format: eBook
Pages: 416
Rating: 4.5/5.0

This book was read as part of the 2012 OTS Challenge 

Summary from Amazon:

"San Francisco:
After fleeing to Ojai, then Paris, and escaping to London, Josh and Sophie Newman are finally home. And after everything they've seen and learned in the past week, they're both more confused than ever about their future. Neither of them has mastered the magics they'll need to protect themselves from the Dark Elders, they've lost Scatty, and they're still being pursued by Dr. John Dee. Most disturbing of all, however, is that now they must ask themselves, can they trust Nicholas Flamel? Can they trust anyone?
 
Alcatraz:
Dr. Dee underestimated Perenelle Flamel's power. Alcatraz could not hold her, Nereus was no match for her, and she was able to align herself with the most unlikely of allies. But she wasn't the only one being held on the island. Behind the prison's bars and protective sigils were a menagerie of monsters-an army for Dee to use in the final battle. And now Machiavelli has come to Alcatraz to loose those monsters on San Francisco.
Perenelle might be powerful, but each day she weakens, and even with Nicholas back at her side, a battle of this size could be too much for her. Nicholas and Perenelle must fight to protect the city, but the effort will probably kill them both.
 
London:
Having been unable to regain the two final pages of the Codex, Dee has failed his Elder and is now an outlaw-and the new prey of all the creatures formerly sent to hunt down Flamel.

But Dee has a plan. With the Codex and the creatures on Alcatraz, he can control the world. All he needs is the help of the Archons. But for his plan to work, he must raise the Mother of the Gods from the dead. For that, he'll have to train a necromancer. And the twins of legend will make the perfect pupils. . . "

Review:
Its been about a week since I finished reading this book, so this review will probably end up being really short, and besides, I'm finding it hard to find new things to say about this series! Each book is pretty similar to its predecessors, with basically the same pros and cons in each book. Just check out my review for The Sorceress here. The one thing I will say is that some good plot points occurred in this book - finally, the difference of opinion between the Sophie and Josh is played up a little more, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy reading about in the coming books. A fitting fourth instalment in the series.

A to Z Blogging Challenge - V is for...

...Vixen by Jillian Larkin.


I'm sorry I'm starting to get lazy with this - I just looked towards my bookshelf for inspiration for this one, and my eyes landed on Vixen by Jillian Larkin. It's a book I read recently, and really enjoyed. You can check out my review here.

A to Z Blogging Challenge - Q,R,S,T,U are for...

...AlbuQuerque (sorry, I couldn't think of anything for Q...)
This is one of my favourite Weird Al Yankovic songs - makes me laugh every time!

...Louise Rennison
Louise Rennsion is the author of the extremely popular Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series. It was a couple of years ago when I read the books, but they remain to this day to be one of my favourite series, and are the only books that have made me laugh out loud - definitely worth the read!

...The Big Screen
These days, a lot of books get made into movies. What are peoples thoughts on this? I don't mind if movies get translated onto the big screen, but there is always the risk that the book won't be translated well, or maybe it just won't work. What about you? Do you have any favourite books that were translated onto the big screen? Did the film turn out well, or not?

...Trouble
I've been thinking recently about how odd it can be that when you're reading a book, and you're drawn to the character's that you shouldn't be drawn to - the bad guys. I'm not the only one, am I?

...The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
I just finished reading this book yesterday, and oh my, it was amazing! Seriously, if you haven't read it, you need to!

WWW Wednesday (17)

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly Meme hosted by Mizb @ Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

*Note: all links go to Amazon, except for when you click on the pictures :)

My Answers:

1. I'm currently reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, which is unbelievably good! 
   


2. I finished reading The Necromancer by Michael Scott last week (review pending) and I posted my review for Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi some time last week
   
   
3. I'm not entirely sure what my next read will be at the moment. If my Dymocks gift card arrives in the mail soon, it will probably be Fractureby Megan Miranda or Tempest by Julie Cross

Teaser Tuesday (19)

Teaser Tuesday is a Meme hosted by Mizb @ Should Be Reading. Anyone can join in, as long as they do the following:

• Grab your current read. 
• Open your book to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. 
• Warning:  Avoid spoilers in your teaser as not everyone has had the pleasure to read your current read
• Share the Title & Author so anyone can add your current read to their list if they wish to do so. 
• Note: links go to Amazon

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Release Date: 1st February 2012
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 452

"The expression on his face melted me completely. I knew I had the goofiest grin plastered on my lips, and didn't care.

"There," he said as he finished tying the laces on my left shoe. "Now you won't fall."

Too late."