Reading After Midnight

... To say what we actually mean :)

One day I recommended to a friend the book 'FEED', by Mira Grant.
She read a few words and said: "nope, I don't read about zombies".

My intention is not to convince people to read the books I like, as I don't always read what others suggest either, so I left it at that.

 ... But deep down I wanted to ask her:
"Do you think that, for example, "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" is a religious book?"

 She would have said "no", of course, and I would have asked: 
"Why not? It has angels, an apocalypse, for sure it must be about religion, about repentance and other stuff like that". And in case you didn't read it yet, be assured it is definitely not about that! Just as 'Feed' is not about 'zombies'. They are there, right, but it is not their story in the least.

Deep down I wanted to tell her how 'The Newsflesh Trilogy' is about so much more (because I am not into zombies either, not at all).

I wanted to tell her how it is about journalism and about how far one would go to uncover the truth. Also, about politics and social manipulation (even with the biological weapons as means), about hope and friendship and love...
How it is so much about the human nature and how it takes you on a high emotional carousel. How it has the most wonderful characters, how I loved it to pieces, how I love it still.

There was so much I could have said then. I just didn't.
Some books should speak for themselves, and if they don't call one to them maybe it is for the best.

And now I ask you..
"What books outside your comfort zone did you read?
And how did you enjoy them?"

Originally posted here.

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture.
Just get people to stop reading them." ~ Ray Bradbury

Some stories are achingly beautiful and incredibly moving. They reach deep into the core of my soul and they fill me with so much happiness. They break my heart a bit and then wash away each tear with their intensity.

… Flat-Out Celeste is one of them.

I don’t even know what should I start with.
♥ I loved Jessica’s emotional writing, full of humour but also tear inducing.
♥ I loved the characters full of life and love, of hope and fears. I loved their complexity, their particularities, I loved everything about them all.
♥ Then there is the beautiful dialog (with the unique way Celeste talks in) and the wittiness most characters seem to carry around, the geeky t-shirts with those lovely funny messages on them, not to mention the coffee routine, the emails and the sugar-sweet romance.

I guess this means that I loved everything about this story.. and yeah, I truly did!

Full review at: ReadingAfterMidnight.com

I loved it! I really-really loved it!
That was my last coherent thought before drifting off to sleep after finishing reading it, late into the night. And I really recommend this story from the bottom of my heart!

Beautiful. Heartwarming. Funny. Romantic. Crazily cute. Emotional. Perfect. That’s all He+She is… and more.

Why is it that, you ask?
Because of the quality of the writing. The fleshed-out, full of life characters. The open and funny conversations. The freshness of the plot even. The cuteness surrounding the couple. The heartbreak in their past and the hope for their future..

Taken piece by piece or as a whole, it is absolutely perfect!
Full review at: ReadingAfterMidnight

I loved it! I really-really loved it!
That was my last coherent thought before drifting off to sleep after finishing reading it, late into the night. And I really recommend this story from the bottom of my heart!

Full review on its way ;)

I had a lovely birthday week ;)

Watch the book trailer: 

Edit: I have no idea why in the world on the feed page the video does not show. It does on the actual post page though. Sorry about that. *sigh*

I personally intend to read the book again, I have this feeling that I will like it this time even more. This trailer gave me goosebumps, really, and I simply can't wait for the movie to come out now :)

See the full list on the blog.

Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar.
Suddenly the speaker stopped and decided to do a group activity. He started giving each one a balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written, within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their name, colliding with each other, pushing around others and there was utter chaos.
At the end of 5 minutes no one could find their own balloon.

Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The speaker began:

"Exactly this is happening in our lives.
Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is.

Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness; you will get your own happiness. And this is the purpose of human life…the pursuit of happiness."

"...But I'm only human
And I bleed when I fall down
I'm only human
And I crash and I break down
Your words in my head, knives in my heart
You build me up and then I fall apart
'Cause I'm only human"

ME: "Oh, I love that song!"

BRAIN: "I know, right? Let me play that for you all night!"