My 8-Bit Life: reading

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Look Ma, I'm a Shadowhunter Now!

I finished Allegiant in the wee hours of the AM, cried myself to sleep; it was SO SO SAD! Why did it end that way? Can't even talk about it without my eyes welling up! That's all I'm gonna say, no spoilers yet... Woke up with puffy eyes, and decided I needed to heal my literature wounds with a new book. Headed to Walmart and got my copy of The Shadowhunter's Codex, which is a reference guide/textbook containing history of the Shadowhunter world (from The Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices universe) and information about Downworlders, locations, marks, etc.

I was on the fence about buying the $50 special edition, so I got the regular one to compare them and decide if I really need to shell out 30 more dollars from my wallet.

Just like the special edition, the insides of the front and back covers have beautiful colored art depicting the characters from TMI and TID.

The book is filled with doodles and witty handwritten conversations between Clary, Jace and Simon. It would be a big mistake buying the e-book version since it's impossible to differentiate who's writing what to whom.

Removing the slipcover reveals a soft textured (almost velvet) hardcover with a gold chalice imprinted on the front, the same as the special edition.

I dig the spine with the slipcover on, it gives it a rustic look. Too bad the special edition doesn't have one attached, too.

After hunting down people who bought the special editions and questioning them about its contents, I've come to the conclusion that the only differences are the pretty gold edges of the pages, the ribbon attached for bookmarking and the hard case it comes in. All that for about $30 more - it's mostly about the coolness factor.

I may still be tempted to purchase the special edition... What can I say? I'm a sucker for gold-edged pages. ;P But you don't even get a slipcover! I'll have to sleep on it.

Hey, if you're low on cash, don't think you're missing out by buying the cheaper one! It's the same quality, minus the gold trim, for less the dinero.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Christmas Time In September

Yay the limited edition Pokemon 3DS XL came out yesterday! After a whole month and a half of talking everyone's ears off about how much I wanted it but didn't think I should spend the $220 on it... The day came and I decided that if I missed out on it I'd regret it, so I went to Gamestop after work to buy it.

The picture does it no justice. It's amazing. Well worth being broke over. All that's missing is Animal Crossing and I'll be a happy woman.

But that ain't all, folks! Today my mega Cassandra Clare haul came in the mail days earlier than expected!

Amazon box. Such a beautiful sight. ^^^

Ahhh so nice to finally see Clockwork Angel in hardcover, such a rarity!

And City of Bones is gorgeous! I'm super happy that I went through the trouble of getting them in this format. Now the dilemma of picking between the 3DS or reading. (¬_¬)"

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Divergent... Oh. My. Glob!

After what took like a whole year to getting around of finishing a painfully dull book (Fifty Shades Free aka last book in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy aka Nyquil) I FINALLY got to pick up the Divergent series I bought at Target last summer! AND OH MY GLOB if it's not the only thing I ever talk about at the moment!

I could go deep into describing the story, but I won't cuz knowing me I'll reveal too much and spoil it for ya'll, so I'll try to be brief.

It takes place in the nearish future, dystopian Chicago, where everything is split into factions with people who live by the rules of their specific factions. When I say rules, I mean like values... There are those who value bravery, those who thirst for knowledge, those hippies with an abundance of kindness, those who put honesty before all else, and the selfless ones, which is where our heroine resides.

When children come of age, they can take a personality test to find out what faction they naturally belong in. They then have the option of switching factions, which also means they are forced to leave and forget their families. Faction over blood is a big thing here. Then they gotta go through crazy initiation tests (depending on the faction) in order to make it in or else they'll be banished to the factionless aka the bums in the streets.

Long story short, Tris finds out she's divergent and doesn't belong in one specific faction like everyone else, she then picks to switch to the daredevil faction that leaps off moving trains and buildings because why not, meets new friends and has a sexy instructor with a dark past who mayyybe might be interested in her. (Ok, yes, duh, he's like crazy about her, and I'm crazy about him. But I won't get too into that.)

THEN you start realizing there's more behind this simple way of life... Like what's outside of Chicago, huh? HUH?! Why is the government trying to kill the divergent? Why is Four so angry?! It gets deep, man. Friends and family become enemies and vice versa... You dunno who to trust! Ahhhh so good I wish I could spill more!!

I first heard about this series by friends who compared it to The Hunger Games. Some even call it a rip-off . Umm does anyone remember how everyone called THG a rip-off of Battle Royale? Does that make Divergent a copy of BR? NO!! Get your heads outta your butts, fools!

I gotta admit though, I went in counting all the similarities - there are quite a few... But it's to be expected in any novel involving dystopian societies. I mean Tris and Katniss are both badass chicks, but they handle situations way differently. I think Katniss takes things a lot harder than Tris. To be fair though, Tris has been trained to handle the pressure. Not gonna get too into it but just trust me, they're different.

And Four!!! Oh my stars, he's my most favorite male love interest in any novel I've ever read!!! (At the moment of course...) Their love for each other is just right: not too obsessive like Edward and Bella (or Christian and Anastasia *BARF*,) not too frigid like Katniss and Peeta or oblivious like Ron and Hermione... They're the definition of ride or die love. It was beautiful. BEAUTIFUL! No third guy or girl trying to tear them apart... No jealousies that lasts volumes to resolve.... There are definitely some tender quotes Four has said to Tris without it sounding clingy.

Ok, Insurgent Tris was definitely annoying, what with her lying every other volume and suffering the consequences of her poor decisions in between. Lucky for her she's got that man candy with a never-ending fountain of chastising, forgiveness and love for her. I woulda dumped her crazy ass if I was him. Overall I think she's a tough cookie and definitely not a Mary Sue. *COUGH COUGH* Bella! Mad props to Veronica Roth and her style of writing, she did not lose my interest at any point. Each chapter made me wanna keep reading even after saying "last chapter," then reading the first sentence of the next chapter... finally realizing it was almost 4 AM and I had read way more than I had planned and I had work in a few hours. Lost sleep over this book and it was worth it!

There's a movie coming out next year in March, wasn't looking forward to it until I read the books and now I'm ecstatic! The abundance of movie pics courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, btw. So yeah. Give it a try. Oprah approves, it's on her book club list. It is, I'm sure.