My first ever youtube video....''cringe''

Check out my first ever youtube video.....major cringe at watching myself on screen
Anyway I thought you guys might want to know about my experiences at the European Hunger Games Premiere in London

Harry Potter Studio Tour

So I went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour on Thursday and it was amazing....
I saw all the sets from the films, and bought way to much Harry Potter merchandise in the shop...oops.
I have taken over 300 pictures!! ( and that's after I deleted all the blurry ones and duplicates)
So I have decided to do a series of blog posts looking at the different sections of the tour. The first post should be up later today so watch out for that :)

But to start a picture of the burrow!! So cute....

Cleverbot speaks AVPM

Check out the conversation I just had with cleverbot.com


User: Have you heard of AVPM?
Cleverbot: Does Go make them sad?

User: No A Very Potter Musical is happy.
Cleverbot: Also a zebra in a giant blender.

User: I gotta get back to hogwarts.
Cleverbot: I gotta get myself to hogwarts.

User: I gotta get back to school.

Cleverbot: I gotta get myself to hogwarts.

User: Where everybody knows my name.

Cleverbot: Back to witches and wizards and magical feasts.

User: And goblin and ghosts and to magical beasts.

Cleverbot: It's all that I love, and it's all that I need.

User: HOGWARTS, HOGWARTS, I think I'm going back.

Cleverbot: That was really good, well done.

User: Can you write my essay?

Cleverbot: Essay writing service can

User: Why thank you.

Cleverbot: Are YOU happy?

Rose Reviews....Matched

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Genre: Dystopian/ YA
Published
Rating: A- it was an really interesting world but not much action yet. A promising start to the series

Imagine living in a world where everything was decided for you. What you eat. When you eat it. What your job is. Who you marry and when you die. The officials who run the Dystopian society in Matched leave nothing for choice. The aim to create the optimal life experience for everyone.

Cassia the protagonist of the book matching goes wrong. At the age of sixteen everyone is society is matched to who they will marry but Cassia is matched to two different boys. Her best friend Xander and mysterious guy Ky Markham. She is told it was a mistake and that Xander is her true match but she has already got blossoming  feeling towards Ky.

Cassia also loses her Grandfather in the book because he reaches the optimal age of eighty but he leaves here a forbidden message in the form of a poem. He teaches her that she is strong and doesn't need societies new pills and rules to survive.

Matched has an engaging plot with plenty of twists and turns. The choice between the safety of what you know and forbidden passion runs throughout the story and will no doubt continue through the series.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of another Dystopian fiction like Divergent or the Hunger Games. Condie really brings a new twist to the Dystopian genre. I think the idea that choice is what makes our society flawed is an interesting one. However the controlled lives that Cassia and her family lead throughout the book is completely restricted by the Officials.

I also really liked the idea of the Artifacts, which are objects that are passed down within families. Each person is allowed one registered artifact. They give the characters a unique belonging with sets hem apart from the rest of society with their standardized possessions.

In Conclusion I will definitely be picking up the next books in this series, Crossed and Reached and will review them as soon as I can :)

To Kindle or not to Kindle? That is the question.

For a while now I have been considering whether or not to buy a Kindle.
The Release of the Kindle Touch in the UK this week has re-opened this debate.

I thought I'd tell you my positive and negative to buying a Kindle so that you can discus them and tell me your views if you have or don't have a Kindle

Positives

    A kindle is lighter, smaller and more portable than books
    Books are cheaper on the Kindle
    Galleys are portable if you have an e-reader
    It would save me room because I wouldn't be buying physical books

Negatives

    The Kindle I want is £160!
    I can't use it at school whereas I can read a book in class
    Book are still 3-4 pounds on a Kindle and new releases are often even more expensive
    I would look the enjoyment factor of reading a ''proper'' book
    I wouldn't be adding to my collection of real books


So as you can see at the moment the Negatives outweigh the positives but I am still trying to decide whether or not to buy a kindle...

Rose xx

New Video....March Wrap Up and April TBR

 I know I already did a March Wrap-Up post but this video contains my April TBR

And if you haven't already subscribe on youtube and follow this blog :)

Rose xx

Spring-cleaning my bookshelves

So after tidying my room yesterday which was a mammoth task. Today I am spring cleaning my bookshelves. I received a comment on youtube asking me how I organised my bookcase so here is a quick overview.

Bookcase1-
Layout- Tall with 8 shelves that can hold approx. 25 books each
Total Capacity- About  200 books
This is main bookcase where I store the books I read most often (because I am always re-reading books)

Shelf Overview (from the top)-
Shelf 1- Fantasy including the Inheritance Cycle, the Black Magician trilogy and the Study Series.

Shelf 2- More Fantasy and Supernatural including Wolves of Mercy Falls, Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, Hush Hush sequence, Fallen Novels

Shelves 3+4- Dystopian books including Uglies series, The Maze Runner trilogy, Matched series, Mortal Instruments, DIVERGENT, Hunger Games, Gone series

Shelves 5,6+7- Vampire (Yes I have three shelves of vampire books!) including Morganville Vampires, Vampire Academy, Blue Bloods, House of Night, Twilight, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, EverMore

Shelf 8- Random borrowed books- including books from my step-mum and the library (constantly changes)

Shelves
Layout- I have 3 long shelves that go the length of my room these hold over 100 books each
I have one smaller shelf which holds around 20 books
Total Capacity- About 350 books

Shelf Overview (from the top)-
Shelf 1- Childhood books, Annuals and Non fiction including Michael Morpurgo, Malorie Blackman, Enid Blyton, Beano :)

Shelf 2- Random books- These are books that aren't in a series or specific genre. I have sorted this long shelf by colour. Including Meg Aabot, Dan Brown, My Story books, Roman Mysteries

Shelf 3- Crime, Spy, Fantasy, Historical Fiction- These are the books that couldn't fit on my bookshelf but still are in distinctive series or genres. Including Scarpetta Mysteries, Terry Brooks, Artemis Fowl, Alex Rider, Noughts and Crosses series, James Bond, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Phillipa Gregory, Kate Morton, Jodi Picoult, Anita Shreve

Shelf 4- HARRY POTTER
Yes I have an entire shelf dedicated to Harry Potter I have all the books in English Hardback Childrens versions, I have the Signature Collector's edition, Books 1+2 in Latin, Book 1 in French, Beedle and the Bard, Quidditch through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them, Harry Potter Film Wizardry. This shelf also houses my souvenir's from Harry Potter World Orlando INCLUDING MY WAND!!

DISCLAIMER
I have collected books for years. I am not rich and I have not just bought around 550 books randomly. Also this is by no means an extensive list of the books I have I just featured the main series on the shelf I was describing. To see all my books you'll just have to wait for my bookshelf tour which I will do asap :)

Rose xx

Waiting for book releases

I don't usually spend my life waiting for book releases. With trilogies I usually wait until the entire trilogy is released before reading it (exceptions including The Inheritance Cycle and Hunger Games). With other series like the Morganville Vampire Books or House of Night I have never been so desperate for the next book that I have eagerly anticipated their release date.

The exception to this rule is of course Harry Potter when from the age of 5 I went with my Dad at midnight to our local supermarket to buy the latest book at midnight. We'd always buy two copies so we could both read it straight away!

You may be wondering why I am qriting about this now then. Clearl

INSURGENT!

Insurgent is the highly-anticipated sequel to Divergent by Veronica Roth (which I have reviewed both here and on youtube) I can't wait for this book to be released in fact I am so looking forward to it I have pre-ordered it from the American Amazon and paid way too much for international shipping so I can get the US cover hardback version to match my copy of Divergent. I have the copy of Divergent on the top row of the picture below. Whereas the bottom two pictures are of the UK covers which I do not like.

 

 Anyway will you be getting Insurgent on May 1st? And which covers do you prefer US or UK
 

I have twitter!

Yes I have finally succumbed to the draw of the little blue bird!
Follow me @RosesReads

Top five book based movies/tv

1. Vampire Diaries
It might come as a surprise but this actually beats Harry Potter...TVD is defiantly my favourite TV show and although the show isn't a direct version of the books it is based on the novels by L.G.Smith
And before someone asks....DELENA ALL THE WAY!

2. Harry Potter
Despite my major girl crush on Emma Watson. I think these movies make me proud to be British and did wonders for the British film industry. Also they were faithful adaptations of great books

3.Hunger Games
I love the books. I loved the movie. I spent all day queuing at the European Premiere to see it nine days early...enough said

4.Twilight
This might me a controversial choice but I loved the twilight books and although I think the movies have some casting issues they are well made and have inspired a generation of teenage girls to read which can only be a good thing...right?

5. The Other Boleyn Girl
This Phillipa Gregory book made a great movie and Natalie Portman was an amazing Anne Boleyn

What's are your favourite book to movie/tv adaptions?

Rose x

Rose Reviews....The Scorch Trials

 Title: The Scorch Trails
Author: James Dashner
Genre: Dystopian/YA
Published: October 2010
Rating: B+  Not as good as the first book but still a great read that I devoured within an evening

Having escaped the maze I was expecting the Gladers to have a slightly easier life in the second book of the Maze Runner trilogy....I was wrong. Dashner again puts his characters through an intense ordeal as they have to cross the Scorch within the two week time limit set them by the mysterious organisation WICKED.

Thomas discovered that sun flares have destroyed most of the earth and a virus called the Flare has ravaged the population. The gladers are told they have the deadly disease but that if they trek across the 100 miles of desert called the Scorch to the Safe Haven they will receive a cure

Having already learnt the Gladers made-up slang in the Maze Runner I found this book much easier to get into. I received in from Amazon on Thursday and had finished it before I went to bed. My only negative with this book is that I don't think the plot was as strong as in the first book. I think the book was less intriguing once the boys were in the ''real'' world rather than in the Maze. However the book has left various possibilities open for the final book the Death Cure (which I have ordered and will review soon).

I think the real stars of this book are the mysterious WICKED organisation. Is WICKED good or bad? That is the question that plagues all of the characters as they decide whether or not to follow WICKED's wishes and cross the Scorch.

As they travel they encounter lightning storms, moving metal that eats your face and Cranks- who are people infected with the Flare. Dashner perfectly captures Thomas' changing emotions as he struggles to decide who to trust and what to believe.

In Conclusion the Scorch Trials is a jaw-dropping thriller filled with unexpected twists. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait for the final installment.

Fanfiction of the Week

I think Fanfiction is like marmite. Most people I know either love it or hate it. The haters don't want their stories tainted my wrongly informed poorly written stories than ruin the plots. The lovers enjoy having their favourite stories continued or seen from the perspective of different characters.


Personally I love well written fanfiction and I spend large amounts of my times on fanfiction.net and harrypotterfaniction.net I have even submitted some of my own fanfiction stories. So in order to spread the word about the fanfiction I love I have decided to do a fanfiction of the week here on my blog


So the fanficiton of the week is.....(insert imaginary drum roll).........


Animal Magnetism by Flavia
http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com/viewstory.php?psid=305300


This fanfiction is based on the main character Lucy who is a 5th year Gryffindor at Hogwarts as she deals with her large, embaressing crush on a ceratin Albus Severus Potter.

This fanfiction is a hilarious light read and has recently been completed so is a good story for new fanfiction readers who aren't used to waiting for chapter updates. The author is currently writin another fanfiction showing this story from Al's point of view and then plans to write a sequel which I will defiantly follow.

So if you a lover of fanfiction check this story out and if not why not try it anyway you never know you might find another great way to waste your time on the internet :P

Rose xx

Fandom Identification

So these are the results of my go at the 50 question fandom identification quiz.
My initial reaction was YAY Gryffindor followed by YAY District 12 YAY Vampire then
dwarf?....come on I am so and elf :)
Anyway other than Divergent where I would say I am either Erudite or Dauntless I think this quiz is pretty cool. Try it yourself at www.thefandom.net

Rose Reviews....The Maze Runner

 Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Genre: Dystopian/YA
Published: October 2009
Rating: A-  A slow starter but otherwise a captivating read

The Maze Runner is a dystopian novel where the main character Thomas wakes up in the middle of a giant maze with no memories about anything except his name. He begins transitioning into life in the Glade a mysterious place which is inhabited by the Gladers, boys who like Thomas have no memories of life before the Glade except their names

Within the Glade the boys perform different duties in order for life to proceed in a strange kind of normality, but the mian goal never changes to find a way out of the maze. But that isn't a simple task. Every night the walls of the maze move and Grievers giant part slug machine roam the maze searching for victims.

As Thomas works with the other boys as a Runner to uncover the secrets of the maze he realizes things may not be as simple as they first appeared.

Although I came to love the language the Gladers use, they speak in mainly slang which made the first few chapters of the book difficult to understand. However you soon learn the terms and begin to see them as normal words. However this caused me to spend several days struggling through the first few chapters

However once I got passed that stage in the book I was totally captivated by Dashner's dystopian world and I couldn't stop reading. I finished the rest of the book within a day and proceeded to order the sequel ''The Scorch Trials'' immediately on Amazon.

If you liked Divergent or the Hunger Games I would recommend this book but we warned getting past the few sections is a struggle but well worth it!

Keep Reading

Rose xx

Rose Reviews......Divergent

 

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopian YA
Published: May 2011 (Harper Teen)
Rating: A+ I highly recommend this book and can't wait for the sequel

As some of you may know I am a massive fan of the Hunger Games series. Therefore when I saw rave reviews on youtube about a Dystopian novel called Divergent I went straight onto Amazon and ordered a copy. Now despite wallowing in the fact I had made yet another impulse purchase buying Divergent was one of my best book buys in the last year.

Divergent is based in a Dystopian version of Chicago where the inhabitants of the city are split in to five factions based on their strongest character trait. All citizens are born into a faction and at the age of 16 have the chance to either choose to remain in that faction forever or switch factions leaving their family behind forever.

The book begins as the main character Tris is about to sit her aptitude test the day before the Choosing ceremony. The aptitude test is a mental simulation which indicates to the subject which faction they would be best suited for.

The factions are as follows-
Dauntless- The Brave
Abnegation- The Selfless
Amity- The Peaceful
Candor- The Honest
Erudite- The Intelligent

The principles of these factions are taken to extremes in this book with the Erudite spending all day studying and the Dauntless jumping from moving trains.

The main section of this book focuses on Tris's initiation which is a process the initiates go through after choosing their faction. If you survive initiation you become a member of the faction and if not you become factionless and therefore an outcast from society.

Roth's development of Tris's character throughout the book is incredible and hints begin to develop about the possible future of the trilogy. For example what is the rest of the world like? In the book there is a wall surrounding the city, no-one enters and no-one leaves so what happened to the rest of the world?

I read Divergent in less than a day and cannot wait for the much anticipated release of the next book in the trilogy Insurgent (due for release in early May). This book is a must for fans of the Dystopian genre and Roth  has created a detailed and unique dystopian world.

So which faction would you be??

Rose xx

My first blog post

Hey guys, my name is Rose although some of you may know me better as ''RosesReads'' from youtube I read all day and review all night so if their is a book you want me to review or you want any recommendations for reading drop me a comment and I will reply as soon as is humanly possible :)

Check me out on Youtube for video reviews and don't forget to subscribe


Keep Reading
Rose xx