What makes YOU read a book review?

When I was going through my blog reader this past week I started to notice that there were many different reasons for why I would or wouldn't read a book review. I know what most of you are probably thinking right now:

"What are you talking about Julia? People will read a book review to find out if the book is any good or not! THAT'S why they read reviews!"

Don't worry guys! I know that. But that isn't the only reason I read book reviews. In fact there are a TON of different reason I read book reviews! Here (in no particular order) are the ones that come to mind:

1. The book cover catches my eye.

                                         Thumbs Up!              Thumbs Down.

I have a confession to make: I judge books by their covers. If a book has a bad cover I will probably try to avoid it like the plague unless some really great book review comes along and convinces me otherwise. I know, I'm a terrible bookish person. This is probably why I overlooked Where Things Come Back by Corey Whaley which recently won the Printz award AND the William C. Morris Debut Award. The cover of that book just looked dead boring so I never read any reviews for it. Ever. In fact for some strange reason I thought it was about zombies. Probably because it mentions things coming back in the title and I thought it was referring to "back from the dead". Yep, this is embarrassing.... But on the other side of the spectrum is books like Entwined by Heather Dixon where the gorgeous (albiet overly romanticized) cover got me to read review after review. Even so I still haven't read the book nor do I think I ever will. The whole 12 dancing princesses thing just doesn't appeal to me... but at least I know what this book is about as compared to me throwing Where Things Come Back to the wayside just because of it's unfortunate woodpecker cover. :/

2. I really like the book reviewer

There are some book bloggers that write reviews that I always love to read. Even if it's a book I know I probably won't be interested in I will still read their review. Also, I've noticed that I tend to overlook reviews for books I've never heard of before (unless of course the cover is gorgeous :P) but I will click into these types of reviews if their from my favorite reviewers. I of course will read reviews from any blog I follow not just my favorites but I am more likely to read the ones from my favorite blogs.

3. BOOK HYPE

This is probably the biggest reason of all. If a book has a lot of hype in the blogosphere you can bet I'll be reading a lot of reviews for it. Probably any review I can find. Like Shatter Me? I read at least a dozen reviews for that book. Same with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Another thing about book hype is I always like to read a good objective negative review before I actually read the book. This always helps me realize that the book isn't perfect and I shouldn't have unattainable ideals about it. But yeah, book hype will get me to read a review every time.

4. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the book!

If I really love a book I will read a ton of reviews for it just so I can gush in the comments about how amazing it was and how glad I am that the reviewer loved it too. Reading the reviews also reminds me of all the reasons I loved the book, and sometimes it will even open my eyes to new reasons to love the book even more! The most recent book to win my heart like this is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Haven't read it yet? DO IT. NOW.

5. I didn't enjoy the book.

If there's a book I didn't really like oftentimes I will read other reviews of it so I can understand why people loved it. Like The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith. I didn't care for that book but other people adored it so after I finished reading it I was sure to go around and look for people's reviews. I love to compare and contrast my views with other peoples views, especially when it comes to literature.

And last but certainly not least I read book reviews because:

6. I want to find out if I should read a book or not.

I'm one of those types of people who always likes to finish what they start. Because of that I never really give up on a book. That being said I don't like to read a book on a whim. If I'm on the fence about a book I will normally go search out some reviews by people who tend to have the same interests as me and that helps me decide on whether or not I should read the book. An example for this is The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. A romance? Normally not my thing. But at the same time it looked and sounded intriguing. I've read a few reviews and I have now decided that I will definitely be reading this book! A few other books that I've decided to read because of reviews are Amy and Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson and Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman. Notice how they're all contemporary romance types? Yeah, I definitely need some extra convincing in that department. :P

So those are my main reasons for why I will read a book review. Not so straight forward ehhh? There definitely isn't a simple cut and dry formula, at least not for me!

Now comes the fun part. You get to tell me why YOU read book reviews! Is it for some of the same reasons as me? Or reasons that are entirely different? I'm super curious to read all your answers!

Julia :)

Kawaii Monday: Adorable Laptop Decals

This week's Kawaii Monday is all about super cute laptop decals! Laptop decals is one of those things I definitely don't need, but also definitely want. Shopping on Etsy for them is really dangerous for me.... Here are some of my favorites!

Awwww its Yoshi! I love how this design incorporates the Apple logo. Super clever right?

While this isn't my favorite I couldn't make this post without including it. I mean it's Hello Kitty!

OCTOPUS!!! THIS ONE IS MADE OF AWESOME!!!!! :D

WINNIE THE POOH!!! This one is so adorable. Like my childhood on a laptop. <3

My favoritest one of all! TOTORO!!!!! So stinkin cute. :)

So those were my favorites that I ran across! Super adorable right?

I couldn't end this post without talking about one last decal. I just thought it was.... well interesting.

Okay I get that it's Snow White which is great and all, and it really is clever the way they use the apple logo, but who would actually want the evil hag on their laptop? Who?! I just thought it was hilarious. And totally creepy....

Which laptop decal is your favorite? Totoro all the way for me! <3

Julia :)

Cover Comparison [22]

Cover Comparison is back!!! This week we're examining the two different covers of The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Macker. Lets get this thing started!

                                             US Cover                      UK Cover

US Cover: It's actually pretty interesting because the US and UK covers are similar but at the same time polar opposites of each other. The US cover has a darker color scheme and it just seems like it's aimed at an older audience. It's an intriguing cover, but at the same time I think it could easily get glanced over in a bookstore because of the dark color scheme and lack of clarity in the images.

UK Cover: Wow this cover is so much brighter than the US one! I can definitely sense the younger vibe here from all the doodles and what not. I love the way the title just pops out at you and the color scheme is really eye catching! Plus the tagline is great. I wonder why they didn't they put that tagline on the US cover too? I think it's fascinating that they chose to use the same boy/girl image for both covers. I think it was used a bit better in the US cover just because its easier to notice the fuzziness of the image on the UK cover.

So who wins? This is a tough decision because I really like both covers! They're both great but for different reasons and I think it's pretty obvious that the two covers are going after a different audience the US one being an older audience and the UK one being a younger audience. That being said I have to call this one a tie! I like the maturity of the US cover but at the same time I love the "fun" quality of the UK cover. It just can't choose.

Which cover of The Future of Us is YOUR favorite? Be sure to vote in the poll below and sound off in the comments about why you made your decision!






If you have any suggestions for future cover comparisons leave them in the form below! :D





One last thing: It has come to my attention that some people have taken the liberty of doing their own Cover Comparisons. This is fantastic but if you do decide to do a Cover Comparison PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU CREDIT ME. I know this might sound selfish and what not but I created this idea and the name and I just don't want people to steal it. It's like my baby. <3 So if you want to do your own Cover Comparison by all means do a Cover Comparison! Just PLEASE say something like "Cover Comparison was originated by Julia @ That Hapa Chick!" Thanks guys!

Julia :)

Adventures from the Tour de Nerdfighting! :D

So yesterday night the Tour de Nerdfightering (also known as the Fault in Our Stars tour) came to Phoenix Arizona! I was super psyched as you might imagine. We're talking John Green here guys: JOHN GREEN. You know, the guy who wrote Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and now the absolutely genius book The Fault in Our Stars? Yeah, that guy.

But it wasn't JUST John Green guys. It was also his awesome brother Hank. I don't know if you watch The Vlogbrothers on YouTube (if you don't you totally should by the way) but if you do then you know who Hank is. He plays the guitar, he writes songs, he founded VidCon and he's just as awesome as his brother John.

So what does Awesome + Awesome equal? That's right MORE AWESOME. Okay so that was a lame and totally non-mathematical equation but what I'm trying to say is that the vlogbrothers are some of the awesomest people on the planet. No question about it.

The evening started out pretty crazy because as amazing as John Green's books are they actually aren't as well known as his Vlobrothers YouTube channel he runs with Hank. John and Hank have created this entire community called the Nerdfighters. What's that you say? What's a Nerdfighter? Allow me to tell you the description from the official The Fault in Our Stars Phoenix Program:

Nerdfighter: Someone who, instead of being made of bones and organs and stuff, is actually made of awesome. Nerdfighters are bound by a common belief that understanding the world and other people is important. More important, for example, than understanding the details of Brad Pitt's betrayal of Jennifer Aniston. Nerdfighters don't fight nerds, they are nerds who fight.

I don't know about you but that pretty much sums me up. If you're reading this blog post then you are probably a Nerdfighter to and just don't realize it. Don't worry, being a Nerdfighter really just makes you cool and more intellectual than the average human being. We care more about books and learning about the world than we do Snooki. And that is a beautiful thing.

As I was saying as awesome as John Green's books are most people were there because this was the Tour de Nerdfighting and therefore a Nerdfighter gathering. The people who were first in line for the event had arrived at ten in the morning and had been camping out all day. Now that's dedication! I on the other hand arrived at around 5:30 PM so I was not at the front of the line.

As you can see the line was quite long. It was also quite scream-y. And by scream-y I mean Hank popped up for all of 30 seconds and the crowd went crazy. People were screeching like lunatics and waving their hands in the air and gosh darn it if I were Hank I would have been freaked out of my mind thinking that the crowd was gonna run and crush me to a pulp.... >.<

Here's me and my friend Cristian waiting in line with our John Green books:

Anyways I may not have been at the front of the line but I was close enough to the front to get a good view of their presentation! I was in row 9. Sweet right?

Even after getting seated I had to wait a good hour till the show started. I know you think I'm kidding but I'm not. Fortunately there was also a merch line to wait in (if you wanted to buy merch that is) and so I waited in that and bought some fun stuff. I got a Nerdfighter shirt (DFTBA!) and a poster for them to sign. $30 I probably should have saved, but alas I am a sucker for nerdy but awesome shirts and posters. Especially when it involves them getting signed by one of my favorite authors. :P

One of the weirdest/funniest things of the night actually happened while I was purchasing my merch. An employee of either Changing Hands Bookstore or The Phoenix Library (I don't remember which) was adding up my total when suddenly she stopped and stared at me kind of strangely. I was a little bit awkwarded out to say the least because I had never met this woman before in my life and so I was thinking "did I do something wrong? What's going on...." Then she proceeded to say:

Woman: "You cried didn't you?"
Me: "At The Fault in Our Stars?"
Woman: "Yes."
Me: "OF COURSE! How could you not cry?"
Woman: (turning to the woman next to her) "See, it makes everyone cry."
Other Woman: "Oh well I get emotional at everything."
Me: "I don't! I hardly cry at anything."
First Woman: "I knew it! I could tell by looking at you that you weren't a cryer."

I'm not gonna lie I'm totally impressed with this woman's "cryer" and "non-cryer" discerning abilites. I mean all she did was look at me she and knew I wasn't the crying type. Not only that but she knew I had read the book even though I wasn't carrying it or anything. She was a creepily perceptive woman she was. I'm beginning to wonder if she had super powers or something....

Now back to what you guys really want to hear about: The presentation. It took awhile but it eventually started (cue more screaming) and Hank Sock came on to introduce John.

Then John came out and read us an excerpt from The Fault in Our Stars! I got video footage of it which you can watch below which is pretty sweet. Don't worry no spoilers! John Green is very anti-spoilers.



After John read from his book Hank came out and a sang a song about The Fault in Our Stars called Video Game Books. It's really quite hilarious especially if you've read the book. XD



Hank then proceeded to play several more songs (you can hear all his stuff here) and then John and him came out for some fun Q & A that also involved electrocution. Believe me, it was all in good fun.

Then of course it was time for us to get our stuff signed! There were about 600+ people at this event (not even joking) so you can imagine this took awhile especially when I was in signing group "I" and had to wait through groups "A", "B", "C", etc. I think I waited a good 2 hours to get my stuff signed but fortunately everything was very well organized. Mad props to The Pheonix Public Library and Changing Hands Bookstore! I finally got my stuff signed and hanklerfished (big thanks to Merideth for getting my poster and shirt signed for me!) and unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures with Hank and John (because then everyone would want one and we would have been there all night. :P) but I did get a shot of me right when I was at the front of the line!

LOOK THERE THEY ARE!!!!! RIGHT THERE!!!! I was beyond excited. Ecstatic to say the least. Here's all my signed stuff!

Then before we left the event I took a picture in front of the TFioS van! I had seen it driving in and had started fangirling out ("OH MY GOSH IT'S THE VAN! IT'S THE VAN!!!!") but they were loading stuff out of it so I wasn't about to take a picture with it then. But I did get a picture afterwards and I am happy with it despite the poor lighting.

Overall this was definitely my favorite signing I have ever been to. John and Hank Green are such amazingly talented individuals and getting to watch them perform and hear their stories was such a privilege! On top of that the people there were all awesome because they were pretty much all Nerdfighters. Being a rather bookish person (I do want to be a Librarian after all) it can be hard to find people who understand and appreciate you, despite your nerdy tendencies. Nerdfighters are those people. People who like nerdy things like books, Sherlock, and The Lord of the Rings as much as I do. People who appreciate learning and philosophy, and deep thoughts about dinosaurs and the meaning of the universe. Going to this event has made me realize how awesome Nerdfighters are and that I definitely am one and proudly so!

If you were unable to go to the Fault in Our Stars Tour/Tour de Nerdfighting then fortunately you can watch a full stream of their Austin Texas show below!




And finally here are some lovely shots I got of John and Hank performing. Let's count the number of outfit changes between the two of them shall we?

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

(yes I do realize all he did was put a black vest over his Great Gatsby shirt but it still counts....)

And last but certainly not least....

FIVE

That's all folks! DFTBA (Don't Forget to be Awesome)!

Julia :)

Book Review: Pandemonium + Giveaway

Pandemonium
by Lauren Oliver 
375 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 28th 2012
Source: An ARC copy won from EpicReads
Add Pandemonium to your bookshelf on Goodreads!

The old Lena is dead. The old Lena remains with Alex in Portland, Main, behind a wall of smoke and flame, but the new Lena was born in the Wilds, transformed by hardship, deprivation, and loss.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena fights for a world in which love will no longer be considered a dangerous disease. Her inner life is as turbulent as the world around her... Although consumed with grief for Alex, might she be falling in love with someone else?

Delirium is a book that had a huge impact on my life. It completely changed my view on love and the importance of it in my life. When a book affects a person as much as Delirium affected me then it's hard for the sequel to measure up. That being said Pandemonium did a pretty good job. While it might not have had as much of an emotional impact as Delirium had it still proved to be an unputdownable dystopian and it's ending has me dying for the final book.

In Pandemonium we are introduced to a much different Lena than the Lena of Delirium. This Lena has just lost the boy who was everything to her. Sure, she successfully escaped to the Wilds but what's the point without Alex by her side? This Lena is hard and yet undetermined. But as the book progresses we see Lena really come out of her shell. It's like she's being reborn as a character and I found this fascinating. Those who loved Lena in Delirium shouldn't be worried though. Lauren Oliver hasn't reinvented Lena so much as she's developed her character even more.

The plot of Pandemonium was a real departure from Delirium. Delirium was definitely a character driven love story but Pandemonium was a lot more plot driven. It's like a survivalist story and a love story with some bombings, kidnappings, and secret identities thrown in for good measure. The structure of Pandemonium was also super unique in that instead of it being chronological the chapters alternated from "Then" (directly after Delirium ended) to "Now" (about a year after Delirium ended). It was a bit confusing at first but overall I really liked it. Plus it made the book super unputdownable! Cliffhanger's are twice as bad when you have to read a whole extra chapter just to find out what happens. I can't tell you how many times I told myself "Just one more chapter!" only to end up reading four more instead. :P

I know that some people have been disappointed in Pandemonium because they felt like it was a huge departure from Delirium and in some ways they are right. Let me say this right now: If you go into Pandemonium thinking it's going to be exactly like Delirium you're going to be disappointed. Delirium was a book about love: about discovering it, about it's importance in our lives, and about standing up for it's existence. Pandemonium on the other hand is more a book about healing. It's about moving past the pain and sadness and coming to a new place and it's also about opening yourself up to new possibilities. When you crack the cover of Pandemonium remember to go into it with an open mind. It may be different from Delirium, but its still an amazing book and definitely worth reading! It possesses Lauren Oliver's beautiful prose and imagery and has a great mix of action and suspense along with some quieter character driven moments. On top of that the ending is jaw dropping. The final book in the trilogy Requiem doesn't come out till 2013 and my goodness it's gonna be a long wait!

I give Pandemonium 4.5 out of 5 ice cream cones!

Awesome Quote: "In approved places, every story serves a purpose. But forbidden books are so much more. Some of them are webs; you can feel your way along their threads, but just barely, into strange and dark corners. Some of them are balloons bobbing up through the sky: totally self-contained, and unreachable, but beautiful to watch."

Now for the giveaway. I was lucky enough to win an ARC copy of Pandemonium and now that I've finished it I want someone else to have a chance to enjoy it.