Whimsy Moon

 

 

Online Books Outlet Giveaway

I came across this post on the page and was the first one to share it. Five minutes later and the bookstore PM’d me, asking me for my address. I had the book within several days of that message. I had recently gifted my own copy to a friend and I won this one in the giveaway. How awesome is that! Here’s a look at the booty won:

Paperback Emporium

When I need a book delivered that I can’t find anywhere, these are the guys I go to. They are extremely responsive on Facebook and always deliver. If they don’t have the book, then they will have it imported for you, like the one pictured above. I found about them via Instagram when I saw these lovelies featured on their feed:

As you can see, I was already drooling and promptly ordered both books, impatiently waiting for them to arrive. Oh, they arrived!

As it stands now, I am slowly buying the remaining books from them in this series so as not to break the bank. Give PE a chance; they won’t disappoint!

Desi Writer’s Lounge Literary Open Mic Night

DWL is always active and always doing something to promote reading and writing in different areas of Pakistan! Since I’d love it if they had more events in my city (Karachi), when I saw the post for Open Mic, I knew I wasn’t going to miss it.

A simple registration process through email later and I had signed up as one of the people who would be sharing their work at the event. I was to pay Rs. 350 at the venue. Besides that, they had only one other rule: the work shared must be original. Mine was.

I read something that I had written for Wringo Ink. You can find it here.

The recital was well received because I was reading in a supportive environment. Whether it was poetry or prose and in English or Urdu, that was being shared, everybody was appreciative.

We were seated comfortably and munched on delicious bun-kebabs provided by Sattar Bakhsh while sipping Pepsi. In short, a good was had by all! DWL has promised to share videos and pictures of the event here, so be on the lookout.

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I finished it rather quickly and was surprised at how fast I read this book, considering that I did most of the reading while commuting to work. It was fun to read a thriller after a long time. Maybe, that is the secret, I like what the genre has to offer but only if I take it in small, infrequent doses. Most of the time, I need some fantasy mixed with my mystery.

Some minor quibbles that I had with the book:

Jack started sounding like his mentor, Dom, as he started to get old. I think the author caught on to that early in the story and made the similarity go away.

Unnecessary details, such as when Jackie was taken to the hospital and had multiple surgeries. I know that it was important for us to know that happened. I just don't know why it was equally important to know how it happened. Needless to say, I skimmed some of those pages.

The murderer's identity was a big letdown. I figured why Kid moved away in the first place right when it happened even though it took until the end of the book to be revealed. That is why I was surprised why the murdered would be who-they-were.

No idea why when it took Jack all his life to stop blaming himself for not being able to save his mom, he found it relatively easy to not feel guilty over the deaths of his wife and almost-adopted son.

What I Liked:

Dom was my favorite character and I would have liked to read more about him. I checked but no spin-offs/prequels etc. I guess UF has me spoiled when it comes to characters' backstories and such.

I loved how Jackie dealt with his fear of heights and how it was always present in his life.

A few images of the mythological Icarus on whom the title of this book is based:

I bought my copy of this book from Online Books Outlet. It was in sufficiently good condition, considering it was a used book. Go here to see the rest of my book haul!

So the amazing part about having read this book has nothing to do with the book itself. It was a personal achievement of finishing a 500-page long book in a day like I used to in the good old days. I thought I had lost that talent but it was just me being over-dramatic In short:

About the Book:

I liked it! It took me by surprise. Granted, I was sitting and waiting to get my documents attested by HEC at that moment and anything, even a Chinese food menu would have sounded good. (For those of you who do not how agonizing and aggravating this visit can be, it is akin to a day wasted at the DMV or so it seems on tv).

The book may have been written for a YA audience in mind but it kept me entertained even when I returned home (unsuccessful, I'd like to mention).

I really dug the level of violence that was included in the book because it only reinforced the idea that Stoker tried to get across to his readers. Vampires are unnatural and completely other-than-human.

The author went the extra mile when they included how the majority of the bloodsucking population was kept docile by pumping them full of drugs. The practicality of the situation hits home when we discover that the source of that drug is a vamp who gets all his supply from the very organization that is supposed to be hunting him and his kind!

Another part that I really loved was how natural it felt that the original vampire hunters would be the foundation of a vampire hunting organization. They had promised to stay vigilant, after all. Only now they could do it with the government's resources on their side.

Now for the nitpicking

The inner monologues of all the characters sounded quite similar, which took away from how much I had been enjoying the book. Maybe the author could have just shown us the actions when it came to the others and only left the monologues for the MC?

I found the inclusion of some parts to be unnecessary. This includes the appearance of the werewolves. Why throw a couple of werewolves in a story that was completely about vampires? Why do it close to the end as an afterthought or a gimmick? 

The biggest issue of them all was why were the vampire generals after Jamie in the first place. Just as in those cartoons where a villain wants to destroy the world, there was no clue behind their leechy motivations. 

A minor turn off happened as I read the vampire ball scene. It was too reminiscent of the one from the movie, Van Helsing, and completely unsurprising.A fun book that tries to stay true to the work that it is inspired by. Give this one a try! I can't really end this review without mentioning the best vampire series that I have read, can I? Read this one if you don't read any other vampire books ever.

I bought two of these pretties from Paperback Emporium. Get yours now!

This is the first of the 13 books that I bought from Online Books Outlet. The book was almost new but with the old book smell that I love. Really affordable prices and quick delivery too! Another bookseller to add to my list.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly for so many reasons:

1. It is a slim volume not even 130 pages long. I think the short length works in favor of the book, making it funnier.

2. It is so funny! The humor reminded me of Roald Dahl who is an all-time favorite of mine.

3. It has all these sly references thrown in with the humor that doubled the fun. I found mentions of Schrodinger's experiment, Quantum Theory, and the Uncertainty Principle. I'm not saying that they made sense; I'm just saying they were used in a clever, funny way.

4. Because cats. We love ours and thankfully, I now know that she is a Real cat.

Chiclet's Thinker Pose

All the weird cattish things that she does are mentioned in this book. It all makes sense now.

Like why was Bast called Bast.

Why Arch-villain's cats can't be real:

I mean, look at them!

However, now I kind of feel like the cartoon fish who has seen everything:

5. It made going to work in the mornings much more fun!

6. It is a treasury of quotable quotes. Witness:

7. The illustrations only made the book funnier:

If you have a cat and are still mystified at the things your cat does, then you need to read this book. If you are in doubt of the Realness of your feline, this book is for you too! If you are neither and have some time on your hands, read this book because it will make you laugh.

#JustCuz

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