Blog Revamped – Welcome To The Book Exponent

I can’t believe it’s almost a year I left this blog in the dust. Looking back at it, I don’t even know what I have been doing in the past year. So much regrets but let’s just move on and do better.

To get new fresh start, I decided to change the name of this blog. This blog, previously The Spring Days, used to be all stuffs about things I like such as photography, postcards, and mainly about books. Then, I give some thought that it will be much better if this blog only focus on one thing and one theme. So, here it is – The Book Exponent – a ‘reborn’ from The Spring Days.

What’s the meaning of Book Exponent? Exponent? I can’t lie that being a math geek, I want the name of this blog sounds math-ish *grins*. For more definitions, here it is..

ex·po·nent

/ikˈspōnənt,ˈekspōnənt/

1. a person who believes in and promotes the truth or benefits of an idea or theory.
2. a quantity representing the power to which a given number or expression is to be raised, usually expressed as a raised symbol beside the number or expression

From first definition, through this blog I hope I can be a good book reviewer. I’m not looking for popularity or whatever to get followers. I just want to share what’s I like and dislike in a book. Also, I think I have said this before I want to learn to pour in what I feel into words through reviewing. After all, writing isn’t easy. In order to me to improve, all critics and sugestions will be very welcomed. I’m always looking forward to comments >__<

That’s all for now. I will try to post new reviews soon. Cya~!

[Book Review] The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Four minutes changes everything. Hadley Sullivan 17 misses her flight at JFK airport, is late to her father’s second wedding in London with never-met stepmother. Hadley meets the perfect boy. Oliver is British, sits in her row. A long night on the plane passes in a blink, but the two lose track in arrival chaos. Can fate bring them together again?

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REVIEW

Being a math geek, the title of this book really attracted my attention. I was like “Holy, that’s statistical probability we would talk about.” I was so ready to be drawn into any mathematical terms but oh boy I was totally wrong. I wish I hadn’t picked up this book. (Sorry!)

Hadley Sullivan was forced to go all the way from America to London to attend his father’s wedding. It was like a nightmare for her after all the suffers she and her mom had been through. His father left to London for a teaching job and in the way he met another woman, Charlotte. It brought a crack in their family, then her parents divorced.

The day she had to left for London, she missed her flight. It was only four minutes late which brought her to wait for the next flight. Well, after this, a lot of coincidences happen especially about Hadley and the guy, Oliver. The British guy she met in the airport. They talked and found out they would be in the same flight. Miracle, Hadley’s seat was 18-C and his was 18-A. It’s interesting to see they got to know each other, but more Hadley opened up about her father and Oliver stayed mysterious about his family. Oliver also helped her to get through the fright of flying. It was sweet. But after all the talks, it just didn’t make sense to me they kissed. It was super insta love. I rolled my eyes every time they kissed.

The coincidence haven’t just ended yet. In the wedding, there was Charlotte’s friends talked to her dad, saying they’ve should gone to Paddington because there was something (I don’t want to spoiler) they had to attend. Hadley rushed off to there and ditched her father’s wedding, guessing Oliver would be there. BAM THAT’S THE COINCIDENCE AGAIN. I shuddered because it was too much. I believe in coincidences but if it was like that I feel like it was forced. Like it had to led like that.

The ending can’t even redeem this book. The statistical probability I anticipated for, only added more disappointment to this book. Seriously? I laughed dryly at all those sayings about probabilities. Good thing, it was a quick read.

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MY RATING

[Book Review] On The Fence by Kasie West

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn’t know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she’s spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can’t solve Charlie’s biggest problem: she’s falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

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REVIEW

Kasie West is one of my favorite authors since I read her duology book, Pivot Point, which I have huge love for. Then, I also pretty enjoyed The Distance Between Us. Those books were such a page-turner and I had a big smile on my face while reading them. So, I had great expectation when I started On The Fence but sadly I have to say this book would be the least favorite. Might be not favorite at all.

Charlotte “Charlie” Reynolds grew up as the only girl in her family. She has three ((hot)) brothers and her father was cop. The only thing that got my attention from the book was the beneath in her family. First, the interaction between Charlie and her brothers. They were so close, it made me envious. The thing her brothers did that led Charlie wondering why a guy never ask her out, it was GOLD. They were protective, but SWOONY. That particular scene in the soccer field AH CUTENESS. Second, the relationship between Charlie and her father. It tore me up. He tried his best to raise her. He was tough but sweet.

Other than that, I don’t know what’s interesting in the book. I didn’t find it how special the fence chats were. Every time Charlie and Braden chatted on the fence, I couldn’t help it to wonder “Gurl, weren’t you scared going out of the house in midnight? I can’t even peek in through my window.” Whatever, I knew this is weird or probably nonsense, I worried more about ghost might appear instead of focusing on their midnight chats on the fence. The ending between Charlie and Braden was also predictable. It was worse when I didn’t even feel sparks between them. Then again, I know she was a tomboy. A tomboy always relates to sports but why it had to be all sports?! A lot of sports were talked in the book which I didn’t really understand.

On The Fence is a big disappointment. It didn’t live up my expectations. I didn’t get the jokes and sarcasm from this book that I anticipated for. West was good at throwing jokes and sarcasm in her books but WHY. This book fell so flat on me. Despite to all that said, I’m not giving up on her and feeling excited for her upcoming book, The Fill-In Boyfriend.

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MY RATING

[Book Review] Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren’s decided she doesn’t want to be one half of a pair any more – she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It’s not so easy for Cath. She would rather bury herself in the fanfiction she writes where there’s romance far more intense than anything she’s experienced in real life.

Now Cath has to decide whether she’s ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she’s realizing that there’s more to learn about love than she ever thought possible…

A tale of fanfiction, family and first love.

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REVIEW

I’ve heard a lot of praises about Rainbow Rowell’s books and been craving to read them. Fangirl is my first read from her and the title itself is already pretty drawn me in before I read it because HECK YEAH I AM A FANGIRL.

Cather “Cath” Avery was a fangirl of The Simon Snow Series. Well, I haven’t read the book but it didn’t hinder me to enjoy this book. There’s some parts of Simon Snow Series in the book so they enlighten me much what it’s all about and why Cath loved it. In fact, I wanted to read the series after I finished Fangirl because awww SimonxBaz.

One of things which makes book so special is when it can relates to you and Fangirl does. Rowell did great job pouring down what a fangirl did and felt. First, Cath wrote fanfictions! Man, I do love fanfictions. I love fanfictions as much as I love “original” fiction (lol what do you call that?). Second, it’s boyxboy pairing. HAHAHAHA I’M NOT GONNA EXPLAIN THIS. Third, I guess this is the major problem of fangirls, Cath faces difficulties in reality especially being social. For this one, it’s hard to express and let it out. I’ve been a fangirl for like 7 years and I know how it feels when Cath said Internet people are much better than people in real life. She had social anxiety and rarely go out. Throughout reading this book, I didn’t know how many times I said I FEEL YOU.

Being a fangirl and all, I totally understand Cath. Her love to The Simon Snow Series. Her love to write fanfictions. Even she wrote story about SimonxBaz for her Fiction-Writing class which is wrong to her Professor. I sympathized her when she had to face this conflict between Fiction-Writing and fanfictions. That it led she started questioning herself whether Fiction-Writing was exactly she wanted to do.

 I love everything about this book. It also tackles family problems and shows the flaws in Cath’s family. Cath’s twin, Wren, changed herself because college means adventure and she started growing distance between her and Cath. Cath’s father has been mentally unstable and fragile after Cath and Wren’s mom left him. Despite to all the messy, I can feel love from the family. The thing is, I adore how Rowell weave the story and develop these characters.

 Not forgetting Cath’s love interest, Levi! It’s insta-love but I forgive that because it’s Levi. Levi, the guy who smiles all the time. Gosh, every time his name came up, I can’t help it but smile. He was like a smile virus!!! I loved the guy who reads but Levi was an exception. He was not a book person but he likes hearing people reading. It was really cute when Cath read her fanfictions to him and he just held her. CUTENESS OVERLOAD. More than that, there’s nothing better than having a boyfriend who understands you and takes interest in all your freaks. GOD I NEED LEVI IN REAL LIFE.

“It’s okay if you’re crazy,” he said softly.
“You don’t even know-“
“I don’t have to know,” he said. “I’m rooting for you.”  

I really loved loved loved Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I already lost for words and couldn’t express anymore how much I loved this book. One more sentence to end this review, FANGIRL IS ME.

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MY RATING

[Book Haul] March 2015

Time flies so fast and it’s April already *sighs*. Last month I didn’t buy books at all because I am trying to save money for a book fair.  So, books I got last month were gifts, either from giveaway or for review.

WON

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

The Articulated Man by James Zul

FOR REVIEW

Deadly Practice by Bill Yancey

Zali Luna: Movie Star by Emma Jamvold

Thank you to The Malediction Trilogy Official Fanbase, James Zul, Bill Yancey, and Emma Jamvold.

[Postcrossing] February & March 2015

In the era with advanced technologies, communication becomes much easier and faster. Every messages can be sent and received in the single blink of eyes. So why postcards? Why bother using snail mail? I seriously wondered at first, but it’s not until I received one. GOSH THAT HAPPY FEELINGS WHEN A POSTMAN CAME. I started exchanging postcard February 2015. I found and joined a group The Post Card Exchange on Goodreads. Every month they have topic that you must write on the postcard. It’s so fun! You don’t need to wonder what to write and it relates to books! So for all booknerds out there, I recommend you to join as well! 🙂

Not only that, I also created an account in http://www.postcrossing.com and swapping postcards through Instagram. More postcards, more happiness! 😉

Here’s what I sent and received in these past two months.

SENT

                   

Sent To :

1. Peninnah Ziegler, USA (25/02/25)
2. Yue Yin, Malaysia (2015/03/24)
3. Shellii Huff, USA (2015/03/24)
4. Tingting, China (2015/03/24)

 

RECEIVED

  

Received from:

1. Rift Vegan, USA (2015/03/04)
2. Barbara R, USA (2015/03/04)
3. Rift Vegan, USA (2015/03/19)
4. Yue Yin, Malaysia (2015/03/24)
5. Sandy Thurlow, USA (2015/03/21) + pretty bookmark! >.<

[Book Review] The 100 (The Hundred #1) by Kass Morgan

In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth’s toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland… before it’s too late.

Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they’ve only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they’re haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust – and even love – again.

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REVIEW

If you followed me on twitter, you must have known how crazy I am about the show and of course BELLARKE. The truth is, I had been afraid to read the book because some people have said to stay away from the book. I finally decided to read the book when season 2 was almost over. I just feel I need to read it.

The idea of the story, both from the book and the show, is still the same. It’s post-apocalyptic that for years humanity has lived on spaceships. In the book, there were three spaceships. Phoenix, Walden, and Arcadia. Because oxygen in the the spaceships got thinning and it was only enough for few years, the Council decided to bring out the mission for hundred criminals. They were sent back to the Earth. To recolonize plane. To get to know whether Earth is safe to live especially from radiation.

The lead character, our heroine of the story, was Clarke Griffin. She was arrested for treason and prisoned in Confinement because her parents did human radiation trials on unregistered children. Anyway, the book did a lot of flashbacks which I would gladly give some points to this book. I got to know that Clarke actually had medical apprenticeship so I didn’t get surprised when she can do surgeries. I think this wasn’t told in the show, so all along what I thought was her mother was doctor so maybe she was also a doctor or some kind of genetic, the medical skills run in her vein lol. She was currently my number one favorite girl that I love and adore. She was brave, badass, but lovely.

For Clarke’s love interests, we got Wells Jaha and Bellamy Blake. I prefer call Wells as ex-love interest though. Same as the show, Wells was the son of the Chancellor. If the show only told he was Clarke’s bestfriend, in the book he was her boyfriend. One more point for the book was I got to know more Wells. His flashbacks and relationship with Clarke were explored. He wasn’t supporting role but important one. Also, his leadership was more invested in the book.

Then, Bellamy Blake, MY LOVE OF LIFE always makes me have this big smile. Gosh, when he was flirting with Clarke I wanted to faint!!! The sparks between them are so-good damn strong. SPOILER ALERT! BELLARKE DID HAPPEN IN THE BOOK!! So if the show make you frustated about damn-freaking-slow bellarke to happen, the book wont disappoint you. It was like an oasis in a desert. Damn fresh. He’s not only a boyfriend material but also brother material. His love for her sister, Octavia, was also strong. Despite to that, when he knew Octavia did wrong, he tried to get her into the right path and didn’t hide her wrongdoings. Everything about him, I scream LOVE.

The plot went back and forth to the present and past. Lots of flashbacks which will give you clear ideas of the story. Told in 3rd person pov, each chapter focused on one character; Clarke, Bellamy, Wells, and Glass. About Glass, I still find her stories are out of place and boring. Sometimes when I stumbled upon her chapters, I just want to skip them.

To conclude, after I read the book I think it isn’t that bad. Yes, it’s totally different with the show and the show is still much much better. The only same characters from both book and the show are Clarke, Bellamy, Wells, Octavia, and Chancellor Jaha. Nonetheless, I tried to look it from different perspective. Just like, assuming it was an alternate story so it’s okay if the book and the show are different. The book is good and I enjoyed it. I definitely will read other installments from The Hundred series; Day 21 and Homecoming.

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MY RATING

[Book Review] Deadly Practice by Bill Yancey

Seville admits she is overbearing. “A lot of people think I’m a bitch. I think that is a compliment.” She has recently been hired as the office manager of three urgent care facilities to direct their future expansion. Her employers, two doctors, spend more of their time chasing hot women, driving fast cars, and spending their profits than working. No one who labors under Seville enjoys her pointed remarks, threats, innuendo, or cheap shots. She has managed to fire almost every employee hired by the physicians when they first established their clinics. In addition, she has replaced those staff members with cronies of her own.

The earnings for the business have soared, but so have the expenses. Legally and illegally, Sarafea is finding more ways to capture money left on the table by insurance companies. In addition, Seville is well known to the medical community in St. Augustine, Florida. She has presided over the collapse of several practices. The demises of a gynecology practice, a surgical center, and several other medical clinics have been laid at her doorstep by some observers. She doesn’t interpret the failures as her responsibility. “If they had just followed my instructions,” she says, “they would have been much more profitable.”

To Addison Wolfe, MD, it appears someone is trying to murder Ms. Seville, the African-American Dragon Lady of accounts receivable. The problem is narrowing the field; everyone he knows wants her dead except her employers. And one prime candidate is Wolfe’s best friend, the ex-SEAL, Jake Harer. Worse, the physician partners who employ her are completely oblivious to their predicament. They have abdicated their responsibilities and can no longer run the centers without her. She’s destroying their organization from within.

Wolfe prefers the partners recognize the damage she is inflicting on their practice. Perhaps then they would fire her, but that scenario does not look promising. Wolfe can’t allow someone to murder the office manager. That conflicts with his beliefs and training to help preserve life. He has a hard time being devoted to protecting her, however, since he too would be happy to see her fired, or dead.

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REVIEW

I got free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Getting free copy doesn’t affect my thoughts about the book.

For starter, the story was told in 3rd person POV which I still think it would be much better told in first person. The main character, Addison “Addy” Wolfe, was a physician. In the beginning, I thought he was a man with strong principles. He left his job in Savannah because he disagree with the hospital’s demands to make every patients happy, no matter if the patients would misuse the drugs. So, he moved and signed on a position in an urgent care named After Hours.

After Hours was owned by Luther Gundersen and Francis Cardiano. It has three clinics. Wolfe was supposedly to run the third clinic. That was what he thought when he got the job. Little he knew, he was actually walking into the hell. At the same time he was hired, Gundersen & Cardiano also hired an administrator, Sarafea Seville. They believed she was an expert in the business and gave all the authority to her.

Seville was the meanest character I’ve ever known. She totally deserved an award for it. Gosh, I really wonder if she was human. Heartless. A control freak. Firing employees as she wanted, spreading rumors, manipulating, and many more I cant stand if I was her employee. The story made me exhausted actually, not literally in bad way. It’s just when Seville came up in the picture making her employees suffer, I can feel their suffer and it’s pretty exhausting :'(. Her words are rules. Too many people hate her but they can’t defy her. That’s how it started, the attempts of trying to kill her.

The most interesting part in the story is the conflict in Wolfe himself. He hates Seville.With those attemps murder by no one knew, he actually wanted her to die. He wanted to breathe an air. Everytime she made him suffer, he had the urge to strangle her. But there’s a part of himself to oppose that. More than once, he instinctively saved her life from those attempts of murdering. I think his character is so “human”.

Overall, I enjoyed Deadly Practice. I had some troubles to understand the plot in few chapters at the beginning, but as the story goes, it gets better and easier to get drown into. I was not familiar with any medical terms and regulations but they didn’t stop me to enjoy this book. In fact, it gave me insights about the system in Medical Department, sort of that. It is an interesting read.

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MY RATING

[Q&A] Reading Habits

I checked out Erika The Bibliophile yesterday, and she did book tag about reading habits. I think the questions are interesting so I decided to do this as well. Anyway, it was created by TheBookJazz.

cr: lisalangblakeney.com

1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

Yes, my bedroom bcs I basically live in my bedroom. Mostly I read the book while lie on the bed.

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

Bookmark but sometimes I don’t use anything lol. I am monogamist reader so I know exactly the page I last read.

3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/ a certain amount of pages?

For now, I limit my read. I can only read about 50 pages a day. Very few, huh? Another important thing to do, it’s undergraduate thesis.. *cries*

4. Do you eat or drink while reading?

Depends. If I read physical books, I only drink. If I read ebooks, I can read while eat and drink.

5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?

No. This brain of mine can’t do multitasking. I can’t keep my focus if I do more than one activity. So, no music or TV while reading.

6. One book at a time or several at once?

One book. I’m monogamist reader. This happens because I just started to learn reviewing books. I have this kind of rule which is read – review – read next book.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

I rarely go out so mostly at home lol. But I always bring my current read wherever I go. So, don’t ask me why my bag is heavy.

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Silently in my head. I only read out loud when it’s World Read Aloud Day hahaha.

9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

Read ahead. Even the slow-paced books, I still have some patience to not skip the pages.

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

Of course keeping it like new.

11. Do you write in your books?

No.

So, these are my reading habits. How about you? Link me if you do this tag as well.. 😉

[Book Review] Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it’s Amy’s responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn’t ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip – and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar – especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory – but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

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REVIEW

It saddens me when there’s a book that I wanted to love but I ended up not feeling anything, neither love nor hate. Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour didn’t work much on me. There were some things I was interested in, so was I disappointed about. Without further ado, lets get on the review.

First, we had Amy Curry. I always like it it when the story defines the character by before and after; in this case before and after the death of Amy’s father. Beforehand, it was Amy! who always knew what to do. A sweet high-school girl. After the death of her father, it was only Amy. She was left alone in California. Her mother went to Connecticut for a teaching job while her twin brother got into a rehabilitation. I was so invested in her. Her grief, pain, and loneliness squeezed my heart since the beginning of the book. Her voices about the changes in herself and her surroundings, why she closed off her feelings from anyone made me understand her more. After all, the cause of her father’s death, which is a car accident, was so terrifying. It also kinda made me freak out as a a beginner driver.

Next, we had Amy’s love interest, Roger. They barely knew each other at first. Roger was the son of Amy’s mother’s friend. Amy’s mother asked him to drive her car all the way from California to Connecticut as she needed the car but she can’t afford the money for both car courier and Amy’s airplane ticket. Amy’s mother has arranged everything such as the routes they should have taken and reserved the hotels they would stay in. But, for another purpose, Roger felt they should take the routes by themselves and Amy agreed to it. So, thats how their detour began.

I really appreciated Matson, how she explored the states from California to Connecticut. The story gave me insights about America and how big America is. For traveling aspects, this book could be a win. There’s scrapbook which includes photos, song playlists, and all about places Amy and Roger visited. It’s pretty cool. I hope I can go to all places stated in the book someday, especially Yosemite. It’s also fun to see Roger and Amy deciding their next destination. Reading this book will make you want to go traveling!!

About the romance, which is to my big disappointment, I’m sorry I have to tell you that I don’t feel any sparks going on between Amy and Roger. First, I disliked -hating will be too much- Roger. He can’t get over his ex-girlfriend, Hadley. He was like so blinded by love. Then, I don’t find a reason what Amy saw in him. Why finally she decided to open up to him the feelings she has bottled up for so long about her father death. I was more into Lucien actually. It was a short meeting with him but meaningful. He had so much in common with Amy. In my opinion, because of him, Amy started to open up and realized she need to confront her fears.

 So to summary it, I like the detour and explore places told in the book, but I can’t feel whats beneath it. It’s just a surface. This might be only just me or I missed out some things because I saw a lot of positive reviews about this book. If you like story about traveling, you can give the book a chance.

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MY RATING