New Blog Header

Hi Everyone!

I've been working on making my blog look more holiday-ish. I finished creating a new blog header, and I would like to know what you guys think about it. I have included it below. Also, I used the right measurements when creating my header, but for some reason blogger seems to increase the width and decrease the length. So, the header looks seriously out of proportion when I try to use it on blogger. Do any of you know why or have suggestions as to what I could do to fix it? Please leave a comment below. Thank you.

Happy Holidays!
-Silvia

 

Winter!

A Lovely Bush Covered with Snow!

How has your holiday season been going? Mine has been going pretty great so far, and snow always makes things a lot more merrier :). I will be posting a holiday TBR list (to-be-read) soon, so stay tuned for that!

One Lovely Blog Award

(Button made by Bela from abitamusing.blogspot.com)

Thank you, Bela for nominating me for this fabulous award! Here's the link to her AMAZING blog: abitamusing.blogspot.com. I would recommend that everyone who sees this visits her site. Bela did a lot of the designing for my blog, and she has a great taste in design!

The rules of this award are:

1// Thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog
2// List the rules and display the award
3// Add 7 facts about yourself
4// Nominate 15 other bloggers
5// Follow on Blogger the person who nominated you

Seven Facts About Myself

1. I know that you all know that I love to read! But, you may not know what my favorite book is... :)

It's Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. This is a very emotional and heartwarming book about a 15 year old girl and her family during World War II. I'm not going to elaborate much on it, but it is a book I've read at least 5 times!

2. I enjoy drawing! I might have mentioned this before, and there's a surprise coming soon on this aspect!  

3. My favorite restaurant is Chipotle. I really savor a lot of the amazing things they have on their menu  :)

4. I love Oreo ice cream! Whenever I go somewhere, this is definitely the flavor I always get.

5. My favorite color is pink. It has always been, and will always be.

6. I have never gone skiing before. I can't really see myself doing it right now, but maybe someday... :)

7. I am currently reading Uglies by: Scott Westerfield. One of my friends recommended me to read it, and it's really good so far.

My Nominees- I have 2

1. Tiger Lily 

2. Artsy Peacock

-Silvia

Books That Emotionally "Move" You

Here's a list of books that have lots of great emotion in them. They're all absolutely wonderful! Feel free to comment below to recommend more of these types of books to me...I really enjoy reading them :)

1. The Fault in Our Stars by: John Green
2. Between Shades of Gray by: Ruta Sepetys (I have read this book at least 5 times)
3. The Hidden Girl by: Lola Rein Kaufman
4. Any Anne Frank book

Diary of a Wimpy Kid/The Long Haul (by: Jeff Kinney)

Are you a fan of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series? Were you once a fan or know someone who's a fan? I really liked the series back when I was I elementary school. I have always loved to read, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series was like a "fun" read for me whenever I had even just a little bit of time. Something about the humor and enjoyment of the book always made me laugh and feel happy. I remember that I even went to see the movie of the 1st book!

After elementary school, I sort of stopped reading the series. Perhaps it's because it got way out of my reading level, or I just lost interest- I don't know. I started reading more longer and complex books like the Heroes of Olympus series and the Divergent trilogy. A couple of days ago, my brother bought The Long Haul, which if you don't already know, is the latest book in the series. I had heard lots of good reviews about it, and after y brother said it was very good, I decided to read it! Let's just say... I really liked it! I probably laughed like a million times at all the funny and crazy parts, and realized that it's nice to go back to what you used to read before every once in a while. :)

I'll give you a little grabber/plot summary of the book if you haven't read or heard about it yet:

The Heffley's are off on a family vacation! With almost every detail of the trop planned by Greg's mom, the family has nothing to do but follow what she says. The trip starts out pretty okay, until things start getting crazier and crazier. the Heffley's need to come together and work as a family to sort everything out and find a way to turn the trip into a memorable adventure.

This is an awesome book with many funny moments and positive messages on the true meaning of family. I would recommend this book to readers in elementary and middle school, and would give it a rating of 5/5 stars!

 

Veronica Roth

Books By Her:

• Divergent
• Insurgent
• Allegiant
• Four: A Divergent Collection

 

Info About Some Upcoming Books and Ideas

Today, I want to talk about release dates, authors, titles of upcoming books, and blog ideas.

First, Percy Jackson's Greek Gods (sorry I wrote the title wrong in my previous post) came out on August 19, 2014.

** Release dates listed are US ones.
Here are a list of books that I am looking forward to coming out:

• Atlantia by: Ally Condie (November 4, 2014)
• The Iron Trial by: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (September 9, 2014)
• The Blood of Olympus by: Rick Riordan (October 7, 2014)
• The Young Elites by: Marie Lu (October 7, 2014)
• The Heir by: Kiera Cass (May 5, 2015)

I know that's a pretty small list, but I will probably be adding more as I find out about some more books that would probably interest me. If you're a fan of both Rick Riordan's and Marie Lu's books (like me), then you may want to think about pre-ordering/buying them both on the same day, since they both some out on October 7th!

Blog Ideas:

I'm  thinking about doing an author-of-the-week type thing for my blog. So, basically, I pick an author every week, share a little bit of info about him/her, and some of the books they have written. I feel that that would be more efficient, interesting, and organized in letting people know about books they may want to read.

** I will start from this week, so either today or tomorrow there will be a post about the first author of the week!

Some Books Getting Released Soon

Hey!

This is a quick post stating some of the books I am reading in the next few months (one is this month itself!) when they get released! I will include release dates and more books in an upcoming post.

1. Percy Jackson's Greek Myths (A book of greek myths by: Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series, Heroes of Olympus Series, Kane Chronicles)

2. Atlantia (A stand alone novel by: Ally Condie, author of the Matched Trilogy)

3. The Queen (A prequel novella to the Selection Series by: Kiera Cass)

 

"Bomb" by: Steve Sheinkin

I just finished reading this book today, and let me tell you something: it is absolutely amazing. This book is nonfiction, and I usually never like nonfiction, but this book is just the BEST. I would highly recommend that EVERYONE above the age of 10 read this book. You can learn so much, and it is a page turner. Here is the summary that comes with the book:

In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned 3 continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos. This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world's most formidable weapon. This is the story of the atomic bomb.

This book involves many characters, so it would be helpful if you thought about all the characters from time to time, because it really helps at the end of the book to help understand why things are wrapping up this way and what's going on. I would give this book a rating of 5/5 stars.

Get your copy and start reading today! :)

Thank You, BN!

Hi Everyone!

My blog construction is officially done (at least for like a month)! Let's cut the ribbon for the official grand opening of the look of this month's The Universe Reads blog! You will probably notice that I got a new header, and had many design changes. Also, I got a contact form! YAY! Now, you can just send me whatever message you'd like, and I will get it through my email, and I will respond ASAP.

One person is responsible for almost every change that has occurred on this blog in the past week (my blog construction time). She is a very good friend of mine, and her name is BN. She is an AMAZING designer, and knows exactly what to include in a blog to make it better. You can visit her blog at abitamusing.blogspot.com. It is a very entertaining blog, filled with inspiration, crafts, and more!

Thank you so much, BN!

-Silvia

Tennis Time!

Hey Everyone!

Today, I want to talk about something outside of books. I had actually planned this post a while ago (I usually write all my posts in my notebook as a draft, revise, and THEN type it up and publish it for you guys to see-- stay tuned for an upcoming post about blogging tips), but had never gotten the time to get to it with all the reviews I had planned earlier.

As you may or may not know, I have become a HUGE tennis fan over the past year. With the US Open approaching in just a couple of weeks, I want to discuss some of my thoughts about Wimbledon that took place in late June-early July, and how my interest in tennis has bloomed so much! So, here we go:

This year, I was a very big Wimbledon fan- just tennis overall! I kept checking scores of the top-seeded players, and trying to watch the matches on TV whenever I could get the chance. If you'd asked me if I wanted to watch tennis like 1 1/2 years earlier, my answer would have probably been something like, "Um... can we draw instead?" [I also love to draw]. As you can tell, I used to not be into tennis at all. I got interested in the sport when I started tennis lessons a few years ago, but that was still not enough for me to being a true tennis fan. What got me into this was when I went to my cousin's house about a year ago. It was the day of the big Wimbledon men's final. It was the day I watched my first tennis match. Seriously. I loved it, and have been super interested ever since! I know that some people think it is a really sleepy sport and doesn't have much going on (because I used to think that way once), but now in my opinion, it is very gripping and full of skill and strategy. The matches I love the most are when you're on the edge of your seat until the very end, because the players are just SO good, and you really cannot just predict who will win.

I am very excited for the upcoming grand slam event, and can't wait to find out who all will make it to the top!

New Blog Header!

Hey Everyone!

I am very excited to announce that I will be getting a new blog header soon! I am not sure when exactly it will be up, as my friend is in the process of creating it. I think I will put it up without notice sometime in the next couple of weeks to surprise you guys!

"These Broken Stars" Review

Hey,

I just realized that I'd promised a review that I never put up in time! Sorry. :(
I never was able to finish the book (I lost interest towards the end, and it became time to return the book back to the library). Therefore, I will not be telling you many detailed thoughts of mine about the book, since I never actually finished it, and my thoughts could have varied according to how the book ends.

Here is the summary that comes with the book:
It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. 

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they're worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

My Thoughts on the First 2/3 of the Book:
This book was excellent for the first 2/3 of the book. It was very fast-paced, and exciting to keep reading. Usually the beginnings of books are slow, and not very interesting, but this was anything but that. The first chapter itself drew me in, and made me want to keep reading about Tarver, Lilac, and the Icarus. I lot interest towards the middle-3/4 portion, because I felt that some of the ideas going on were kind of repetitive. I think if I were to read the book again, it might be a better read for me. So far, I would give the book a rating of 4/5 stars.

"Atlantia" by: Ally Condie (Netgalley Sneak Peek)

Calling all fans of Ally Condie and the Matched Trilogy! If you don't already know, a new book by her is coming out on November 4, 2014. It's called Atlantia. That title itself makes me want to read the book! Here's the little summary that comes with the book:

Can you hear Atlantia breathing? For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamed of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all Rio’s hopes for the future are shattered when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected choice, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long silenced—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the corrupted system constructed to govern the Divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

Doesn't that just sound so interesting? Thanks to Netgalley, I got to read a sneak peek of this book a few days ago, and it was extremely gripping. I really am looking forward to reading the entire book when it comes out. Also, here's the cover:

Doesn't it look absolutely fabulous!? When I first saw it, I was like "wow". I am one of those people who usually reads books that have covers that look good (I know, it's a bad habit I'm fixing), and this cover really drew me in. I also love the covers of the Matched Trilogy, and I heard that the same person that designed those covers also designed this one. Check out the tagline-- "Human voices wake us, and we drown". It sounds very mysterious, and I love books that have that element in them!

If this interests you as it does for me, be sure to get this book on November 4th or sometime after at your nearest book store!

"It's Raining Cupcakes" by: Lisa Shroeder

Are you a fan of cupcakes and treats? Have you been to a cupcake shop, or know what it's like from someone you know who has been to one? I am an extreme fan of cupcakes, and love trying out different flavors at local cupcake shops! What we may not realize as customers is that there is a lot of stress and hardship in running a business. This book; It's Raining Cupcakes, has it all-- from how yummy and delightful cupcakes can be, to people's different interests and desires, and how they choose to pursue them.

Isabel just wants to get out of Oregon. She loves where she lives, no question about it, but she would do anything to explore what life's like outside her little and rainy city of Willow, and the state of Oregon. When her parents decide to open a cupcake shop in Willow because of her mom's passion for baking cupcakes, she feels even ore trapped. Then, her best friend Sophie informs her about a baking contest, in which the winners with the best recipes get to go to New York for a bake-off which determines the winner. Isabel is very determined to go to New York and come up with a winning recipe. She and her mom have disagreement on what her recipe should be (even though her mom is not allowed to help), and Sophie, a person who wins practically everything is entering the contest too. Also, Isabel's mother has lack of self confidence, and feels like she cannot meet the needs of running a business. Isabel just feels like she will never be able to get out of Willow. What recipe does Isabel enter? Does she make it to New York? Read the book to find out!

My Thoughts:
When I read this book for the first time about two years ago, it instantly became one of my most favorite reads! I've always had an interest in baking and cooking, so this book interested me a lot because it had a lot of that in it. I recently re-read it, and I have to admit that I enjoyed it more the first time that I read it. That's probably because I didn't read as much YA back then as I do now, and because some books are just great for a one time read. I personally think that Isabel is a very well-developed character, and has a lot of personality to her. She works very hard, and perseveres. Those are very good and important qualities every person should have. I also love how so may characters in the book such as Isabel's father, Isabel's grandma, and Sophie encouraged and were with Isabel throughout her recipe journey in this book. Overall, I think this is a very nice book for girls in the 3rd-5th grades to read. I would rate this book 4/5 stars.

Note: If you read this book and are looking for something else similar to this, try Sprinkles and Secrets, which is also by Lisa Shroeder, or Stir it Up! by: Ramin Ganeshram.

 

"These Broken Stars" by: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

I recently finished reading a book called "These Broken Stars". It is science fiction, and I would rate it four out of five stars. I will be posting a full review shortly, as I do not have time now. If you haven't read this yet, you really should... it's very good. The review will be up in a week tops!

Guess the Book!

Here is a fun activity to do if you are a book worm, or just want to do something right now! This activity is called "Guess the Book". You will need to have read at least twenty books in order to complete this game (any genre). NOTE: A lot of the answers can be found in some YA/Teen/Middle Grade books that are popular nowadays. Also, I came up with this game myself, so there may be some things that could be changed in the rules to make it better. Please comment below if you have any constructive advice.

Here's how to play/rules to this game:
-There are twenty words listed below (some of the words are actually a few words put together, as they are a certain place). They are places/things that actually exist in this world. You have to match up each of the words with a book title and it's author that you have read that has that word as one of the settings as the book. For example, if the word was 'Everglades', a possible answer can be Chomp by: Carl Hiaasen.

** Note- You CANNOT repeat a book title. Each title answer to each of the twenty words must be different. So, if two of the words were to be apartment and bedroom, you cannot put down The Battle of the Labyrinth by: Rick Riordan for both. You can do it for one of the words, but need to find a different title for the other.
**The game/quiz can be as many players as you'd like, or single player works great too! If you choose to do single player, and have a group of friends, you can compete to see who can answer all the questions the fastest, etc.
**Also, there will probably be more than 1 book that represents the word. Just as long as the word is a setting in the book and you haven't repeated a book title, that book is valid!

Please comment below if you have any questions, and also, please tell me how this went for you! How did you do? What answers did you get? Did you modify/change my rules in any way to make the game better? I can also send you my answer key through the comments if you didn't get something, or just want to see what answers I came up with.
NOTE: If you try this and enjoy it, you can even make up your own list of twenty or so random words, and try to challenge yourself in finding different books for each of them.

Also, please don't just look up the word in Google, and try to find some random book that matches up! It really defeats the purpose of this game, which is to actually think about what you have read!

Without further ado, here is the list of twenty words:
1. Navy Pier
2. Empire State Building
3. French Quarter
4. Palace
5. Train Car
6. Train Station
7. Rome
8. Amsterdam
9. Banquet
10. Cupcake Shop
11. Nashville Parthenon
12. Hotel Room
13. Meadow
14. Park
15. Swimming Pool
16. Mall
17. Dentist's Office
18. School Bus
19. Branches of a Tree
20. Dance School

Thanks for reading and trying this out!

The Fifth Wave by: Rick Yancey

I started reading this book yesterday. I got through the first 100 pages or so, and it didn't really interest me, so I stopped reading it. This book is science fiction, and I would recommend it to those of you that enjoy reading this genre. Also, there is a lot of violence. I don't like to read about violence very much, so that is another reason I stopped reading this book. Overall, from the 100 pages I read, I would rate this book 3/5 stars.

Here is the summary that comes with the book:

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker.

Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

 

Summer Must-Reads

Hi!

For my first post, I am going to give you a list of books that I have read and think that you MUST read if you haven't read it already. I will also be doing tons of book reviews, so if you'd like me do to a review on a specific book, please comment below! Here are my rules on the books I will do reviews on:

1. I will not be doing picture/early reader's chapter books.
2. I will not be reviewing any adult books, so YA and teen are the main categories of books I will be reviewing.

So, here's the list! The books/series are listed in no particular order. They are all YA/teen books. I will be posting reviews on each shortly.

1. Divergent Trilogy by: Veronica Roth
Consists of:
-Divergent
-Insurgent
-Allegiant

2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by: Rick Riordan
Consists of:
-The Lightning Thief
-The Sea of Monsters
-The Titan's Curse
-The Battle of the Labyrinth
-The Last Olympian

3. Heroes of Olympus Series by: Rick Riordan (this is kind of like a continuation series of Percy Jackson)
Consists of:
-The Lost Hero
-The Son of Neptune
-The Mark of Athena
-The House of Hades
-The Blood of Olympus (to be released in October 2014)

4. Kane Chronicles Series by: Rick Riordan (I haven't personally read these, but I've heard that they're also very good).
-The Red Pyramid
-The Throne of Fire
-The Serpent's Shadow

5. The Fault in Our Stars by: John Green

6. Legend Trilogy by: Marie Lu
Consists of:
-Legend
-Prodigy
-Champion

7. Lunar Chronicles by: Marissa Meyer (I haven't gotten the chance to read Scarlet or Cress, but Cinder was extremely good).
Consists of:
-Cinder
-Scarlet
-Cress
-Winter (to be released January 27, 2015)

8. Between Shades of Gray by: Ruta Sepetys (this is my favorite book)

9. Out of the Easy by: Ruta Sepetys

10. Matched Trilogy by: Ally Condie
Consists of:
-Matched
-Crossed
-Reached

11. Twilight Saga by: Stephenie Meyer
-Twilight
-New Moon
-Eclipse
-Breaking Dawn

Here are some good ones to start off with. I will be posting more in a few days.
Thanks for reading!