Friday, June 26, 2015

Feature and Follow (#5)







Happy Friday everyone!

Parajunkee and Allison Can Read are the two hosts of Feature and Follow. The goal of the Feature and Follow is to meet new bloggers in the world of book blogging and earn some new followers :)

The awesome thing about this feature is that when you follow me I will follow you, and vice versa.  I want to know a couple of things before you leave my little corner. First, let me know if you are a new or old follower. I want to get to know all of you who take the time to visit my blog. Second, I know I mentioned above to either follow me on Bloglovin or Email, but feel free to follow me on Twitter, Google+, and I'm now on Facebook and Instagram. You can follow me on one or all of them, just let me know where you followed me :)  I lied, one last thing, make sure you leave your link so I can come visit :) I look forward to reading all of your blogs!

This Week's Question Is...

Is there a book that you were required to read in school that you actually loved? Question asked by Natalie Hearts Books

What a great question! I think way too often most books that are required for school, whether it be summer reading or during the school year, are disliked. I'm right there with ya when you really just want to read the new Sarah Dessen book or re-read the Harry Potter series for the 10th time instead of reading Pride and Prejudice. You are totally not alone. On the other hand, every once in a while there comes a book that leaves an impact on, maybe not the whole class, but on a few individuals. For me, that book was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I didn't mind analyzing the book to death or reading such small sections of it at a time. I didn't mind answering the never ending list of questions, nor taking the essay test for it. The Book Thief is definitely a book I have been meaning to re-read to revisit the many reasons why I fell in love with it in the first place. I loved Zusak's writing. Loved how Death as a character had a large part in the story. We read from his point of view. Loved how we actually got to see the little girl's diary and thoughts. Loved that it took place during World War II, probably my favorite time in history (I know, morbid) besides the 1920s, of course. I own I Am Messenger, but haven't gotten around to reading it. Has anyone read any of Zusak's other novels? What did you think of them? 

32 comments:

  1. I really want to read The Book Thief, but still haven't gotten around to read it yet. :) New Bloglovin' Follower (:

    My FF


    Jackie @Jackie's Book World

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    1. You definitely should! It's not a fluffy read, but it's an interesting take on World War II. Thank you for the follow!

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  2. The Book Thief is so incredible! Lucky to have read it for school. Thanks for visiting my blog. Old follower :)

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    1. To this day, it's one of my top favorite books. Of course! I always enjoy reading your posts :) Welcome back!

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  3. Yeah required reading was never among my faves! I was always the kid in class who wanted more Sustained Silent Reading, which is when you read a book not for a class. I hated required books. None of them ever held my interest. Then senior year I read one and for some reason I really liked it and got into it!

    Here's my Follow Friday

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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    1. It wasn't mine either, but I knew I had to do it if I wanted a good grade so I just went with it. Loved silent reading! We would always have like 20 minutes or so after recess or lunch. We also technically had it when we finished our work then we could read quietly. Required reading has opened my eyes to books that I would never have thought of reading, I will say that. Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. I love this book! I so wish I could've read that in school. I haven't read I Am Messenger yet but I'm really hoping to get to it soon.

    Thanks for stopping by! I followed back via Bloglovin and also followed on Twitter :)

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    1. I think it helped a lot for me, at least, to read it in school, because the teacher pointed out stuff that I wouldn't have picked up on. The points she pointed out made for a better reading and understanding experience. I Am Messenger has been on my shelf for a while now, and I have no idea why I'm dragging my feet with it. You're welcome! Thank you for following back :)

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  5. I loved the Book Thief too! I'd be thrilled to get to discuss in depth! I never could read the 'small sections" I usually just read right through and then went back to where they were :)

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    1. The Book Thief was probably the only book I didn't mind analyzing and discussing to death. I was always afraid that I would get mixed up or forget something if I read ahead, so I usually just test my patience and read the small sections as they are assigned.

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  6. I just bought The Book Thief and cannot wait to start it now :) It wasn't required for me, but I also think I was out of school before it was published (there I go showing my age again!).

    Here's my FF!

    New Follower via Bloglovin :)

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    1. I hope you enjoy it!! Hahahaha! I'm only 18, and I'm already doing that with my younger cousins and neighbors. To them, I'm ancient when I only talk about the 90s.

      Thank you!! I will come by and visit :)

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  7. I've yet to read The Book Thief, but my grandma gave it to me for Christmas so it's on my TBR stack!

    New follower via Bloglovin', Twitter, and Facebook!

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    1. Way to go, Grandma! I think you will really like the Book Thief when you get a chance to read it :)

      Thank you for following!!

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  8. If, back when I was in high school, there were the awesome books there are now, I would have probably liked what I was asked to read. I can't say any were my favorites....

    Old follower! http://wp.me/p5Q4Dh-sN

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    1. My cousin's school provides a list of books where they need to choose I think like three or four books to read over the summer. The books range from classics, non-fiction, to more of the popular YA books of the past few years. I love that system just because it includes books kids can relate to these days.

      Welcome back!

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  9. I also have a fascination with this time period as well, and I love learning about WWII, it can be a bit depressing and sad at times, but you also see lots of courage and strength too. I will have to try this book out, never read it, and I think its a story I would love to try out soon.

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    1. I always feel strange saying it's one of my favorite time periods to read and learn about, because of the destruction of lives and property that took place. I can't deny how interesting all of it is though. I highly recommend it, and when/if you do read it I hope you enjoy it!

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  10. Awesome post new follower!
    here is my post: http://rainydayreadingreviews.blogspot.com/2015/06/feature-follow-friday-is-weekly-meme_26.html

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  11. Yes, yes, yes to everything you said. :-D I too loved The Book Thief. Such a fantastic and unique book. I haven't read anything else by Markus Zusak though. I plan to someday though! So little time...
    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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    1. Same here! I Am the Messenger has been sitting on my shelf for years now just staring at me practically begging me to read it, but other books always get in the way! Curse the never ending TBR list!!!

      You are welcome! Thank you for stopping by mine!

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  12. I like The Book Thief too.Harry Potter is great book for every age.
    I follow you back.

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    1. There is no denying that! I will probably still be re-reading the Harry Potter series when I'm 80!

      Thank you so much :)

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  13. I've never read The Book Thief.
    Thanks for stopping by!

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    1. That's okay! I highly recommend it, especially if you are intrigued by historical fiction. Now that I have said that, I think you would enjoy it even if you weren't interested in historical fiction. It's just one of those books that takes such a unique approach to a story and topic. Thank you for visiting!

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  14. I encountered "The Book Thief" a few years ago, and have been meaning to read it. I can't believe I haven't done so yet! I know it's a great novel, with a very poignant theme.

    You've just given me a nudge to read this book! As for "Pride and Prejudice", it bored me in high school. A couple of years ago, I read it again -- twice -- and actually started to appreciate it. It will never be one of my favorites, though!

    Hope you're having a great weekend!! I'd like to leave my FF post link, but I don't know how to that from my cell phone, lol. So just hop on over to A NIGHT'S DREAM OF BOOKS when you get a chance. Recent follower!! : )

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    1. READ IT. In the next couple of weeks I might go ahead and pick it back up to re-read it for memory sake.

      I definitely want to give Pride and Prejudice another chance down the road, because I have heard several great things about it. Plus, I've been wanting to read more classics as well as appreciating them and I didn't appreciate Pride and Prejudice while I was reading it.

      I did have a great weekend! It was filled with rain, family, and lots of reading and relaxing! I hope you had a great weekend too! I feel ya. Cell phones are supposed to make life easier, but really they make things more challenging at times! Do you have a smartphone? If you do I can tell you how I do it the rare times I use my phone for commenting. I will definitely come over and visit :) Welcome back, Maria!

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  15. Hopping through. I read The Book Thief in my early 20s and loved it. Then I got my parents to read it and they loved it too.
    My FF

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    1. I love when I hear about families reading and loving the same books! My parents don't really read with the exception of newspapers. Better than nothing! Thank you for visiting, and I will make sure I stop by yours!

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  16. I didn't enjoy any of my reads from high school except Hamlet by Shakespeare but I think trying to decipher what he was on about was a good challenge.
    I'm an old bloglovin follower.
    Have a great week.

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    1. Shakespeare is going to be the death of me! I survived through high school, but I'm pretty sure I'll meet up with him again sometime during my college career. I have no idea why he and I don't click. I do enjoy reading his work more than I do watching his work. Deciphering what he is saying is quite a challenge, you are correct! I always get a kick out of those books that are being made now that translate his work into how it would be said today with our lingo and sayings. Some are actually pretty funny!

      Welcome back! I hope you have a great week too!

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