2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

We all have those books. We buy them, win them, they're gifted to us.. Then we put them up on a bookshelf and there they stay, collecting dust, waiting for the time when we'll finally decide to pick them up...

I am excited to be participating in the TBR pile reading challenge being hosted by Evie at Bookish.I have never participated in a reading challenge. This one is really great because I definitely have a lot of books that I bought and was really excited about, but just didn't get to them. This is a great motivator for me to really read them. The challenge levels are as follows:


1-10 - A Firm Handshake

11-20 - A Friendly Hug

21-30 - A Sweet Kiss

31-40 - Love At First Sight

41-50 - Married With Children


I'm going to stick with A Firm Handshake. I can level up but not level down so I'm not taking any chances. I'm a hoarder and have several hundreds of books ranging from children novels, to historic novels about certain wars. I ended up just grabbing a few books from my shelf that I've been meaning to read. (So in other words random picks) These are the top 10 of my Firm Handshake list:

• .hack//Another Birth by Miu Kawasaki 
• Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander 
• Player One by Douglas Coupland 
• Upgrade to Free by Beth Ziesenis 
• 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
• The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer (the advance copy) 
• 24-Karat Kids by July Goldstein and Sebastian Stuart 
• The Invisible Man by H.G. Well 
• The Romance Readers' Book Club by Julie L. Cannon 
• The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas 

Well, that is my tentative list for the TBR pile reading challenge. Odds are the list will change on my mood I'll probably be reading lots of Darren Shan novels I've been putting on the side, and maybe FINALLY finish the series of unfortunate evens, and find my Inkdeath novel where ever that was misplaced to. But all in all this is my rough list, what is everyone else going to pick for this upcoming year?

Review: My Sweet Kaicho, Vol. 8

My Sweet Kaicho, Vol. 8 by Hiro Fujiwara

My rating: 1 of 5 stockings



Last installment Usui confessed to Misaki while fireworks lit up the night sky, then the novel ended with them walking hand in hand.

Maid-Sama!/My Sweet Kaicho volume 8, the Maid Cafe's having a magical witch-maid day, but wait Usui's not a witch how can he cast a truth spell on Misaki? Shintani although heartbroken, his determination to gain Misaki's love is stronger than ever. Seika High is have elections for all positions are up for grabs.

I'm not a fan of this volume actually I found it quiet a bore, I literally had to go back and read the volume again just to write this review. Considering I read it 5 minutes before starting to writing this review just tells me it's no good. I'm just going to be frank with you I didn't like it. 1 stocking out of 5 is what I'll give it.

Holiday readings from yours truly,

I'm Catholic so for me the celebrating starts the 24th which is also my first day off of a 4 day holiday, yes it means I also have boxing day off! But this post is about what will you read during the holidays? I for one have my holidays packed with family visiting my boy and I, organizing parties, clean my house, decorating and waitressing.

For the time being I want to post 1 review a day, which is actually harder than I thought, but around the 20th I'll be busy. If you've been reading my blog for some time you'll see a pattern of manga, but like I said I'm posting 1 a day and manga's one of the easiest things for me to review.

My Holiday Readings list are actually stalled novels and the ones I'm currently reading
The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman (the advance readers copy)
Upgrade to Free
The Fury and Dark Reunion
Wolf Island
Player One

Knowing I work in a restaurant the holidays tend to get quite busy, because of these factors odds are I won't be able to complete this reading list. Let's hope for the impossible, what are you reading this holiday?

Review: My Sweet Kaicho, Vol. 7

My Sweet Kaicho, Vol. 7 by Hiro Fujiwara

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stockings



Last installment we left Misaki and Usui at the school camp out resolving Usui's worries, this of course is before the side stories. The last side story we left off with was Usui playing prince with Yukimora's little sister, although in the end prince Usui and princess Misaki ended up together, and Yukimora and his sister regained a sibling relationship.

In volume 6 of Maid-sama/My Sweet Kaicho there's an all you can eat sweet glutton competition at Maid Cafe, of all the people to show up Shintani an old childhood friend and classmate, will her cover be blown? What started out as a girls day out to the cultural festival ended up in a date between Misaki and Usui!

I can't tell you much about what happens in the novel without giving away some key story elements and events. All I can say is that I found the two last chapters of this book too rushed. Many people must be thrilled about this volume, but look at the two last chapters I'm someone who likes to savor a long awaited moment not someone who rushes to it and then puts it on the back burner. I can't give it 5 stockings but I can give it 4.5 stockings.

Review: My Sweet Kaicho, Vol. 6

My Sweet Kaicho, Vol. 6 by Hiro Fujiwara

My rating: 3 of 5 stockings



In the previous installment of Maid-Sama!/My Sweet Kaicho we left Kanou wondering why Usui and Misaki try to deny and and their feelings for one another. Once he confronted Misaki she claimed that he was mistaken and no such chemistry is between them. When Kanou confronted Usui he claimed he has already tired of girls.

In volume 6 of My Sweet Kaicho there's a new student who enrolled in high school Shintani Hinata, his sole purpose for transferring is to find his first love. But just wait this bottomless stomach of a man clams that his first loves name is Misaki-chan ... could it be that Usui's got some competition on his hands? What will happen to Misui, will it actually become Misani? Will new love blossom read to find out. We as the readers will be following Misaki, Usui and Shintani durring an outdoor school campout where they have to barricade the boys and girls apart for safety reasons.

I for one liked this volume, it has a good flow and vibe to it. There is a new possible main character slash wedge in between Misaki and Usui introduced, which keeps things "fresh" as we get into the later volumes. It kind of seems to me that Misaki and Usui's relationship is starting to get a little stale, don't get me wrong I'll voting for them to end up together. It just seams as if something is missing or it's going in a different direction. Because of this I gave it 3 stockings out of 5.

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Review: Love Neko

Love Neko by Kazuhiko Mishima

My rating: 4 of 5 stockings



Yabuki Eiji a high school teacher, just got himself in a sticky situation. One night while surfing the web, he came across a web site that sold 3D High-Tech Moe-Girl "Necoco" who was described as the Ultimate Loving Machine, and impulsively pressed "Purchase". While a little time passed by, he entered his household to find a young man with cat ears and a tail who introduced himself as Necoco!? It doesn't end there, with Eiji threatening to return Necoco, Necoco decides to show his worth the only way he knows by being the "Ultimate Loving Machine".

I absolutely loved this story and even the short stories in chapter 5 and 7. It's got a cute yet rough love to it. To put it bluntly I've read many romance novels and manga but not many Yaoi, so I can't really compare it to much. To see the High school teacher and the robots love evolve was quite hilarious. Necoco never really evolved nor changed as a character, Eiji although came to eventually love the weird cat boy.

I'm a sucker for manga romance and cat ears so I have no choice but to give this book 4 stockings out of 5. Okay in all seriousness this is an actually good short story, it would have gotten 5 if there'd be a deeper plot to the story, I know that it's made to be more lighthearted and to attract a female audience, but a little more plot wouldn't hurt the cause.

Review: My Sweet Kaicho, Vol. 5

My Sweet Kaicho, Vol. 5 by Hiro Fujiwara

My rating: 4 of 5 stockings



Last installment we left after two small side stories and the maid beach house. We start volume 5 with Misaki and her friends, and planing to go to a tea party with some band members. The reason for this high school friend Sakura (short pigtail girl) has a crush on one of them and must get the chance to meet him. Misaki in need of some girl time tags along, but unknown to these girls, the band members aren't as devoted to their fans as they portray.

That isn't the only problem, someone is trying to buy Maid Latte, but who would in their right mind dare to do this to the cafe. It doesn't take much of a scientist to figure out that Igarashi Tora the student council president of Myabigaoka Academy is behind it. When push comes to shove, Misaki joins a partner competition with one of her co-workers in the best butler competition to show the cafe and her worth. The catch it's an all male competition.

In Maid-Sama or My Sweet Kaicho volume 5 we get to view a little more of Usui, we get to see more of his serious side which was a rare in the previous volumes. We get a glimpse of his apartment where there's only a table and a couch, in his refrigerator there's only a bottle of water and some juice. You not only get to see more of Usui but also more of the perfect Misaki's not so perfect cooking.

I loved the co-operation between Usui and Misaki and how she finally realized how much she actually depends on Usui. The big story really started to get momentum in volume 5 which starts to give you a few ideas to different outcomes to the story. I'll give this novel 4 out of 5 stockings, a volume that can not be skipped out of the series and definitively worth the read.

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