Down the TBR Hole #2

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story.

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Books: #10-20

Last week’s final number: 337  | Current number: 355 | This week’s final number: 353 | Total books removed so far: 6 | Total books kept so far: 14

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Monster Volume 1 by Naoki Urasawa

I still very much want to read this manga. I love the anime. I just need to buy it. That’s the problem. So many books to buy, so little money. Still, I will get it. Eventually.

Verdict: Stays

The Mosquite Coast by Paul Theroux

This book has a sentimental significance for me. I still haven’t read it, but I do want to. I added it at someone’s recommendation years ago and I can’t bring myself to get rid of it. It does sound like a great read. Hopefully, I’ll get to it soon.

Verdict: Stays

Lord of the Flies by William Gording

I have wanted to read this book for so long. And every time I remember about it, I ask myself why I’ve not read it yet. So… yeah.

Verdict: This one stays as well

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Am I the only one who finds the author’s last name to be ironic? When I was a kid, I had this VHS with The Never Ending Story. It was an animated version. I adored it. I watched it on repeat every day, all day. It was crazy. Of course I want to read the book. I just need to. I can’t get rid of this!

Verdict: Stays

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

*sigh* I wonder if I will remove even one book from my TBR today. I adore the Princess Bride film. I really want to read the book. I can’t toss it away.

Verdict: Stays

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Hmmm… I really enjoyed the film. I really liked the story. But I don’t feel any intense desire to read this book. I am satisfied with what the film provided. So I think at last, I will remove something!

Verdict: Goes

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

I love this story. And I do want to read it, but I don’t think it’s necessary to have it on my TBR. This is one of those books that I will see one day somewhere and read it in 15 minutes. So I will remove it for de-cluttering purposes.

Verdict: Goes

Perfume: The Story of a Murder by Patrick Suskind

I saw this film and it was so weird. I really liked it. And I’m really interested to read this book, because I enjoy stories that are just a little bit fucked up.

Verdict: Stays

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

I love satire and I really enjoy Oscar Wilde as a writer. I am very interested in reading this play.

Verdict: Stays

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

I don’t know what to do about this one. I really love the film. And I feel that I’m very content with what I got from it. And I’ve kind of heard mixed things about the book, so I don’t really want it to ruin the story for me. Then again… I do like forming my own opinions and I really love this story.

Verdict: Stays for now

 

 

Ten Unique Books – Top 10 Tuesday

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is 10 unique books you’ve read.

It’s not Tuesday, it’s Thursday, let’s move on. I think it’s become clear by now that it’s an event when I actually make a top 10 Tuesday post on a Tuesday.

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The Graceling Series by Kristin Kashore

This companion series was so unique to me because for one, I believe it was the first companion series I had read. And the thing that links these three novels together is the villain, which I thought was really cool. Also, the relationships in this series are quite unique within the YA genre and I loved that aspect of it. It’s an amazing series that I feel does not get the hype it deserves.

The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

I found this duology to be unique because generally in YA, the main characters are always so physically beautiful. And to have a main character who was not flawless, for a change, was really refreshing and quite unique at least within the YA genre. It also had some pretty cool mythology. Another really underrated series, in my opinion.

The Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer

I feel like hardly a post goes by when I don’t talk about this series. I honestly love it so much and it’s so, freaking underrated (this is turning into an underrated books post). The blend of magic and technology and the spin it puts on fairies and just celtic folklore is amazing. The characters are quite unique, the titular character, Artemis, is one of my favourite characters ever. It’s just a great series guys. Read it.

Pale Highway by Nicholas Conley

This is not a book that I enjoyed that much. You can read my full review on it for my thoughts and opinions. But it was definitely unique. I have to give it that. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had me kinda cringing from its… uniqueness, but also kinda curious to see what the actual hell. So yeah, it definitely has a place on this list.

Abhorsen Series by Garth Nix

I’ve only read the first book in this series. I recently read it, and I enjoyed it. I should have a review of it soon. I thought it was pretty unique because it’s not every day you read a book with a necromancer as the protagonist. It has a cool mythology that reminds me a bit of Dante’s Inferno and a bit of the Greek mythology of the Underworld. It’s cool. It’s unique. At least I’ve not read anything quite like it before.

The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

This story is told through letters from Screwtape, a senior demon, to his nephew to guide him in his attempt to lead his assigned human into temptation and eventually to hell. I thought it was very unique and I loved this book. I don’t think I’ve ever read a C. S. Lewis book I have not loved, to be honest. This is satire and I love satire. And it’s really good satire.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

I can’t really say why I think this is unique because spoilers. I mean, it’s been forever since the books came out, the movies are all out as well (though I don’t know whether they changed the ending or not, cause I haven’t watched the last ones), but I still don’t like outright spoiling things, particularly that this is such a major thing. Most of you probably know what I’m talking about.

The series in itself was not particularly unique. It stands out among YA dystopian as one of the better ones, but other than that… it’s not so unique. Except for the ending of this book. That’s not really something you see very often in YA. I don’t think I have ever seen it in any other book. So, it deserves a place on this list.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

This series has a pretty cool and unique take on dragons. I’ve only read the first book so far and I really enjoyed it. Particularly the dragons and how they work. I thought they were really cool and unique. I also enjoyed the very political nature of the plot. I know a lot of books have political plots, but this one stands out in my mind for some reason.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I loved this book so much. I read it… easily 8 years ago and I still remember it so vividly. I think this was the first novel I ever finished in one day. I could not stop reading. So well written, so unique in its idea and construct and just… gah! This book is a masterpiece. And if you’ve not read it, you’re missing out.

The Tunnels Series by Rodrick Gordon and Brian Williams

I used to be obsessed with this series. I’m sad that I never finished it and that I’ve forgotten so much about it, that I would have to reread it in order to continue, which I doubt will happen. I think there are 6 books in the series. At the time I read it, there were 4 out and I’ve read those, but then I had to wait and I just never continued with it.

This series takes place mostly underground where an entire civilization lives. And it’s so cool, it’s quite dark and mysterious and kind of conspiracy theory-esque. It’s awesome and has a really unique plot and characters as well, and just the whole underground civilization is really cool and I’ve not seen anything quite like it.

A Noob’s Guide to High Fantasy

High fantasy books can be pretty scary. They’re usually massive and part of some massive series with an intricate world that is different from the real world. I’ve heard a lot of people say they don’t like fantasy and I always ask… have you really tried? Are you sure you’re not just intimidated by it? Fantasy is not a genre you can just dive into. You have to ease your way into fantasy.

I think one of the most important things is not to jump right into high fantasy. If you’ve never read fantasy before. Or you’ve read like… Matilda when you were in elementary school, but nothing really beyond that, then the books that I’m about to talk about are not for you. Not yet. If that’s you, then go and read my other post A Noob’s Guide to Fantasy.

If however, you have read at least some of the books on that list, you’ve learnt how to swim in the shallows of fantasy and you kind of want to go off into deeper water, but you’re a little bit scared and you’re not really sure where to begin, then this post is for you. Grab some popcorn and allow me to ease you into the world of high fantasy.

In the interest of not making this post too long, I will not be talking about what the books are about, I’ll just leave a link to the Goodreads page so you can check them out for yourself.

The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen

This is probably the best series to get you into high fantasy. Particularly if you’re really apprehensive about reading a book that takes place in a different world. This is perfect. It’s classed as a middle grade series, but it is really good. It’s really clever and witty and quite dark for middle grade, I would say it reads a lot more like YA.

It’s an amazing series, really underrated in my opinion. It’s super fast paced, it’s not too long, the world is not that complex. It’s very similar to just… the real world but with a medieval setting. As far as I can remember, there isn’t any magic in it and if there is, it’s really not prominent. So it’s perfect for people who aren’t used to high fantasy and are perhaps a bit apprehensive about it. Although it’s also amazing for senior high fantasy consumers, like myself. It’s just a great series.

Goodreads

The Poison Study series by Maria V. Snyder

This is another excellent series to ease you into high fantasy. This one does have a magic system, but it doesn’t thrust you right into it, I think it only really becomes part of the story towards the end of the first book. It’s really easy to get into, it’s really fast paced. Maria V. Snyder has a great writing style, I really enjoyed this series. I think most of her novels take place in the same world and I think there are 2 or 3 series known as The Chronicles of Ixia. I’ve only read I think 7 of them, but to begin with, I would recommend the first 6 books, which follow the same characters, because I believe the next ones focus more on other characters.

Goodreads

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Another pretty light one, as far as fantasy goes. It has a slightly more complex world than the previous two. It takes place in a desert, Roman-like society and it has some elements of magic and mythology that are a little bit more prominent that in the previous books I mentioned, but it’s still not too dense, you don’t get thrust into it, it’s really not difficult to understand and get into.

I’ve only read the first book so far, but I really enjoyed it and I think it’s a good series for beginners. It’s not too long, it’s not too complicated, and it has a really cool setting and some nice mythology to it. I also have a spoiler-free review of this, if you’re interested to read that.

Goodreads

The Assassin’s Curse series by Cassandra Rose Clarke

If you like pirates and assassins, this book is it. This is a duology, the books are quite short and while there is quite a heavy element of magic and mythology, it’s not dense or difficult to understand. I really enjoyed this series, it’s got quite unique characters as far as the YA genre goes. And I think it’s perfect if you’ve maybe read one of the previous books I talked about in this post and are ready for the next step. It’s a bit more complex a fantasy world, but it’s not too bad.

The Graceling Series by Kristin Kashore

This one is a bit more complex. This is the graduation series of this guide to high fantasy. If you’ve read this, you’ll probably be ready to take on some of the more hardcore fantasy series. The world is more complex, the magic system is more complex and the books are longer, closer to your standard high-fantasy book, around 500 pages. It’s not that fast paced. Some people find it slow, I personally really loved the series and I think the fact that it isn’t very fast paced, is good for people who are not as used to high-fantasy. Because it gives you time to digest the world and how the magic works and so on.

This is a companion series. They can either be read in chronological order, or publication order. I recommend publication order, so start with Graceling, then Fire, then Bitterblue. 

Goodreads

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So, yeah these 5 books/series I think are a very good way to get into high fantasy. I hope this list helps someone get into high fantasy, because it’s an amazing genre and there are so many good stories that people may be missing out on because they’re intimidated by the genre. Let me know if this did help you, or if you’re already a veteran fantasy reader, what books would you recommend for noobs? Also, for fellow veterans, because I’m always on the lookout for some good fantasy recs.

A Noob’s Guide To Fantasy

I’ve heard so many people saying that they don’t like fantasy, they only like realistic books. And to those people I say… give it a chance. You’ll probably end up loving it. I know it can be an intimidating genre. There’s usually so many books in those fantasy series and there’s so much you need to understand and it can get pretty intense. So I don’t blame you for being a little bit scared.

You can’t just jump into fantasy. You need to ease yourself into it. And that’s what I’m here for. Sit back, relax and let me take you on a short guide to getting into fantasy. The trick is not diving straight into high fantasy. Start a bit closer to home.

In the interest of not making this post too long, I will not be talking about what each book is about, instead I’ll just link the Goodreads page so you can check them out for yourself.

The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

Okay, you probably saw this coming. But seriously, it’s one of the best series to get you into fantasy. It’s funny and well written and just so epic, but it still takes place in the ‘real world’ and it does a very good job of introducing all the magical elements. Besides… it’s like a massive cultural thing. If you haven’t read it, you need to read it. Just give it a couple books. It gets better and better and better. Just read Harry Potter.

Goodreads

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan

Another one you probably saw coming. It’s so funny and witty and easy to read. The books are pretty short and they’re just so, laugh-out-loud funny. They’re brilliant. So easy to get through, so much fun. You’ll probably love them. If you’ve seen the film and think it’s shit, forget what you saw and read the books, because the film really was shit.

Goodreads

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This is a beautiful book. I would almost call it magical realism. It’s very much a realistic book. It does have magical elements that are incredibly significant, but it’s very realistic. For those people who think “Eh, I don’t like fantasy, I like realistic stories that I can relate to.” If you think fantasy is fanciful or whatever, read A Monster Calls. It’s short, you can read it in a couple hours, just read it.

I also have a review of it, if you are interested.

Goodreads

The Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer

I adore this series. It’s so underrated. It’s so much fun. I love the characters, I love the story and the magic is so well woven together with the mundane, it’s great. It’s great for getting into fantasy and it’s great if you’re already a fantasy reader. It’s just a great series all around. So witty and well written, it’s awesome.  It’s a long series, but the books are quite short and fast paced and easy to read and you’ll have a blast with them.

Goodreads

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is sort of the graduation of this guide. She’s a very good bridge between sort of regular, low fantasy and high fantasy. All her books, really, although I do strongly recommend reading her books in publication order for the best experience. Technically, you can read each series as a standalone series, even though it takes place within the same world, but you get a lot more out of them if you read them in publication order, because Cassie has a way of weaving stories together and the easter eggs are so satisfying.

You might find City of Bones, the first book, a bit boring, but it’s not difficult to read or get into and Cassandra really does get better with every book and every series. So I recommend, if you’re not a really big fan of City of Bones, try the next one. I would say, the end of book two is where the series starts getting really good. If you can get through the first two books, you’ll probably end up hooked on Cassie Clare.

Goodreads

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These are 5 books/series that I think are great for getting you into fantasy. I hope if you were unsure about fantasy, that this post has provided some guidance. Fantasy is such a wonderful and diverse genre, there’s really something for everyone within it, so don’t dismiss it. Just give it a chance. Also, if you’ve already taken your first steps into the world of fantasy and would like to move to intense fantasy, but maybe you’re a bit intimidated, check out my guide about getting into high fantasy.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber – Spoiler Free Book Review

Rating: 1/5

Genre: YA, fantasy

First published: 2017

Author: Stephanie Garber

Synopsis: Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

Book Depository | Goodreads

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I have not been this frustrated with a book since I read Glass Sword.

Another book with an absolutely GORGEOUS cover (especially the UK edition that I have) that is painfully disappointing. It just had so much potential and it failed to deliver on every. single. level.

Characters? What characters? They’re so one dimensional, a cardboard cutout has more depth. The only character I felt anything about was Scarlett and the only thing I felt about her was frustration. There was a ridiculous insta-romance and all the characters had the stupidest motivations ever. It was just lazy writing. Everything was just convenient, without really being explained.

The plot? It was so lame and predictable. Like I said, everything was oh, so convenient. And it ended in a stupid, lame cliffhanger and I was just like… I don’t care. I really don’t care. It was advertised as being a book about some magical circus-like performance. Nope. Nope. it felt nothing like a magical performance. It was more like a scavenger hunt on a magical island. Which would also have been a cool premise… but it’s not what the book was advertised to be.

The worldbuilding was almost nonexistent. Whenever something was convenient, it would just be there. Like oh, the main character needs something, well here it is. It’s part of the world. No explanation. Doesn’t really have any impact on anything other than that specific thing that it’s convenient for. Lazy, sloppy storytelling.

Also, the writing was just… it tried to hard. And it was weird. The descriptions were so… awkward. You could tell that the author was trying to write very beautifully and poetically, but it wasn’t. Not everyone can pull off beautiful, magical, poetical writing. And that’s okay. But they shouldn’t try to force it.

I can’t really say more than this without spoilers, so if you’re interested in my full thoughts on the book, check out my rant post about it. I will definitely not be continuing with this series.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber – RANT

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ CARAVAL AND DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED, CHECK OUT MY SPOILER FREE REVIEW HERE!

Like I said in my review… I have not been this frustrated with a book since reading Glass Sword. The characters were so one dimensional, they may as well not have existed. Scarlett was so stupid and self-righteous, I wanted to punch her in the face. I hate her. I hate her. And the other characters, I just don’t care about. at all.

Her dad was so… boring. As an antagonist. He may as well have been some sort of machine that punched people at convenient points in the story. I got nothing from him. He was just… a lame villain. And Legend was an even lamer villain. He was so boring, I just didn’t care. I didn’t care about his motives, I didn’t care if he was good or bad. And his backstory was so… predictable and flimsy and not well explained at all. I still have no idea how he got his powers or what exactly happened that he became Legend. His motives are still largely unexplained. I didn’t find the whole story with Scarlett’s grandmother compelling at all. It was just such a stupid, flimsy motive for a villain. Who wasn’t even really a villain after all? I don’t know. Meh.

The so called ‘super strong’ sisterly bond between Tella and Scarlett… I didn’t see it at all. Tella was selfish and spoiled and really didn’t seem to care too much about her sister. And neither did Scarlett, really, despite the fact that we are told time and time again how she would do anything for her sister. I didn’t buy it. Even the thing at the beginning where they blame each other so that their father wouldn’t punish the other… I didn’t really buy it. Especially that Tella then immediately had her sister drugged and kidnapped? What? What? That was when I was first like… whaaat?

And then, the insta love. UGH! Julian literally drugged her and abducted her and all she thinks about is how hot he is as soon as she wakes up? What the hell, Scarlett? At that point, I still had hopes. I knew I was going to hate the romance, but I thought I still had the magical performance to look forward to and I wasn’t really reading for the romance anyway. Boy was I wrong.

There was no magical performance. It was like this lame scavenger hunt on a conveniently magical island. It wasn’t convincing at all. Over and over, we keep being told how important it is that Scarlett finds Tella before everyone else, but… we don’t really see this “everyone else”. There is literally one scene where there is any sense of competition at all. Where we even really see the other competitors.

And the way that Scarlett figures out clues… is just so unbelievable. She is so dumb. Yet somehow, she always has this incredible insight into what Legend wants and what his clues mean. It’s completely unbelievable. And also, the way she deduces some things from thin air like she’s freaking Sherlock Holmes is so unrealistic. Things like “He looked away in a way that made me realise he was still hiding something from me about his relationship with his mother.” or something. That’s not an actual quote, but you know what I mean? There is no way that anyone could surmise so much from so little. Particularly not someone as stupid as Scarlett.

Scarlett’s self-righteousness and the whole “I’m engaged, this isn’t proper.” made me roll my eyes so much I feared they might remain that way. Especially when half her time was spent concentrating on how hot the guys around her were. Like bitch, you’re a hypocrite! And you are nowhere near as “good” and innocent as you try to seem.

The writing tried too hard. The way things were described, was so weird. It tried to be poetic. But it wasn’t. Like Scarlett’s ability to “see” emotions as colours. I thought that was some magical ability or something… but nope. It was just something used in an attempt to make the writing poetic. And it wasn’t, it was just weird. Things like “She glimpsed a flash a mustard apprehension as she stepped into the room.” Again, not an actual quote, but that’s how it sounded. Or things like “The rose was red like passion and anger and blood.” It’s just so bad. It made me uncomfortable.

The whole ending with Julian being Legend’s brother and Tella’s deal and the cliffhanger and all the implied things about their mother and all that… I just could not care less. I was so bored, I had to skim the last 150 pages. I just could not give a crap.

I have so may other problems with it. But it makes me tired just thinking about them. It was just bad. It was very, very bad and I am really disappointed. It had no redeeming quality whatsoever. At least the cover is pretty.

 

Blogger Recognition Award

I was nominated for this award quite some time ago by Joana @ Bookneeders and I didn’t do it right away for whatever reason and then I forgot about it. So, sorry for taking so long to do it and thank you for nominating me!

Rules

• Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.

• Write a post to show your award.

• Give a brief story of how your blog started.

• Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.

• Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to.

• Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

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Story of my blog…

I started this blog pretty much on a whim about a year and a half ago. For the longest time, I didn’t really post anything on it. I was still doing booktube back then until I finally realised that I actually enjoy writing a blog more than I enjoy making youtube videos. So then I started posting more regularly and that’s about it, really.

Advice for new bloggers

Man, I don’t know how qualified I am to give any advice. But I would say one of the most important things it post content that you are passionate about, that you would enjoy reading and don’t be afraid of expressing your thoughts and opinions. They’re yours and you’re entitled to them and of course, be mindful and respectful of others, but don’t compromise.

And my second piece of advice is get involved. If you read a post that you like, comment on it. Even if it’s just to say “Hey, great post! I really enjoyed reading it.”. Because one, you’ll make someone happy and two, it’s the best way to have your blog discovered by others. So don’t just lurk. Engage.

Nominees…

Here are some of the blogs that I probably read the most and think they deserve recognition.

Thrice Read

Tiana @ The Book Raven

Kourtni @ Kourtni Reads

Meghan @ Whimsically Meghan

Marta @ The Book Mermaid

Danielle @ Books, Vertigo and Tea

Diana @ A Haven For Book Lovers

Down the TBR Hole #1

My TBR shelf on Goodreads is ridiculous. And I keep adding to it. And adding to it. And adding to it. So I decided to join this meme created by Lia @ Lost in a Story because honestly I don’t even know what I have on my TBR shelf. And I need to get it under control.

This is how it works:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

There are currently 341 books on my Goodreads TBR shelf. Here we go.

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 Purgatorio and Paradisso by Dante Aligheri.

I will keep both of these because it is an ambition of mine to read The Divine Comedy and I’ve almost finished reading Inferno and I’m going to finish all of them. I actually really enjoy the story, it’s just that it’s in verse and that makes it difficult for me to concentrate. But I will do it.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

This is actually a book that I started reading a long time ago, but I do not own it so I never got to finish it. And I really enjoyed it and I do plan on buying it and reading it, so this will stay as well.

Youth Without youth by Mircea Eliade

Ughhh… I’m so torn with this one. On the one hand, I really enjoy Mircea Eliade. He has very intellectual books and this sounds really interesting. On the other hand… I don’t feel like I will reach for it anytime soon. I will have to say this one goes. For now at least. Maybe some day, I’ll add it back. But for now, it goes.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

I fully intend to read this book. I just need to buy it. I love John Green and this is probably one of his most discussed books. So I’m definitely keeping this.

Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck

Ehhh… it has a pretty cover and I love tigers… but I have heard a lot of really bad reviews, so it goes.

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

I really want to read this book. Every time I read the synopsis, I’m like “Why have I not read this yet?”. So it stays.

Mind Games by Terri Terry

This one goes. I was really into dystopian a few years back when i added it, but reading the synopsis now… I really don’t think I’d be able to get into this book. I read Slated, another one of Terri Terry’s series, and I liked it. But I didn’t love it even then when I was into dystopia. So yeah, bye.

The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie

I really enjoy reading Agatha Christie. But the way I read her books is I see one and I’m like “Oh, I haven’t read Agatha Christie in a while. Let’s read this.” My grandmother owns most if not all of her books, so I always lend them from her. I don’t feel like there’s any point in cluttering my TBR shelf with any of her books. All her books are on my TBR and I don’t need a reminder of it. So I will remove this, just for de-cluttering purposes.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I feel like this is such a classic. I can’t bring myself to remove it. I want to read it. I really do. So, I’m keeping it for now.

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This is it for my first trip down the TBR hole. I now have 337 books on my TBR shelf. I wonder how many I’ll have by next week when I dive in again.

Replica by Lauren Oliver – Book Review

Rating: 4.5/5

Genre:  YA, sci-fi

First published:  2016

Author: Lauren Oliver

Synopsis: 

Lyra

Lyra has lived in the Haven Institute her whole life, The tests and experiments conducted on her and her fellow replicas are a normal, expected part of her life. But when a surprise attack is launched on Haven, two of its young experimental subjects—Lyra, or 24, and the boy known only as 72—manage to escape. As they make their way through a new and menacing environment, they meet a stranger named Gemma, who has embarked on a perilous quest of her own. And as Lyra tries to understand Haven’s purpose, she uncovers earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls.

Gemma

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals her whole life. A sickly child, she has grown into a lonely adolescent whose life is circumscribed by home, school, and her best friend, April.

But after she is nearly abducted by a stranger claiming to know her, Gemma starts to investigate her family’s past and discovers her father’s mysterious connection to the secretive Haven research facility. Hungry for answers, she travels to Florida, only to stumble upon two human models, or replicas, 24 and 72—and a completely new set of questions. As Gemma tries to unravel the mysteries of Haven, she learnes terrible truths about herself and her family that will threaten to destroy everything she loves.

Book Depository | Goodreads

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I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy this book. I put off getting it for quite a while because I was nervous that is was going to be one of those wishy-washy, dystopian-esque sci-fi books that I am very over-saturated with and I really don’t enjoy. But I was wrong. I really enjoyed this book. I finished it in one day, despite its size.

As far as the plot goes… it was really quite mediocre. Nothing too innovative, no plot-twists that I didn’t see coming from miles away. This book is not enjoyable for its plot. But I don’t think the plot was the point of this book. It almost feels like the story was secondary, just a backdrop for the characters to deal with their issues of identity and humanity and self-worth. And that’s why I didn’t mind it. And the story isn’t bad. It’s fast paced and keeps you going, it’s just nothing new.

What I really enjoyed and what was done really well in my opinion, was like I said before, the themes of humanity, identity and self-worth that were the main focus of this book. The two girls have completely different lives and yet both of them experience the same inner turmoil. And I really loved that, because it’s true. We’re all the same if you think about it. Lyra was raised basically as a lab rat her entire life, being told that she was worthless, inhuman and so on. And she believed it. She took it as fact. But despite never knowing anything else, she still had doubts. She struggled with her identity and humanity and her sense of worth as a living being.

Gemma lived a privileged life by most accounts. She was wealthy and had a family and all that. But she was sickly and overweight and felt trapped by her parents and felt that her body and the fact that she weighed more than other people meant that she was weird, or inhuman almost and that she had less inherent worth than the thin, healthy people she went to school with. And there’s such a contrast between their two lives, but those thoughts are the same. They’re human thoughts.

I also really enjoyed the format of it. I personally read it alternating between the two stories and I really enjoyed that. I thought it was really cool and made the book easier to read, somehow. I do recommend alternating between the two, although you can read them separately as well.

The most frustrating thing for me was the ending. I understand why it ended the way it did. Because as I said, the plot seemed more like a backdrop for the character development and them dealing with all those issues I spoke about, so once those were resolved, the rest of the story was irrelevant. It was not the point of the story. But I still want to know how the plot resolves. I was curious to know that ending. And I am really frustrated about that.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this book and if you enjoy stories that are character driven and that focus on these sort of issues of identity and humanity and all that, then definitely pick it up. If you’re looking for a hardcore sci-fi with a strong plot, then this is probably not the book for you.

25 Bookish Things About Me Book Tag (200 followers celebration!!!)

I was fully planning to write a review today. I sat down at my computer, I pulled up WordPress, I was ready to do this… and what do I see? A little notification telling me I have reached 200 subscribers. Oh. Em. Gee. You mean to tell me that there are 200 people who have come across my blog and have found its content worth following? That’s just… kind of really amazing. Thank you so, so much everyone! I appreciate it so much and I love chatting with you in the comments.

In celebration, I have decided to do the 25 bookish things about me tag. I’ve seen it around a ton and I thought it a good way of celebrating. So here we go.

1. The first full length novel that I read on my own was White Fang by Jack London. I was 6 at the time, it was right before I started school and I remember wanting to read a novel by myself before officially starting school because I was a little shit and I wanted to be better than everyone else.
2. I’m a pretty fast reader. I can probably get through about 1 and a half of your standard length YA novel in a day. Of course, it greatly depends on how interesting I find the book or if it’s a really complex or dense book, I might not be able to read as quickly. But generally speaking, I’m one of those people who can read 200 pages in an hour and a half and not even realise.
3. The longest book I have read in one day to date is I believe Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 
4. I used to read a lot of historical fiction, particularly French cape-and-sword type books a la Alexandre Dumas when I was younger.
5. I currently own around 300 books, I would say. Although, to be fair a portion of them are not technically speaking mine. They’re my family’s books. However, they reside in my room and I take care of them, so I consider them as mine.
6. I used to really dislike hardbacks for some reason. I have grown out of that.
7. I don’t like sitting in a chair while reading, if I can help it. I need an armchair at the least, though preferably a sofa or bed.
8. I love fairytales and folklore and some of the first things I ever read as a child were folklore and fairytales. I used to wake up early every morning to read one story as soon as I learnt how to read.
9. I learnt how to read quite early. I couldn’t pinpoint an exact age, but I was around 4 or 5 years old.
10. Fantasy is probably my favourite genre. Though I do read most genres.
11. I did not read Harry Potter until I was 15.
12. I have probably read around 500 books, if you include re-reads.
13. I do enjoy re-reading books. Oddly, I don’t always necessarily re-read my favourite books. Sometimes I re-read books that I found easy to read, that don’t require much thinking or effort beyond being able to read words. This normally happens when I’m in a reading slump and it can help me get out of one.
14. For some reason, I don’t really like paranormal fantasy. I don’t hate it and there have been some paranormal books that I really enjoyed, but generally speaking, it’s a genre that doesn’t appeal to me much. So is urban fantasy. Particularly vampirey, werewolfey urban fantasy.
15. I have a soft spot for elemental magic.
16. I really enjoy writing reviews once I start writing them and they usually flow, but I have a really hard time getting myself to start writing a review sometimes.
17. One of my happiest bookish memories is when my dad came home one day with all the Lord of the Rings books. I still have those books. They’re probably my favourite books that I own, even though they’re old and battered, but I even brought them with me to uni, even though I knew I was probably not going to re-read them anytime soon.
18. The book I have re-read the most is probably Twilight. This may come as a surprise, I’m not really a Twilight fan. I never really was a Twilight fan. I just found it to be such an easy book to read. I always had it on my phone or iPod or whatever as an ebook and I would read it whenever I was bored. At school, or waiting for food in a restaurant or whatever.
19. I’m very bad at reading out loud. My brain reads faster than my mouth can speak and it just ends up being a mess.
20. My all time favourite non-fiction book is A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis.
21. I have written an 50,000+ word novel in pretty much one month after marathoning Throne of Glass a couple years ago. I had such a massive book hangover that I could not read anything else and I just wanted a story about a badass lady protagonist. I was craving it. I needed it. So I wrote it for myself.
22. I’m very slow with reading historical fiction for some reason. I used to read historical fiction so much, but I just can’t do it anymore. And it frustrates me, because whenever I do read a historical fiction, I really enjoy it. I just don’t really seem to pick them up very often and when I do, it takes me uncharacteristically long to read them.
23. I adore very complex and complicated fantasy worlds (when done well, of course) and I think that stems out of my obsession love of Tolkien.
24. Also due to my deep love for Tolkien, I think at least partly, is my fascination with languages and how they work. I’ve always wanted to create a language, it’s one of my dreams and realistically, it’s probably never going to happen. But I always really admired Tolkien for creating his own languages. I think it’s the coolest thing ever and I wish I could do it.
25. I have never read anything by Neil Gaiman. I know. It’s freaking Neil Gaiman. But I just never read any of his books. I need to. I really need to. I just don’t even know where to start.

There you have it. 25 bookish facts about me. Thank you so much once again to all the people who follow me and read my posts and comment and talk to me, I appreciate it so much and I enjoy talking to you guys so much!