Saturday 31 January 2015

January Wrap Up

In January I managed to read 6 books which for me is a huge accomplishment although one book was for school and it was a very short play. 

At the end of 2014 I did a 2014 wrap up and I've decided now to do monthly wrap ups because I really enjoyed the 2014 one.

So here's what I read in the month of January!

1. Briar Rose - Jana Oliver (3*)
I really don't know whether I liked this or not. I felt some of the language was way too "fake" and wasn't how teenagers talk at all. The plot was both good and bad and kinda weird in parts but overall it's was alright. For some reason I think this book would have been better as a TV show not a book (??).

2. An Inspector Calls - J.B Priestly (no rating)
Read this for school, it's not brilliant but I kinda like the theme of responsibility in it.

3. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (4*) 
I actually started this in 2014 but ended up reading other books at the same time and never finishing this. I didn't love this book as much as I wanted to but I really enjoyed the main plot and the writing style. It was really nice to read a fantasy for a change.

4. The Sky Is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson (5*)
Really loved this. I loved the poems in the book and I want my own Joe Fontaine.

5. Blood Red Road - Moira Young (4*)
This book really irritated me because it used no speech marks but other than that it was a good read and it was nice to read more dystopian seeing as I haven't read any since finishing The Death Cure.

6. Rebel Heart - Moira Young (4*)
I kinda prefered this book to the first one but I did not like the way Saba acted in some parts with DeMalo, I think it was just wrong and made me feel sick.

So that's what I read in January! I'm now 24% done with my GoodReads challenge!

Wednesday 21 January 2015

My Thoughts: The Night Circus

I find that I'm awful at writing reviews and I write them but never post them because they're so boring so this is an attempt of a new kind of post.

Instead of completely reviewing the book I'm just going to give a few thoughts and opinions.(which I guess is a review but let's just go with it).

The Night Circus is one of the most hyped up books ever, especially because of the Internet with things like GoodReads and booktube. 

I've never once heard someone tell me they don't like it but sadly, I am that person.

I was desperate to love this book because of all the hype surrounding it but I think all that hype meant that no matter what, it would always have disappointed me even if I had enjoyed it.

Although I'm not a fan of YouTubers, I did once see Jim Champan mention this book in a video and he explained that he wasn't into reading and this was a great book for people like that because it was so easy to read. It wasn't. It's probably one of the most difficult books to get into, especially for people who don't read often.

Erin Morgenstern's writing style is very unique and descriptive and it made the book all the more magical and I loved that quality about it but it was pretty long winded and I did struggle to get into it and finish it. It seemed that no matter how much I read, I was never getting nearer the end.

The book it's self is difficult to follow with jumps in time forwards and backwards and what felt like a million subplots, some with little relevance to the main story, with hundreds of different characters. 

I can understand why people love this book so much but for me it was just way too heavy going and packed up, it was a little overwhelming.

Despite not enjoying the book as much as the majority of people, I still rated the book 4* on GoodReads purely because of the idea of the book and the writing style. It is very lovely and heartwarming and it was nice to read a magical story for a change.

I am still so so so upset that I didn't love this book though, I really wouldn't rave about it to anyone and I want to so much but it really wasn't for me.

Friday 2 January 2015

Books For Christmas

This post has ended up being uploaded a lot later than I had expected but I decided to do it anyway. 

For Christmas I didn't ask for a lot other than books!

I gave  my mum a list of books I wanted to read and asked her to buy me a random selection as I wanted a surprise for my presents because all I asked for is books, haha.

So she got me a few off my list and a few surprise books.

So here's the Christmas book haul!

1. Tiger Lily - Jodi Lynn Anderson
I had wanted this book for such a long time so it was the first book I started reading and it was incredible.

2. Briar Rose - Jana Oliver
I had asked for Briar Rose by Jane Yolen but when you search that in amazon this is the first book that comes up so I think my mum may have got confused.

3. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld 
I've heard a lot of people talk about this book and I've seen mixed reviews so I hope it lives up to the hype and good reviews.

4. The Sky Is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson
I added this to my GoodReads a while ago but I honestly don't remember what it's about. It seems to have quite an original format from what I can see from flicking through it.

5. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
I watched the movie of this years ago and I was in love with it. I actually didn't know it was a book until last year so I hope it's as good as the movie adaptation.

6. The Dustlands Trilogy (Blood Red Road, Rebel Heart, Raging Star) - Moria Young
These are the books I hadn't asked for and I haven't actually heard of them but they're recommended for fans of The Hunger Games (like every dystopian novel) so I'm hoping to enjoy them. 

Hope everyone has had a good new year so far!

Thursday 1 January 2015

2014 Wrap Up

2014 is officially over and we have all welcomed in 2015. I'm excited to read more in 2015 but I thought I'd take the time to reflect over the books I read in 2014.

I signed up to GoodReads in August so I lost track of books I read before then so I don't know if in reality I read more books than I thought in 2014.

Anyway, here's the 2014 wrap up.

1. Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman (5*)
I loved this book so much. This was in fact, the first book to make me cry. It's so well written and the concept and plot is amazing, I really fell in love with the characters and love Callum's and Sephy's relationship.

2. The Fault In Our Stars - John Green (3*)
I read this book because of the hype and really did not enjoy it. John Green's writing style isn't for me and I didn't cry at all. I expected great things from it but unfortunately I didn't get that. I loved te movie though.

3. The Host - Stephanie Meyer (1*)
It's a big book and has a tiny font and it took forever to read simply because I was not enjoying it. There was no real storyline and I didn't really like the concept.

4. The Princess And The Captain - Anne-Laure Bondoux (1*)
My sister and mum both told me to read this and raved about it so much so after a few years I finally gave in. I didn't enjoy it at all, I did not like the ideas or plot and found the ending a little stupid.

5. Stolen - Lucy Christopher (4*)
I don't remember this book much but I remember enjoying it. It's a very original idea and was well written. It was also very gripping from what I remember.

6. Paper Towns - John Green (4*)
This is the one John Green book I really enjoyed. I loved the whole mystery and Margo was such a good character (even though she turned out to be a bit of a bitch in my opinion) I desperately wanted to be her. The ending let me down though.

7. Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck (3*)
I read this as my GCSE English book, I had no choice. 

8. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan (1*)
This book in my opinion was awful. It was poorly written, difficult to understand and had a hugely disappointing ending.

9. The Book Theif - Markus Zusak (5*)
I had wanted to read this for ages and I saw it for really cheap and picked it up and I'm so glad I did! I've not heard a single person say they don't like this book and I can see why. It's so lovely (and very sad) and it's so descriptive and well written and the death narrative is so original and creative, I loved it.

10. Wonder - R.J. Palacio (3*)
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would considering the hype surrounding it. Though I didn't enjoy it, it's very uplifting and teaches the reader some valuable life lessons which ultimately is be kind.

11. Looking For Alaska - John Green (2*)
I didn't like it and Pudge was insanely annoying.

12. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time - Mark Haddon (4*)
Honestly, I don't remember much of what happens in this book and I know I didn't love it but it was a good read.

13. The Maze Runner - James Dashner (4*)
Loved it. It was nice to read dystopian again.

14. It's Kind Of Funny Story - Ned Vizzini (5*)
I can't fault this book. It's absolutely perfect and will definitely be one of my all time favourite books for ever.

15. Eleanor And Park - Rainbow Rowell (3*)
It was an okay book but I struggled to finish it, I had to drag myself to the end and I could not stand Eleanor.

16. Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher (4*)
I really did enjoy reading this but I found some of the reasons she mentioned a little petty and irrelevant.

17. Happily Ever After - Harriet Evans (3*)
I liked how real it was and how it followed Elle's life for a long period of time and you saw how she developed and matured. It's not really a book for my age though so I didn't enjoy it too much, it's just written more for adults.

18. The Scorch Trials - James Dashner (4*)
Again, loved it. Probably better than the first book to be honest.

19. The Death Cure - James Dashner (3*)
It started off great but the ending let it down so much.

20. Billy And Me - Giovanna Fletcher (4*)
It's a light, easy read. I really liked Gi's writing style.

21. Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli (5*)
It's strange I gave this 5* as it didn't enjoy the story much. I just loved the ending and it's so positive and uplifting. I longed to be Stargirl for hours after reading the book (and still do)

22. We Were Liars - E. Lockhart (5*)
Wow. I loved this so much and I was left so shocked, I was not expecting the ending at all, it was pretty sad in the end.

23. Why We Broke Up - Daniel Handler (4*)
I liked this concept and idea, the format reminded me of Thirteen Reasons Why.

24. This Song Will Save Your Life - Lelia Sales (5*)
I loved the topic of this book and over all really enjoyed it.

25. Tiger Lily - Jodi Lynn Anderson (5*)
Along with It's Kind Of A Funny Story, this will be one of my all time favourite books. It was great to end the year on a reading high. I loved the fantasy world and I've always loved Peter Pan and the idea of Neverland. It was just so incredible. I cried a lot at the ending. Like loads.

So that was what I read in 2014. I've set my new 2015 reading goal as 25 books which should be easy to complete (last year I set my challenge as 15 books). 

Very excited to discover more new books in the new year!!