Yayaya, HAPPY FRIYAY, book lovers and friends 😍We’re back with another First Lines Friday! This is a weekly featurefor book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?Here areTHE RULES:
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!
First lines:
“I’m gonna miss the draft. The Hadfield is disintegrating around me. Black arcs of quantum lightning are melting the ship’s hull to slag. My spacesuit is screaming seventeen different alarms, the lock on this damn cryogenic pod still won’t open, and that’s the one thought blaring in my head.”
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: books I hope to find under my tree. My family actually doesn’t celebrate Christmas and neither do we have any kind of Balinese/Indonesian tradition that involves gift exchanges etc. The closest we get to the very festive and jovial mood of Christmas is on New Years Eve. But this year we’re actually planning to do a very small White Elephant round and I’m looking forward to it. I don’t think I’ll be finding any books under “my tree” 😅 but STILL a girl can hope right?! But I also just like to make these lists so here’s what I’d hope to get:
It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: my December TBR. But as I’ve already written a few posts (like this one and this one here) I thought I would choose a past topic to do and I’ve chosen: books that surprised me (in both good and bad ways) focusing on the books I’ve read this year. I’m splitting the post up into ‘the good’ and ‘the not-so-good’ and for both parts, the books I listed were mostly in order read (from earliest to later in the year), so it’s not about some books being better/worse than others. It was interesting to look back on what books surprised me this year and it’s definitely making me think more about what my top reads for 2019 are going to be!
It’s time for another Friday Favorites hosted by Kibby @ Something of the Book! This weekly meme is where you get to share a list of all your favourites based on the list of prompts on Kibby’s page. Sounds fun, right? This week’s prompt is: favorite book covers of 2019. Oh my goodness, what a difficult prompt to answer because I don’t know about you but there were a lot of books released this year that had gorgeous, intriguing and eye-catching covers! My post will probably missing a big chunk of great covers because I can’t remember them right now… 😅 HOW DO I CHOOSE?! I’m just gonna keep it simple and stick to a gallery of pictures (and maybe pick more than five… or ten… or…more)?
It’s time for another Friday Favorites hosted by Kibby @ Something of the Book! This weekly meme is where you get to share a list of all your favourites based on the list of prompts on Kibby’s page. Sounds fun, right? This week’s prompt is: favorite books that make me thankful to be a reader. So… This is a really tough prompt to answer! I find the idea of narrowing it down to a small list so daunting because obviously there are gonna be loads of amazing favorites that don’t show up below. I think almost every book I’ve read has left a part of itself with me that makes me thankful to be a reader. There are just too many books to name one-by-one but I’m only going to name five below. I’ve learned and experienced so many different thoughts and emotions while reading all of these books. Forever thankful!
It’s time for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and this week’s topic is: books with fake love couples. So… I’m assuming this means the fake relationship trope and I’m here for it! By now you know how much I love romance because who doesn’t love the good feels? Romance can be pretty full of tropes and sometimes those tropes get old quick, especially if what you get is the same story over and over again. That said, if I had to pick some of my favorite tropes, fake relationships/dating would definitely be near the top of that list! I mean, yeah it gets pretty predictable but still. THE GOOD FEELS!!! There are plenty of books with this trope on my TBR and here are five of them that I’m hoping to read soon.
Hosted by Ally Writes Things, Thursday Discussion is a biweekly meme where you write a post based on the prompt for that week. The post can be as long or as short as you want, and you can talk about as much or as little as you want.
Over the last month I’ve seen some Thursday Discussion posts on some of my favorite blogs and I’ve been interested in taking part but one thing or another always took me away from posting (most likely my laziness). I finally decided to join today — although with a different topic than what’s post! Oops, yes, hi! It’s just that this week’s topic is childhood favorites and I have two posts about that already, which you can read here and here. So instead I decided to do my post on a previous discussion topic about books that make me laugh out loud!
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. There was a lot of awkweirdness in this book that had me laughing out loud because not only was it awkweird but it was also incredibly relatable. I laughed quite a lot every time Nina and Tom interacted with each other!
SagaSeries by Brian K. Vaughan. This series!!! It’s no secret that this might be my favorite graphic novel ever! I just love everything about it. Some of the characters in this book, especially Lying Cat 😻, really had me cracking up!
What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli. As much as there were cringey moments in this book that made me feel my age, the characters and their awkwardness really had me laughing out loud. As a side character, Dylan never failed to make me laugh. Arthur was a lottle OTT sometimes but his bumbling innocence really had me laughing too (not in a mean way)!
It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: extraordinary book titles(submitted by Elise @ A Book and a Cup). I struggled a little with this one because extraordinary? What exactly makes a title extraordinary? It’s completely subjective, and I’m sure what I’d find extraordinary wouldn’t be the same for someone else. But…here’s a list of book titles (read and unread) that I think are amazing!
READ
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. There was a bit of a trend with these kinds of titles in the last year, but the ½ in this title really intrigued me–how does someone die a half death? Unfortunately for me, I didn’t love the book as much as I enjoyed the title though I know a lot of other people did!
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini. Even if I didn’t know what this story was about, there’s something about this title that just completely pulls me in. I guess that makes it extraordinary to me?
Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah. I don’t know if it’s just me, but the image that forms in my mind from reading this title is magical and thus, I think the title is extraordinary. I found the story to be just as enchanting, too!
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. The title of this non-fiction was what caught my attention because I just wanted to know what it could mean and then it ended up being one of my favorite reads of 2018! I was surprised by how quickly I was absorbed by Grann’s writing and highly recommend this if you’re interested in true crime and maybe even learning about the birth of the FBI!
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. I still haven’t written a review for this one, but rest assured I loved it. The build up was agonizingly good and the chemistry between our two MCs was so 🔥 !
UNREAD
Ten Thousand Doors of January by Claudia Gray. I think this title is extraordinary because it brings such a clear image to my mind, but it also makes me want to picture who exactly January is, where these doors lead and how they’re discovered in the first place.
A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer. There’s something about this title that just pulls at my heartstrings because it brings such a clear image to mind about the characters and the story. I think it’s such an awesome title.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. I remember hearing about this book for the first time when I was a middle-schooler and I found myself absolutely mesmerized by it. The cover also makes me even more intrigued by the premise and title!
What do you think of these titles? What makes a title extraordinary to you?If you’ve done a TTT for today, please leave your links in the comments so I can mosey over to your blog and check it out! 🙂
It’s time for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and this week’s topic is: books that cast a spell on me. I think this topic is pretty open to interpretation; it can be about a book that wrapped you up completely in its story, it can be a book whose cover enchanted you, it can be a magical/witchy story. For this one I think I’m going to look at five books that cast a spell on me by completely wrapping me up in its story, only to spit me out at the end in a daze (almost always very satisfied with the ending and most of the time also emotionally destroyed).
After hearing so much hype about this book, I read it together with a group of bookstagram buddies in June and it completely shattered me. I a crying hot mess by the end of this story–and I’m not just talking about silent tears, it was the ugly kind of crying where I couldn’t catch my breath. This book honestly sucked me in so much that I felt like I’d never been SO INVESTED in the lives of book characters before I read it. Obviously, that’s not true, but the story swept me up completely and I was lost in both Isabelle and Vianne’s lives. If you love historical fiction set during WWII/the Holocaust, strong/bad ass female characters, sister relationships, and a touch of romance, then read this book!
I literally just finished this book yesterday and every time I picked this book up, I felt completely immersed in this terrifying gothic tale. It’s like a shroud of creeping horror would be pulled over my head each time I started reading it again (you can get I made sure to only read it during the day)! It was really unique and I don’t think I’ve read anything like this before. It was definitely refreshing to read a retelling based one of the more obscure fairytales by the Brothers Grimm.
I honestly don’t know what to say about this book other than it gave me the biggest book hangover of my life. I wasn’t able to focus on another book for almost a month after finishing ALL! I also spent a full day in bed after finishing it bawling my eyes out and basically scaring everyone at home who came to check on me to make sure I was well (I WASN’T). This is probably one of the most difficult books I’ve read emotionally and mentally. There’s a lot of criticism against it but also a lot of praise for it–I kind of feel like there’s no middle ground when it comes to ALL. But I was completely in it all the way to the heartbreaking end. THIS BOOK.
This book has been shared a lot every where by everyone and I think by now a lot of people are sick of hearing it always be recommended (same might go for The Nightingale actually lol). But the way Owens wrote about the marsh teeming full of all kinds of life, and about Kya, the Marsh Girl, who absolutely stole my heart, definitely cast a spell on me. This was a very slow paced novel, but it was so atmospheric, I felt I could smell the tang of the salt from the sea, the dragging humidity of the marsh, and the call of the wildlife all around me. It was beautifully written and one of my favorites this year!
I’ve mentioned this book frequently on this blog. This was my first Gaiman and it was what made me want to catapult myself into the wildly bizarre and captivating worlds in his stories. I was enchanted by the dark and magical elements of London Below. I love stories that write an alternate reality of places I’ve been and am somewhat familiar with. My imagination would love to believe much of it is true, although it would also be terrifying.
What are the books that cast a spell on you? Any of these get you like they did me? I’d love to know in the comments below! Let’s chat! 😂
The very lovely Jen @ Nen & Jen tagged me ages ago for the Summer Bucket List book tag (ages back)! I know for the majority of you summer is already over, some may even be highly anticipating the coming summer (in the southern hemisphere), and since I’m in the tropics, I live in perpetual summer. Trust me, it’s not as great as it sounds when it’s 1000% hot every damn day 🥵 But I digress… Thanks for the tag, Jen! Be sure to check out her answers over on their blog because she is awesome! I only hope my choices will be half as fun as hers! Without further ado… Let’s get back to summer 😊
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart This book is set on an island and the beaches, cliffs and ocean play a big role in the character’s upbringing. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style (fragmented sentences), I was able to look past that and ended up really enjoying the story. It took me by surprise and I ended up bawling lol
Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas Caleana is such a fierce and bad ass character and although she had two fiery romances in this series, the one I’m thinking about is definitely between her and Rowan. The build up and the explosion of feelings between them was 🔥!
Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse This is one of those underrated SFF books in my opinion. The characters do go on somewhat of a journey to solve a mystery that’s plaguing this incredible Native American folklore inspired dystopian world. Maggie, while hard to like at first, really grew on me. She’s such a bad ass! And I loved Kai 💚
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid Ugh, this story y’all! I still don’t have the words for how much I loved Evelyn Hugo’s story. I was swept away by the story of this ruthless and brilliant woman in Hollywood from the 50s – 80s; and of course, the story of her seven husbands and how she fought her way to the top. I fell in love with her!
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett You’ve heard me say it once and I’ll say it again: this book was nothing like I expected in the best way possible. I picked this up on a whim after finishing SJTR and I was so glad I started it on a weekend because the next thing I knew, it was Sunday and my face was blotchy after the unexpected tears I shed reading this incredible story. So damn good, peoples. So damn good!
The Simple Wild (Wild #1) by K A Tucker Sign me up for a sky cowboy because I’m pretty sure I fell just as much in love with Jonah’s character as Calla did herself. This covered some of my favorite tropes in romance: enemies to sort-of friends to lovers and it did not disappoint! And all of it was set against the Alaskan wild, a place that I’ve developed a very weird fascination with over the years. Theirs was a sweet romance between city girl and ‘country’ boy and I was here for it!
Nevernight (Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff What’s more refreshing than a story set against a Hogwarts for assassins? 😂 Okay no, but honestly, I know this is probably a weird pick for this category, but this book is usually filled with things that I don’t enjoy (an incredible amount of blood, guts and gore) but wow, did it blow me away! It’s safe to say that this series has become one of my new favorites and I was completely wowed by it.
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon It’s not just one character in priory that overcomes obstacles, it’s basically all of them. I don’t think I’ve read a book where shit so consistently hits the fan for such a long duration 😂I mean, if you think of something that could possibly go wrong, chances are it will for these characters. I really felt for them but in the end, they grew in very satisfying ways to conquer (all) the obstacles in their way.
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks This book made me SO HUNGRY. Although their main mission was to get Josie talking to his long-time crush, Deja’s personal mission was to eat her way through the Disney of pumpkin patches and it’s safe to say I was constantly drooling while they ate all the delicious festive fall foods. DELICIOUS!
Sorry I’m Late I Didn’t Want to Come… by Jessica Pan Jessica Pan is a (sh)introvert (a shy introvert) who is in the throes of something that looks like a quarter-life crisis, when she decides to take the leap into saying “YES” to all the things she’d normally be terrified to do. I identified so much with Pan and seeing her face these challenges before her despite being utterly terrified was so inspiring! I read this book at a time when I faced a big career challenge and I had just finished a chapter where she basically head the same experience as me but on a much larger scale, and I charged ahead with her in mind. This was a hilarious and inspiring book that is definitely going on my forever shelf!
And there you have it, folks! I’m feeling completely lazy right now (it’s been a long night with sangria!) so I’m going to TAG EVERYONE! If this sounds like something you want to do, don’t forget to link back to me so I can check out your answers!
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