It’s time for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and this week’s topic is: books with maps. I’m a real sucker for a good map at the start of a story! If there’s a map at the front I’ll constantly flip to it as I’m reading to better situate myself; plus, I love making a trail to see where our characters have been and where they’re going next. The one thing I hate about reading SFF on my Kindle is that I can’t see the maps in as large of a scale as I want to. The zoom feature stresses me out ๐ Which is why I buy the physical book if I end up liking the story because the map is one of my favorite parts of reading SFF! I love when the maps include different details for different areas–I think the more detail in these maps the better because I just want to absorb ALL THE DETAILS. Here are five maps that I absolutely love:
Godsgrave – The Nevernight Chronicle I mean, I couldn’t NOT include this map. I want to blow it up and hang it on my wall somewhere. Lucky for me, I think my Darkdawn Illumicrate box does come with a map (it’s not huge, but it’s bigger than the book)! The details in this map are exquisite and I kept staring at it trying to soak in EVERYTHING!
Erilea – Throne of Glass Series I think this was one of the first fantasy series I read and even though I’m putting off reading the final book because I don’t want it to end, I love the vast world that Maas created.
The Four Corners of Civilization – The Kingkiller Chronicle I honestly wish that this map was more detailed. I love this story and I loved flipping back and forth to the map while reading the story, but I think it would’ve been so much better if it had more detail!
Grishaverse – The Shadow and Bone Trilogy I honestly love the details in this map. It’s not as overloaded as let’s say the Itreya map, but it’s still got awesome illustrations that depict the unique areas of the Grishaverse. I definitely flipped through to the front of the book several times while reading this series to trace the characters’ steps!
Ketterdam – Six of Crows Duology This is the type of map that makes me want to shove it right in my face so I can make out every single curving street and minute detail that was put into creating a map of a city! I loved the description of the city of Ketterdam and this map definitely helped me to picture it better ๐
Do you like maps in books?Any of these a favorite for you too? Let me know which maps are your favorites in the comments below!
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 words! Okay, this is such an interesting prompt! Is it odd that this isn’t really something that I’ve really given that much thought about this? Maybe these aren’t my favourite words of all time but definitely some fo them! I had such fun with this prompt, and making some graphics for each word (although I realize that the text is probs a little small now. Oops)!
I mean, do we really need a definition for FLOOF!?
What are some of your favourite words? Do you love any of these?! Please come tell me in the comments below and let’s chat!
Yayaya, HAPPY FRIYAY, book lovers and friends ๐We’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 donโt give anything else about the book away just yet โ you need to hook the reader first
Finallyโฆ reveal the book!
First lines:
It turns out the Leteo procedure isnโt bullshit.
The first time I saw a poster on the subway promoting the institute that could make you forget things, I thought it was a marketing campaign for some new science fiction movie. And when I saw the headline โHere Today, Gone Tomorrow!โ on the cover of a newspaper, I mistook it as something boring, like the cure for some new fluโI didnโt think they were talking about memories.
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
In the months after his father’s suicide, it’s been tough for sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness but with the support of his girlfriend Genevieve, he’s slowly remembering what that might feel like. When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron starts hanging out with a new guy, Thomas. Aaron’s friends notices, and they’re not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can’t deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself.
Since Aaron can’t stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute’s revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is…
Have you read More Happy Than Not or is it on your TBR? Leave me a comment and let’s chat ๐
YO, can you believe it’s already the last Wednesday of September 2019!? What is this sorcery with the time? I feel like if I close my eyes for too long I’ll open them to find it’s already NYE and the ball’s about to drop! ๐So it’s time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
What did you read last?
Since last Wednesday I managed to finish three other books alongside the one I’m still reading. I already posted my review for Fake Date (read it here!) but tl;dr, I was pretty disappointed and really wanted more from it! I still need to write reviews for The Hating Game (reread) and The Stopover (eARC). Oh hello, what are these things called eARCs you say?! Yah, it’s been a hot minute since I picked one up but I really needed to take a break from Priory and I decided to finally read this one contemporary romance. My review is going up soon but let me tell you, I am hella conflicted about how I feel because I know the relationship was toxic AF and the dynamic between screwing like wild bunnies to fighting over nothing got old pretty quick. BUT AT THE SAME TIME I also couldn’t put it down? Um, Like… What? Why? I don’t know. Is this how people felt when they finished reading the After series? Because if so, I think I get it now LMAO ๐
What are you currently reading?
GOOD NEWS FRIENDS! After whining about my struggle to get into The Priory of the Orange Tree, I’m now 80% of the way through and I’m really enjoying it! It does have me feeling a bit conflicted though. I’m attached to characters, but not necessarily all of the main ones (something bad just happened to one of the main characters and I felt… Nothing?). At the same time, even though I feel like I’ve sped through the last 40%, I also feel like it’s a little endless (I constantly wonder when, if ever, I’ll finish the book). But it’s really not because I’m not enjoying it, it’s just that it’s a tome ๐ Shit hit the fan quickly and continuously in this story–literally just one thing after another going horribly wrong and it had my heart racing and me screaming out loud. I know that I don’t want to put this down until it’s over (but alas, life), especially now that I’ve made it to the final section of the book. I really can’t wait to see how it all wraps up!
What will you read next?
I’m still going to be keeping these three on here. Might pick up The Bookish Life of Nina Hill first though! I also missed the group discussion for Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1) ๐ SURPRISE! But I think I’ll still give it a re-read. I’m not sure how I’m feeling about The Light Keeper anymore, as I tried the first three chapters and it just… Wow, confused and annoyed me, and that has me feeling a little yikes about it… Let’s see how it goes!
What are you currently reading? Leave me a comment and let’s chat ๐
I’M FINALLY DOING IT. After seeing this post countless times weekly, I’ve decided today that I’m going to take the plunge and *finally* start culling some books off my Goodreads TBR! At the moment of writing this my “Want-to-Read” list sits at 1,010 books. I’m almost certain that 80% of these books were added to my list this year when I fully immersed myself in the book community. I was indiscriminately hitting that “want-to-read” button with every blurb I liked the sound of, regardless of whether it was in or out of my comfort zone! But the time has come for me to take a good hard look at this list because am I really going to read 1,010 books?! I’d obviously love that but I also know that I’ll never stop adding books to my tbr (because duh) so… It’s time to start cutting down! I kind of want to kick this off with a bang but maybe I’ll ease into it and start with five books. Is this an excuse to avoid saying bye to books? Absolutely not! ๐ค
Down the TBR Hole is a weekly book meme created by the wonderful Lia @ Lost in a Storythat attempts to organize our ridiculously long Goodreads TBR list by choosing either to keep or eliminate the books weโve saved on there. Here’s how it works:
Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if youโre feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
I loved this movie and it has haunted me for years! It’s always one of the first things I associate Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly with. This combo is probably one of the reasons why I want to read this book (not even sure if I read the blurb when I added it). That said, I’m not really sure if I want to read it anymore. It sounds interesting, but I’m not scrambling to get it.
Don’t shoot but I’ve never actually watched this movie yet and that’s because I wanted to read the book first. I had a sample on my Kindle a peek at and wow, what do you call it when something is written how it’s spoken? I have nothing against it, but I know I’ll be spending 90% of the time not only trying to work out what’s being said but I’ll also be trying to get the accent JUST RIGHT in my head and it’ll drive me insane! I think this might be better on the big screen?
This is a classic I’ve been meaning to read for a while. I got a copy as a gift from a family friend who knew I loved reading about 9 years ago now? Oopsies! I think this book just intimidates me because I’m worried that I either won’t get it or I’ll be bored by it. Which would be worse? Lol I also didn’t realise that it was a series until just now! I hope this doesn’t end on a cliffhanger?!
I remember when this came out as a movie and I was so excited to watch it but I told myself I’d read the book first. All these years later, I still haven’t done either. After reading this blurb again, I’m just shaking my head. I just don’t do cheating and I don’t want to normalise or excuse it. So… Yeah. ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ
I’ve been trying to figure this out for a while now but my brain can’t seem to recall at all. I am almost certain that I read this book when I was in MS or HS but I really can’t remember if I did or not. When I read the blurb some distant bells did go off but I don’t know if that’s me being convinced that I have read it or if it’s because I actually recognise the premise? I want to (re)read it though!
Verdict: Keep!
Well, that wasn’t as painful as I expected! I thought I’d struggle to take books off my list because I have issues with letting go, but I’m proud of how decisive I was! It also feels kinda freeing! LOL
Have you read any of these books? Do you find it easy to cull your TBR list?Leave me a comment and let’s chat!
We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
IT’S SUNDAY. THIS SUCKS. Okay, I’m trying not to get too upset that it’s Sunday. I’ve been procrastinating MANY THINGS outside of reading in the last week and it’s all catching up to me now! DO NOT FREAK OUT is my mantra at the moment and well, it’s not really working. But I digress… This Sunday I spent half the day in bed with The Priory of the Orange Tree and I’m making slow but steady progress. I’ve finally got the characters and storylines straight and I’m highly anticipating when it all comes together because I feel that shit hitting the fan is imminent! I think my problem so far has been that while I’m enjoying it, when I put it down to do other things I don’t feel the urgent need to pick it up again. This is a group read over on Twitter though and I’m so thankful for people like Sammie and Leelynn for keeping me extremely motivated! I’m about 40% of the way through… So maybe there’s hope that I can finish this before the end of September?!
A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens. The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destructionโbut assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tanรฉ has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
What are you currently reading?
I pretty much did ZILCH this weekend? Like, nothing. The best thing about it has been lazing in bed. I didn’t sleep in but I also didn’t get out of bed until close to lunchtime on all weekend. Yes, I’m really a panda at heart (sleeping, eating and rolling around is my jam) ๐ I spent Saturday trying to get motivated to take bookstagram pictures. I’ve been feeling very uninspired lately and it’s not coz I don’t enjoy being part of the booksta community anymore, it’s just completely due to my mental health which hasn’t been in the best state lately. I honestly don’t even know how I spent my day yesterday coz even though I read (I also finished a reread of The Hating Game), I didn’t make that much progress with Priory? Anyway, I did make it out of the house today! Although I made grand plans at 2AM about how to spend my Sunday, I ended up lazing in bed again! I went out to get coffee and to do a bit of grocerysnack shopping though!
I have a presentation that I’ve been avoiding all week last week, and until now I’ve done the bare minimum for it, and I have to present it to my boss tomorrow. WHY AM I SO GOOD AT AVOIDING IMPORTANT SHIT?! ๐ญ It’s an afternoon meeting so I still have time to work on it in the morning (this is me avoiding again!) but I really thought I’d get some work done today. Instead, I’ve been catching up on blogs, doing a bit of reading and thinking about doing more reading. Le super sigh. ๐คฆ๐ปโโ๏ธ
Reading & Blogging Recap
Being stuck on Priory means that I’ve only managed to finish two books this week: Fake Date and The Hating Game. You can find my review for Fake Date in the list below, but I still need to review The Hating Game! It was a re-read and I completely loved it all over again. It needs to be known that: I LOVE JOSH 4 EVA. Like, he’s my number one and I’m obsessed with him. He’s… I need a Josh. In my life. All that banter! All that tension! *swoon*
Other than that it’s been a pretty decent blogging week. I’ve finally caught up on the majority of comments and posts of blogs I’m subscribed to! My inbox is once again super clean and I definitely feel accomplished (if not for the fact that I did all this while avoiding the one thing that I shouldn’t be avoiding today! We can’t all be perfect though, amiright?! ๐ I’m now off to make some dinner and to continue reading Priory and on that note, check out a recap of my posts this week, in case you missed any:
I’m also leaving you with this song that was stuck in my head for the majority of the day. I haven’t listened to Death Cab for Cutie in ages but … You really can’t go wrong with this classic!
How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend! Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends ๐
It’s time for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and this week’s topic is: books over 500 pages. I’ve decided to dive into my terrifyingly large Goodreads Want-To-Read list for this week’s post! I was surprised by how many books I had on there that were over 500 pages, but I also kind of expected more ๐ I was also surprised by which books were 500+ pages; some I really had no idea of at all (despite having some of these books on my actual shelf) That really tells you just how aware I can be! Without further ado, here are five books over 500 pages that I want to read:
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak – 512 pages I received a gorgeous edition of this book during my first Christmas in the UK, and I got it as a Secret Santa gift too. I was definitely impressed! Seven years later, and I still haven’t touched it yet ๐ LOL
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James – 620 pages This is probably one of the most hyped books I’ve ever seen hyped on bookstagram and of course I was sucked in by it! I haven’t read any of James’ books despite having three of them on my shelf, and while I’m really curious, this book also scares the hell out of me. I’m worried I won’t “get” it lol
The Secret History by Donna Tartt – 629 pages So… I still haven’t managed to finish a book by Tartt yet. The Goldfinch is still sitting unfinished on my shelf ๐ and looking at it eats me up with guilt (sort of). But while I’ve heard people have struggled with Goldfinch, a lot of people have loved The Secret History, so I’m looking forward to it!
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie – 647 pages I am dying to read this book but it’s also intimidating AF. I don’t always gel with magical realism and from what I hear, Rushdie might be the king of the stuff. It scares me, but I’ve also heard incredible things about this book, so I’m determined to at least try reading it!
The Way of Shadows (Night Angel #1) by Brent Weeks – 659 pages I’ve seen a lot of love for this book since I’ve joined the book community and it sounds really good. I only just realised that it’s a pretty hefty book, though since it’s fantasy, I’m really not surprised lol
What are books you want to read that are over 500 pages?Any of these? Recommendations in the comments below are very welcome!
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: autumn reads! If you’ve been following my blog or any of my socials for a while now, you’ll know that I’m an epic mood reader. I don’t really set TBRs, they’re more like possibility piles that I never really get to in the end? But I also don’t generally read based on seasons. While this is mostly because of my mood, I also live on a tropical island where there’s only one season: STEAMING SAUNA HOT. But when I think of autumn, I tend to think of thrilling/spooky reads a la Halloween, pumpkin spice and all things nice, and also, witches? Here’s a list of 5 books I haven’t read yet, but that I think would make the perfect autumn read. Kidding, I’ve already read one of them!
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (Illustrator) This is the first book that comes to mind because in my eyes it is the epitome of fall. Just look at that cover! But it’s set in the Disneyland of pumpkin patches, it’s filled with delicious fall foods/drinks, and the story warms your heart and makes you want to wrap yourself up in flannel!
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman I haven’t read this one yet, and neither have I read Practical Magic, but this definitely fits with my thoughts on Halloween vibes with a little bit of witchy magic! I hope it doesn’t freak me out lol
These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling I’ve heard a lot of good things about this read. I’ve actually just now noticed that it’s a series (oops) but I think witches + fall do make for a perfect combination!
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness When I think of autumn and the cooling weather, I also can’t help but get some melancholy twinges, and I think that fits well with how this book is likely to make me feel. I’m gonna be a wreck!
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman Sometimes you just need a book that you can cozy up with under your doona and that’ll make you feel all warm inside after you finish reading it. I think Nina Hill is going to be one of those books!
Are you a seasonal reader? What are some of your favourite autumn reads?Leave me a comment below and let’s chat!
Yayaya, HAPPY FRIYAY, book lovers and friends ๐We’re back with another First Lines Friday! This is a weekly featurefor book lovers hosted byย Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged itย 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 donโt give anything else about the book away just yet โ you need to hook the reader first
Finallyโฆ reveal the book!
First lines:
“The Nazi officers are dressed in black. They look at death with the indifference of a gravedigger. In Auschwitz, human life has so little value that no one is shot anymore; a bullet is more valuable than a human being.”
Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?
Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezรญn ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz. Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.
Have you read The Librarian of Auschwitz or is it on your TBR? Leave me a comment and let’s chat ๐
It’s time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
What did you read last?
What are you currently reading?
What will you read next?
What did you read last?
So… After writing my WWW Wednesday post last week, I managed to last ONE DAY before caving and picking up Godsgrave. That means I abandoned On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, and I do feel guilty about that, but I just couldn’t resist! I NEEDED to know what happened and I’m really glad I picked it up. Kristoff managed to really screw with my feelings yet again, and now I’m holding off on picking up Darkdawn because I know I’m going to be a wreck while/after reading it. I don’t think I’m ready for it ๐ After finishing Godsgrave in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I decided I needed to take a break before moving on to the group read that I’ve been so skilled at avoiding, and I ended up finishing three books: a short graphic novel: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do… But You Could’ve Done Better (check out my review); and two contemporary romances: The Wrong Kind of Love and The Ingredients of Us(check out my review)! The Wrong Kind of Love was my first Lexi Ryan and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would! The Ingredients of Us was a mixed read for me… There was a lot of angst and that played against my anxiety, so I didn’t enjoy that, but it was still good for a debut. Plus I always enjoy books with baking/cooking ๐
What are you currently reading?
I’ve FINALLY picked up The Priory of the Orange Tree. We all know by now that this book is a definite chunkster and I gave up on reading the physical copy the other day because my arms just couldn’t deal with how much of a work out I was giving them ๐ So I caved and bought the e-book and my arms thank me muchly. I’ve also been so intimidated by how big this book is, so I hope that reading it on my Kindle will make it easier to digest! I’m kind of really feeling in the mood for a contemporary romance/romcom as well, so I think I might read Fake Date (Dating #2) by Monica Murphy at some point while reading Priory. I didn’t realize it was part of a series, but I loved the sound of it when I came across it this morning (on Alyssa @ A Lovely Book Affair‘s page), so yeah, IMPULSE BUY!
What will you read next?
After finishing Priory I expect that I’ll be feeling the need for some lighter reads, so I was thinking about picking up The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, which has been very hyped on bookstagram, and I just remembered I also signed myself up for a group read for Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1) ๐ Woopsies! This’ll actually be a re-read for me. I didn’t like it the first time and didn’t see what everyone loved about it, but I’m wondering if I’ll feel differently this time around? Let’s see! I also need to read the ARC for The Light Keeper, which … is already out (I’m so sorry) and I just haven’t got around to it yet. Grr ๐คThis panda really needs to work on getting her ARC shit together!
What are you currently reading? Leave me a comment and let’s chat ๐
dinipandareads 