#i have 16 books in my old tbr and i need to finish the pile before i even GLANCE at my new books lol

[girl-bateman]

I wanna be the opposite of an influencer and let my followers make all my decisions instead

[bubblegumstardust]

Here are you book asks :D prepare for a lot! 3-8, 15-18, 21, 23-25, 30-35, 39, 40, 43, 46, 48-50 :)

time for round 2 then :D

3.Do you read books just because you saw them on tumblr??

i have read some books because of tumblr but i always check out what it is to see if i might actually be interested rather than just reading it purely because tumblr said to

4.Is there a book that you think needs a bigger fandom??

yes, Illuminae like you said when i asked you, also Zodiac, Ready Player One, The Sin Eater’s Daughter, The Diabolic, and so many other books i read because i swear like no one has read half of them

5.Do you have a snack while reading or do you close the book first??

if i can eat it one handed i will eat while reading

6.Can you ever stop in the middle of a page or do you have to finish the page or chapter first??

as long as the paragraph is finished i can stop

7.Do you borrow books from people??

nope, most of my friends don’t read all that much and they never have books i don’t

8.Do you lend your books out to friends??

if i really really want them to read it then yes

15.Do you set yourself a TBR list at the start of the month??

i tried a couple of times but i didn’t stick to it so i gave up

16.What book has been on you TBR pile the longest??

oh god idk, i mean i’ve been meaning to read Percy Jackson for years but i only just got the books so maybe that?

17.Is there a book on your TBR pile that you don’t think you will read?

absolutely NOT going to read the Uglies series or Great Expectations

18.Do you know anyone else that likes books??

yeah my mum and grandparents read a fair bit, most of my friends like books too

21.Do you write??

i do but i suck at it tbh and never let anyone i know see any of it

23.How did you get into reading??

my mum always read to me and my sister every night before bed when we were little, like cool stuff like Harry Potter, and then i just started reading. i also loved the Felicity wishes and rainbow fairy books when i was little and there was loads of them so i started reading a lot

24.Have you read a book that was really hyped up but you didn’t enjoy??

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD! why did so many people love it so much like i don’t get it 

25.Do you prefer physical books, Ebooks or audio books?? (/there is not wrong answer)

i love physical books, ebooks i pretty much only read when i’m on holiday, and i’ve never listened to an audio book but i think they’re a great thing

30.Can you leave a series unfinished or do you have to own all the books and try them all??

if i really really can’t stand the book or the book was really forgettable i can leave a series unfinished but usually if i have even the slightest bit of interest in what happens i’ll make myself finish a series. also if my reading tastes change while a long series is still being written i might not finish it and not feel bad about it (i.e. with the house of night series (which i read when i was way to young for it actually) and the morganville vampires)

31.How do you think you would be described if you were in a book??

i have a feeling i’d be compared to an angry hobbit with an alarming obsession with everything pretty and pastel coloured. also they’d definitely call me an asshole.

32.“They edged towards the shaking box that had just been delivered.” Should they open it?? You decide what happens next.

the box continues to shake as they approach and a foot away they all stop and look at it with concern. no one speaks as they all wait for something to happen until one member of the group decides “fuck this, i ain’t getting involved in some demon shit today” and turns to walk away. the others follow and they leave the box to do its thing while they go and get ice cream. later one kids mum comes home and finds the still shaking box. she turns white and quickly grabs the box up to her room before she opens it and turns of the...ah...toy

that wasn’t where i planned to take that but i’m tired okay, leave me alone

33.How do you organise your shelves??

well right now i kinda have books together with others that are in some way similar and also look good together aesthetically, it’s rather odd and complicated at the moment, more often than not though it’s done by colour and occasionally genre

34.What do you do to mark your pages??

book mark normally

35.Do you have a lot of bookmarks?? or just a few??

only a few

39.What book that has made you cry??

do you want the full list? because it’s extensive. i cry a lot. okay this is in order of what i see on my bookshelf: Half Wild, Half Lost, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising, Illuminae, Gemina, Obsidio, Zodiac, Wandering Star, Black Moon, Thirteen Rising, acotar, acomaf, acowar, acofas, Tower of Dawn, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Crooked Kingdom, The Hobbit, The Sleeping Prince, The Scarecrow Queen, The Raven Cycle, The Fault In Our Stars, Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, Clockwork Princess, The Diabolic, The Empress, The Death Cure, The Fever Code also a few more i think but i either can’t see them on my shelves or they’re ebooks or something and i can’t remember 

40.How do you feel when you find a typo/spelling error in a book??

i won’t lie, i hardly ever actually notice them if i’m really into the book but if i’m not absorbed enough and see when then it kinda throws me for a minute

43.Free rant, go ahead, we all know you want to. 

okay so why the heck are so many books doing this thing where they come out in hardback and then i have to wait months or sometimes like a whole year or something for a paperback to be released!? like can you not? so i know you do it to get more money because everyones like “i want this book and i want it now” so they spend the extra money on the hardback but like i can’t afford to do that, maybe occasionally but not all the time. like for the amount i read and number of books i end up buying i can hardly afford to pay full price for the paperbacks and then i can’t get books i really badly want for absolutely ages because i just can’t justify spending the extra money and FOR FUCKS SAKE CAN YOU JUST RELEASE THE PAPERBACK SOONER!? LIKE FINE YOU CAN WAIT A MONTH OR SOMETHING BUT CAN YOU NOT MAKE IT ANY LONGER BECAUSE I DIE OVER HERE.

also i’m having multiple rants here okay? 

CAN YOU FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST NOT CHANGE COVERS WHEN A SERIES IS ONLY PART WAY DONE OR IF YOU REALLY HAVE TO RELEASE THE NEWER BOOKS WITH THE OLD COVERS TOO!? I have straight up abandoned a series in part because i can’t get matching covers and you bet i’m pissed about it.

46.Do you have a bookish tattoo?? Do you want one??

i don’t yet but from the 25th July i will!!! :D48.Do you write, highlight, underline etc in your books

nope, can’t bring myself to, unless it was a shitty old copy of some book i hated that i had to study at school but even then i usually took notes on separate bits of paper

49.Worse book you’ve ever read??

oooooooh. um so i really, really hated the great gatsby, didn’t like of mice and men either, Abandon by Meg Cabot I hated but that’s all i can think of

50.Do you read classics?? If so, what’s your favourite??

i’ve read a few and literally bought a ton of them a few years back because i wanted to get into classics more but i’ve only read a few of them. I adore Pride and Prejudice so that’s probably my favourite

god this is long, enjoy!

[whenispeakicrossmyfingers]

Just finished another book so here’s the next installment of BOOKS I READ IN 2018! 

The book pictured is At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen, but I also recently read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (which I’m sure many of you already know), so this summary/recommendation will include both books! If you’re interested in my thoughts & ramblings (with minor spoilers), they’re under the cut.   

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

The premise: 16 year-old Simon Spier begins an email correspondence with Blue, the only other closeted gay kid at the school. When the emails fall into the wrong hands, Simon gets blackmailed into helping a terribly obnoxious kid so as to protect both his identity and that of Blue. 

My thoughts: This book is so fucking good!!!!!!!! I was a nervous about reading it because I had seen things about it, and seen the praise, but I was afraid I was a little too old for the age group. YA Lit is usually aimed at teens/high schoolers and I, being neither thought “oh great i’m gonna hate this and feel bad about hating it.” But BOY WAS I WRONG AND I’M SO GLAD I WAS. 

I had been in a slump of reading for another month or so. After my last books, I was caught up in teaching and then I was traveling and though I brought a book with me, I didn’t read any of it. And when I got home from traveling I was just feeling very depressed and tired of winter and France and everything. Caroline can attest to it, but I was just in a huge funk and I didn’t know how to get out of it. I was sad I couldn’t see Love, Simon in theaters and I was seeing so much hype and joy about it and I was just salty. So, in a moment of self-care, I decided to say ‘fuck it’ to saving money and I splurged for a kindle download of it (10 euros, I’m a real big spender guys). 

But anyway, I read it and it honestly cured my depression. I know we say that as a joke a lot of the time, but it well and truly did pull me out of my funk. 

Everything about this book was absolutely delightful. Getting thrown in the middle of Simon and Blue’s correspondence means that you have the power to put together how they really began it and what happened before we see it in the book. The tone was funny and Simon’s humor was very much like my own. He was a theatre nerd like I was, he loved his friends and did very normal things with them. His family was good and loving, but he was still afraid to come out to them (even though it probably wouldn’t be a big deal) and I can just relate. Also his love of Oreos surpasses even my own, and that’s something to be said. 

It deals with being outed, but it does it in a way that is still lighthearted and doesn’t drag you down completely, because Simon has so many good people on his side. It’s got tension between friends and the weird dynamics of high schoolers thinking they know things when really they have no idea what’s actually going on. 

My only pseudo-complaint is that Simon and Bram start being boyfriends very quickly. BUT, that fact is so fantastically high-school that i can’t even be mad about it. Especially because they do know each other in different ways. 

This book gave me so many fuzzy feelings, and I’m going to buy a copy as soon as I get back to the states (i have no more room in my suitcase for books). It also gave me the strength to come out to one of my sisters which was, coincidentally, right after she had seen Love, Simon. So, it’s great. Overall, read it. Please. Then talk to me about it. Thanks. 

At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen

The premise: Set in WWII, a woman (Maddie Hyde) is dragged to Scotland by her husband in attempt to find the Loch Ness Monster, find fame, and get back in his father’s good graces after he has been cut off. Tension arises between them and Maddie begins to realize that the life she thought she loved, is not quite what it appeared to be.

My thoughts: This book, I have fewer good things to say about than I did about Simon vs. This book has been on my TBR pile for over a year, and I brought it with me to France thinking I would read it, and only just now got around to it after a bout of sickness and lack of wifi. 

It’s by the author of Water for Elephants which I had read in high school and absolutely loved. So I was excited for this, particularly because it takes place in Scotland, and that’s an area of the world that I don’t know much about, but am eager to learn more. When I started it, I couldn’t get more than a few chapters into it without putting it down. It didn’t grab me right away like I was needing. But, I pushed on, and the story did get a bit better. 

The characters, first of all, are insufferable. Life in Scotland was drastically different from their high American society and they were very annoying with that sort of wake up call. I hated them all at the beginning, except for the Scots. This was no doubt the point of such characterization, so I let it slide and kept reading, hoping for some slight redemption from them. 

The main character, Maddie, whose perspective the story is told through, finally tires of her high society life of sitting by the fire reading while her husband and his best friend go off in search of the monster, and as such she starts helping out around the inn where they’re staying. This made me like her a lot better as she got to know the other women working at the inn, Meg and Anna, and also exploring the area. 

In several spots throughout the book, it seemed like she was piecing together a puzzle, but I couldn’t exactly guess what it was because the clues were very subtle, and she wasn’t particularly adept at sharing her thoughts, despite the readers being inside her head. 

Her marriage starts disintegrating, and during that time she has a growing fascination with the Innkeeper, which began after he hugged her once while she was crying. Eventually it blossomed into love, but it felt very forced. It seemed to me like a cheap way for the author to get Maddie out of her marriage while still giving her a “happy ending.” Perhaps it’s because it was set in 1945, where it was uncommon for women to be on their own, but I don’t entirely buy that. The way she realizes her love for the innkeeper (Angus) is after she word vomits all of her problems onto Meg. But up to this point it didn’t seem like anything more than an attraction--they didn’t really talk much throughout the book, until they declare their love, which I just didn’t like. 

Her husband, Ellis, however provides a very good villain. He and his best friend Hank are the definition of entitled rich boys and I wanted to give them each a good beating. Hank, at some points, sort of redeems himself, before sliding back down to being and entitled brat. Ellis however, gets much worse. There’s some vague queer coding of Ellis and Hank, but nothing is confirmed or denied. Again, probably because of the time period, but it was unsatisfying. 

I really liked the Scottish female characters, and I wish they had gotten a little more time on the page. But Maddie was very wrapped up in herself and her own problems. There were also elements of Scottish myth, particularly around the monster, that I would have liked to have explored more, because it left something wanting. 

Overall, it was okay. It was a quick read once I finally committed to it, and I’m not mad that I read it. But it’s a book that you could take or leave, in all honesty. If you want to read for yourself, go for it. Or, if you have read it, and would like to discuss some pros and cons with me, I’d love that.

Anyway, that’s the end of that. 

All my love 

[daniellethamasa]

Hey all, Dani here.

I’m still working at getting some of my previously planned October posts written up and posted in the time slot they were originally scheduled. My to-do list was just piling up on me, and the extra stress was just making everything feel worse. But those posts are coming very soon. I’m definitely in a writing mood right now. Blame NaNoWriMo.

Reading: I finished 26 books this month. Wow, okay, so that’s a lot. Cool. Umm…that takes me up to 191 books read for the year. I will definitely be passing the 200 book mark before the end of the year. My reading for October was definitely helped by a surfeit of manga volumes read, especially because of reading exclusively manga for Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon. Still, there is absolutely nothing wrong with reading manga, and I had an enjoyable time.

Blogging: Okay, I slumped on this goal. I did not have a post up every day, and even when I catch up on my backlog of posts, I think I will still have two or three days that won’t have a post. But you know what, that’s okay. I honestly can’t believe that I went that long posting every day without really missing any. Of course I can definitely say that missing out on a week’s worth of posts did really hurt my traffic stats. October was only about 2/3 of the views of the rest of the months of 2019. But it’s okay, because my overall views for this October were still higher than last October, so it’s still upward momentum.

Writing: Another month of Weekend Writer is in the books, and November marks National Novel Writing Month, so I fully expect this goal to have some activity over the next month. You know, aside from all the writing I do for the blog. Oh, and now the writing I’m doing for my work’s daily newsletter. I’m kind of sad that my training will end at the end of November.

Conventions: The Ohio Renaissance Festival isn’t exactly a convention, but we did go to that one last time for this year, and we had a food and drink day. I have the whole thing documented on my Instagram, so you can check out all the lovely food and drink photos there. Convention season for Damian and I is pretty much over for 2019, but we are starting to browse at potential options for 2020. Of course, we are absolutely returning to Cincinnati Comic Expo in Sept 2020. We also plan to do at least one day of Gen Con (and hopefully the Critical Role Live Show there as well) in August 2020. Other than that we are looking at a couple other possibilities. Of course the big event for 2020 isn’t a convention, but it is our honeymoon to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in October 2020, so stay tuned for more details on all of those events.

Next up is wrap up time. As always, if I have a review posted, then I will include the link back to that post in case you missed it and/or would like to check it out.

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin — 4.5 stars

The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young — 4.5 stars

Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake — 5 stars

Teleworld by Rachel E Kelly and narrated by Cherami Leigh, Todd Haberkorn, Brittney Karbowski, and David Wald — 5 stars (I have a review up for the paperback version here)

Frankly in Love by David Yoon — 4.5 stars

Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day — 5 stars

Cursed by Thomas Wheeler and Frank Miller — 3.5 stars

My Hero Academia, Vol 21 by Kohei Horikoshi — 4 stars

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol 6 by Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court — 4 stars

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab — 4 stars

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay — 5 stars

The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell — 4.5 stars

Waterworld, Volume 3: Xavier by Rachel E Kelly — 5 stars

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh — 4.5 stars

The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith — 5 stars

Fairy Tail, Vol 7 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol 3 by Kore Yamazaki — 4.5 stars

Magus of the Library, Vol 2 by Mitsu Izumi — 5 stars

Black Clover, Vol 12 by Yuki Tabata — 5 stars

Black Clover, Vol 13 by Yuki Tabata — 5 stars

Black Clover, Vol 14 by Yuki Tabata — 5 stars

Black Clover, Vol 15 by Yuki Tabata — 5 stars

Black Clover, Vol 16 by Yuki Tabata — 5 stars

Black Clover, Vol 17 by Yuki Tabata — 5 stars

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey — 4.5 stars

No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty — 5 stars (Note: this is the Revised and Expanded Edition)

The next big section for this post is the book haul and OwlCrate unboxing portion. And yes, this is another big haul month. But because of saving up for our honeymoon and for saving up for other future plans, I have come to the decision that I need to go on a book buying restriction, and I have set a few guidelines and rules for my new restriction. The big part is that I’m allowing myself to buy 5 books each month. Note that this does not include the books that I get in my monthly OwlCrate. This also does not include the books I’m allowed to buy if I sell some of my old books first. So if I take a haul to Half Price Books and sell them, then I am allowed to use that money for books. This restriction also does not count what I can buy with the use of gift cards given to me for holidays and such. The other big caveat is that if I sign up to work overtime hours at work, I can use the overtime earnings for whatever fun activities I decide on, even if that’s books. It just means I have to put in extra effort to earn those books.

Okay, it’s haul time.

The OwlCrate this month was great, because there were TWO exclusive hardcover books included, which made me very excited. I’m also looking forward to next month’s book, because it will have sprayed edges. Not, the dragon statue in this photo is one of my bookshelf decorations, and not part of the box’s contents.

Finally, this is where I would normally go into details about my TBR plans for the upcoming month. But November is going to be an exception. I want my main focus to be writing. I’m really ahead on my reading goal for the year, so I don’t have to sit down and try to read 20 books in a month or anything. So I want to focus on NaNoWriMo. I may still pick up some manga volumes, some Middle Grade books, or some contemporary romance, but those will be decided based on my mood at that time. I usually take a book with me to work so I can read it on my breaks, so I’ll still be doing some reading.

Did you have a good reading month in October? Any fun plans for November? Let me know in the comments and I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

October Wrap-Up and November Plans Hey all, Dani here. I'm still working at getting some of my previously planned October posts written up and posted in the time slot they were originally scheduled.

[bookthattalks]

Why I like Rick Riordan’s Books

     Okay, first of all, as a 16 year old who is constantly in need of sleep, has no time for any social callings, would rather stay inside the house but can’t because she has that typical parents who wants her to go outside and not just spend her time moping around, and the only way of escape she can think of is “vicariously living through fictional worlds, and characters so I can forget I am a living individual”, it must be a bummer to know that good books out there are located in the children’s section. Fear not though, because Uncle Rick is here to save the day. It doesn’t matter that majority or if I am not mistaken, all of his works can be found in the children’s section, because once you dive right into them, it doesn’t feel like they’re intended for a child at all. Meaning, Riordan’s books are for everyone to read, may it be a teenager, an adult or even an elder. The books from other authors I’ve already read, in my taste, somewhat doesn’t strike me as having that factor that distinguishes them from the other books. Putting it simply, they are all the same. From the plot where most I can already put my finger on, to that very “different” worlds with a lot of similarities, to the characters who, all I can remember is being described as having a pallid complexion, really they’re qwhite interesting. Rick Riordan, on the other hand, manages to have diverse characters. In his series The Heroes of Olympus, 4 out of the 7 main characters are poc or people/person of color. On his other series about norse mythology, Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard, one main character is Arabic. In the trilogy, Kane Chronicles, the main charcters are mixed-race. His books are not only diverse, but his books also have lgbtqia+ representation. His most recent series, Trials of Apollo, the main character himself is homosexual. His most prominent series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians has a gay main character. The second book of Magnus Chase, the lead character’s love interest is gender-fluid. But wait, it gets better. Riordan’s works also have characters that are pwd. One character of his is deaf; most of his characters suffer from ADHD. What’s amazing about this is that children and other people that are poc, are homosexuals, and with disabilities, would feel as if they belong because they can read book characters just like them. They would think that they can do whatever that character can do. They can be heroes.  They can be something. And I think that’s really beautiful. There are few books with characters like that, and what’s sad is they’re mostly used as side characters.

    Now, that the basic dits are done, let’s delve into the writing itself. I really love his writing style. Like, once you’ve read the first page, you could not stop reading. You just want to finish it already, but kinda don’t want to finish it too, you know what I mean. Every page is exciting, it makes you want more. The chapters themselves are creative and hilarious. Unlike other books that will make you say “ugh, this is too much”, his books are mostly easy read and does not have over-complicated plots, but the adventure is jam-packed. There’s not a boring moment, not one. And he manages to describe the world really well. Though, I admit that some of his facts about mythology are not that accurate, I definitely think that his books would be a good start for children or other people that want to study or be knowledgeable about mythology. I could go on and on as to why I love Rick Riordan’s books, but unfortunately, I am still that 16 year old who is currently drowning in homework, projects and a very loooong pile of tbr (to be read) books, so I have to cut this out. I gave a lot of pretty good reasons why you should read Riordan’s books though. So what are you waiting for? Add Rick Riordan’s books in your tbr pile now and enjoy the magnificent world it offers. I’m out.

[ancient-trees]

Reading Meme

(Sorry for taking forever on these, guys...!  I got tagged for a lot of memes at once, and this one is long. I apparently have a lot of things to say about books... who knew?) 

Tagged by @theticklishpear​. Thank you again!

(Tag-ees, btw, don’t feel obligated to read my long rambly answers if you just want to copy/paste the questions.)

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

I have a picture book of St George and the Dragon whose illustrations are BEAUTIFUL (it’s this one). Technically hasn’t been on MY shelves longest - a while ago I found it in our shelves of books from when my brother and I were kids and repossessed it because I love the art so much.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

Currently in the middle of Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire. Also in the pile are The Edge of the Sea by Rachel Carson (whom I love) and Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill (which is ...okay, but more of a slightly-more-opinionated refresher on what I learned in college than anything new). I’m also most of the way through a reread of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (one of my favorite books). 

Last thing I finished was Shadowheart, the last book in Tad Williams’s Shadowmarch series. (It’s not without its problems, but overall I really enjoyed that series. It’s got the ensemble-cast-and-unlikely-heroes thing going on.)

I’m not sure what’s next. Fiction might be American Gods by Neil Gaiman or Aftermath by Chuck Wendig... or I might need to keep going with the series and track down the second October Daye book. We’ll see when I get there.  Nonfiction - been meaning to start The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson or Writings from Ancient Egypt (translations from original sources, by the same). But I also have a book about pirates off the coast of Virginia my mom got on a recent trip to Jamestown... and a book about the Silk Road I happened upon in Barnes and Noble the other week, which MIGHT have edged its way to the top of the list... (this is why I’m all for brick-and-mortar bookstores. Search algorithms are great, but they don’t accomplish quite the same thing as wandering the shelves.)

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated?

Ehh, I’m not sure what “everyone” likes, but a lot of the series my high school friends loved I could never get into. I remember really liking the first Wheel of Time book, but got bored of the series pretty quickly after the first one. Same with Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth. I tried to like Dragonriders of Pern, but didn’t get far with that one either. And I hear the series gets better after the overenthusiastic-Tolkien-fanboying of the first book, but I really didn’t enjoy The Sword of Shannara.

Oh.. and I never read any Discworld JUST because in high school I knew a guy who EXTOLLED ITS VIRTUES TO THE HEAVENS. Constantly. Now that I’ve learned more about the series and the author I will definitely have to read some someday, though.

(I’m not a big fan of most “~Literature~” either, Pear.)

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

I don’t know. My TBR list is pretty ridiculous, and anything’s possible, so I hate to relegate anything to “probably won’t read” status. Finishing A Song of Ice and Fire might be close. I received the whole series as a birthday gift from a friend (long before the TV show existed), read the first two back-to-back at a time when I really wasn’t in a great place, and got burned out on the grimdark rocksfalleveryonedies of it all. I did enjoy the books, and I’ll probably dive back into it someday, but it’s not really high on my Fun Things to Read list right now.

I also come home with an armload of unexpected finds every time the local college has a charity used book fair... most of which end up sitting on my shelves for a long time, still unread...

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”

Nothing really, but I’ve got a big stack of novels from Japan that I’ve been saving for “once I’ve brushed up on my kanji” - since reading is excruciatingly slow when I have to look up every other word. I’m being optimistic and not putting them under the “probably won’t read” heading, though.

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

noo, wait till the end! I will confess that sometimes I’ll flip ahead if I’m at a really slow point, or I know I don’t have time for another chapter but can’t quite bring myself to put the book down yet... but I’m trying to get better about it. I always regret it when I accidentally spoil the book for myself.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

There should ABSOLUTELY be acknowledgements. The ones that involve stories or interesting background info are cool, but even the ones that are just lists of names 110% should be there - they’re for those people, not the reader, and after all the sweat and tears that go into putting a book together they deserve that place of honor.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

When I was a kid this question would always trip me up - it would be so cool to be a character in the books I read and have awesome adventures... but at the same time, being in a book-world would mean giving up all the other book-worlds... unless you had access to an interdimensional library and spare time for reading while you weren’t busy saving the world...

If I’m being honest, though, I’d probably end up being Ged from A Wizard of Earthsea. I can relate pretty intensely to a lot of his journey.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

Quite a few books remind me of a certain school librarian who was always ready with a recommendation and frequently asked the student library aides what books the library should add to their shelves. She was really cool.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

My copy of the first Harry Potter book was given to me (right after it was first published in the US) by a good friend whose last name happened to be Potter.. along with a message that said “Wow, Harry Potter has such a cool name! I wish I had a cool name like that! OH WAIT...!”

I also seem to inherit a lot of manga from friends who want to free up shelf space.

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

I give books as presents a lot, so nothing specific really stands out. For some reason I keep losing copies of The Silmarillion to people I lend it to who never return it...

Come to think of it, I gave a copy of Howl’s Moving Castle to one of my students in Japan before I left - since she’d been doing extra English language work just for fun, and she was a fan of the Ghibli movie.

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?

I don’t know, offhand. This might be more a Question #9 story, but I remember reading Shadowmarch during downtime between classes in the teachers’ room of my schools in Japan. The other teachers kept exclaiming over how HUGE the book was (~800 pages in mass-market paperback). In Japan novels are pocket-sized - words in Japanese take up less space to print than English, they use thinner paper, and they separate books into Part 1/Part 2 etc if they’re too long.

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

The Hobbit, actually. I’d read it probably in middle school/jr high or so and thought it was kind of silly and childish. Then when it was assigned representing the fantasy genre in high school lit class, I was annoyed enough that I didn’t bother rereading it - just skimmed it well enough to answer test questions. Once I’d read The Lord of the Rings and gotten into the Tolkien mythos I could appreciate The Hobbit a lot more.

14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

In used books and library books I’ve found bookmarks, old receipts, the usual stuff... I think I found a pressed flower once or twice. A friend of mine used to hide money in her books (to be found as a surprise for herself later, after she’d forgotten about it), so once in a while I’d borrow one and find a random $10 bill or so in it. (I left them there, of course!)

15. Used or brand new?

Either one. New is good for supporting authors, but my town has a really good used book store that I’ll check for older series.

And Book Off (huge Japanese used book chain) is a thing of beauty. So much manga is published so quickly over there that people don’t tend to hang onto their tankobon copies once they’ve finished reading them (they don’t have the space to keep them all), so you can get a ton of books for really cheap. I spent way more shipping them home than I did buying the actual books.

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

I haven’t read much Stephen King, apart from The Gunslinger (which I wasn’t really a fan of at the time) and his On Writing.  I admire his work ethic, at any rate.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

I think there have been a few, but I can’t think of them now. I grew up with the Neverending Story movie, so I was a little thrown off when the second half of the book continued in such a different direction, but I liked them both. The book doesn’t have quite the same place in my heart that the movie does, though. And I enjoyed the Shannara Chronicles TV show a lot more than the first book in the series (see #3 above), but I haven’t read the specific books the show was based on, so I can’t really say there. (Though “Elessedil” still makes me cringe every time I hear it...)

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

oh god. The Scifi Channel Earthsea miniseries had me laughing-slash-crying within the first five minutes, it was such a garbage fire and breathtaking masterpiece of missing the point. I remember having a similar reaction to Disney’s version of The Black Cauldron, though that was a much longer time ago, and that was less bewildered rage and more a disappointed “what did you do to my Prydain?? And what is this talking schnauzer?”

19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

Not that I can recall. For some reason reading about Tom Bombadil’s always makes me want bread and honey, though.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

Hah, I don’t know. The friend who gave me the Harry Potter book was a huge influence on what I read as a kid, but I lost touch with her a long time ago, so I don’t know what she’s reading these days.

Tagging: @possiblyelven, @taskitron, @whitherling, @arionwind, @december-soulstice, @byjillianmaria, @eggletine if you guys want to do it!

[haydenstudiesblog-blog]

Writer Ask-Meme

“This isn’t studyblr-related shocker right? but I’m a writer so I wanted to do something fun that will also allow my followers to get to know me a little better!

01: When did you first start writing?

I started writing when I was 10 (around 10, I don’t remember for sure. It was before I started middle school)

02: What was your favorite book growing up?

While I wish I could say it was Harry Potter, I didn’t read that until a little over a year ago (in college). I’d have to say The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, I actually want to get a tattoo about it :)

03: Are you an avid reader?

YES! Reading is my all-time favorite activity. I have too many books in my TBR pile (my theoretical one, they’re all on a shelf). I’ve reread some books more times than I can count because I love them so much, but recently I’ve been “broadening my horizons” that sound so lame and reading new authors and genres.

04: Have you ever thrown a book across the room?

Not that I can recall. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to, I try to take care of my books for as long as I can (until they start to get old, then I just embrace them being broken-in except my HP books those are kept somewhere safe)

05: Did you take writing courses in school/college?

WELL. At my current university I decided to enroll in an Elements of Creative Writing course this fall, which I’m excited about. I’m also going to be taking Intro to Professional Writing. If all goes well, I’m hoping to transfer to a different university to finish up school and major in English and Creative Writing (one whole major, not 2), so I’ll be taking more literature and writing courses.

06: Have you read any writing-advice books?

I’m reading an old textbook that I had when I took a creative writing course in high school through our local community college (back when I had health problems and couldn’t finish the course but already had the book so I kept it and didn’t read it, so I don’t count this course as a creative writing course I’ve taken). So I decided to read it now. I also have a list of books on writing that I’m looking to buy!

07: Have you ever been part of a critique group?

When I was in 5th grade we had an assignment to write a short story. I did, and my teacher said it was amazing and took me to a writer’s workshop where shy-little-me was forced to sit at a table with strangers my age and take turns reading our stories aloud. I hated it, but we got to go to McDonalds after. Also since then I’ve looked back at the story I wrote and it super sucks but maybe I’ll try to rewrite it because the idea is decent at least.

08: What’s the best piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten?

Honestly, I don’t even remember. What a boring answer.

09: What’s the worst piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten?

It’s not really feedback, but in high school I wrote a research paper and my best friend at the time peer reviewed it and she tried to cross out a bunch of my commas. I was so annoyed because she was horrible at grammar. I ended up leaving all the commas and I did great on the paper haha!

10: What’s your biggest writer pet-peeve?

Bad grammar. Hands-down. I’ll be reading someone else’s writing (I look over my boyfriend’s and sister’s papers for them) and I genuinely get baffled by how bad their spelling is or how they don’t know when to use a semi-colon. In my head it’s all just second nature (not that I don’t make mistakes, especially because I hate editing my own work so sometimes I just don’t, but still!).

11: What’s your favorite book cover?

I have two, and they’re for the same books. The new HP covers!!! I LOVE the ones where you line up the books and the spines create Hogwarts. I also love the ones that have the horcruxes in them. I want to buy those sets, but I literally just got my own hard cover set from my mom for Christmas (they came in a box that looks like a trunk) so I’d feel bad for buying new books. They just look SO COOL though. 

12: Who is your favorite author?

I currently love Michael Crichton (I said I’m broadening my horizons, these are the books I’m using to do that). I’ve loved Sarah Dessen for a very long time; I own all of her books, and I preorder her new ones. But of course I have to mention J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. Not everyone is a HP fan and not everyone loves the Twilight series, but I’m die-hard HP and I’ve read the Twilight series twice. 

13: What’s your favorite writing quote?

“We could have been killed- or worse, expelled.” -Hermione Granger, HP

14: What’s your favorite writing blog?

I don’t have one because I can’t find any!

15: What would you say has inspired you the most?

Emma Watson and J.K. Rowling. I feel like it’s so easy for characters from the HP series to just be identified as their characters, but Emma went to college and she does amazing things and she’s just made a great name for herself and I’ve always loved her. J.K. Rowling is obvious, if you don’t know her back story you should look it up (I’m not going to talk about it, it’ll make this post even longer).

16: How do you feel about movies based on books?

They’re never good enough. My preference is (if I can help it) to watch the movie before I read the book, so I’m not disappointed. If I read the book and then watch the movie, I’ll be upset with how much they changed or left out. If I watch the movie first and then go and read the book, I can’t be as disappointed with bad casting (because they’re already planted in my head and I didn’t have an opportunity to create my own characters) and the storyline is always just better because you get MORE information instead of them leaving things out!

17: Would you like your books to be turned into TV shows, movies, video games, or none?

Movies, definitely. Any time I begin a story I imagine what it would be like if it were a movie. Actually, my process is that I usually hear a song and I think of a storyline for it (I prefer to listen to songs that tell stories in my free time, rap and stuff is for clubbing haha) and then I write a story with that song in mind. I love letting music inspire me. But yes, from the very beginning I usually picture my books as movies.

18: How do you feel about love triangles?

I guess I don’t have much of an opinion. Wait JK I do, I’m currently writing about one. Sort of. They can be good if they’re done correctly, sometimes they can just be too predictable. IMO, if you use a love triangle you should incorporate some elements of surprise into your story, things to keep the reader on their toes, especially if the love triangle itself becomes predictable. 

19: Do you prefer writing on a computer or longhand?

I love the idea of writing longhand, but I write kind of weird and my hand cramps up fast, I hate my handwriting (I write too big), and typing works better for me because I can get my thoughts out much faster.

20: What’s your favorite writing program?

I’m going to assume this is in regards to Microsoft Word, Pages, etc? I personally use Scrivener. I paid, like, $45 for it but it’s just a one-time payment. I saw that a lot of writers use it because it has tools for plotting, characters, it’s just really organized. I watched tutorials on it and then I did a 30-day free trial (I don’t think it strictly goes by days, I think it counts the days you open the program and use it) and I fell in love, so I bought it and I haven’t used Word since (except for homework and notes, but I’m going to try to switch to OneNote for that).

21: Do you outline?

No, but I really should. I’ve been trying to. Like, I’ll at least put into Scrivener in a separate folder the idea of my story and maybe a storyline, how I know I want it to end and what could happen in the middle. But it’s by no means an outline, and I really do need to work on that. I think it would help me a lot.

22: Do you start with characters or plot?

I definitely start with plot. Like I said before, I hear a song and I think of a story and then I just go from there.

23: What’s your favorite and least favorite part of making characters?

My favorite part is definitely coming up with their personalities, and my least favorite has to be deciding their names and how they look. It takes me forever to decide on names, and I change them a lot.

24: What’s your favorite and least favorite part of plotting?

I don’t know if this is considered plotting, but it’s SO hard for me to figure out where and when my story should begin. I also hate trying to put in fillers in-between all the scenes that I know I want to happen. I’ve read about a process where people who write the way I do write out the scenes they already have in their head, and then they just go from there. They don’t write in order. So maybe I should try that, just write as it comes.

25: What advice would you give to young writers?

Oh god, I’m only 20, I still consider myself a young writer! I don’t think I’m in any position to give advice. BUT, if you’re in high school and you have a passion for reading and writing, start considering your options and make sure you get into a good school that has a good program. I didn’t do that because I was stupid, and I should have because I’m at a university that I don’t enjoy and I’m trying to transfer.

26: Which do you enjoy reading the most: physical, ebook, or both?

Physical, 100%.

27: Which is your favorite genre to write?

It’s been Young Adult for a while (before I even knew what YA was, or that what I was writing was YA), but as I’m getting older I’m noticing that my writing is maturing a bit more.

28: Which do you find hardest: the beginning, the middle, or the end?

The beginning

29: Which do you find easiest: writing or editing?

Writing. Sometimes I’m not in the mood to edit, my work or anyone else’s.

30: Have you ever written fan-fiction?

Nope!

31: Have you ever been published?

HA. I wish.

32: How do you feel about friends and close relatives reading your work?

I’m really shy and self-conscious so I don’t let anyone read my writing. They have, though, because they’re stinkers and they did it secretly. I recently found out that my mom printed out all of my old stories from our old computer and kept them in a binder and would show people.

33: Are you interested in having your work published?

Yes, even though I just said I’m shy and won’t let people I know read it. I think things are easier when people I don’t know read my stuff. So weird.

34: Describe your writing space.

My writing space isn’t one space yet. I’m going to be moving into an apartment out at my school with some roommates, and I plan on making my room really calming and relaxing. Just a bunch of pastel colors, because I’ve found that those calm me. I want twinkle lights in my room, a fuzzy rug, candles, all of it. Recently I’ve been going to our student union/common area and library to write at school, though. The hustle and bustle keeps my mind working. I can’t work in silence, I’ve found that out the hard way.

35: What’s your favorite time of day for writing?

I usually write in the afternoon and whenever I have free time because I’m a full-time student. I do good writing at night, though. I’ve read that you should lay down and write at night, because that’s where you do your best thinking. It’s worked for me so far!

36: Do you listen to music when you write?

While I write and while I do homework I’ll look up the piano instrumentals to Disney songs and I turn them down so I just barely hear them.

37: What’s your oldest WIP?

If this means Work In Progress (God I hope it does or I’ll feel so stupid!), I couldn’t even tell you honestly. All of my writings are WIPs.

38: What’s your current WIP?

It’s about two women who are best friends. One gets engaged and the other is either in love with the guy, having an affair with him, or both. I haven’t decided yet. There’s more to it, but that’s the gist.

39: What’s the weirdest story idea you’ve ever had?

I don’t think I’ve ever had any weird ones. If I have they’re from middle school and I’ve forgotten about them (thank god).

40: Which is your favorite original character, and why?

SUCH a boring answer, but I don’t have one! UGH UGH UGH.

41: What do you do when characters don’t follow the outline?

Considering I don’t use much of an outline, I just follow them where they try to go. It’s usually better than what I had in mind, anyway.

42: Do you enjoy making your characters suffer?

.... No.... Of course not, what an awful question............... No writer EVER enjoys that, nope, never.....

43: Have you ever killed a main character?

Not yet... :)

44: What’s the weirdest character concept you’ve ever come up with?

I haven’t really come up with any weird ones.

45: What’s your favorite character name?

Cora

46: Describe your perfect writing space.

See #34, that’s my dream space. Hopefully I can make it happen. Also, a giant, beautiful old library surrounded by books but also in a nook by myself would be amazing.

47: If you could steal one character from another author and make them yours, who would it be and why?

Hermione Granger. I could only dream of creating someone so iconic as her character. She’s my dream character, and just reminds me so much of myself. In case you haven’t guessed yet she’s my favorite character ever haha

48: If you could write the next book of any series, which one would it be, and what would you make the book about?

I WOULD MAKE ANOTHER HARRY POTTER BOOK. I so badly just want to do this on my own (basically fan-fiction I guess?) but never try to publish it or anything. I would make it about everyone where they are now, where they work and their kids. Not ABOUT their kids, but still just about them. Actually I don’t think I’ll ever attempt that because I wouldn’t execute each character correctly and I’d never be happy with it, but yeah.

49: If you could write a collaboration with another author, who would it be an what would you write about?

Okay. Sarah Dessen, a YA novel, not sure what it’d be about. Maybe she could help me with one of my own ideas. J. K. Rowling, we could collaborate on a new HP book (lol in my dreams). Stephen King, we can write whatever the hell he wants to write about because he’s amazing and I love his writing and it’d be a huge honor to even meet him.

50. If you could live in any fictional world, which would it be?

You can probably guess this. Obviously the world of Harry Potter. I literally got a fake Hogwarts acceptance letter, a student ID, and potions bottles for Christmas when I was little. I played Harry Potter every day with my sister (surprise, I was Hermione).

If you read this, thank you love you’re so sweet! I super appreciate it! This was super fun to do, I honestly love answering random questions. My boyfriend and I ask each other random questions that we look up online all the time because it’s just fun to think of answers and stuff. :)

xx Hayden 

[chloeintheoffice-blog]

April TBR: #OWLsReadathon2019

So it’s been a while! I wanted to make this post as I will be taking part in the OWLs Readathon during April, hosted by G from BookRoast!

She has put so much effort into this readathon. Her announcement video is linked here.

I have decided that I am going to be a Charms Professor at Hogwarts! There are seven exams that must be completed for this career, but I have set a book for each subject! I have from 1st - 30th April to read all 12 books, so I should be able to do it.... I can hope!

So to be a charms professor you have to complete the following criteria:

Charms (or any subject you want to teach)

Defence Against the Dark Arts

5 additional subjects of your choice.

My first choice is for charns, where the prompt is to read an adult work. I have chosen: Falling Through Clouds by Anna Chilvers. 

I got this book a while ago, in a mega-unboxing of around 80 adult books. I sorted through them and decided to hang onto this one, and now there’s a perfect place for it in this readathon!

This book is about Kat, a 22 year-old who meets a man called Gavin on the train. They spend the summer in Cornwall but she can tell that something isn’t quite right with him. It turns out that Gavin is suffering from intense nightmares after being held hostage in Iraq. He then goes missing and Kat has to decide whether she wants to chase this mystery man.

This is definitely not the usual style of book I would read, but I am excited to give it a go.

Next, for defence against the dark arts, the prompt is to read a book starting with the letter “R”. I have chosen Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer.

This was the only book starting with a “R” that I own.. which I do find really hard to believe, but it’s true! This is another book that I got in the mega-unboxing, so I’m excited to get to it to finally unhaul it from the massive pile remaining in my reading room.

This book is about a medical student, called Patrick, who has Asperger’s. The body he is examining in anatomy class starts to speak to him, and then he is faced with solving a possible murder.

Again, this is definitely not something I would usually pick up, but it was the only book in my possession and I tried my hardest to not purchase any books for this readathon!

The first subject I have chosen is ancient runes, which means I have to read a re-telling. I’m not a huge fan of re-tellings, but I’ve decided to pick up The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill.

The cover of this book is just gorgeous. This is obviously a Little Mermaid re-telling, and I was going to include a short summary here but I actually don’t want to read the blurb for it. I feel like I know enough about the Little Mermaid (doesn’t everyone?) so I don’t want to find out any potential twists and turns before I get started. But this book is just gorgeous and I can’t wait!

The next subject I have chosen is astronomy, for which I have to read a book with “Star” in the title.This felt very specific to me, and I thought it would be difficult, but luckily Brittany sent me a copy of Starry Eyed by Jenn Bennett a couple of weeks ago! 

She sent me this book as she doesnt typically read contemporaries but loved this one, so I have very high expectations for it! It is about ex-friends Zorie and Lennon who have made a habit of trying to avoid each other. Their families are described as the modern-day Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets. But, then they all go camping and it goes horribly wrong, and Zorie and Lennon are abandoned alone.

This does sound very intriguing, and I cannot wait to get to it!

Next, I chose to read a book set in the future for divination. I went with Allegiant by Veronica Roth, which is the third and final book in the Divergent series.

I have wanted to get this series finished off for a while now because I have the UGLIEST copy on my shelf. I’ve watched the film and cannot remember what happens, so I wanted to get into it to finally find out how this series ends. I have heard very bad things about this book, but cannot leave a series unfinished... so I’m popping it into this readathon so I can read and un-haul it for good!

Next I am going to be reading a contemporary for Muggle Studies and the one I have gone for is The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. This is one of those books I’ve been wanting to get to for years but I never ever got round to it.

This is about a girl called Isabel, who spends every summer at her family friends’ house, with two boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. Isabel has been in love with Conrad forever, and Jeremiah has been friendly to her forever, 

I think we can all see what’s going to happen here... but it just sounds like a cheesy cute romance that I can power through for the readathon. Also, it’s only 276 pages, so it’s definitely a short one I can pop in if I start feeling a bit slumpy.

The final exam I am set on taking is Potions, which is to read a book that is not the first in a series, or a sequel. I have gone for Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling. Firstly because you can’t have a Harry Potter readathon without reading a Harry Potter book, and secondly I am commited to reading this book in April, for a lovely group of friends I’ve made.

I’m not going to tell you what this book is about; if you don;t know you should! But the only bad thing is that it is 636 pages long... in a readathon... oh well! I can give it a shot!

So then there are 5 more exams, that I don’t HAVE to take, but let’s face it, I’m going to give it a go. The first being arithmancy, for which I’d have to read a book with two authors. I have gone for Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.

I knew nothing about this book before searching it on Goodreads, and I can now provide you with this information:

“One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high-school stage.”

So yeah, it sort of sounds like my cup of tea, but not something I’m jumping for joy waiting to read. But, it is my only book with two authors on my shelves, and this readathon does not give me liberties to buy new books!

Next is care of magical creatures, where the aim is to read a book with a land animal on the cover. I have gone for Going Bovine by Libba Bray, as there’s a big cow carrying a gnome on the cover.

This book is about 16 year-old Cameron who doesn’t want to put any effort into shcool, or life in general. But then he gets the horrible news that he’s sick, and he’s going to die. Help comes for him in the form of a punk angel/halloucination called Dulcie, who tells Cameron there’s a cure, he just has to search for it. Cameron sets off on a road-trip across America, to live.

Wow okay, this sounds mildly depressing, but hey ho let’s give it a go shall we?!

Now we have herbology, to read a book with a plant on the cover. This was easier than I thought because as well as Starry Eyed, Brittany also sent me Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. 

This is a YA mystery, set in an elite boarding school called Ellingham Academy. The backsotry is that when the school opened, the founder’s wife and daughter were kidnapped, and the only clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed by Truly Devious. Stevie is starting her first year at the academy, and she decides she’s going to solve the mystery.

Now this sounds interesting! I had it on my Wishlist for a while so it was something on my radar, but I hadn’t really got a full idea what it was about. Now I’m even more interested!

Last but not leasy we have history of magic, to read a book published more than 10 years ago. I’ve gone for Dead Girl’s Dance by Rachel Caine. This is the 2nd book in the 15 Morganville Vampires books.

We seem to have a tiny photo here, but it’ll do! I can’t say too much about this book without ruining the first, but this is about a girl called Claire who goes off to college at 16 (she’s a genuis). Once there she has to move out of her dorm due to mean girls tormening here, and she moves in with some 18 year-old locals. She then discovers that the whole town in run and owned by vampires. 

It’s a very good book, a classic for me. And I want to get all of these books re-read before 2020.

And FINALLY we have transfiguration, where I need to read a book with sprayed edges. I’ve gone for One of Us is Lying by Karen M.McManus.

I assume all copies have this, but mine has red sprayed edges to match the font on the front. It actually looks pretty cool, especially with the white cover. I’ve been told this is a breakfast club plus murder style book, which sounds right up my alley! I don’t want to look any more into it so that I don’t spoil myself, but I am excited to finally get my hands on this one.

So there you have it - that’s the 12 books I would love to get finished in April. I do have a dissertation to write, 3 exams to study for, and a 3rd *cough* driving test to take... so I’m trying not to stress myself out but I have a lot to do, and fitting all these books in will be quite an accomplishment.

Stay tuned for my OWLs wrap-up after April!

[chaosbisexual]

Bookish Questions:- 1-50

tysm !!! 

1. What is your favourite book and/or book series of all time?

Harry potter has definitely had a profound impact on my life.like,, harry potter. but a close second is the chronicles of narnia (i have aside blog for that which is why you never see any of that content)

2. What is the longest book you have ever read? How many pages?

Order of the phoenix, probs. i’ll get back to you with how manypages. 

3. What is the oldest book you have ever read? (Based on itswritten date)

i mean i did randomly read the bible a lot as a child (not bci’m reliegous but bc i just randomly read the books on my relatives shelves)but Black Beauty was written in the 1800s-early 1900s wasn’t it? if not, thenNorthanger Abbey by Jane austen. 

4. What is a book series that everyone else loves but you do not?

twilight or hush hush. ugh. 

5. What book or book series would you like to see turned into afilm/ TV series?

TRC IS GETTIN A SHOW !! TRC IS GETTIN !! A !! SHOW !! i’d alsolike to see a show based on his dark materials, since the movie (i still retainthat it was good) was a flop. the selection would also be cool to see. andPERCY JACKSON NOT THE STEAMING SHIT PILES OF MOVIES. BETTER.

6. What is your favourite stand-alone book?

stardust by neil gaiman or where rainbows end by cecelia ahern,or perks of being a wallflower by stephen czbotsky. (or p&p ornorthanger abbey by jane austen)

7. What is a book that you feel glad for not reading?

twilight.i have read snippets of the gender bend and by. god. 

8. What is a book that you feel guilty for not not reading?

six of crows. but its on the TBR. 

9. What is a book you have read that is set in your country ofbirth?

i read a few of the “our australian girl” stories when iwas younger but ?? not much else im afraid :((((

10. What is a book that you own more than one copy of?

i used to own more than one copy of divergent, but that was bcthey were both presents and i’ve given away both now. i also have multiplecopies of the hp books (at mums house and dads)

11. What horror book made you really scared?

idont really read horror books? 

12. What book do you passionately hate?

twilight. 

13. What is the biggest book series you have read? How many booksare in it?

hp and narnia both have 7 books, but harry potter is by far thebiggest (although it ironically covers a much smaller timeline.)

14. What book gives you happy memories?

harry potter, where rainbows end, perks. 

15. What book made you cry?

HARRY POTTER, NARNIA, THE RAVEN CYCLE, WHERE RAINBOWS END,,,like any book im super emotional 

16. What book made you laugh?

perks and where rainbows end. 

17. What is your favourite book that contains an LGBTQ+ character?

Carriehope fletcher’s book (before you turn down youtuber’s book; its fiction, notbased on her) she has a bi character who talks about being bi and how he dateda man (to his girlfriend) and a pansexual character who is just. caught kissinggirls and they’re both normalised and cool. so i liked that. 

18. Have you read a book with a male protagonist? What is it?

*cough* harry potter. percy jackson. 

19. Have you read a book set on another planet? What is it?

I don’t think I have actually ??? unlessyou count the crappy doctor who novelizations

20. Have you ever been glad tonot finish a series? Which?        

Divergent. It got really shitty.

21. Have you ever read a book series because you were pressured?

I don’t think so ?? everything I read iswhat I choose so,,,

22. What famous author have you not read any books by?

Stephen king and George r r martin. But they’reon my tbr.

23. Who is your favourite author of all time?

j.k or neil gaiman.

24. How many bookshelves do you own?

Three (one big one, a small one, andthen one at my mum’s house)

25. How many books do you own?

 I just counted roughly 70 in the room imin now, so that would mean I actually own 80-100 books all up ??

26. What is your favourite non-fiction book?

 Milk and honey by rupi kaur OR theencyclipeida of greek mythology bc its hella interesting

27. What is your favourite children’s/middle-grade book?

 Black beauty, narnia, hp, or thegirlfriend fiction series ?? like I know a lot of it was shitty but one of the firstlgbt books I read was girlfriend fiction, so I love a select few of them.

28. What is your next book on your TBR?

I have the six of crows ibooks (s/o toaimee ur gr8) so I need to get on that,, and I need to completely finish hisdark materials, because I’ve only done book 1.

29. What book are you currently reading?

The raven king by maggie steifvater. Itsp good. I don’t want it to end tho

30. What book are you planning on buying next?

Anna Kareninaby leo Tolstoy or I’ll give you the sun by jandy nelson

31. What was the cheapest book you bought?

An old poetry book from the 40s was like$3,and I’m sure there were a few other antique / op shop buys that were just asgood.

32. What was the most expensive book you bought?

I have a few hardcover copies of booksthat were about $40-$50 each ?? I’m so cheap lmao

33. What is a book you read after seeing the movie/ TV series?

Perks. And I don’t regret that either.

34. What is the newest book you have bought?

Milk and honey

35. What three books are you most looking forward to reading thisyear?

The raven king, I’ll give you the sun,six of crows.

36. What is a book you love that has a terrible trope? (Lovetriangle, etc)

A book called “she’s with the band” (girlfriendfiction) has a “gay best friend !!” the plus side is he’s gay and greek so ,,,hes p cool.

37. Have you read a book in a different language? What was it?

Shakespeare was written in ye olde Englishso does that count ?? I’ve also read a few small things in French ???

38. What is a book you’ve read that is set in a time period beforeyou were born?

THE GREAT GATSBY AKA ONE OF THE MOSTWONDERFULLY WRITTEN BOOKS

39. What book offended you?

The cursed child. That is not the harrypotter I grew up with.

 40. What is the weirdest book you have read?

Alicein wonderland is pretty weird when you think about it. Was she high onsomething? Was carroll?

41. What is your favourite duology?

Me before you + after you by jojo moyes

 42. What is your favourite trilogy?

the selection by keira cass or inkheartby corneila funke.

 43. What book did you buy because of its cover?

Looking for Alaska intrigued me bc I waslike ?? what does the flower mean ?? what does it have to do with Alaska??

 44. What is a book that you love, but has a terrible cover?

Stardust probably ??

 45. Do you own a poetry anthology? What is your favourite poemfrom it?

I have two; milk and honey and a vintageone called “fresh fields.”

“Everyrevolution starts and ends with his lips” – milk and honey, rupi kaur

“smells,”fresh fields.

 46. Do you own any colouring books based off other books?

Multiple mp +fbawtft ones yes.

 47. Do you own any historical fiction?

Black beauty ??

48. What book made you angry?

Cursed child.

49. What book has inspired you?

Harry potter, perks, inkheart.

 50. What book got you into reading?

Without a doubt, harry potter and narniadid. My mum used to read them to me and it was the. Best part of being young. Itwas amazing.

tysm nonnie !! sorry it took so long !