Month: January 2016

Book Slumps: Heat = No Reading

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I have to admit, I didn’t really understand how people really got into reading slumps until recently. I’ve heard people blame reading slumps on a number of things, from reading really good books, to reading really bad ones. But it was never really a problem for me. I’d been in tiny reading slumps before, but they usually didn’t last more than a few days. So I never really got why everyone seemed so plagued by the dreaded reading slump. What could be so bad about just not reading for a couple of days? Honestly I thought you were all just a bunch of babies. Lovable, cute, adorable babies, but babies. But now I totally understand… READING SLUMPS ARE THE WORST. They are worse than Britta. AND THEY ARE SO HARD TO ESCAPE! A few months ago when I started writing my thesis and my reading progress went completely downhill. This was completely understandable as I was spending about 14 hours a day writing. But since I took a break from writing, my reading hasn’t picked …

Book Review – Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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IT IS JUST SO AWESOME!!! READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. READ IT. A BILLION/FIVE STARS!  

Book Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

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Reading anything by Neil Gaiman is always a really special experience, but it really doesn’t compare with listening to Neil Gaiman read Neil Gaiman. Although I have a physical copy of this book, I decided to listen to the audiobook of this because Neil Gaiman often reads his books himself, and he does it really well. What it’s about: This is the story of a boy who is raised by the residents of a graveyard (as in the dead ones, not like an old gravedigger named Joe. The ghosts) after his family is brutally murdered. What I thought: Loved it. Loved it. Loved it a lot. I don’t read a huge amount of middle grade books because I usually find that they tend to beat you over the head with obvious conclusions (which is fine when they are being read by their intended audience who may need that, but I tend to find it annoying). But I do occasionally dip my toe in the middle grade pool for books I think will be worth it …

Book Review: Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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“Our body begins to destroy itself from the moment it is born. We are fragile. We’re creatures of passage. All that is left of us are our actions, the good or the evil we do to our fellow humans.” I wrote this review ages ago, but was waiting until I had a physical copy to take photos of… but I’m lazy. So here it is. What’s it about: Oscar is out for a walk one day when he stumbles across an abandoned house and accidentally steals a pocket watch. Racked with guilt, Oscar attempts to return the watch to the house only to find out that the house is not at all abandoned, but occupied by a young girl, Marina, and her sickly father German (I hope I’m spelling that right… I listened to the audiobook so I could be wrong). Marina and Oscar quickly become friends. Marina then tells Oscar of a cemetery where on the last Sunday of every month a veiled woman leaves a single red rose on a grave marked only by a …

Best Books of 2015 (if I do say so myself)

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Welcome everyone to 2016! It’s time to set a new TBR and a new Goodreads challenge to fail! Yay! But first, I’m going to share with you my favourite books I read in 2015. I’ve raved about pretty much all of these books before, so I’m not going to make a big speech about why each book is awesome and why you should read it. I will just link my review for each. How’s that? They are in no particular order (except 1 and 2 which were my favourites of the year!). 1 – The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman – Review 2 – The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – Review 3 – Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas – Review 4 – A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – Review 5 – Sabriel by Garth Nix – Review 6 – The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes – Review 7 – The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen – Review 8 – Golden Son …