A lifestyle and book blog
This is going to be my last book haul for a while since I’m…you know, unemployed (that word hurts me so much). Anyway here are my books for Jan:
There’s my regular SPCA finds (I’m going to miss the SPCA. Who’s going to help save the dogs???)
And then there’s my books from Bargain Books.
I just started Rebel of the Sands and it’s impossible to stop reading.
What books did you buy during Jan? I’d love to know below.
The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. Since this was dubbed “the debut of the year”, I was really excited to review it. This was everything I didn’t know I wanted and needed in a book. Seventeen-year-old Flora has amnesia and forgets things after every few minutes. Her only memories are from before she was ten.
But then Flora kisses Drake, her best friend’s boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend but they broke up like two seconds before Flora and Drake kissed. This reminds me of Rachel and Ross’ “we were on a break argument” but never mind). When Flora wakes up the next day, she remembers that she kissed Drake and decides tracks him down because she is convinced that a) she is in love with him and b) she is convinced that he holds the key to her memory.
Honestly the first part of the book doesn’t have much in the way of plot but it’s oddly intriguing to watch Flora go through her daily life. I think she does pretty well for someone with amnesia especially when she decides to travel on her own- something her parents definitely don’t want her to do.
This book exceeded my expectations and was so different. I loved that I was unable to predict the ending. This was incredibly well-written and I finished it in one go. I couldn’t stop reading.
This is a book I would recommend to anyone who enjoys YA.
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
So many questions. So many twists. So many characters. I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life now that this book is over. I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I’ve been obsessed with this book ever since I’ve heard what it was about and was so glad to finally be able to read it.
However I found the first 50 pages difficult to get into. Each of the three sisters have a separate love interest, friends, foes and family which made it very confusing for me. There was far too much new information all being introduced at once and I hated it. But like I said before, I waited ages for this book and I was determined to see it to the end no matter what. So I pushed through and I was glad that I did.
“Three Dark Crowns” tells the story of three sisters with three different powers. The sisters need to fight to the death in order to win control of the crown. This is a book with betrayal, deception, corruption, politics, lies and secrets. It was amazing!
I loved how different each sister was and even though I tried my hardest not to get attached to them, it broke my heart whenever I thought of any of them dying. This story left me with several questions and I need the sequel ASAP to give me answers. I think that this is a book that anyone who appreciates YA fantasy and strong female characters will enjoy.
Since this is a college lifestyle and book blog, it just made sense to combine the two in a blog post. Making time to read in college is difficult especially if your classes requires tons of reading for them. However I am stubborn and nothing, not even my education will stand in the way of me and another fictional universe. Here are my tips on making time for reading in college:
1) Use reading as a reward for your boring work- I hate some of the books we have to do for English so I balance it out with a chapter of a novel that is interesting. I usually read much faster when I know that there’s a book I’ll actually enjoy, waiting for me.
2) Read in between classes- Carry a book with you to read in your free time. I never read in high school because I had no time but carrying a book a day to campus made reading so easy for me.
3) Buy an eReader- Some people have really strong opinions about eBooks but I find them quicker and easier to read than print books. College is also when my ereading began.
4) Read a chapter before bed- When college gets really stressful and I’m unable to read on campus at all, I read for a while before bed. Just make certain that it’s only one chapter and you don’t end up staying awake until just before your 8AM class.
How do you find time for reading in college?
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book and was incredibly sad when it ended. This story begins with Cath moving in to her dorm at college. Things are frosty between her and her twin sister, Wren. While Cath is freaking out about leaving her father alone and all of the changes that college may bring along with it. Wren simply moves on with her new life at college. And Cath is not a part of this new life. While Wren parties and makes new friends, Cath refuses to leave her room and buries herself deeper in her fanfiction writing.
I could relate to this story as I also struggled with college at first. I especially enjoyed how much Cath and I were alike. Cath is a fangirl and it is her fanfiction that gets her through life. Atleast that is how it has always been until now. I loved the character of Levi. If I was the kind of girl who swooned, he would definitely make me swoon.
This was a cute light read that I would definitely recommend. I thought the characters were well-written, the writing was funny and I really liked the illustrations displayed on the inside cover of the book.
As a bookworm, few things upset me more than someone telling me they have “no time” for reading. There’s always time for reading. ALWAYS! It’s just that sometimes finding the time is difficult. So here are my tips to help ensure you always manage a chapter a day.
1) Have a specific time for reading- when high school started being difficult for me, I stopped reading. The only time I read was during the holidays or a chapter before bedtime. Having a regular routine helped me to get back to reading. Yes, a chapter a day is painfully slow but something is better than nothing.
2) Carry a book with you- be it a paperback or an ebook, carry a book so that you can read whenever you have the time. I have a Kindle app on my tab as well as a epub reader and they’re both full of books. Always having a book with you allows you to read anytime anywhere.
3) Don’t push it- if you’re finding it impossible to read a certain book, move on to another. Life is too short to waste on books that don’t excite you. Reading is supposed to be fun not something you HAVE to do (unless you’re a college student and I can’t help you there).
4) Choose a book you’ll like- if you like romance, you might not be interested in the latest murder mystery. Choose a book you know will interest you. You can even read the book that your favorite movie was based on. The Harry Potter movies are so much better for me now that I’ve read the books. I’m obsessed.
If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. This is very true for reading. There’s always time for a book and making the time is so worthwhile. Why wouldn’t you want to travel to different world’s? What are your tips for making time to read?
I usually do my book hauls at the beginning of the month since I only buy books from the SPCA booksale. This month however, things were very different.
I did go to the SPCA booksale as usual and since Bargain Books was nearby, I popped in for a visit. I came across a section marked “on promotion” with pretty much every book I ever wanted. I literally stopped to hold a few of the books. The books didn’t have prices on them but the saleslady told me that they were all R69 each. So I bought a few. Bye-bye birthday money.
Then there was the review copy of “Heartless” that Pan Macmillan sent me. I also got a copy of “The Unknown Journey” by S K Sewmungal.
My copies of “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J Maas were delivered from Readers Warehouse. I already read these books but I really wanted print copies. They’re so gorgeous!
My dad took a week off from work so I decided to drag him back to Bargain Books so that I could get the remaining books in “The Mortal Instruments” and “The Originals” series. If you can’t tell, I came home a very happy bookworm.
I swore off books for the rest of the year. But then Exclusive Books had a sale for Cyber Monday- R199 for six to eight books. I don’t shop at Exclusive Books at all because their books are so expensive but this sounded like a really good deal. And it was SO worth it! One of the books I had in my mystery box was “The Chemist” by Stephenie Meyer. I was really interested in reading “The Chemist” but didn’t really like the price so this is so perfect!
What was your book-haul for November? Have you read any of the above books? I’d love to know below!
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Cath dreams of opening her own bakery. It’s the only thing she wants in life until she meets the mysterious Jest. Soon Cath begins to imagine the possibility of a life with him. However Cath is a lady while Jest is only a fool. There is no way that Cath’s strict and controlling parents would accept him. In fact, Cath’s parents have already found her a husband- the King of Hearts- and they won’t accept no for an answer. While we all know how this book ends, the path to the end was so surprising and heartbreaking. I was in shock once I finished this book and all I could think of was “HOW???”
What I really enjoyed was how nonsensical this book was, much like the original Lewis Caroll work. I strongly suggest that readers brush up on “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Alice Through The Looking Glass” to get the full effect of the book. There are several characters and quotes from the original that appear in “Heartless” and it’s fun to see them again. This book fits in so perfectly with the world of Wonderland that it is almost as if this is a companion novel to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.
This book was incredibly well-written and I really enjoyed seeing all of the characters from Wonderland. I also liked how things that made no sense in our world, appeared to be totally normal in this book.
This was an excellent book and I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings.
I love love LOVE retellings. I don’t know why because how often can you read one story rewritten? (If you’re me then the answer is “very often”) Here are a few of my favourite retellings.
1) The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: The Lunar Chronicles is a series of futuristic retellings of several fairytales. While I had my doubts about this series, I instantly fell in love once I started reading it.
2) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas: This is a fae retelling of Beauty and The Beast and it’s impossible to put down.
3) The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh: This is a retelling of One Thousand and One Nights. Honestly I’ve never read One Thousand and One Nights but this synopsis was too compelling to resist.
4) And I Darken by Kiersten White: This is a story based on Vlad Dracul…except in this version Vlad is a kickass female named Lada.
5) Alice Takes Back Wonderland by David D. Hammons: This book gave me all the feels. This is mainly about Alice going back to Wonderland but there are several other fairytale characters in this book.