What? To give who? #2

Hello, bookworms!

With only four weeks of school left, exam season has officially begun, which means I’m spending every last second of my free time studying, making homework, and stressing out about school. This is also the reason why I didn’t blog for a few weeks (oops), but on the upside, summer holiday is around the corner and with that comes loads of free time to dedicate to, you guessed it, blogging. Today I’m back with a second installment of ‘What? To give who?’ Where I recommend which books to give to certain people, including the midlife crisis person and the cat lady. Let’s get started, shall we?

The midlife crisis person

Everyone has that one midlife crisis person in their life. It might be uncle Tim, who recently bought a Ferrari and moved to Italy with his new, 23 year old wife. Or it might your next door neighbor, who opened a salad bar based on kale last week and gives mindfulness classes on how to find your inner happiness. And if you haven’t got a midlife crisis person in your life, it’s probably you. But don’t stress, because I’ve got an awesome series of books to recommend you. Namely, the Ladybird Books for Grown-ups. There are eight titles in this series, ranging from Mindfulness to The hipster, and even The mid-life crisis is included.

The cat lady

I recently noticed that a very high percentage of bloggers are cat people. Now, there isn’t anything wrong with that, I’m a massive cat lady myself, but all I’m saying is that every (potential) cat owner should better be prepared for the worst case scenario. What if your cat is plotting to kill you, for instance? Good thing I recently found the perfect book to educate you on such scenario’s, namely: ‘How To Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting To Kill You’ by Matthew Inman. ‘How To Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting To Kill You is a comic books, which I first read two years ago (I think), and over the years I keep rereading it every few months simply because of the fact that it’s so very funny. I recommend this book the every person who considers getting a cat, or already has one. You know, just in case.

Okay, that was it for today! I hope you guys enjoyed this blogpost, despite it being a little short. Please leave a comment down below with your favorite books to give, and who knows, I might use it for the next part of ‘What? To give who?’. I’ll try to be back with another blogpost soon, but since I’m being smothered by exams at the moment, I’m not quite sure when that’ll be.

See you later alligators, Sophie

VR Inspired Drawing

Hello, bookworms

So I made some art recently, and I decided to share it on my blog! It started out as a virtual reality inspired drawing, but the end result differs a lot from my original idea. I’m not completely happy with the way it turned out (I may have gone a little crazy with the colours), but it took a long time to make and also I really needed something to post 🙂 (school has been crazy lately, with teachers handing out big important assignments you are expected to finish the next day and such) (seriously though, is that even aloud?).

That was it for today!

Bye, Sophie

What? To give who?

Wazzup, bookworms!

May is my favorite month of the year. The weather finally gets warmer, school starts to chill out a bit, and (most importantly!) my birthday is in may! I’m going to be turning fifteen this year , so that, and a few ideas scribbled in my blogging book, inspired me to write this post. I’m going to list the best YA books to give to certain people, varying from the younger YA reader, to the dystopian lover, and even your dad. This post is for those who simply don’t know which books to treat your friends to, but if you are looking for some awesome YA recommendations you are in the right place as well . Also I kind of hope my parents will draw some inspiration from this post, you know, since my birthday is coming up and all.

The dystopian lover

Okay, so there is this one kid you don’t know much about besides the fact they carry a bow and arrow everywhere they go, and frequently shouts ‘IF ONE OF US BURNS, WE ALL BURN’. I can tell you now, that kid (or adult) is probably a dystopian lover. Chances are they already have read similar titles to The Hunger Games, like Divergent, the Shadowhunter chronicles, and maybe even Twilight. If you want to go with a book as present, I recommend you get him/her Cinder by Marissa Meyer, or if he/she is a little older 1984 by George Orwell may make an interesting read. If you don’t feel like giving them a book, you could always go with a weekend glamping in a forest, and if they fit the description above even a little, I’m sure they’ll love it.

Your dad

We’ve all been there, it’s the day before father’s day, and you forgot to get him a gift. Ultimately you want give him a book, but the only genre you know much about is YA, and you don’t think your dad is waiting for a book about lipgloss, paladins, and teenage girls. I recommend you get him Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, it’s one of my favorite books ever, and it’s a sci-fi about virtual reality and the eighties (so everyone who’s into tech and older than 30 will definitely dig it). Also recommend by my own dad, who suggested I’d add this category when he saw what I was writing, thanks dad.

The younger YA reader

Let’s say you have a younger sister (or brother) who only recently hit YA age, and doesn’t know that much about the genre yet. This is your chance to get them into reading and join your favorite fandoms, so use it! One of the first YA books I read (and reviewed) was Rooftoppers, by Kristine Rundell, and I remember really liking it. Looking back it’s definitely more a middle grade book than young adult, but I loved it all the same. Another good read for the youngsters under us, is the Selection series. I’ve read that series way to many times, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the last part. It’s kind of my guilty pleasure, and was a very popular read in my little sisters friend group a while back.

That was the post for today! I hope you bookworms enjoyed reading it, since I’ve thought of way more categories than the ones listed above, so a second installment is coming soon (including the seasoned YA fanatic, The uncle in the midst of his midlife crisis, and your cat).

See you later alligators, Sophie

Announcing Things!

Hola, bookworms!

Today I’m not going to write a book review, do a book tag, or even talk about Harry Potter’s excellent character growth. Nope, today I’m going to announce stuff (yay). This isn’t going to be a long blog post, since I don’t have a lot of time and because, quite frankly, announcing stuff is kind of boring. So fasten your seatbelts, and enjoy this extremely fast ride (filled with readathons and Simon vs. goodness)!

Dewey’s 24 hour readathon

Okay, this readathon is one of the reasons why I have so little time to write this post, namely, it starts in 2 hours. It turns out I’m pretty bad in announcing things, since I forgot this readathon was happening till ten minutes ago (despite the fact I found out about it and wrote the date in my planner days earlier). I’ve always wanted to participate in a readathon, and this one seemed like the perfect fit, it’s only 24 hours long and seemingly great for newbie’s like me (also, I’m really behind on my Goodreads challenge, so this is a good excuse to catch up). During this readathon I’d like to finish ‘A Thousand Pieces of You’ by Claudia Gray, and maybe start ‘The Raven Boys’ or ‘Winter’ by Marissa Meyer. Anyways, I’m very excited to participate in this readathon and I hope you bookworms will read a long with me (I’m also going to be tweeting stuff during the entire thing, so if you’re interested in that, you can follow me @sophthebookworm).

Here is the link to the official readathon page:

http://www.24hourreadathon.com/

Spring break

It’s finally here, two glorious weeks of spring break! I’ve really been looking forward to it (duh), and I can’t wait to have more time to blog. So, in order to get myself to actually do stuff and not lie in bed all day, I’m going to try to write 7 blogposts in 14 days! (That must be achievable, right?). Wish me luck!

Meeting Becky Albertalli

Yup, you’ve read that right, I’m going to meet Becky Albertalli! For those who don’t know, she is the author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, one of my favorite books of all time. She is coming to a local bookstore for a signing, and I think there is going to be an Oreo bake-off. I’ve never been to an author event-thingy before, and to be honest I’m kind of nervous. I’ll go with one of my friends who has also read the book (and loved it), and I’ll probably be writing a post about the entire thing, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Okay guys, that were all the announcements! I hope you enjoyed reading my first announcement post ever, but now I’ve really got to go, since the readathon is starting in 1 hour and I’ve got to post this quick (this also means there is no time for proof reading, so if you’ve found some horrendous grammar mistakes, you now know why).

Bye, Sophie

The BFF Book Tag.

Hello, bookworms

Have you ever wondered who’d make a better friend, Hermione or Ron? Me neither, so today I decided to do The BFF book tag. I was tagged by Jocelyn over at @52lettersinthealphabet, and I definitely recommend you go and check her blog out! She is a book blogger and besides the regular book reviews she also posts things like tags, and her series ‘Breaking down the trilogy’ which I really enjoyed (if you are looking for an amazing book blogger to follow, you now know where to go!).  So, without further ado, let’s get crack lacking.

Setting the example: A Pair/Group of book BBF’s that you love

Usually I mention one of my favorite books ever, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, at least once in every blog post I write. I’m trying to constrain myself from answering every question with the same book, so instead of Simon vs., I’m going to answer this question with The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson. I’ve recently read this book and I really liked it, also it has one of the cutest friend groups ever. You wouldn’t ever really expect Essie, Felix and David to befriend each other, but it works. (I almost forgot to mention this, but if I wouldn’t have been allowed to answer with The Art of Being Normal, I’d totally would have gone with the Famous Five series, nobody would help me get out of a tight spot as often Timmy).

Childhood bestie: Which book character would you have liked to grow up with?

I’d have loved to grow up with Harriet from the book Geek Girl. She seems like such an awesome and cool person to be around, and she always has little facts to cheer you up (Also I admit I might be a little of a geek myself, so I think Harriet and I would have been a pretty good match).

Frenemy: Which book character would bring out your competitive side?

I hate to admit this, but I think Hermione would bring out the competitive side in me. I mean, she is smart, funny, she loves to read and is insanely pretty as well, she has it all. And no matter how much I’d try to deny it, I might get a teeny tiny bit competitive if she was a real person in my circle of friends (but when the whole competitive thing is sorted and over with, we’d probably get an ice cream, and after that go chill in the library.)

Fashion guru: Who would be the bestie whose closet you’d want to raid or you would want to go on a shopping spree with?

Sloane from Since You’ve Been Gone. According to Morgan Matson, Sloane has an amazing sense of style, and always wears the cutest vintage clothing. That, together with the fact that she seems like a fun friend to have, would make her the best companion for a shopping spree.

The bad influence: Which character would you want to commit a small act of rebellion with?

Ezra from Illuminae, honestly, I’d give anything to hear him say ‘chum’ in real life.

Blood brothers: Which character would you want to be your surrogate big brother/sister?

I instantly thought of Alice from Simon vs., but because I’m trying really hard not to answer with that particular book right now, I’m gonna go with Puck from the Scorpio Races (sorry for copying you, Jocelyn! 🙂 ).

Mother hen: Which character would you want by your side when you’re having a bad day to cheer you up?

I’m going to go with Ezra from Illuminae again. Partly because he is such a nice guy, and partly because the scenes in the book with him and the interviewer just crack me up every time.

The counselor: Which character would you go to for relationship advice or confide a secret to?

Cress from the Lunar Chronicles, because she seems like a very kind and honest person to me, and because she is pretty in love with love, so I’m sure she could give good relationship advice.

More than friends: Who would be your book boyfriend/girlfriend

Ollie from Everything Everything (and every other male love interest from every YA contemporary novel ever).

Okay guys, this was The BFF Book Tag! I’m going to tag

Niccolie Junsay @Drowned with Stars and Books

Poppy @Poppy’s Best of Books

Melanie @Books Are My Children

Feel free not to accept if you have a lot going on at the moment! (and if you haven’t got anything planned for your next blog post just yet, consider yourself tagged 🙂 )

I hope you enjoyed this post, and I’ll be back Wednesday with a special announcement! (can you guess what it is?)

Bye, Sophie

Who is your book bestie? And who do you think would make a perfect boy/girlfriend? Leave it in the comments down below so we can fangirl over fictional people together!

Yer Olde British Haul.

Hello bookworms!

Long time no see! I went to the UK recently, and bought some stuff. So I decided to do a haul, you know, typical beauty blogger style. This post is a little different to the things I normally write, but I hope you enjoy it none the less.

A pen

The first thing I got was a pen. It’s one of those inky ones I love, and my favorite pen was running low, so I decided to get it. There’s not that much more to it, really.

A poster

Whenever I go to the UK (or any other English speaking country), I make sure to visit a bookstore. A lot of you Americans and British folk might not really realise this, but you guys have such well stocked bookshops! I found this poster in the Waterstones, and I really liked it. The poster is slightly bent, but that’s because it’s hella hard to take it on a plane without it getting a little creased.

A book

You might have guessed it already, but when I went to the Waterstones, I also got some books. This one’s called ‘The Art of Being Normal’ and is by Lisa Williamson. I gave it four out of five stars on Goodreads, and a review is coming soon(-ish, I’m really behind on writing reviews).

Another book

Together with ‘The Art of Being Normal’ I also got ‘Rebel Bully Geek Pariah’ by Erin Lange. I’ve been wanting to read this book for a long time, and it appeared on a lot of the TBR lists I did for my blog. I’ve only read a few chapters yet, but the premise is amazing and what I’ve read so far is very good as well.

A dress

I got a dress! I love wearing dresses and when I saw this one I had to get it! I didn’t really know how to photograph the dress, since it would be awkward to have to wear it and pose for the camera, but just having it hang on a hangar seemed boring. In the end I decided to go with the second option (as you can see). The dress is black with yellow flowers, and it has this see-through-y part at the waist.

A shirt

Besides wanting to visit a bookstore, I also wanted to go to the ‘New Look’ back when I was in the UK, since we don’t have that here. In the shop I got this shirt and a top. This shirt is blue with loads of thin white stripes (obviously, you can see so yourself), and it looks great with a pair of blue jeans. It’s slightly long, and very comfy.

A top

As I mentioned above, I also got a top. It’s too cold to wear it just yet, but I like it none the less. It’s a crop top and it has a pattern all over it, also the ends are frilly, which I like.

This was everything I got in the UK! I hope you guys liked this post since it’s a little different to what I normally do. It was extremely fun to write, and I especially enjoyed making the photos. I’ll be back soon with a massive drawing I did recently, and I’m excited to show you guys, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

See ya later, alligators!

Sophie

The Goodreads tag.

Hello bookworms,

Recently I have really been getting into Goodreads. I started using it to track what I’m reading, as one does, and now I can’t stop. It’s pretty sad, since I only know two other users (BookTubers aside), but still I can’t help myself adding quotes, writing mini reviews, or making my ever growing TBR pile even larger. I was slightly lost as what blog post to write, but then I did a quick search on ‘Goodreads tag’, and tadaaaaa, it exists. The tag isn’t really about Goodreads, it’s more about reading in general, but I decided to do it anyway. So here it is, the Goodreads tag.

1. What’s the last book you’ve marked as Read?

Faceless, by Alyssa Scheinmel.

2. What’s the last book you’ve marked as Currently Reading?

I am not in the habit of marking books as Currently Reading, but the last book I’ve marked is Pride and Prejudice.

3. What’s the last book you’ve marked as To Be Read?

A Madness So Discreet, by Mindy McGinnis.

4. What are you planning on reading next?

Winter by Marissa Meyer, I have been putting of the last book in the Lunar Chronicles for way to long, but now I’m actually going to read it. (I just can’t stand the series to end!)

5. Do you use the star rating system?

Yes I just wish they would add half’s, because the choice between 3 and 4 stars can be a tough one.

6. Do you participate in the 2016 reading challenge?

Yes, but I think I set my goal just slightly too high, since I am permanently 2 books behind, no matter how fast I read.

7. Do you have a wish list?

A fictional one, yes. An actual one? I wish (see what I did there 🙂 ).

8. Which book do you plan on buying next?

I honestly don’t really know (see previous question), but I am really excited to read the new book by Erin Lange.

9. What’s your favorite quote?

I don’t have a favorite quote, there are too many! This might sound really pretentious (and it probably is), but I have the habit of memorizing quotes I like, so I know quite a few. But a favorite? I don’t know: Something by Patrick Ness probably.

10. Who are your favorite authors?

Patrick Ness and Becky Albertalli. The latter has only written one book so I don’t have a way of knowing for sure. But if she can write something as awesome as Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, I’m sure she can write anything.

11. Are you in any groups on Goodreads?

Nope.

12. What could Goodreads do better?

I love Goodreads, despite it not being perfect. The most important point for me is the star rating system (come on, Goodreads, everyone wants half stars, why don’t you just add them?). I’d also like to be able to use bold and italic in reviews.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post! I am not going to tag anyone because, quite honestly, it’s a lot of work trying to figure out who has done it already and who not, and which people don’t like being tagged and so forth. Despite this feel free to do the tag if you’d like to!

Bye, Sophie

P.s My username on Goodreads is @sophthebookworm , if you use Goodreads your welcome to leave your username down below so we can add each other!

 

 

Top five books on my spring TBR.

Hello, bookworms

Today I am going to participate in Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by… I think everyone knows who hosts this stuff by now. I have very little time to write because school has been crazy, so this blog post is going to be a short one. I mean, I could take all of the time of the world and post this tomorrow, but I think I’d be cheating on the whole Top Ten Tuesday concept if I did that (Top Ten Wednesday, doesn’t really have the same ring to it). This week’s theme is top books on your spring TBR, and I am very excited to introduce these books to you. It’s a collection of happy, light novels, ya know, for those summery vibes. So, let’s begin.

1. Unbecoming by Jenny Downham

I am really looking forward to reading this book, it’s been on my radar for ages. It’s a rather expensive, but I have been babysitting a lot recently so that problem is solved. Unbecoming, here I come. (See what I did there? J).

2. The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

This book has been recommended to me a lot recently, and I’ve seen many five star reviews. Also, the blurb sounds amazing. All of this adds up to me needing this book, as in right now, seriously, if I haven’t read it by this weekend I’ll combust.

3. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

I don’t even have an idea what this book is about, but Amie Kaufman has written it so it’s bound to be good. Illuminae was fantastic,  so when I found out the authors have written loads of other books I added those to my ever growing TBR-pile immediately.

4. Lorali by Laura Dockrill

This book is about mermaids, pirates, and (according to the Goodreads page) not for the faint-hearted. Need I say more.

5. Rebel Bully Geek Pariah by Erin Lange

One of the first books I’ve reviewed on my blog was Butter by Erin Lange, and I adored it. Two years later I reread the story and found it pretty ‘meh’, so I am pretty curious as to what I’ll think about this book. Also, it’s being compared to The Breakfast Club (and if that’s not a reason to read a book, I don’t know what is).

Okay bookworms, that was it for today. I’ll be back in two days with a post about Goodreads, so keep your eyes open for that. As for now, I really have to go, it’s ten minutes past my bedtime and I don’t think I’ve ever typed so fast.

See you later alligators, Sophie

Book review: Faceless

Damnnnn bookworms,

I’m back at it again with the blog posts, it’s been way to long. Today I am going to write a book review on ‘Faceless’ by Alyssa Scheinmel. The book follows Maisie, who after waking up from an induced coma, discovers half her face has burnt off in an electrical fire (Yup, this isn’t some light and easy contemporary novel). Her nose, cheeks, and chin have completely disappeared, together with the rest of her life. She used to be a runner on the track team, and now she can barely walk. As Maisie discovers how much her looks shaped her relationship to the world, she has to redefine her own identity, and figure out what ‘lucky’ really means.

I picked this book up after browsing my local (and only) bookstore for 45 minutes. Too awkward to leave without buying anything, I grabbed this book of its shelf because the cover looked amazing and the title stood out. The blurb was short but intriguing, and after seeing the amazing rating on Goodreads, I walked to the till without hesitating once (and I’m glad I didn’t, because boy, this book is a very special snowflake). The second I came home I started reading the book, only to finish it two days later. Needless to say, I enjoyed it.

I liked Maisie as a protagonist, she was cool and very honest. I also liked the fact that she was angry after she had her accident, instead of grateful that it was her and not one of her loved ones. She didn’t want to be one of those super inspiring people who pick their lives up merrily after almost dying, and she wasn’t. All of this made her seem very real, because I don’t think most people would be of the inspiring kind, at least, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be. After reading all of this you wouldn’t think Maisie would be a drama queen, alas, the opposite is true. Some scenes and situations were unnecessarily complicated and messy because of this. But, she earned the right to be dramatic, I mean, her face got burned off, what did you expect?

The side characters were good too, in exception of one (but he only popped up at the end of the book and didn’t have a very prominent role, so you’re good). Nearly all the side characters were yer big olde stereotypes. The worried and overbearing mother, the depressed, silent father, and the supportive best friend. This was something I didn’t really mind, since they were written well anyways. I also liked her boyfriend, he was a complex character. All in all I enjoyed this book, but it didn’t have that special factor what makes me give a book four stars. It was an unique tale and I kept thinking about it for quite some time, but it didn’t blow my mind like Illuminae or More Happy Than Not. So, 3.5 stars for Faceless it is. I recommend to everyone who’s into contemporary books, or is in the mood for something a little different. I hope you enjoyed this review!

Bye, Sophie

P.s We hit 150 bookworms recently, a fact which makes me incredibly happy. This blog is growing so quickly, it’s only months since there were only a mere 100 of us crawling along cyberspace. I’d like to thank everyone (including you, yes, you) for reading my blog, and I am very excited for the posts to come!

 

The intergalactic book tag

Hello bookworms,

The blogging community has gone a little space-crazy lately (me included), with books like Illuminae and the Martian. I decided to join the hype by doing ‘The intergalactic book tag’. This is a pretty new tag, it was created a few days ago by Reagan, one of my favorite booktubers. I think the video itself was sponsored by one or other business, but I don’t really care, since the questions are original and good. So, without further ado, let’s start the tag!

The questions:

1. Space: Name a book that is out of this world – that takes place in a world different from our own.

For this one I’ll have to go with More Happy Than Not. The world in the book isn’t very different from the one we live in, but I really wanted to include it anyway since I read it recently and liked it a lot. I think everyone should read this book, and I wanted to grab the chance to give it it’s well deserved shout-out.

2. Black Hole: Name a book that completely sucked you in.

This Is Where It All Ends definitely sucked me in, I finished it three hours after I picked it up. To bad it was complete and utter shit (review coming soon!).

3. Lightspeed: Name a book you are anticipating so much that you wish you could travel at lightspeed to get to it.

This book hasn’t even got a title yet, but I have been checking the progress of it every other week, that’s how bad I want to read it. The book I am talking about is the upcoming novel of Becky Albertalli, which will be released in the latter half of this year (probably). I don’t really know much about it except that the main character is called Molly and that it will have loads of Simon vs. crossovers. However, I do know it’s going to be great.

4. Nebula: Name a book with a beautiful cover.

Do I have to explain this one any further? ♥

5. Multiverse: Name a companion set or spinoff series you love.

I couldn’t really think of any companion series besides those of the Lunar Chronicles, which I haven’t finished yet. So instead I am picking the novella’s of the Chaos Walking trilogy, they’re awesome, especially the first.

6. Gravity: Name your favorite romantic pairing that seems to have gravitational pull to each other.

Because I trying to avoid answering with Simon vs. for every damn question, I will choose Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, the chance that those two could get together was close to 0, so it’s pretty awesome they succeeded in the end.

7. The Big Bang: Name the book that got you started on reading.

I always loved reading, so I haven’t really got an answer for this one. But if I had to pick a book it would be Rooftoppers, the first book I ever reviewed on my blog.

8. Asteroid: Name a short story or novella that you love.

I already subconsciously answered this question earlier, so I guess I am going to skip it, on to the next one!

9. Galaxy: Name a book with multiple POVs.

I know this isn’t really a popular opinion, but I love multiple POVs in books if it’s done well (the story I am writing has them too!). But I am going to answer this question with Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, which was one of my favorite books of 2015.

10. Spaceship: Name a book title that would be a great name for a spaceship.

Okay, so this one was kind of hard, because as it turns out loads of book titles are great spaceship names as well. Just imagine having a giant fire-engine red spaceship called Red Queen, or a tiny grey ship named the Shadow of the Wind.

Wow this tag turned out way longer than I originally expected, but it was very much fun to do. I am going to tag Jocelyn @52lettersinthealphabet and Kat @bookboxbykat , but if you’d like to complete it the tag too, feel free to do so. This was it for today, hope you enjoyed!

Bye, Sophie

P.s What would you name your imaginary spaceship? Let me know in the comments down below!