September 2016 Wrap Up

I have slowly started to get out of my reading slump this month. I have finished some books, and started a few that I’m in the middle of reading. The one that I have started but not finished will be in my October TBR.

The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Book 3 in The Winner’s Trilogy

The Winner’s Kiss is the last book in The Winner’s Trilogy. I listened to an audiobook version of the book. I think the book worked well as an audiobook. I think The Winner’s trilogy is a great YA fantasy series.

The winner’s kiss was the one I liked the least in this trilogy. Only because book 1 and 2 was so great. Book 2 is my favorite.

The only thing I didn’t like about the first book. Is that the love interest was very instalove, and I don’t like that. But I liked the love story in the last book. I think it grew on me while reading the two last books.

My favorite character was Roshar. He was funny and sassy. He gave a lot to the story as a side character.

Rating: 4 stars ★★★★☆

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

I started out liking the first parts of this book. I was very interested in the story, and how Claire would survive in 1743 in the Scottish Highlands. And what was going to happen to her in a foreign time.

After a while I found the book to not be very believable. It was fun to see what happened to the characters. Reading about all the troubles they kept finding. But sometimes it was too much.

My biggest problem with the book is that it was very long. A lot of things happened. The book dragged on and on, and it took me ages to read. I read it in between books for 3 or 4 months. My interest in it kind of went down. I have finished it now and I liked it but did not love it.

P.S. Now I understand the Hype about Jamie Fraser 😉

Rating: 3,5 stars

-What did you read this month?

Top 5 Wednesday September 28: Gateway Books to Your Favorite Genre

Top 5 Wednesday is created by Gingerreadslainey. Each week there is a new bookish topic, where everyone can join and create their top 5 list. You can find more information on the Top 5 Wednesday goodreads group. This week’s topic is:

Gateway Books to Your Favorite Genre

What books do you think are good to introduce people to your favorite genre? If you have more than one favorite genre, feel free to split it up to cover both.

I have a lot of favorite genres. But on the top of my list is Fantasy, Sci-fi and Dystopian. So I choose Dystopian and sci-fi.

Dystopian:

1984 by George Orwell

This was the first dystopian book I read. And it blew me away. And made me fell in love with the dystopian genre. I love to read about different dystopian societies, that is not like our society today. I think it is very interesting. 1984 is also a classic, and a very important book. It shows how our society might become one day. Where the big brother watches and controls your whole life. It is really scary to think about. Everyone should read this book.  

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent is an entertaining and fun read. I really liked the first book in the series. This book has a very interesting society. This book is a great book to start with. It is not too heavy to read. And very story driven.

Red Rising by Peirce Brown

This book is both a dystopian and science fiction. I really like this series. The politics and the society in this book is very interesting and intriguing. I really like the world building, I’m a sucker for a good world building. And the story is very exciting.

Sci-fi:

If you are new to science fiction. I don’t want to recommend book that are heavy on the science part. Because I think that can scare away some readers that is not familiar with scientific concepts etc.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This is a fast-paced and a really fun read. It has a lot of 80 pop culture references. That is a big part of the story. And the VR (virtual reality) world is really cool. I love this book. I think of it as a sci-fi because it is taking part in a VR world.

Illuminae by Amie Kayfman & Jay Kristoff

This book is taking part in space. The ships is trying to get to safety to save everyone on board. But there is several dangers. An crazy AI that runs the ship, and more that I don’t want to spoil. This book is one of my favorites of all time. It also is mixed media. You need to check it out.

September Book Haul

This is a haul of the books I have bought the last months. Now my bookshelves are very full. I have to reorganize them soon to make more space. 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan

I bought the whole Percy Jackson series in a box set. I’m really looking forward to read this series. I was in the mood for middle grade fantasy. And When I think of middle grade fantasy, I immediately think of this series. I didn’t read this series as a kid. So I had to buy it, and now is the time to read it. I want to read book 1 ASAP.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.k. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne & This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

I have already read The Cursed Child and gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

This Savage Song came out in July, so not that long ago. I loved Vicious by Victoria Schwab, so I have high hopes for this new series.

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin & Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Wolf by Wolf sounded interesting. 

I had this craving to read middle grade fantasy. So I also bought Fablehaven.

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare & Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

I have finished the whole The Mortal Instrument series. But I don’t want to be finished with the Shadowhunter universe. So I bought The Bane Chronicles. It is 11 short stories of Magnus Bane’s life. Lady Midnight is the first book in a new series, also in the Shadowhunter universe.

Odinsbarn by Siri Pettersen & Råta by Siri Pettersen

This is a Norwegian fantasy book trilogy. I have heard a lot of good things about this trilogy so I had to buy it. Plus it was on a sale. And it has been nominated and won a lot of literary prizes. I think so far it has only been published in Scandinavia.

-Have You Read Any Of These Books?-

 

Top 5 Wednesday September 21: Characters You Wouldn’t Want to Trade Places With

Top 5 Wednesday is created by Gingerreadslainey. Each week there is a new bookish topic, where everyone can join and create their top 5 list. You can find more information on the Top 5 Wednesday goodreads group. This week’s topic is:

Characters You Wouldn’t Want to Trade Places With

We always talk about how cool it would be to be a character in our favorite books, but who would you not want to trade places with?

 

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games

I do not want to be in her situation. I would be the first one to die in The Hunger Games. I would probably die of a heart attack before the Games even began because I was so scared.

Will Traynor from Me Before You

To be paralyzed like Will is would not be fun. And have to deal with pain every day. If you have read the book, you know how he handles it.

Rachel from The Girl on the Train

Rachel is an alcoholic. She is in a downward spiral of losing control of her life to alcoholism. She is a very unlikable untrustworthy character. It’s a big part of the plot in the book. And makes the book interesting, but I don’t want to be her.

Mark Watney from The Martian

First thing, I’m not as smart as the main character in this book. I don’t have the survival skills that he has. But I guess if I was in his situation, stranded alone on Mars. I would first have learned all the skills and education to be an astronaut, I would be a trained astronaut. But still I don’t know if I could do what he did, it takes some real extreme survival skills and quick thinking.

Eleanor from Eleanor & Park

She has had a tough life. Her family is horrible towards her and very dysfunctional. And her school life is not very good either. I felt so bad for her when I read the book.

 

15th Favorites At the Moment #1

15th Favorites at the Moment is a monthly bookish favorites TAG made by me. Instead of doing the monthly favorites at the end of the month. I’m going to do it half way through the month. 15 questions on the 15th of every month. 

1 Favorite Book

I’m going to finish The Winner’s Crime today by Marie Rutkoski. It is the last book in The Winner’s Trilogy. This trilogy is sooo good. You need to read it if you like YA fantasy.

2 Favorite Book Character

Roshar from The Winner’s Trilogy. He is hilarious and a sassy character. And he is an interesting character. He has this weird friendship with Arin where you don’t know if they like each other or not. And you don’t know if you can trust him. 

3 Favorite Book Cover

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I love this book cover. I love how the dust jacket is transparent, and you can see the book behind it. I have to buy Gemina in hardback too when it comes out.

4 Favorite Book on Your Wish List

Gemina book 2 in The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I can’t wait to read it.

5 Favorite Book Genre

I have been really into fantasy lately. And wanting to read epic/high fantasy. And also wanting to read middle grade fantasy.

6 Favorite Place to Read

In bed, before I sleep. As always.

7 Favorite Food

Tortilla chips.

8 Favorite Drink

Ginger tea with rice milk. This has been my favorite drink for a long time.

9 Favorite Random Thing

Amino, an app on your phone. Where you can join different communities and chat with people and talk about your interests. I’m on the Books Amino community.

10 Favorite TV Series / Movie

Stranger Things is my new favorite series. It is on Netflix. I watched the whole season 1 in just a couple of days, and I’m not a TV watcher. Everyone raves about this series, and that is for a good reason.

I have also been watching How To Get Away With Murder. I’m almost done with season 1. That series is also really interesting. 

11 Favorite Youtuber / Twitch Streamer

The Sim Supply. It is a channel with letsplays of the Sims game. I love his channel and I have been a subscriber for many years. His new series ( maybe not that new, it’s already 33 parts ) called The Sims 4 Dine Out – Rags to Riches is so much fun to watch.

12 Favorite Music / Podcast

Favorite song at the moment is Miike Snow – Genghis Khan. I love the music video too.

13 Favorite Game / Board Game

I have been playing a lot of Sims 4. City Living is going to be AWESOME. I can’t wait.

14 Favorite Blogger or Other Pages on the Internet

I found this hilarious blog uglyhousephotos.com Go check out their Design Through the Decades.

15 Favorite Thing You Have Done Lately

I was at a family get together recently. I had so much fun.

Top 5 Wednesday September 14: Books You Want to See as TV Shows

Top 5 Wednesday is created by Gingerreadslainey. Each week there is a new bookish topic, where everyone can join and create their top 5 list. You can find more information on the Top 5 Wednesday goodreads group. This week’s topic is:

Books You Want to See as TV Shows

A lot of the books I have read are already made into movies/TV shows, or planning to be on the screen. But here is some books that would be really cool to watch as a shows on the TV.

The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

This series is really good, and would be a great TV series. It has a great group of characters with their own different backstory and personality. And an interesting world building with an evil empress. This book is action packed with personal drama and a touch of romance.

Red Rising series by Pierce Brown

Red Rising would be epic on the screen. I’m not sure if it would be better as a movie or TV show. But I really want it on the screen. This book has also an interesting world building. The main character lives in a dystopian society, he joins the resistance group Sons Of Ares that wants change to the society. A lot of politics, a lot of action and betrayal. 

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

This book would be a great mini series on TV. Set in Leningrad during world war 2, it follows a girl and her family trying to survive the war. This book also has a romance plot. It would be a great story on the TV screen, and I think a lot of people would watch it.

Vicious by V.E Shwab

Vicious would be a really cool and interesting TV show. A mysterious thriller series with super humans, that is darker and grittier than the usual action packed superhero movie. Like marvel and DC comics etc.

The Selection series by Kiera Cass

I didn’t really like these books. But I really like the concept. I think it could be a really cool teen/ young adult drama series on TV. Ala Pretty Little Liars.

Life Update #2

• I’m starting to get out of the reading/blog slump I had in August. I think it’s starting to get better now in September.
• I have a plan to write 3 or more posts every week.
• I was at a family party/get together this weekend. I have not been to one since I got sick. I had so much fun. It was really nice to see all of them again.

• I have been playing Sims 4 lately. I’m currently building student apartments. I have a lot of fun with this game. And I love to build and be creative in Sims. And make up stories and drama with my sims.

• And also where is the Sims 4 expansion pack for 2016? I know there have been some leaks on twitter etc. But they are not confirmed and can be false. I hope that it is real, because a city based expansion would be really cool.

• Everyone is always talking about that they want toddlers in the game. But in my opinion it is not really that important to have. It would be nice, but it is not what I want the most.

• I have also been playing Don’t Starve again. And this time I have been playing Don’t Starve Together with my boyfriend. It is his first time playing. Even though I have 50+ hours in this game, I’m still not very good at it haha.

• I’m also looking forward to Klei Entertainment (the people behind Don’t Starve) new game, Oxygen Not Included. I watched a stream on twitch of the developers playing the game. It looks really cool, and I’m looking forward to playing it.

Top 5 Wednesday September 7: Characters You’d Want as Family

Top 5 Wednesday is created by Gingerreadslainey. Each week there is a new bookish topic, where everyone can join and create their top 5 list. You can find more information on the Top 5 Wednesdaygoodreads group. This week’s topic is:

Characters You’d Want as Family

I feel that good families in books are rare. Often the main character comes from a broken home, or their parents are dead/bad. So I feel it is hard to find good families, that I want to be a part of.

These are some of my favorite characters that I want as a Family.

The Weasley Family from Harry Potter

It would be awesome to have them in my family. I want Mrs and Mr Weasley to be my aunt and uncle. And the Weasley children to be my cousins. It would be really cool. Even though I don’t need more aunts, uncles and cousins. I have a big family as it is. But it could also mean that I was a wizard(witch) too. AND THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!

Hermione Granger from Harry Potter

I want Hermione as a sister. But only if I also was a witch, and we went to school together at Hogwarts. I also want her to be my big sister, so she can help me with my homework and stuff. I have always wanted a big sister. I didn’t want to choose Harry as my sibling. Because he lost his parents. It would be sad to not have parent. Muggle parents are better than no parent.

AIDAN from Illuminae

It would be really cool to have a AI machine like AIDAN.

Cinder from The Lunar Chronicle

I really liked Cinder when I read the Lunar Chronicle. I think she would be a great sister to have.

Jem from The Infernal Devices

Jem was one of my favorite characters in The Infernal Devices series. I feel like everyone is team Will, but I liked Jem better. I don’t know if he is the perfect match for Tessa, but as a person I liked him more. I think he would be a thoughtful older brother.  

September TBR

I hope that September will be a better reading month for me than August. I have a few books I want to finish that I’m currently reading. And a few I want to start reading this month.

Currently reading:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Book 1 in the Outlander series

I have been reading Outlander for several months now. I’m really enjoying the book, but it takes a while to read because of its size. This is also the book I have been reading besides and in between other books.

Goodreads

The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Book 3 in The Winner’s trilogy

This is the audiobook I’m currently reading. This is the last book in The Winner’s Trilogy. I really like this trilogy. I’m halfway through this book. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens at the end of the it. I hope that it will be a good ending.

Goodreads

Want to read:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling

Book 4 in the Harry Potter series

I’m going to be reading this book with my friend Fredrik. We are planning on reading 3 chapters each day. I hope I succeed in doing that. This will be a reread for me. Harry Potter is always fun to read.

Goodreads

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Book 1 in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

This will be my first time reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I’m really looking forward to read this series. I have high hopes for these books. I want to read something shorter and easy. Because lately I have read a lot of longer books.

Goodreads

August 2016 Wrap Up

I have not been reading very much this month. I have been in a reading slump. Every time I’m sitting down to read, I don’t read for very long. I used to read an hour before bed every day. But I have not done that this month. Anyway I have read a few books. And finished up one from the months before. I’m happy that I managed to read something. That is better than nothing.

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

Book 2 in Red Rising Trilogy

Finally finished this book. It is really good. But it took me ages to read. I’m buddy reading this trilogy with a friend, and we both have suffered from a reading slump lately. We are going to read book 3. But I don’t know when. We are just taking a break from reading together. Although we are taking a break I’m looking forward to book 3, because this series is really good.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads

The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Book 2 in The Winner’s Trilogy

I really like this series. I liked this book even more than the first one. It was the setting in this book that I liked. And not to spoil anything I will only say that the drama and the politics that happens in this book is really interesting.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads

The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling & John Tiffany & Jack Thorne

This book is very controversial and very mixed in opinions and reviews. I really liked the Cursed Child. It was not amazing, but not horrible. I liked the story, and what happened in it was very interesting to me. I want to write a review on The Cursed Child. But I find it hard to do, because there is so many strong opinions on it. Plus I have not read any plays before. Except a few in school.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads

 

-Have you read any good books this month?