A New Mission

Welp… It has almost been a year since my last post… I really thought last time was the one that would get me back on track? I would like to say I’m back for good but honestly, who knows? I’ve officially finished all my exams of my final year at university so that’s not an excuse I can use anymore! I find it really hard to enjoy reading during the school year, it’s something about expending so much energy that in my free time I . just . want . easy . entertainment… Something I can mindlessly get lost in and so, my go to has been Netflix. Since this is a book blog, I felt like if I wasn’t reading then there really wasn’t much to post about! Would it be another blog post if I didn’t have another useless ramble at the beginning :).

Lockdown and officially being done with school has given me so much time that it’s almost overwhelming, so I decided to give myself a goal! I’ve been on a somewhat(?) successful book-buying ban for the past 2 years, only caving in to buy 2 or three books every few months. So I want to embark on the daunting journey that is reading most books on my shelf before purchasing anymore! This… may take a while hence the *most* books to give myself some leeway :). The first book I’ve decided to start with PaperTowns by John Green! I’ve had three John Green books (An Abundance of Katherines, PaperTowns and Looking for Alaska) on my shelf for literally years. A review should be up as soon!

Review: Everything I Never Told You

I consider myself an adrenaline junky when it comes to books. Maybe because in real life I’m such a subdued human being that when I read I prefer to live vicariously through characters doing crazy stuff. That’s one of the main reasons I tend to avoid contemporary/mystery books unless they REALLY stand out to me. A few months ago a friend recommended to me Celeste Ng as an author, it was around the time where the hype for Little Fires Everywhere was crazy. Anytime I get a book recommendation I 100% always at least check the book out online, so when I found Everything I Never Told You( if I keep referring to this book by its’ full name by hands will actually cramp so let’s use EINTY for now :’)) and Little Fires Everywhere on Amazon for a reasonable price… YUP I started reading EINTY the next day.

Title: Everything I Never Told You

Authors : Celeste Ng

Length:292

Source: Purchased

Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.

So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.

A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

Although it took me a wHILEEE to get through this book, I enjoyed it to some extent. We follow the story of a teenager who suddenly goes missing and although her parents had thought she was completely happy, throughout this book we discover the struggles she really went through. A lot of books depicting teen angst tend to be (As expected) about trivial nonsense, like does jack from class 3B really like me? Or Will I ever fit into this school and be one of the popular girls? Of course I’m not saying that ALL books depict this, but a majority do… So when I read through the concerns that this teenager had, and the immense pressure she received from her parents as well as trying to fit in as a Chinese-American I really found myself respecting her as a character. Seldom is a book written after a main tragedy, so it was really interesting to read about how these different characters had their own coping mechanisms and seeing some of these actually reflected in myself.

It’s no spoiler that the ‘main character’ dies, that literally happens within the first few pages, but whilst getting to know each character and becoming closer with the family I did feel somewhat invested… The multiple perspectives really were what kept this story alive, reading such an intense story got overwhelming at certain points so having that change of viewpoint was refreshing. I will say though that at points I really just wanted to put the book down. Especially at around 2/3 of the way through, there weren’t many developments and the story kind of plataued to the point where it was just draining. The only thing that kept me interested was finding out how Lydia actually died…

I would recommend this for readers who are looking for a change of pace to their current reads, it’s an intense read but one with relatable characters that are well developed and an easy to read writing style! Yet to read Little Fires Everywhere, so if you’ve read it let me know in the comments what you thought!

Manga Adaptation of Hamlet:

I really had high high expectations for this but unfortunately I was a little disappointed… I thought a manga adaptation would may make Shakespeare’s work more accessible and easier to read but if anything this made everything a little bit confusing.

 

Title: Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet

Authors :Richard Appignanesi (Adapter), Emma Vieceli (Illustrator), William Shakespeare

Length: 204

Source: Purchased

 

First of all the major adaptation to the story was that Hamlet was set wayyy in the future, which I felt like unnecessarily complicated things. I’ve never read Hamlet before so I already don’t know what’s going on… But now having to figure it out this new futuristic world and having illustrations along the way, it was a bit much.

The illustrations were very interesting… at the beginning. I loved the concept of having an illustrated version of Shakespeare’s work, but I found that instead of them making the story easy to follow they complicated it. The art made all the characters look very similar so for half the time I literally had no idea who was who and WHAT the hell was going on.

The nail on the metaphoric coffin was the actual writing… it was still written in the original except now only certain excerpts were included. I personally felt like the text that was included didn’t really help the reader understand what was going on and it was incredibly difficult for me to follow the story.

I finished this in about an hour, not because I particularly enjoyed it but because I kept reading through to waiting for the story to make sense. Anyone out there that isn’t really familiar with Hamlet and the storyline will be very VERy confused (as was I until I read the summary at the end :))

It’s definitely a fun idea but I’m not really inclined to pick up the adaptation of The Tempest I have on my shelf any time soon…

Why I Started Book Blogging:

I’m not sure if I’ve actually ever mentioned why I got into book blogging but if I did I don’t think I made a blog post about it so… HUR WE GOO:

I’ve always loved reading but I feel like I went through phases where I went on a bit of a (very) long slump until I read a book that hooked me back into reading! I’m someone with the shitest memory, even now when someone asks me for book recommendations I have to skim through my posts to jig my memory of what books I’ve read. So around 4/5 years ago when I got back into reading, I had no idea that book blogging was a thing, I thought why would anyone want to hear my rambling thoughts about a book I’ve read??????

Whenever I finished a book I would write up a review and literally just leave it sitting in my documents for future reference. I think I first came across book blogging through Goodreads, where I found bloggers linking their full reviews to their blogs. I really was taken abackkk like huh???? This really was a thing??? I immediately began to look at different blog platforms I could use, and that was that I guess??

WOW when thinking about this post I really thought I’d have a lot more to say but writing it up, it’s actually not that interesting huh 😕

I don’t know if this post’ll see the light of day, but  if it does I would be interested in hearing how you got into book blogging or blogging in general!

Replica Review:

Replica had literally been sitting on my shelf for a 2 years waiting to be picked up… Whereas other people were excited by the interesting format of having the story told from two different perspectives. I was a bit put off to be honest, because I felt like I’d just be reading the same story twice??

Title: Replica

Author: Lauren Oliver

Length: 520

Source: Purchased

 

 

Synopsis:

Lyra

From a distance, the Haven Institute, tucked away on a private island off the coast of Florida, looks serene and even beautiful. But up close the locked doors, military guards, and biohazard suits tell a different story. In truth, it is a clandestine research facility where thousands of replicas, or human models, are born, raised, and observed.

But when a surprise attack is launched on Haven, two of its young experimental subjects—Lyra, or 24, and the boy known only as 72—manage to escape. As they make their way through a new and menacing environment, they meet a stranger named Gemma, who has embarked on a perilous quest of her own. And as Lyra tries to understand Haven’s purpose, she uncovers earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls.

Gemma

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals her whole life. A sickly child, she has grown into a lonely adolescent whose life is circumscribed by home, school, and her best friend, April.

But after she is nearly abducted by a stranger claiming to know her, Gemma starts to investigate her family’s past and discovers her father’s mysterious connection to the secretive Haven research facility. Hungry for answers, she travels to Florida, only to stumble upon two human models, or replicas, 24 and 72—and a completely new set of questions. As Gemma tries to unravel the mysteries of Haven, she learns terrible truths about herself and her family that will threaten to destroy everything she loves.

Two girls, two stories, one novel.

While the stories of Gemma and Lyra mirror each other, each contains revelations critically important to the other story. Their narratives can be read separately or in alternating chapters.

The writing style really REALLY wasn’t for me. The character came across as a bit whiny, which I mean Gemma is supposed to be a teenager so fair enough, but at times it was reallllyy exhausting. I started off reading from Gemma which I did randomly, I’d heard that there wasn’t a particular order for reading this book. BUT I’m kinda glad I did start with Gemma , I felt like her side of the story slowly eased you into this new world, it developed the characters a bit more and frankly felt a little less rushed.

This book wasn’t really my favourite and I think I have a few reasons why.

• I love some good character development, and seeing my favourite character grow throughout the different trials and tribulations of the story, but for me Gemma had the a very inconsistent personality which threw me off balance a few times. Just when I thought I somewhat understood her and her way of thinking she’d do something that’d throw me off way WAYYY off. So I read through her part feeling very unfamiliar with her as a character and being unable to connect with her because she was constantly changing???
• Imma be honest and say I didn’t manage to read through Lyra’s part. I just felt like I was rereading the same story… And not necessarily because of the actual events. I just expected Lyra and Gemma to have more distinct voices, but if I compared a page from each side of the story I literally wouldn’t be able to tell who is who. So… I made it to about 100 pages, and really called it a day.

I personally wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, at the same time there are a  lot of people who seem to have enjoyed this so maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Let me know what you thought of Replica down in the comment below!

July Book Haul!

Today was the first day in a whileeeeee that I’ve actually been to a bookshop with the intention of buying books (doesn’t make sense right??) . A lot of times I just go to browseee or see what’s just been released! Anyway of course I did some damage… but I only left with four books so I’m counting this as a success OKAY! (I actually picked up around 7 but knocked some sense into myself :’))

 

The first book in my haul is one more related to language learning journey. As some of may know if you follow my instagram (shamless plug no.1-@abooknation) I have recently started learning Spanish. Whilst learning Korean realised that once I’m at the appropriate level I really prefer learning the nuance and new vocabulary of the language whilst reading stories rather than just working through text books. Whether they are short stories or poems (I really love studying Korean poems) it just helps me absorb more if I see words/phrases in context! So I picked up a compilation of short stories in Spanish:

 

Recently my friend and I started a stationery business (Shameless plug no.2- http://the-pastel-planet.myshopify.com) but I’ve always been interested in business and a career as an entrepreneur. I’ve also realised that I actually don’t know much about much in the Financial sector which is ironic because my degree is pretty much based around it… After spending an hour browsing I came to one conclusion… It really is difficult finding a book that isn’t gimmicky. I picked up around 6 books and walked away with 1, a majority of them turned out to be providing the most generic information that even I KNOW. In the end the book I settled on is:

 

I started reading through this whilst still at the bookshop and it seemed like a book that I could actually learn a lot from, but if anyone out there can give me some recommendations I would be eternally grateful (pleaseee anythingg…)

 

 

 

 

My next stop was the fiction section and more specifically the Sci-fi/Fantasy area. I’m really craving ( I don’t even know if it’s possible to crave books??) a high fantasy read,  I was just looking for a distant world I can throw myself into! There I picked up:

 

I’ve heard about this book EVERYWHEREEE, it’s almost like a classic in the fantasy genre. Never actually read anything by Brandon Sanderson but apparently this is the best place to start?? It has amazing reviews on Goodreads so I’m putting a lot of faith in this one! *fingers crossed*

 

 

 

 

 

From what I can tell this is pretty much a retelling of Ariel and honestly that’s all I know about it! I’ve heard that Christina Henry is apparently pretty good at writing at dark retelling so I’m realllyy excited to read this.

 

 

 

Have you read any books I’ve listed above? If so I would love to hear your reviews in the comment section!

JUNE TBR/WRAP-UP

This post is going to be a TBR/Wrap up because I’ve actually already read and even reviewed some of the books on here! I didn’t know if I wanted to do a full TBR for this month because I honestly wasn’t sure how many books I’d read, (if any…))

BUT seen as I seem to be on some kind of roll here we go!

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

 

Replica by Lauren Oliver

 

Hamlet (manga adaptation) by Richard Appignanesi (Adapter), Emma Vieceli (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator), William Shakespeare

(Also side note (these have become a bit of a habit in my posts now and I don’t really know how to feel about them??) As some of you may know from my previous posts I have been studying Korean (VERY inconsistently) for the past 3/4 years and sometimes want to make blog posts about my progress! I’ve also (very) recently started learning Spanish, so I was debating on whether I should make a new blog just for language learning. Orrrr if people are actually interested in seeing those kind of posts here?? Please let me know in the comments!)

20 QUESTIONS BOOK TAG!

#1: How many books are too many in a series?

In my very personal opinion 3, although I’ve realised that I don’t tend to read series in general. Actually it’s not that I don’t read series, but rather that I don’t carry on. I think The Mortal Instruments series is the one of the few series that I actually carried on reading but then I kinda gave up after book 5..

I don’t whether it’s that I get bored of reading the same characters/story for more than one book, because it doesn’t even have to be that I didn’t enjoy the first. There are a lot of series where I thoroughly enjoy the first book but I have 0 interest in carrying on??? Is there anyone out there that goes through the same thing??

#2: How do you feel about cliff-hangers?

I woul

#3: Hardcover or paperback?

Hardcover for the aesthetics paperback for the fact that it doesn’t weight 5 TONS IN MY BAG.

#4: Favorite book?

I actually don’t have a favourite book??? A book I recently read that is my favourite of this year so far is Cabin in the Woods by Tim Lebbon (Goodreads Author), Joss Whedon (Creator), Drew Goddard (Creator) I didn’t even know this book was a movie novelisation??? It definitely had elements of horror but it also had some scientific-fi elements too which is why I really flew through this book!

#5: Least Favorite Book?

mmm… I can’t really think of a book that I really hated reading, I usually tend to stick to genres I know I’ll enjoy so although a book might not be my cup of tea I don’t think I’ve ever HATED a book I was reading.

#6: Love Triangles, yes or no?

In my experience (IN BOOKS… NOT PERSONALLY)  I don’t think I’ve ever read a well done love triangle. I feel like they’re always over complicated and give too much importance that it becomes the focus of the story, as someone who doesn’t really read romance when that happens I tend to lose interest in the book.

#8: A book you are currently reading?

Replica by Lauren Oliver! I know I’m soooo late, but I finally got to it!

#9: Last book you recommended to someone?

 Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Ahiers

#10: Oldest book you’ve read? (publication date)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Publication date: 1813 (WOWW I actually didn’t know it was that old?!?!)

#11: Newest book you’ve read? (publication date)

I think that might be the book that I’m currently reading Replica by Lauren Oliver.

#12: Favorite author?

I don’t think I have one…

#13: Buying books or borrowing?

Buyingggg, although it depends! Some books I really want to keep after finishing, others I feel indifferent. I think it also depends on whether I see myself reading that book again.

#14: A book you dislike that everyone seems to love?

There are actually a lot of books that weren’t particularly my thing whereas everybody seemed to love them, one being Throne of Glass.

#15: Bookmarks or dog-ears?

BOOKMARKS, how DARE you?!!?!? I get panic attacks when I see people dog-earing their books on the train hermahgerdddd.

#16: A book you can always reread?

I’ve actually never reread a book?? I just feel like why waste time reading something I’ve already enjoyed when I could use that time to discover other books?

#17: Can you read while listening to music?

Sometimes I read best whilst listing to music, especially if there’s too much going on around me it helps me zone out. And this might be a bit lame, but I try to find songs that match the vibe of the scene I’m readinggg( but then that turns into me orchestrating a soundtrack for the book from my playlist, which honestly authors holla at meee because I have some bomb ass playlists for your books)

#18: One POV or multiple POVs?

This reallllyyy depends, sometimes multiple POV’s because I can read the same story through different characters eyes. At times though multiple POVs can become overwhelming and confusing. So for me it really depends on the book.

#19: Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

One sitting?? In my current slump situation?? Yeah… that’s a no. LOLOL

It definitely takes me days ( recently weeks to get through a book) But if I’m reading something fast-paced or something that I’m thoroughly enjoying maybe 2/3 days?

#20: Who do you tag?

ANYONE AND EVERYONE.

The Cabin in the Woods: Review

 

Title: The Cabin in the Woods

Author: Tim Lebbon

Length: 297

Source: Purchased

First of all I really didn’t know that this was a movie novelisation?!?!? I really thought the movie was based on this book. I usually steer FARRRR away from horror, whether it’s films/TV shows/books it’s just not my genre. A few weeks ago I went to Orbital Comics and found that they had a old/discounted books section so, me looking at any way to spend my money, ran to this corner. I picked it up knowing I wasn’t going to take this home but the synopsis was so short that I really wanted to give it a go. Plus I thought if there was a time I would ever read Horror it would be now! (But I really can’t handle paranomal stuff so please, it just creeps me the hellll out). ANYWAY here’s the synopsis:

Five friends go to a remote

cabin in the woods.

Bad things happen.

If you think you know the story,

think again.

I remember remotely hearing about the film but I actually had no idea at all about the story, but I must say I really really really enjoyed reading this. Books that start off with a lot of world building are good and all, but I’ve always been someone who enjoys stories that develop a little quicker. I just read through the book much quicker. Of course this doesn’t apply to all books I’ve if it’s a genre like fantasy, if the world building goes to shite so does the whole story.

Wow I really went off on a whole tangent there, but this story really picks up from the first page. It’s under horror but there were Sci-Fi elements that for me made this story much more enjoyable. Another reason I don’t really read horror is I feel like there really is no story line, this is me generalising but I really feel like they’re just there to scare the living daylights out of you. With Cabin in the Woods it included your standard zombies and terrifying creatures but at the same time it was all part of a bigger plan. I really don’t know how to review this book without spoiling it, but IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU PICK IT UP! Especially if you’re someone like me who steers veryyyy clear of horror, if you enjoy Sci-Fi I think you would enjoy this read. AND it’s just under 300 pages.

Currently Reading Tag!

Every time I get back into blogging I really struggle, because I’ve been out of the loop for os long I don’t even know what posts to make. Especially now, since I read but not at the same pace  I used to if I were to write only reviews I would be posting on here once a month ://////////////

SOO to combat this I decided to take part in some tags, I feel like they make a more structured post, otherwise it would just be me here rambling forever about nonnnnsensee.

(Wow if you could see my first drafts of my posts, they’re literally pages long… then I realise I would never sit there and read this so how can I expect other people tooo…(yupp the final posts are after I’ve cut out so many things :)) and there we go again with the rambling. On with the actual book tag!

1 – How many books do you usually read at once?

I’ve always preferred reading one book at a time, I feel like if I read more than one I lose my focus. Also if I’m reading a book and I’m at a point where I want to read something else, I’m probably don’t want to carry on reading the current one….

I used to be always finish a book even if I’m not enjoying its, but I’ve realised that’s what contributes to my reading slumps!

2 – How do you decide when to switch between multiple reads?

NEVER, I just give up on the one I’m reading now :’)

3 – Do you ever switch bookmarks partially through a book?

WOWW I always lose bookmarks, you know the way most people can’t finish a lip balm pot, I always lose my bookmark half way through and end up using a random piece of paper…

4 – Where do you keep the books you are currently reading?

They’re usually always around me, which is why sometimes reading thick books is SUCH A NUISANCE. If I’m going out anywhereee I always have to carry the book, EVEN IF THERE’S A 99% CHANCE I WON’T READ IT/

5 – What time of day do you read the most?

I actually don’t have a timee, I just read when I feel like it?? Sometimes if I’m in the reading mood I will sit there fore 4 hours reading, but the next day I might not even touch the book.

6 – How long do you typically read in one session?

Again this usually depends on where I am in the book, usually with slow starting books I read for maybe 15/20mins towards the beginnging. When the pace picks upp is when I can sit for a few hours.

7 – Do you read hardbacks with the dust jackets off?

NO BECAUSE I ALWAYS END UP LOSING THE DUST JACKET!! I saw that a few booktubers were doing this so I was like why nottttt, if it’ll help preserve the book. But I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d rather have a damaged dust jacket, than nothing at all

8 – What position do you mainly use to read?

As someone in their early 20’s I really have the back problems of grandad because wowwww, reading or not I find it difficult to stay in one position for a long time. When reading I really do the mosttt, I move sooo much. (My backs aching even as a write this posttt, I really don’t know if this is a medical problem or if I just have shite posture…)

9 – Do you take your current read with you everywhere you go?

YES. (Again this is why I have a love-hate relationship with hardback books.

10 – How often do you update your Goodreads reading progress?

I always make this a goal of mine, to constantly update my Goodreads account. But tbh I think I’ve written 5 reviews?? On there EVER. I don’t know I’d kinda rather just post here, but sometimes if I get a book review request then I also post a link to my review on there.

I tag anyone who wants to participate!

(Also side note: I’ve tried to read Illuminae, but I really REALLY couldn’t get through the first chapter… I have actually tried picking it up on two separate occasions but I always end up putting it back down. I don’t know if it’s the format that’s too confusing?? Anyone else experienced this please let me know in the comments!)