September 2015 TBR

I'm not sure at this point and time which books I will be undertaking during the month of September, so I will list the ones that I know that I will be reading and go from there.



"Falling Kingdoms" by Morgan Rhodes, book one in the "Falling Kingdoms" series. This book has so much hype surrounding it and I am really curious to see what its all about. I have this first book on my most recent Barnes and Noble order, so it should be arriving later this week. I want to read the first book before I purchase any of the other books in the series.







"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs. With the third and final book of this trilogy coming out in September I think that it is about time that I read this one. I have heard some really great things about it and I hope that I am not disappointed because it sounds right up my alley.










I would possibly like to read "Daughter of Smoke & Bone" by Laini Taylor during the month of September.










"The 5th Wave" by Rick Yancey is also on my radar for this upcoming month.








I really just want to see where the path takes me during September however and I don't want to force myself to read any books when I'm really just not in the mood for that particular book, so although I want to read these books in the upcoming month I'm not making it a goal of mine.

August 2015 Wrap-Up

August has come to a close and it is now time for my monthly wrap-up to be featured. This month I only read ten books, twelve if you count the two did not finish books that I started and gave up on. I read all of the original books that I listed for my August TBR other then the final book in the Percy Jackson series, "The Last Olympian", by Rick Riordan, and the prequel novel in the Lunar Chronicle series, "Fairest", by Marissa Meyer. I may carry those over to September, or I may not. We shall see. I also read three other books that I did not feature in my August TBR.

Favorite books read in August:

The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness

The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Ask and The Answer

Monsters of Men

Naomi Novik 

Uprooted

Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass

Decent reads during August:

The Wrath and the Dawn

The Darkest Minds

Books I could have done without in August:

Fangirl

Legend

Matched

Books that are dead to me:

Half Bad

Shatter Me

"Uprooted" by Naomi Novik

No one went into the Wood and came out again, at least not whole and themselves. Sometimes they came out blind and screaming, sometimes they came out twisted and so misshapen they couldn’t be recognized; and worst of all sometimes they came out with their own faces but murder behind them, something gone dreadfully wrong within.

"Uprooted" by Naomi Novik is so unique, and such a refreshing book to read after slogging through book after book that just felt like a near identical duplicate of the former. This book, this book is truly special. It had all of the elements that I could ask for in a book. Terrific writing, a great plot line, magic, a under-laying creep factor, action, romance, beautiful character development. It is so vividly written, the creativity is just brimming to the rim.

I think that I have just added one more author to my favorites. I will be seeking out more books by Naomi Novik.

My Rating: 5 Stars

August 2015 Book Unhaul - 49 Books

I went insane today, absolutely insane, there are no other words to describe what I have done. Insanity is the most fitting to describe the actions that took place over the course of today. It all started rather innocently, I was re-organizing my bookshelves when suddenly with a rabid fever I begun to pluck books off left and right. First to go were some of the books that I have read recently and rated a four star rating or lower, I don't desire to own books that I don't love. Then a book or two that has recently been replaced with hardcovers or nicer editions. Several books that I have just lost interest in. Then I stepped back and surveyed the rest of my books ... I own a lot of classics that I quite honestly do not have the desire to read, or re-read for that matter. I pulled them all off of the shelves and went over all of them rather carefully and made my selections on which to own and which to sell. The results? 49 books were unhauled today. It made me feel sick, it made me feel guilty, it made me feel kind of sad, but it also made me feel relieved. The books that are left on my shelves are all books that I have either read and loved, or books that I am excited about reading, and that is a wonderful feeling. People's tastes in books change over the years and I find that I am not a exception. I am going to try to list all titles featured in this unhaul, below:

Children's Books:

While I did enjoy some of these books, I just don't desire to own any middle grade books. I can always just check them out from the library if I ever want to read them again.

"The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams Bianco. I may have to give this to my nieces and/or nephew. Such a precious book.

"Pinocchio" by Carlo Collodi. I actually rather enjoyed this amusing little book, but I don't think that I want to actually own it.

"The Borrowers" and "The Borrowers Afloat" by Mary Norton. Some of my favorite books as a child. Again, I have just outgrown them and they no longer have a place on my shelves.

"My Friend Flicka" and "Thunderhead" by Mary O'Hara. Some of my favorite books as a teenager.

"Many Waters" and "An Acceptable Time" by Madeleine L'Engle. I actually just hauled the first three books from this series in a beautiful leather bound edition, but I think that the first three books are the only ones that I actually want to own.

"The Spindlers" by Mary Oliver. Much too young for my tastes. I might give this one to my younger sister.

"The Princess and the Goblin" by George McDonald. 

Young Adult Books:

"Legend" by Marie Lu. I didn't enjoy this book very much and have no desire to keep it.

"Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi. I hated this book. It has to go.

"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas. I loved this book so much that I bought it in the hardcover edition to replace this paperback.

"The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken. I enjoyed this book, I just don't want to own it.

"The Archived" by Victoria Schwab. This is my damaged edition that has since been replaced.

"Something Wicked this way Comes" by Ray Bradbury. I just don't feel like keeping this one.

"Not a Drop to Drink" by Mindy McGinnis. I lost all interest in this one.

"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. I decided not to read this one, especially after realizing that it is a five book series.

Adult Books:

"The Bone Season" by Samantha Shannon. I have heard mixed thoughts on this book and after finding out that it is one of a eight book series I just don't even want to give it a try.

"Far Far Away" by Tom McNeal. Nope, not feeling it.

"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I have heard some pretty poor things on this one.

"The Town that forgot how to Breathe" by Kenneth J. Harvey. I have lost all interest.

"Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn. I don't even want to read this now.

Classics:

This was the most difficult one, the one that hurt the most.

"Walden" by Henry David Thoreau. This one has sat unread on my shelves for many years and I feel that it would just continue to do so.

"Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray. I just don't feel the interest at the time. I can always check it out from the library if I ever do feel like reading it.

"The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton. I have no interest.

"Barchester Towers" by Anthony Trollope. No interest.

"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" by Charles Dickens. Not feeling it.

"The Black Arrow" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Not really feeling a interest in this one either.

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. I have a five novel leather bound edition that contains this title. Much prettier book then this one.

"The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane. I don't really have the interest.

"Twice Told Tales" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I'm not interested in these short stories.

"The Innocents Abroad" by Mark Twain. I don't have the desire to read this one.

"A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. I lost my interest in this one.

A collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have a prettier edition.

"The Red House Mystery" by A.A. Milne. Doesn't catch my attention.

"The House of the Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Kind of interests me, but I probably wouldn't want to own it in any case. I can check it out from the library if I end up wanting to read it.

"Hard Times" by Charles Dickens. Doesn't really interest me.

"Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis. Does not sound like a book that I would enjoy.

"The Sea Wolf" by Jack London. Sounds a little interesting but not enough to make me want to keep it.

"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. Doesn't sound like something that I would enjoy.

"Tess of the D'Ubervilles" by Thomas Hardy. I might want to borrow this from the library someday.

"The Old Curiosity Shop" by Charles Dickens. I don't feel like I want to read this one.

"Catch 22" by Joseph Heller. This one really doesn't sound like my type of book.

Well, there you have it. My book purge. I am going to be tip-toeing around books from here on out. I am going to try to only purchase books of which I have already read and know that I love, but that doesn't always work out. Sometimes in order to read a book I have to first buy it because my library might not actually have it. And let's be truthful here, there is something delicious about having 'some' unread books on your shelf too. The option of going to your own personal library to seek out a new book to read. Books written by my still living favorite authors (that sounds awful) will of course be bought sight unseen, and those favorite authors are all releasing new books in 2016 which all sound amazing. And all of these books featured in this book unhaul aren't necessary scratched off permanently from my reading down the road, I just don't feel the desire to own them, or to read them anytime soon.

The morning after a night of reading - #WeekendReading

Book Tropes That I Hate

Hey guys, I created a list of book tropes that I find myself despising. These are the book tropes that I hate.

1. The insta-love trope. I have read several books containing this insta-love trope and it never works. There is no chemistry development between them, it feels forced and unnatural. Stiff, awkward, fake. A good author develops the relationship slowly and naturally, sometimes even unexpectedly. I have become so tired of the love struck at first sight theme that has been circulating the young adult genre. How are you supposed to become invested in a relationship when on page thirty they have met for the first time and by page fifty they are proclaiming undying love for one another?

2. The superwoman trope. This is a recurring trope that I have seen in young adult dystopian. Teenage girl who is the only one apparently that can save her people from a corrupted government. She is, of course, also gorgeous and all of the men desire her. And if it happens to be a book where powers or abilities are involved she will probably have a stronger ability then anyone else that sets her apart. Basically I just feel as if this book trope has become overused just in general, overused to the point that I don't even feel like reading a book that fits this description anymore. Books that I have read recently that fit in this trope in one way or another would be, "Matched", "Legend", "The Darkest Minds", "Shatter Me", and "Divergent", just to name a few.

3. High ranking children. What do I mean by this? Well in the young adult genre it is very likely that you will run into 15, 16, 17 year old kids that are holding high ranks. Leader of a rebellion, captain of the guard, etc. I find it very hard to believe and it just casts the entire book as very childish in my opinion. This is one very big issue that I have with the young adult genre and it is why I am beginning to drift back into the adult fantasy. I just can't relate to these younger casts of characters anymore.

4. Love triangles. I hate love triangles, especially because it usually centers around the girl who is gorgeous and is saving the world ... refer back to the superwoman trope. One love triangle that I feel was done tastefully is in the "Throne of Glass" series by Sarah J. Maas. If there is going to be a love triangle this is the way to do it.

I have a lot more book tropes that I hate, but I typically don't read the genres where those tropes take place.

You Don't Have To Read All Of The Books

Since joining Goodreads two years ago I have been striving to read more books. I have always been a vigorous reader, but Goodreads encouraged me to read even more, to aim higher. Then I started to watch videos on the booktube community over on Youtube. Suddenly there were just so many books that I wanted to read that I just jumped in head first. I wanted to read them all. I discovered a lot of authors that I would now consider as new favorites, I discovered a lot of really great books that I would now consider as new favorites, but I also waded through a lot of books that I just could have lived without ever having read, most of them being from the young adult genre. I went a few years without reading young adult so it feels like now that I have gone back to it, the amount of it is slightly ... overwhelming to say the least. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do.

But young adult is a tricky genre for me, the majority of it feeling a little too juvenile for my tastes, poorly executed. Its kind of a hit or a miss in that category. And I can tell you that as of this point I am starting to feel burned out on some points. Dystopian, oh boy am I burned out on dystopian right now. I first got into the world of dystopian after reading "The Hunger Games", that book first introduced me to that subject. But after reading multiple books on this genre it almost just feels like a repeat of itself. I am also feeling burned out on vampire books. Ever since the "Twilight" epidemic the young adult genre has been flooded with books based on vampires. Currently I have quite a few fantasy and paranormal books on my library book TBR pile, none of the previously mentioned subjects make a appearance. I think that I am going to take a break from those for a while.

I will always give a book a chance when it catches my attention, but I will not give it my time unless earned. I have always been able to put down a book and declare it too awful to continue to read it, but now I am going to be even more critical when it comes to books. Too often do I finish a book and feel ... nothing as far as my reaction to it goes. That's not good, that's not the sign of a well written book and it's not the type of book that I want to waste my time on. I'm pretty good at judging what kind of a book it will be just by its first few opening chapters, but sometimes I have found myself pushing through despite my feelings on it just because of the large hype surrounding the book. These are always the books that end up disappointing me. No more! I have already pulled out three of the books from my stack of library books that will be going back unread. "Fablehaven", and "Gregor the Overlander" simply for the mere fact that they are middle grade books and I just don't feel as if I am the right audience. Middle grade just feels a little too immature (children's classics are entirely different however). I will also be returning "Talon" to the library unread. It was a impulse grab while browsing the shelves at the library, but honestly the reviews don't sound too promising and I even cracked it open and read the first page ... no. I'm not going to read it.

Don't give into the peer pressure. I did and it nearly destroyed me. You don't have to read all of the books.

"The Wrath and the Dawn" by Renee Ahdieh

This is a retelling from "A Thousand and one Nights". It tells us the story of king Khalid, Caliph of Khorasan. His people describe him as being a monster because each night he takes a new bride only to murder her at dawn. Shahrzad's dearest friend was his lastest victim, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride in order to get close to him.

Each night Shahrzad tells Khalid a tale that captures his attention, and leaves the tale at a unfinished conclusion at dawns first light. The king, enraptured by these stories has left his newest bride alive longer then all other brides before her. Shahrzad knows that each dawn might be her last.

And yet, not all is as it seems. She sought to destroy him, but instead she realizes that she might be in love.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was interesting, the plot was suspenseful, the characters were richly developed. I feel like pulling out my edition of "Arabian Nights" now and getting better acquainted with these beautiful stories, realizing of course that this is not like the original.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Library Book Haul - August 2015

I wanted a excuse to go to the library so I returned the one read library book that was due ... and left with four more books. Some of these books are still from my last library book haul ...

"Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi

This trilogy has been hyped up, gushed over, and raved about in the Goodreads community and the booktube community alike. I may have gone into it with too high expectations because of that mere fact alone, but the synopsis also intrigued me and pulled me in. With a 4.03 average star rating and over 138,656 ratings, how could I possibly go wrong on this one? Well I had the wool pulled over my eyes, the jokes on me. There are about three hundred and forty pages to this book and I read exactly seventy five. I couldn't do anymore then that, not without feeling like I wasted a large amount of my time in doing so because I sure wasn't going to be walking away with anything gained. The writing, it has been described as beautiful and poetic but to me it just felt repetitive of itself and choppy. I could possibly of felt this way because the writing did indeed repeat itself, our character Juliette often repeating herself over and over again in her head. Also one very known fact on these books is the strike out used throughout this book, Juliette thinking thoughts in her head that she then strikes out. I enjoyed this book I hated this book. I didn't think that it was going to bother me as much as it did, the first few pages being cute and then becoming a rather large annoyance when it doesn't cease. And the instalove in this book, my gosh, I am so tired of the instalove trope. I kept pushing myself to read it despite my not enjoying it because it seems as if all of my Goodreads friends, and the reviewers that I follow on Goodreads, have all loved this book, giving it four and five stars. I wanted to love it, but it just doesn't work out that way. It reads more like a sappy romance then the books that I typically read, and it's just not for me.

My Rating: 2.5 Stars - Did not finish

I Won't Be Making That Mistake Again

I placed a book order with Barnes and Noble about a week ago, this was a decent sized order consisting of seven books. Normally Barnes and Noble is fairly quick with the time frame that it takes them to process and ship out my book order, typically in about one or two days time and then received at my house in another three days time following that, my order taking roughly five to six days total from the time that I place it. I have a Barnes and Noble membership which costs $25.00 a year but well worth every penny as you receive discount codes and coupons, and free unlimited, no maximum purchase required, express shipping. Well days went by and no progress was made on my order being processed, so finally looking into it, being the impatience kind of person that I am, I very soon realized that one of the books that I had placed on my book order wasn't due to be released until September 1st 2015. I knew this at the time of purchase but I figured that I would just receive my order in two separate packages. Well no, apparently I won't be receiving  any books from my entire order until the release date of that book ... I did not know this. Having free unlimited express shipping I would have just simply placed two separate orders so I wouldn't have had to wait so long for the rest of my books. I won't be making that mistake again. Never mind the fact that I probably won't be reading any of the books in that order until the month of September, I want them now!

I want my precious!

2015 Goodreads Reading Challenge Is Completed

Do you remember when I mentioned earlier in the year that I was falling behind in my yearly Goodreads reading challenge? Well I did, but that challenge as of tonight has been completed. Last year I set my challenge at fifty books and surpassed it by reading seventy books, this year I set my challenge at sixty five books. I just hit my sixty five book challenge and I still have slightly more then four more months of reading left in the year. I plan on setting the bar a little higher in the year 2016, make it more of a challenge. I am curious to see where the final read count where be at by new years.

"The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

A epidemic has begun to spread through America, one that affects children between the ages of eight and fourteen, doctors and scientists believing that it is triggered by the onset of puberty. This disease, termed IAAN, has killed off roughly 98% of the population in that age range, the other 2% survived but didn't walk away unscatched. Their brains appear to have undergone a rewiring of sorts and they have developed abilities, powers, mutations. They are being labeled as the psi, and they are considered to be too dangerous to be allowed to roam free. A lot of the children are rounded up by the newly appointed government organization and taken to Thurmond, a brutal 'rehabilitation center' where the children are held prisoner and undergo unspeakable ill doings. Some children are freely given up by their parents whom would rather have had their child die of the disease then survive and become the monster that they now are. Some children have managed to avoid capture but are ruthlessly hunted.

There are five different categories in this mutation and they have been labeled by color by how dangerous those abilities are deemed.

The greens, considered the least harmful out of the five. They have basically developed a superior intelligence which gives them photographic memory, puzzle solving skills, etc.

The blues. They have developed telekinesis. They are able to move objects with their minds. A pretty formidable weapon but classified as being less dangerous then the next three.

The yellows. They have the ability to manipulate, and control, electricity and electronics.

The oranges. They have the ability of mind control.

The reds. They have the ability to manipulate, and control, fire.

The yellows, oranges, and reds are considered to be extremely dangerous. They are at first kept under very strict lock down and later they are all 'removed' when they are no longer able to be controlled and managed.

We follow Ruby in this story. Ruby is ten years old when she develops her ability and is turned over by her parents. Upon arriving at the facility with a bus load of other children she quickly realizes that she must pretend to be less powerful then she really is. Ruby is a orange, and being reluctant to use her powers and also not understanding exactly how to control them, she somehow manages to talk her way into being categorized under the green category upon undergoing a series of placement testing.

Ruby has been at Thurmond for six years now. She has seen a lot of really horrible things happen to the children being kept there, and the greens and blues are now the only ones left. There is a danger of her true abilities being brought to light.

When the truth does comes out Ruby barely escapes with her life. A lot of things in the outside world has changed in the six years since she has been locked away. She doesn't know who to trust, there are those who would wish to use her as a weapon.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Why Would You Recommend That To Me?

Recently a fellow coworker recommended Christopher Moore to me when she spied me reading "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" by Holly Black, and upon gushing and raving about him and the books that he has written she promised to bring me in her copy to borrow and read. I tried to gently evade her offer by telling her the simple truth that I already have so many books on my to read list that I wouldn't know when I would be able to get around to actually reading it. She assured me that it wouldn't be a problem and that I could keep it for as long as I wanted to. Oh goody ... Having never heard of Christopher Moore previously to this encounter I looked him up on Goodreads when I got home. Hmmm, not really my tastes going off of the descriptions given. I was secretly relieved when she never brought the book in, and made it a point to never remind her. Weeks went by and then out of the blue she brought it in the other day. Oh crap on a cracker. I read a couple of pages tonight and it didn't even register as a finished book ... it was that bad. The writing was all over the place and I can't even begin to keep track of how many swear words were contained in those few pages that I did read, not to mention the vulgarness of it all. I'm not going to say all of this to my coworker, but I am truly at a loss in how I am going to explain that I will not be reading her book. I may just have to pretend that I read it and that it just wasn't really attuned to my tastes ... because she owns the entire collection and I can't keep pretending to read all of them! It's utter madness, where would it ever end?!

This got me thinking about book recommendations in general. When someone recommends a book to me I hesitate to read it based solely on their recommendation alone because not everyone's taste in books coexist, and what they find to be a thrilling read may just end up on my most hated list. However I will read books through book reviews when the synopsis catches my attention, which in a way is a book recommendation. Basically I just don't like being told what to do. I am a rebel, I go against the grain.

And is our opinion of the book recommender forever tarnished afterwards when it is discovered that their absolute favorite book is crap? Yes, my reader respect has been severely diminished, and all future book recommendations will be speedily disregarded henceforth.

"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

Celaena Sardothien, renowned assassin serving out her life sentence in the salt mines of Endovier. She is approached by the crown prince (Dorian) and his captain of the guard (Chaol) and given a choice, remain in Endovier and surely die in the very near future as a result of the harsh treatment and poor conditions, or take part in the king's competition against a assortment of twenty three other killers, theives, and warriors. The winner of the competition is crowned the king's champion. If she wins, Calaena must work for the king for a minimum of four years before being granted her freedom and having her name cleared of all crimes. The king is a vile and monstrous man, a man that Calaena cringes to think of serving, but worse yet is the fate of remaining in Endovier as a prisoner.

A dark force is at work in the king's castle; something that is killing off the competitors one by one.

I have heard that some people dislike Calaena's character because of her vanity, her slight immaturity, and her obsession with how she is portrayed. I kind of felt like I understood it. She was never allowed to just live, having first served under Arobynn Hamel the king of assassins through age eight to seventeen, then serving one year in Endovier until she was eighteen. She lead a harsh life, and endured a lot of hardship, and underneath it all I think that she is just reaching out for her humanity. Forced to grow up too soon.

And normally I do not like love triangles, but the love triangle that takes place here in the book is done very tastefully and feels very realistic. You feel conflicted on which man you want Calaena to ultimately end up with because both of them have such wonderful qualities to them and are much alike, and yet they are both so very different.

This is the first book that I have read by Sarah J. Maas and color me impressed. Her story telling skills are exceptional, her writing talents are exceptional, her characters are so finely fleshed out. I am eager to read the rest of the books in this series, and also any other books that she has written, or will write. I have found another favorite author.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Did We Even Read The Same Book?!

I follow a lot of fellow book lovers through Goodreads and Booktube, these readers for the most part share my tastes when it comes to books. We read a lot of the same genres, titles, authors, subject matter, etc, but more often then not we all have slightly different opinions on those books. Some books are gushed about by my bookish acquaintances whist I find myself disliking them, some books that are gushed about by moi are not so highly seen by some of my bookish acquaintances, and some books, why some books we just completely and utterly agree upon.

I find it fascinating how readers are so widely diverse in their reading tastes. Some books speak to their readers while other books aren't even bothered to utter a sound, every book telling each of their readers a separate story meant only for their minds. It is as if every reader is reading a different book despite the fact that it is the exact same title. And although I try to respect other peoples opinions, sometimes the phrase "Did we even read the same book?!" attempts to escape before I quickly reel it back in again. This happens most often with my man, J.R.R. Tolkien. Half of my book people are on team Tolkien, the other half classify it as words that I won't even repeat here because they are so undeserving of the books. I do love to hear peoples thoughts and opinions on books however, even if I don't always fully agree with what they are saying. We as readers are all unique.

Half Price Books Book Haul August 2015

I had to go to Barnes and Noble last night because I had some online book orders that I needed to get straightened out (some books were received damaged, one order was actually a glitch in the system and I not only received duplicate copies of the books that I had ordered but I was also double charged). The manager on duty was very pleasant to deal with, and even assured me that he as a book collector also would not of been satisfied with the slightly crinkled pages. He went to find me a replacement copy of "The Knife of Never Letting Go" and brought back up two copies so that I could pick out and choose my own. It's nice when my book disease is recognized and understood. Next I had a box of books to sell at Half Price Books (the books that I have featured in my past two book unhaul posts). "We will call your name when we have a offer for you, meanwhile feel free to look around a browse" ... they know exactly what they are doing. My 'browsing' uncovered five books. I got a decent sum for my books but I ended up paying out of pocket still for my purchases.

I got, "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman, hardcover. I read this book earlier and I really enjoyed it. My review on this book can be read here: "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
"Stardust" by Neil Gaiman, paperback. I have not yet read this one but it sounds good.

"Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux, hardcover. I actually already own this exact edition, but mine was rather shabby compared to this one. I will be replacing my current copy with this one. "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson, hardcover. I have been wanting to read this book for a while now. And finally, "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern, paperback. I read this book several years ago and enjoyed it at the time, but I don't really remember all of the details.

Don't Judge A Book By It's Author

I am slightly surprised when I hear that some readers won't read a particular book because it was written by a particular author. I'm not talking about the "E.L. James is a pervert and a terrible writer to boot" kind of scenario, because even I do that. I do judge a book by it's author to a certain extent. I may have previously read a book written by that author and found that I did not care for that author's writing. In that case I typically will not pick up anymore books by that author. You get one shot, is a general rule of mine, although I may make a exception if I hear something to sway my opinion (after all I may have read one of the authors least liked books). Or I just flat out avoid some authors because of the genre and a lack of interest on my part. No, what I am talking about is disliking a authors personality and passing judgement on his or her books based on that concept. I don't really understand that one. I don't need to be best friends with the author in order to enjoy, or even love their work. If you are reading non fiction, then yes, this may affect your reading pleasure, but when the author is not in the book ... then don't bring them into the book.

I have some examples for you. Cassandra Clare, author of the best selling series "The Mortal Instruments". She has a enormous fan following, but I also know that a lot of people flat out refuse to read her books or have anything to do with her because she was under scrutiny for plagiarism. Apparently before her career as a author she used to write Harry Potter fan fiction and a lot of people accused her of plagiarism as her later books resembled a lot of this previously written fan fiction of her's, people felt that it was wrong that Clare was profiting from a work that was partially plagiarized from other sources. In turn Cassandra Clare turned on them, bullying them and even resorting to stalking them. I have read a few books from The Mortal Instruments series and although I didn't exactly love them I wouldn't necessary say that they resembled other books that I have read, although people who have read her fan fiction say otherwise. Her as a person isn't going to keep me from trying her other books however, I still plan on reading "The Infernal Devices".

Sarah J. Maas, author of the "Throne of Glass" series. I hear some snippets over on the Booktube and Goodreads community on her not being a very nice person, just personality wise. I don't care, I am highly enjoying her books at the moment. She is very talented as a writer, who cares if she doesn't have the best people skills?

Victoria Aveyard, author of "Red Queen". She has a bad rap of picking fights with her reviewers and has been accused by her readers of copying content from other authors. I read this book recently and I must say that although I did see a lot of similarities to other books, I actually highly enjoyed the book itself.

I am able to read a novel without associating it with the author's misdeeds, given that the book in question is good enough for me to desire to do so. Plus, shouldn't we be giving the author in question the benefit of the doubt? Should we really shun a book based on the author's personality? Unless it is E.L. James, then you totally should.

"Legend" by Marie Lu

"Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time."

June, who is a military prodigy living in the Republic's highest circles. Day, the Republic's most wanted criminal.

June seeks vengeance for her older brothers murder, Day has become the prime suspect. June soon realizes that things are not as they seem and that there is corruption and lies involved in her brothers untimely death.

At times I felt that the plot was a little too predictable but I still found myself enjoying the ride, the predictability didn't really hamper my overall reading experience.

There was a lot of world building in this book. The lack of information going into the book was slightly confusing and left you scratching your head and wondering what exactly was going on, but you do eventually receive explanations throughout the book as well as more history behind the Republic which I actually felt heightened the reading experience, receiving just snippets as you progressed through the book.

The book progresses through our two characters points of views. One chapter we are following June, whist in the next chapter we are following Day. I felt like this method worked very well for this book and it was better able to show you the different perspectives from the two different classes of citizens, something that was really important to portray as it really moved the book along.

Edited to add:
Upon farther reflecting on this book I have decided to bring my original rating down to a 3.75 stars. Whist the book was fast paced and a overall exciting read, I did have issues with it.

My Rating: 3.75 Stars

"Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell

I do not understand the world of fandom and why it appeals to such a wide audience. I don't want my books from the fans perspective, a alternative version of the authors work. There is nothing unique about taking already existing characters in a already existing world and twisting it around and calling it your own. I like J.K. Rowling's version of Harry Potter, the original and highly unique version, I don't want to read someone else's fan fiction of a alternative version of Harry Potter. Without J.K. Rowling there is no Harry Potter, her writing is what brings Harry to life. I wanted to address this issue of mine because I did, after all, just finish reading a book based around fan fiction. In "Fangirl" our main character, Cath, writes fan fiction based around the Simon Snow series, a highly popular book in Cath's world that is on the same popularity scale as our Harry Potter (and yet Harry Potter also exists in Cath's world ...). I must admit that I enjoyed this aspect of the book, however is it right to take someone else's creation and change it? Cath wrote the authors originally straight characters as being two gay homosexual males. I don't have a issue with gay characters in books, if  they were originally written as being gay, but don't go changing what the author never intended. Cath doesn't feel as if she is able to write outside of fan fiction, she has trouble trying to create her own characters outside of the Simon Snow community, exactly what I am attempting to get at ...

I don't normally read contemporary/romance, so although I found myself enjoying "Fangirl" people will not be surprised to hear that I did have some issues with it. The fan fiction not even being one of those. I didn't mind the fan fiction in the book, in fact I rather liked that aspect, I was referring more to the real fan fiction existing out in the real world. No, my issues were with the language and the loose sexual encounters. The F word was repeatedly used in this book, as was God's name repeatedly being used in vain. I had originally liked Cath, she seemed down to earth and with good morals, but that isn't something realistic is it? I found myself liking her a tad bit less by the end of the book, although she is a saint compared to the other college students portrayed here.

A fun fluff read, but nothing that I would recommend to anyone or ever desire to own. This is a overly hyped up book.

My Rating: 3.75 Stars

My Library Book Haul

I had a TBR all planned out for the month of August, some of the books on that TBR I have already read but many of them are still waiting. So why oh why am I bringing home more library books? Because I have a problem, that's why!

Book Review of "Half Bad" by Sally Green

"Half Bad" by Sally Green wasn't even half good.

I read fifty five pages of this book before setting it aside. There were a lot of issues with this book, first and foremost I simply wasn't a fan of Sally Green's writing technique. It felt awkward and gave the impression that the author was simply just stumbling along. My other issue was with the characters, they never felt fully developed, they were lifeless and just laying there on the page ... 

I am disappointed that I felt this way as I was rather eager to read this book, it sounded so promising. I may have continued on with it except that I saw that the reviews and ratings for the second book, "Half Wild", are even more dismaying then the ones for this one. If I hate this one, I can't even imagine how my feelings would be on the second one. Better to just not waste anymore time on it. 

Half Bad you are dead to me.

My Rating: 5 Stars - Did not finish

Newest Addition To My Barnes and Noble Leather Bound Editions

I have not browsed the collectible leather bound editions on the Barnes and Noble website for quite some time now so imagine my glee when I saw that they have released a few more editions since then and now.

I bought this one

I was originally thinking about purchasing the five book paperback boxed set of the "A Wrinkle in Time" series by Madeleine L'Engle which was the same price as this gorgeous leather bound edition. Granted that there are five books in the series and this edition only contains the first three books in that series, but those are the three books that I really desire to own anyway. As soon as I saw this edition I was so glad that I had waited on making that purchase. This is a beautiful dark leather with blue and yellow embossing, gold gilded pages, and a blue silk bookmark. No illustrations, but very pretty chapter headers. This edition contains "A Wrinkle in Time", "The Wind in the Door", and "A Swiftly Tilting Planet".

You can get your own copy by following this link: Barnes and Noble Leather Bound Edition

Book Review of "Matched" by Ally Condie

The society runs your life, from the little things like what you wear and eat to the big things like who you marry and when you die.

Matching takes place at the age of seventeen when officials collect data from their database to match you with your most compatible partner whom you will then marry at the age of twenty one.

Cassia is thrilled when she is matched with Xander, her childhood companion, but soon begins to second guess the society when she sees not only Xander's face appear on screen but also another childhood acquaintance, Ky after the screen has faded to black. The society tells her that it was a glitch, but Cassia can't help but doubt the societies infallibility ... if they are wrong about the matching then what else might they be wrong about?

This book was predictable, the relationship felt forced and unrealistic, but it was a okay read overall. I didn't find myself caring for any of the characters other then Cassia's grandfather, who quite honestly felt like the best developed character in the entire book despite his small part in it.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Book Review of "Monsters of Men" by Patrick Ness

"Monsters of Men" by Patrick Ness, the final book to the "Chaos Walking" trilogy.

Having finished this trilogy just moments ago I am left feeling stunned. Patrick Ness takes you on a roller coaster ride of feelings that leaves you feeling exhausted and emotional. These books are both intense and deep in all the best ways possible. I don't know if this will be considered as a spoiler but Patrick Ness knows how to make you care about a character before taking that character away from you ... it makes for a very nerve wracking read and more then once I found myself uttering "No, no, no, no, no!" under my breath. This trilogy has earned a rightful place on my favorites category, and it will stay with me. A excellent read and one that I would highly recommend.

My Rating: 5 Stars

August 2015 Shelfie

As you can see my bookshelves are filling in a little more as time goes by. I do not however have the shelves organized to my satisfaction. Every time that I purchase more books the shelves require being re-organized, and some shelves just look ... awkward. The middle bookcase is for the most part left as it is, only the bottom shelf is not entirely satisfactory. The bookcase on the right is satisfactory except for the fourth shelf, second to the bottom. This is currently my 'odd height' books and it doesn't exactly look neat and orderly. And the third bookcase, the bookcase on the far left ... this is my odds and ends bookcase at the moment. This is where the "It doesn't fit in with any of my other books" books go ... the perfectionist in me is screaming inside.

Now that you guys saw that all too real scary side of me ...

It will get there ... I will make all the books match if it kills me!

Barnes and Noble Book Unboxing/Haul August 2015

Here we are, one week into the month of August and I have a book unboxing/haul to show you guys. This is actually almost equally one parts Barnes and Noble and one parts Book Outlet. I will specify. I didn't think think that I would be able to feature my book haul today as one package from Barnes and Noble did not arrive until literally a hour ago. I had one order from Book Outlet that I received about five days ago, and then this order from Barnes and Noble that was split up into two separate boxes, one package I received yesterday and the other one was just delivered today. The first books of August.

Without farther ado let's begin this book haul!

This is from my Barnes and Noble order. The "Chaos Walking" trilogy by Patrick Ness, paperback editions. I just read the first two books in the trilogy, "The Knife of Never Letting Go" and "The Ask and The Answer", and I am now currently reading "Monsters of Men". I had checked out all three of these books from the library and I knew upon reading the first one that this was a trilogy that I wanted to own. All five star books, which is a really rare rating for me. You can't tell from the picture but "The Knife of Never Letting Go" and "The Ask and The Answer" were damaged upon arrival, the pages are badly ripped and crinkled. The box itself was in good condition so the books must of been shipped out in that condition ... I was very disappointed. Barnes and Noble has been contacted about this issue and they have promised to replace them for no additional charge.

I also received a replacement copy of "The Archived" that I had previously received damaged.

This is also from my Barnes and Noble order. "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness, hardcover edition, and "The Young Elites" by Marie Lu, hardcover edition. I have already read "A Monster Calls" but "The Young Elites" I have not. It sounds really good though. This is the same author of "Legends" which is on my TBR for the month of August.

And this is my Book Outlet order. I wasn't really expecting to place a order with Book Outlet but one of the books on my wish list popped up and things just happened ... and that book was "The Boy who Drew Monsters" by Keith Donohue, hardcover edition. I read this book already and I really enjoyed it ... the creep factor is excellent. And if you are buying one book you might as well buy more ... am I right? Book Outlet had books two and three in "The Infernal Devices" trilogy for very reasonable prices, and as these were books that I have been wanting to read for a while now so I decided to just add them to my cart. Book two is "Clockwork Prince" paperback edition, and book three is "Clockwork Princess" hardcover edition by Cassandra Clare. Now I just have the issue of not having the first book ... So I really didn't solve any issues, did I? I did not like Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series because of a dilemma that disgusted me, but I did hear that this trilogy is a lot better and so I wanted to give it a chance.

Favorite Chapter Headers

I actually went through a lot of the books on my bookshelves in order to showcase some of my favorite chapter headers of some of the books that I own in my personal home library.

1. First up are the chapter headers from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Each chapter has its own personal illustration, and the illustrations are just so perfect for these books.

2. "Bird Box" by Josh Malerman. Each chapter header is illustrated with this gorgeous tree branching out. Gorgeous and yet oddly creepy in a way which is so fitting for this book.

3. The entire "Fairyland" series by Catherynne M. Valente. Each chapter is not only illustrated with these whimsical illustrations but also gives a very brief synopsis of that chapters contents. I love it.

4. These are the chapter headers for the books in "The 5th Wave" trilogy by Rick Yancey. Enough said.

5. The chapter headers for the books in "The Grisha" trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. These are stunning.

6. The chapter headers for the books in the "Throne of Glass" series by Sarah J. Maas.

7. And this, this is the chapter headers for "A Darker Shade of Magic" by V.E. Schwab. Wow ...

I didn't include any of my Barnes and Noble collectible leather bound editions which all have gorgeous illustrations throughout.

Aren't these just drop dead gorgeous though?! It is like a little reward for each chapter that you finish and start. Yeah, I'm weird.

Book Review of "The Ask and The Answer" by Patrick Ness

"The Ask and The Answer" by Patrick Ness is the second book in the "Chaos Walking" trilogy.

Wow ...

As powerful as the first book in the trilogy was the second book went even farther in the excellence category. These books are dark, emotional, intense, and pretty much address any evil and wrong doings that man has ever done. The pace is exhausting, the action never really ceasing from start to finish.

A little forewarning, Patrick Ness seems to take pleasure in leaving his books at a cliffhanger, so if you pick up the first book in this trilogy you may just want to make sure that you have book two and three on hand as well.

My Rating: 5 Stars

Book Review of "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

"The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness is the first book in the "Chaos Walking" trilogy.

In Prentisstown woman are absence, claimed to have perished by the same virus that caused all of the men, and even animals, to hear each others thoughts and even see memories. The constant noise of this ability is enough to drive anyone mad. Prentisstown is not set on earth but rather on another planet, a planet with two moons. The settlers of Prentisstown were the first pioneers in search of a new world to escape the suffocating, fouled earth, and the evils of man. There was a alien race inhabiting this new planet which the settlers termed the 'spackle', and our young narrator has been told that the spackle did not intend to share their planet with the human race, so in a effort to terminate them they released the virus that caused the death of all female humans, created this odd ability in the men and animals, and started the war between the two races that claimed so many lives.

Todd Hewitt is our narrator and is on the verge of his thirteenth birthday, the birthday that will mark his adulthood and make him a man. He is the last boy in Prentisstown, having been the last baby born before all of the female residents experienced a premature death. His only friend being his dog, Manchee. Because of being able to hear thoughts Todd is able to communicate with Manchee using this process. Todd is told that his mother passed due to the spackle virus, and his father died while fighting in the war. Todd is raised by his parents two friends, Ben and Cillian who raised him like a son.

So close to Todd's birthday, Ben and Cillian make the difficult decision to send Todd away. He is in danger although they cannot tell him why. In a town where everyone can hear your thoughts he would be in worse danger by knowing more then that. Todd and Manchee are pursued by the town when trying to make their escape, and Todd finds that trying to hide from his pursuers is nearly impossible when they can hear his every thought. His noise continues to give him away, although their noise also gives them away.

Todd comes to realize that something horrible has taken place in Prentisstown, and somehow he is involved whether he wants to be or not.

What really happened to the women in Prentisstown? What lays on the other side of the swamp? Why is he being pursued?

I had a difficult time with this book when I first started to read it. Due to its unorthodox use of grammer and various fonts and forms evident in speech I had to adjust for the first few chapters before I was able to fully immerse myself in the book. The use of the English language was poorly portrayed in this book, with intentional misspelling errors. At first I felt as if this dumbed down the book, but I soon felt otherwise as I saw what Patrick Ness intended when going forward with this procedure. Todd is illiterate, and as he is our narrator in the book we see things through his eyes. Patrick Ness is a very talented writer, and some flowery pose comes through in this book but he also manages to pull off a masterpiece using a very casual form of language.

I loved this book. I wasn't expecting to love it, much less enjoy it as much as I did. Such a beautiful, beautiful book. Trilling, exciting, heart wrenching, shocking, and just overall excelling in excellence.

My Rating: 5 Stars

Books I Won't Read. Ever

This tag is books I won't read, ever. Never, ever, ever. I will never read them.

1. "The Perks of being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. This book is huge over in the Goodreads and Booktube community. I just can't see myself ever reading this book, it holds no interest over me. In fact I typically avoid books like this one, it is just not for me plain and simple.










2. The "Hush, Hush" series by Becca Fitzpatrick. This book is also very popular in the Goodreads and Booktube community, however it is also harshly criticized. So although it may be a genre that I would find myself more likely to read I have both read and heard some thoughts and reviews on this series that leads me to believe that I am better off to just avoid it altogether. Sounds like a repeat of the "Twilight" series by Stephanie Meyer, which I read by the way but will never read again due to the poor writing skills on the authors part.




3. The "Vampire Academy" series by Richelle Mead. Again, this is a very popular series in the Goodreads and Booktube community. I like this genre, but can I just say that this book not only looks bloody awful but sounds bloody awful as well? It is basically a romance novel from what I have gathered on it. "Twilight"  anyone?






4. "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James. Need I explain what this book is, or why I refuse to read it? I think that I can pretty much sum it up by saying that I don't read smut. I especially don't read badly written smut.








5. Not just "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green, but any and all books written by John Green. All of his books are hugely popular in the Goodreads and Booktube communities ... and I just don't have any desire or interest in reading any of his books.









6. "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. Once again, a very popular book in the Goodreads and Booktube community. I have absolutely no interest in reading it.









7. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews. This seems to be the book that everyone is currently talking about. I just can't sum up the interest to ever read this book. I don't read a lot of contemporary books. It's not really a genre that I seek out.

August TBR | 2015

Hey guys, this is a list of the books that I will have on my TBR for the month of August.

First are the books that I currently have on loan from the library.



The "Chaos Walking" trilogy by Patrick Ness. "The Knife of Never Letting Go", "The Ask and the Answer", and "Monsters of Men".












"Matched" by Ally Condi.











"Half Bad" by Sally Green.










"Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell.









I would also like to finish some uncompleted series:




"The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan.
Last book in the Percy Jackson series.










"Fairest" by Marissa Meyer.
Prequel in the Lunar Chronicles.








And if possible I would also like to start some series:





"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas











"Legend" by Marie Lu











"The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken.