December 2015 Book Haul

I got a total of 39 books this month...it's safe to say that next year will be the Year of Reading from my Shelf and Not Buying. Thanks to my amazing family, and the always wonderful Book Outlet!

I got:

Non-fiction

1. Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton (Hardcover)
2. Hubble's Universe: Greatest Discoveries and Latest Images by Terence Dickinson (Hardcover)

Adult:

1. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Paperback)
2. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (Mass market paperback)
3. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander #6 - Mass market paperback)
4. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander #7 - Mass market paperback)
5. Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover (Hopeless #2 - Paperback)
6. Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover (Hopeless #2.5 - Paperback)
7. The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern (Paperback)
8. P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern (Paperback)
9. How to Fall in Love by Cecelia Ahern (Paperback)
10. The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern (Hardcover)
11. Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire #2 - Paperback)
12. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (Paperback)
13. The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie (Paperback)
14. Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon (Paperback)
15. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglass Adams (Hardcover)
16. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglass Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide #2 - Hardcover)
17. Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglass Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide #3 - Hardcover)
18. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglass Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide #4 - Hardcover)
19. Mostly Harmless by Douglass Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide #5 - Hardcover)
20. Find You in the Dark by A. Meredith Walters (Paperback)
21. Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodman (Hardcover)
22. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (Hardcover)
23. The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabaldon (Hardcover)
24. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (Hardcover)

Young adult:

1. Sekret by Lindsay Smith (Paperback)
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: The Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling (Hardcover)
3. Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake (Goddess War #2 - Hardcover)
4. Cracked by K.M. Walton (Hardcover)
5. Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth (Hardcover)
6. The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (Hardcover)
7. My True Love Gave to Me by A collection of authors (Hardcover)
8. Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Hardcover)
9. Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms #2 - Paperback)
10. Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms #3 - Hardcover)
11. The Anatomy of Dreams by Chloe Benjamin (Paperback)
12. Nothing by Janne Teller (Paperback)
13. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (Hardcover)

I had such a wonderful year in books, and in my life. Here's to an even better 2016, with amazing friends, family, and more and more books!

Top Ten Tuesday (6): Favourite Books of 2015

I read a total of 50 books this year, which isn't my best by a long shot, so here's hoping to reading a lot more next year!
The quantity this year may be small, but the quality was amazing. Making this list was really hard! Every single one of these books was a five-star book for me, and I highly recommend every single one.

 

My top 10 books of 2015 are:

 

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander and it's sequel, Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon were very easily my favourite books of 2015. The world building was absolutely amazing, the characters were very well developed, and I loved every second of both of them. I have reviews of Outlander here and Dragonfly in Amber here if you want to read more of my thoughts.

     2. Vicious by V.E. Schwab


I had never read anything by V.E. Schwab before I read Vicious, and I was amazed by it. I read the entire book in one sitting, and I couldn't put it down. The characters in Vicious were some of my all-time favourite characters ever, and the character development was the best I have ever read. It's worth reading for just the characters alone!

     3. Armada by Ernest Cline


I have always loved science-fiction books, and when I saw Armada I had to pick it up. I was surprised by how similar it was to Ender's Game, but also by how different it was. I have a full review here if you want to read more of my thoughts!

     4. The Martian by AndyWeir

I read The Martian in preparation for the movie with the same title that came out in October, and I was not disappointed. The book was fantastic, and had me laughing one second and on the end of my seat the next. I loved the science aspect of the book, and how all of the science and math was thoroughly explained in it. I have a book to movie review here for any of you who want to hear more of my thoughts on the adaptation.

     5. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell


I have always loved magic, and Harry Potter was one of the first series I read when I was just starting to read. It was the first series that I remember reading and falling in love with and still loving to this day, so when I saw how much Carry On was compared to Harry Potter, I knew I needed to read it. The characters were witty and lovable, with just enough frustrating aspects to keep it enjoyable. The world was very similar to Harry Potter, but not enough that you will feel like it is copying. The story line was absolutely amazing, and Carry On is one of my new all-time favourite books. I have a full review here for Carry On.


     6. Landline by Rainbow Rowell

I read Landline right after I finished Carry On, and it was not as good, but still fantastic (kinda has to be to make it onto this list though). It made me feel so many emotions for the characters (mostly frustration and sadness), but I also feel that there was just enough of those emotions as to not scare the reader away, but enough that only those who can deal with such strong, painful emotions can read this book. It is an amazing book, but only for those who can deal with extremely strong, painful moments.

     7. Looking for Alaska by John Green

I tried to read Looking for Alaska a couple of years ago, and I hated it. I tried to read it again earlier this year, and I absolutely loved every single second of it. I read it at a good time in my life, and was able to understand a few of the aspects in the book, which made it more enjoyable. I feel like LFA is one of those books that needs to be read at a certain time in your life, otherwise you won't enjoy it as much, a I didn't. Overall, I loved the characters and the plot of the book, and it is one of my favourite books as of the end of this year.

     8. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie


One of my good friends introduced me to Agatha Christie a year ago, and I have loved every book of hers I have read. I have always love mysteries, but I am quite picky with the ones I like. I had never tried one of her books before, this being the first one I had read, and it did not disappoint. I read the whole book in one sitting, and have continued reading as many of her books as I can get my hands on. I usually am able to solve who the perpetrator of a crime is, but I wasn't able to, even at the end of this book. I loved the characters, the clues, the mystery. The whole story keeps you on your toes, and the characters and clues keep you guessing the whole time. If you want to read an Agatha Christie book, I would suggest starting with And Then There Were None.


     9. Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton

Ever since I got an instagram account, I have always been in love with Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York page. I love his photography style, and the stories that are in his book. I own both of his photography books, Humans of New York and Humans of New York: Stories, and I love both of them. His style is unique, and I love how he photographs the people who he interviews. There is so much time and love put into his work, and being a lover of photography and a (slight) photographer myself in my free time, I adore seeing how he uses his space and lighting in his photographs. I highly recommend his books to anyone and everyone who loves non-fiction books, and photography. I highly recommend his instagram account as well, which you can find and follow here.

    10. The Universe Versus Alex Woods


My good friends got me The Universe Versus Alex Woods for my birthday this year, and I was intrigued by the storyline. It seemed very different, and I hadn't read anything like it before. I picked it up almost as soon as she gave it to me, and I loved it. I found the characters slightly confusing and odd at times, but that makes sense with the story itself. The story was full of heart-break and very large decisions, but I also found it full of love and fondness for the other people in the main character's life. It was amazing how much a character can grow, and how circumstances can really affect what happens to us in life. Who knows, you may get hit by a meteorite while you're lying on the front lawn tomorrow..


Here's to many more books in 2016!

Review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Carry On

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Genre: Fantasy (Young Adult)

Pages: 522 (Hardcover)

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication date: October 6th, 2015


Synopsis from Carry On's Goodreads page




Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.
That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.
Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.


I absolutely LOVED this book. Every single page, cover to cover. Every word, every sentence.
All of Rainbow Rowell's books are always so well thought out, so well planned and so well written that it astounds me.
Her characters are absolutely amazing. Each and every character is so well thought out that they seem so real, with their own stories, lives, and backgrounds. Each and every character is extremely different, with conflicting and completely opposite personalities. Her characters have so much depth and so much, well, character, that it just makes the story so much more real.
Her plot line was also unbelievable. Carry On is meant to be like Harry Potter, and I will admit that you probably really need to read Harry Potter first in order to have a feeling of the amount of difficulties and problems that the characters in Carry On have been through, but even though it was so similar to Harry Potter, it was still really good. It was similar, but it wasn't too similar to seem like it was ripping off Harry Potter, or that it wasn't it's own story. The things that happen to the characters are Rainbow Rowell's own ideas, and they are very different.
The school...it was amazing how well it was described and how much detail was put into the book. As I was reading Carry On, I had a perfect picture of it in my head, and it was amazing. I felt like it was a perfect picture of it, and that it fit so well with the characters. It felt like they belonged there just as much as Harry belonged at Hogwarts.
I'm sad that this was meant to be a stand alone, and how it is supposed to be like the seventh and final book in a series. I honestly don't think that Rainbow Rowell could make another book take place after Carry On, because it felt like an ending to a story. Sadly, that story had barely begun before it abruptly ended. I really, really hope that maybe one day we will get the first six books in this series, or even just one more book, that takes place before or after Carry On. (I'm not being very picky about this - anything in this world would be wonderful).
Overall - ★★★★★

December 2015 TBR

December already. This year has gone by so fast, and I still have quite a bit of reading to do!


I plan on reading:

1. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
2. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
3. Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid
4. The Movement of Stars by Amy Brill
5. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I'm hoping that I can read 9 books this month, so that I can achieve my reading goal of 55 books for this year. I've read 9 books in a month before, but this Christmas is going to be even more chaotic than usual, and I really enjoy being able to spend time with my family and friends over the break and to go out and spend time outside when there is snow on the ground, so we will see what happens!

November 2015 Wrap Up

I read a total of 5 books this month, which isn't too bad in my opinion.


I read:

• ★★★★☆ Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
• ★★★.5☆☆ 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
• ★★☆☆☆ The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• ★★★★.5☆ The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher
• ★★★★★ You Are Here by Chris Hadfield

The first book I read this month was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Since Carry On came out, I told myself that I NEEDED to read Fangirl this month, and am I glad I did. It was cute, funny, flirty, and real. Being a grade 12 student this year, and since I am going to be going to post-secondary next year, I've found myself really wanting to read more college-based stories. I loved how Fangirl was just enough realism and fiction; how everything lined up perfectly, but not too perfectly. I absolutely loved it, and I highly recommend it! I have a full review under the review section of my blog if you wanted to hear more of my thoughts.

The second book I read this month was 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith. I really enjoyed the quirkiness of the characters, and I loved how the story was so outlandish and seemingly random, but how in the end everything lined up perfectly and made sense with the things you read about earlier in the story. I wasn't a massive fan of some of the characters, because they seemed so unrealistic to me, but I loved others. Overall, not a bad book, and I will definitely be reading Winger to see how Andrew Smith writing style changes.

I made a goal for myself, that I would read (at least) one classic a month, in order to minimize my classic TBR pile. This month I chose The Catcher in the Rye, and I wasn't a huge fan of it. I found the main character to be a little overwhelming, and I found that a majority of the book was just him complaining. I am glad that I read it though, because a lot of people have read it, and I can finally say that I have had the chance to read it.

The fourth book I read this month was The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher. It was one of my most anticipated books to read this year, and I was not disappointed. I love how Lucy Christopher develops her characters, how she makes us believe one thing to be completely true about a character that we love (or hate) and then at the very end of the book pull a complete 180 on us and make us feel the exact opposite about that same character, only stronger. I loved the storyline, I loved the setting and the description, I loved everything. But the ending I am only about 98% in love with...I have a full review under the review section in my blog, if you would like to read more about my thoughts on this book!

I also read You Are Here by Chris Hadfield, which is a collection of some of his photography of the Earth from when he was on the International Space Station from December 2012 until May 2013. I love photography, and I adore anything to do with space or astronauts, so I figured this would be a good read for me. (Also meeting him on November 24th also helped to make me want to read it even more). I loved all of the photographs in this book, they were all beautifully stunning, and I loved how they were all so unique. He wanted to be able to have a human touch on them, with different parts of the photographs in focus and at a different angle, and I believe he did an amazing job with them. Every single photo in this book is just breath taking. Chris Hadfield also wrote a bit about each and every photograph in this book, explaining where it was taken, what is in the photo, and a little background information about each photograph, which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you like space, or photography, or just cool things in general, I highly recommend this book for you.

November 2015 Book Haul

I got a fair amount of books this month, with 11 reading books and 1 colouring book (because why not?). I told myself that I was going to pull back on the buying this month but...well, sales happened.


I got:

Young Adult:

1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Hardcover)
2. Half Bad by Sally Green (Hardcover)
3. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (Hardcover)
4. Zac & Mia by A.J. Betts (Paperback)
5. Prophecy by Ellen Oh (Paperback)
6. The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine (Hardcover)

Adult:

1. Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern (Movie edition paperback)
2. Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander #8 - paperback)
3. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (Hardcover)
4. We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket - Hardcover)

Non-fiction

1. You are Here by Chris Hadfield (Hardcover)

Miscellaneous

1. Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford (Paperback colouring book)

Review: The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher

Title: The Killing Woods

Author: Lucy Christopher

Genre: Mystery (Young Adult)

Pages: 384 (Paperback)
Publisher: Chicken House
Publication date: December 30th, 2014


Synopsis from The Killing Woods' Goodreads page


Ashlee Parker is dead, and Emily Shepherd's dad is accused of the crime. A former soldier suffering from PTSD, he emerges from the woods carrying the girl's broken body. "Gone," he says, then retreats into silence.
What really happened that wild night? Emily knows in her bones that her father is innocent -- isn't he? Before he's convicted, she's got to find out the truth. Does Damon Hilary, Ashlee's charismatic boyfriend, have the answers? Or is he only playing games with her -- the kinds of games that can kill?


The fourth book I read this month was The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher. I first read Stolen: A Letter to my Captor by Lucy Christopher 3 years ago because of a recommendation from one of my best friends, and I have read it many, many more times since. When I found out that Lucy Christopher had another book coming out, I was ecstatic. (Except I waiting for almost a year before reading it...)
I loved everything about this book, from the setting to the plot and the character, all the way to how the book was written. It was written beautifully, and I will no doubt be reading it again and again.
The plot of the book was very intriguing, with a dead teenage girl, and her classmate's father the supposed killer. The synopsis reeled me in and made me wonder who had killed poor Ashlee, and why.
The setting of the book was also amazing, with it being in a small army town in the British wilderness, with a massive forest right on the edge of town. Having the story take place by something like a forest in England really allows for weeks and months to pass quickly in a short book, just by describing what is happening in those woods. Having the trees go from a pleasant green to bright autumn colours to a dark, dead wood in winter also really helps for suspense to build, and to help the book climax. (A wood also creates a very dark, secluded place that is perfect for a murder to take place).
The characters in this book were all also very well written, as all of Lucy Christopher's characters are. No matter how small a character is, or how slight their time is in the story, each and every character develops in their own way, and each character shows the reader who they are in such a short amount of time. Each character in the story also has their own bits of personality and quirkiness that allows them to each have different emotions and feelings about each thing that happens in the story, at each at varying strengths. What is completely insignificant to one character could change how another character views themselves, or how they view those around them.
Lucy Christopher has done an amazing job with this book, and I am amazed at how much she kept me guessing until the very end. I pride myself on being able to solve mysteries due to the amount of mystery novels and Sherlock books I read (and the amount of Sherlock I watch) and I could not figure out who the culprit was until the very end of the book, almost right before it was revealed. I applaud Lucy Christopher for her amazing writing skills, and I realllllly hope that she will write another book, preferably a mystery, very soon.
Overall - ★★★★.5☆

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Genre: Contemporary (young adult)

Pages: 433 (Hardcover)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication date: September 10th, 2013

Synopsis from Fangirl's Goodreads page


Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...
But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?
Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?


I really enjoyed this book. Why has it taken me so long to be able to say that? Well...because this is the first time that I've read it. *hides face behind hands*
I read Eleanor & Park over a year ago, and I absolutely loved it. I loved everything, the characters, the plot, the writing style, everything. So I went and picked up Fangirl, expecting to read it very soon. And then a month passed. And another, and another. Pretty soon, it became a year, and I still hadn't read it. I finally sat down and told myself I was going to read it this month, and it was amazing. I loved the writing style (obviously - who doesn't love Rainbow Rowell's writing?) the characters, the plot, the storyline, the fanfiction - you name it, I loved it.
Fangirl is a very cute, realistic contemporary. It has very sweet, loving moments, and very stress-filled, difficult moments. It follows a teenage girl in college, and I am so glad that Rainbow kept not only the cute boy and falling in love elements, but also the finals stress, the difficulties of doing everything and how stressful life, and school, can be.
Fangirl was written in a very beautiful style. All of Rainbow's books are. They're sweet and funny and cute and just filled with so many lovable characters, that I would do anything to be able to just jump into one and stay there forever.
Overall - ★★★★☆

November 2015 TBR

Since last month I strayed far...far away from my October TBR, I decided to make a smaller one for this month, so hopefully by doing that I can read what I want to read, and I can get out of this reading slump I'm in.

I plan on reading:

1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
2. 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
3. The Odyssey by Homer
4. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

I'm hoping that I can start to slowly pick up writing again this month, or at least try to. I also have a lot of travelling around to tour universities for next fall, so I'm hoping I can get a lot of reading done on those long drives. Have a great month everyone, and happy reading, writing, and NaNoWriMo!

October 2015 Wrap-Up

Hey all! So this month, I read a total of...four books. This month was just INSANE for tests and assignments for me, coupled with a horrible, painful reading slump, so not much reading was done.


I read:

• ★★★.5☆☆ The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• ★★★☆☆ Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• ★★★★☆ Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell
• ★★★★☆ Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

The first book I read was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It wasn't on my original TBR for the month, but I found it on my shelf and saw the illustrations in it, and I decided to give it a go. I throughoutly enjoyed the beginning of the book, but at one point I had to force myself to get through it since I found some parts were a little repetitive. After a little while though, I was back to really enjoying it and I managed to finish it in one last sitting. I enjoyed the story, but I really liked the characters, and the illustrations were absolutely amazing. I  wish there were more illustrations in the book!

The second book I read was Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I read it for my school book club, and I can see why a lot of people enjoy the book, but I honestly was not a massive fan of it. I personally found the characters to have no development throughout the book, and I found the story very slow, even though it is a very short book. I'm glad to be able to say that I've read it, but I will probably never be reading it again.

The third book I read was Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores. I'd heard of it before, and I found it in my local library to I decided to give it a go. I sat down and read the whole book in about twenty-five minutes, and I enjoyed it. I laughed out loud quite a few times, and I had the same reaction that the booksellers were having in the book. I enjoyed the short, quick read and I recommend it to anyone who works in retail or customer service, whether you like books or not.

I also read Through the Woods the same night I read Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores, and I really enjoyed it. I've never been a massive fan of graphic novels, but the few that I've read this year I really enjoyed. This book was creepy and dark, and a perfect Halloween read. The illustrations were amazing and they told the story perfectly. The book is composed of five short stories, and I really enjoyed all of them. They were easy reads, and the illustrations really helped to tell the stories.

October 2015 Book Haul

So, this month I got a total of just three books. I wanted to try and read more books than I bought this month, which was successful...but I only managed to read four books. The books I got this month are:

Young adult:

1. The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

Adult:

1. You by Caroline Kepnes
2. Marley & Me by John Grogan

The next few months I will most likely to be buying a lot more than three books, so I'm glad that I was able to cut it down this month, because it helps me catch up on my massive TBR pile.

Top Ten Tuesday (5): Fictional Crushes

It's been awhile since I've done a Top Ten Tuesday, but school for me has just been absolutely insane. So, I thought I would try a light, (relatively) easy post for this week to ease me back into it!
This Tuesday I thought I would tell you all about my top ten fictional crushes, so here we are, in no particular order.

1. Jace Wayland from The Mortal Instruments
2. Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs from The Infernal Devices
3. Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars
4. Akiva from Daughter of Smoke and Bone
5. James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser from Outlander
6. Malyen Oretsev and The Darkling from Shadow and Bone
7. Sam from Shiver
8. Cas Lowood from Anna Dressed in Blood
9. Noah Shaw from Mara Dyer
10. Warner from Shatter Me

Review: The Martian - Book to Movie Adaptation

This is a little something different for me, but a lot of people requested it so I figured I would give it a go!

I really, really enjoyed The Martian by Andy Weir when I read it back in July of this year. I gave it a 5/5 star rating, and I absolutely loved it, so I was extremely excited when I found out I was able to see The Martian for its opening weekend. I had superbly high hopes for the movie because of how much I loved the book, and I am so glad that I can say that I wasn't disappointed.


I'm going to start by saying that the movie and the book are both very different from each other, and that I'm not going to lie and say that they're the exact same. Some aspects of the movie were different from the book, and they left quite a bit out of the movie, but they stayed true to the story and that is all that really matters in my opinion.


Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—& a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him? (Synopsis from Goodreads).


I'm going to start with the basics of a movie - casting. Personally, I really liked the casting. A few characters were nothing like I had originally pictured them while I was reading the book, but I actually liked the casting of the people in the movie much better then what I had imagined. I found all of the acting to be very believable, and every actor/actress pulled me in and made me believe what they were saying.


I LOVED the setting of the movie. I am a science and space nerd, and seeing how realistic the surface of Mars was, and how detailed every square inch of the red planet was, the space nerd in me just loved every second of it. As well as the setting, the wardrobe was all very well designed. They were a lot different then what I had imagined (which was more of a space suit then what they had in the movie), but I really enjoyed being able to imagine all of the different scientific discoveries that we had made in order for us to be able to design and create the suits that they had over the time period between present day and the future, when The Martian takes place.


The plot, like I said in the above paragraphs, was very similar to that of the book, but there were a few differences. Thankfully there was nothing major missing, but there was a few scenes in the book that I really loved, and I was disappointed when they didn't make the cut into the movie. I understand that the movie was already 2 hours and 22 minutes as it was, and with even more details and scenes the movie could have been upwards of 4 hours, but that would have just made the movie even better. In the book, each and every obstacle that Mark Watney faces is something that makes him want to quit and give up, but instead we see him constantly pushing himself to come up with an idea to fix and solve the problem. Each obstacle helps Watney largely develop as a character, and I feel that by having more obstacles, and more parts of the book in the movie, it would just make it more believable and the viewers would be able to connect with him even more than without them.


Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. I loved how they kept all of the characters very defined, with each characters having their own personality, from disco music to Watney's sense of humor. I really liked the casting, the setting, and the wardrobe, as well as how they decided to film and create the movie. I recommend seeing the movie after reading the book, as there are a lot of details that you miss out on while watching it, but you don't need to read the book at all to enjoy the movie. I loved it, and I will most likely see it again while it's still in theatres!

October 2015 TBR

Hello everyone! This month seems to be a lot more hectic than I had originally planned for, but I really want to get a lot of reading done this month, especially over the long Thanksgiving weekend I have this coming up weekend!

I plan on reading:

• Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke (Between #1 - reread)
• Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke (Between #2)
• Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (Masque of the Red Death #1)
• Dance of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (Masque of the Red Death #2)
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I have already read The Graveyard Book, and I am currently reading Lord of the Flies for my school Book Club, but I also want to read at least three of these other books. Specifically the Between duology by April Genevieve Tucholke, and Dracula. Hopefully I can read all these books, but I guess we'll see what happens this month!

September 2015 Wrap Up

Hey all, it's my favourite time of the month, the end! It's usually more stressful for school, but I absolutely love the feeling of a new start, and I love seeing all the books everyone got, and read, over the course of the month! This month, I read a total of 6 books, which I think is really good considering school started for me this month.

• Say You Will by Eric Walters ★★★.5☆☆
• Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider ★★★★.5☆
• Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo ★★★☆☆
• Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★.5☆
• Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★☆
• Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★★

Say You Will by Eric Walters was a bit of an impulse buy last month, being signed and being an Eric Walters book. I read a lot of his books when I was younger, and I wanted a nice quick contemporary read. Overall, it was a very cute, contemporary read. It is only 192 pages, with a larger font, so I was able to read it in one short sitting. It is known as a young adult book, but it seemed like it was for a younger age group then I had originally anticipated. I just had my prom this past school year, so I was able to connect with a few of the characters due to the stress from prom, but that's as far as I really was able to connect with the characters. It was a very cute read, and I will most likely read it again in the future when I need a pick-me up or if I just want a very short read to get me out of a slump.

I went into Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider with very high hopes, as I had read her other book, The Beginning of Everything, in 2013. And boy, were those high hopes reached. I was able to connect with so many of the characters, and I loved each and every one of them. It was beautifully written, and the plot was so compelling and grabbing, I read it in just two sittings. I have a full review under the review page of my blog, so check that out if you want more information!

I read Love and Other Perishable Items because it had been sitting on my shelf for over a year, and I needed a short book to get me ready for my Shadow and Bone trilogy buddy read with my lovely friend Yeldah (@beautiful.bibliophile on Instagram) It was an alright book, but I expected much more from it. I felt that a lot of the story was being dragged on and that even though it is a short book to begin with, it could have been even shorter in length. I laughed at a few points, and it does have a few good humour aspects to it, but I couldn't really connect with the characters.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo was definitely the best book I have read this month (thus far anyways). It was the first fantasy book I have read in a few weeks, and I have really been missing my fantasy reads.

Shadow and Bone takes place in a very different world, where some people are born with powers and are called Grisha. They are seen by some as saints, and others as witches. The story follows a young Alina, as she discovers that she is actually Grisha, and her massive change in her life and what must happen to her, and what she must do, with her newfound powers. This book was beautifully written, the characters were all witty and lovable, and the world was absolutely to die for. I have a full review up on the review page of my blog if you want more info!

Siege and Storm wasn't quite as good as Shadow and Bone was for me. There was a lot more world building in the first one (which is to be expected when it's the first book in a fantasy trilogy) and I felt like this book was supposed to be a lot more about character development, which I didn't see as much of as I would have liked. Other than that, I loved the twists and turns the characters were forced to deal with, and the writing style was just as beautiful as the first one. Definitely worth reading this series!

I also read the final book in The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising. And just, wow. This book had me sitting there with it in my hands for the longest time after I had finished reading it. It was the ending I had wanted, plus a lot more that I just loved. There was the right amount of closure, and everything worked out perfectly, in my opinion. I would really really love more about these characters, and I really hope that Leigh Bardugo will write more about them (*hint hint wink wink*) and soon. It was an amazing final book, and I will definitely be re-reading this trilogy many, many more times.

September 2015 Book Haul

This month I realllllly tried to, well, haul it back for my book haul. I got so many more books then I had originally thought I had gotten in August, so I wanted to focus more on reading and school this month, and less on buying, and I think I did a really good job! In total I bought four books in September, and three were given to me.

Non-fiction:

1. An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield (paperback)

Young adult:

1. Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid (hardcover)

Adult:

1. This is How You Die by a collection of authors (Machine of Death #2 - paperback)
2. The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen (hardcover)
3. Dead Man's Grip by Peter James (mass market paperback)
4. The Summer That Never Was by Peter Robinson (two in one book with below)
5. Cold is the Grave by Peter Robinson (mass market paperback)

I am super excited to read Never Always Sometimes, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, and This is How You Die. They all look so amazing, hopefully I can get to some of them over my Thanksgiving weekend break!

Top Ten Tuesday (4): Authors I Need More From

Hey all! This week I was looking through the books on my bookshelf, and I realized that I have a lot of single books and single series by one author, but no more from that same author, even though I loved them! So, this week is going to be the top ten authors I NEED to read more from!

Only one book

     1. Ernest Cline
             I read Armada over the summer, and it was one of the best books I've read this year. I've had Ready Player One on my TBR list for well...a long time. And I ended up reading Armada first, and it only made me want to read it even more. I feel like I'm just saving it because I don't think he has any other books out, and I really really love his writing.


     2. Andy Weir

             I also read The Martian over the summer, in anticipation of the movie coming out in October (where I live, anyways) and I really enjoyed it. I powered through the book in less than 24 hours, actually. On Goodreads I saw a lot of new books under his profile, but none of them have been guaranteed yet, so hopefully soon I can have another of his books in my hands!

     3. V. E. Schwab

            Vicious was absolutely AMAZING. I loved every single page of it, and read it in one sitting. I've been meaning to get A Darker Shade of Magic since it came out, but being a teenager and wanting a book that is $20+...yeah. Hopefully I will get it soon!

     4. Lucy Christopher
            Stolen was my favourite book about three or four years ago, and I actually used it for English projects, which says a lot when you have to look at every aspect of a book for hours a day, and still love it. I've had The Killing Woods on my shelf for a couple months, and I really need to get around to reading it soon! Next month, hopefully.


     5. Holly Black
            I read The Coldest Girl in Coldtown this year, and I really enjoyed it. I'm not as much into the whole vampire thing as I once was, but if I was able to love a vampire book that much, I'm looking forward to reading her other books! I really want to get to The Darkest Part of the Forest by the end of this year.


Only one series

     6. Christopher Paolini

            When I was in elementary school, my favourite series was the Eragon series. I remember getting Eldest for Christmas one year, and going out and buying my first copy of Eragon, where I proceeded to sit down in the middle of the floor in the book store and read the first few chapters. He hasn't released or mentioned any new books since the last one in the series, Inheritance, came out in 2011, but I've had my fingers crossed since then, and will continue to hope he writes some more!

     7. Laini Taylor

            The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy is my favourite trilogy ever, so that shows how much I love Laini Taylor. I believe she has a few middle grade novels out, and some short stories in collections with other authors, but I really hope she will write more about the amazing Karou, or at least some more in Eretz.

     8. Kendare Blake

            In ninth grade, on the first day of school, a girl I had just met at the school newspaper meeting recommended Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake to me, and I loved it. That girl has since become one of my best friends, and that book always fills me with so much joy when I read it. But it doesn't just have good memories to it, it is written so beautifully and is absolutely amazing. I have Antigoddess sitting on my shelf, but I just haven't had the chance to sit down and read it yet. Hopefully soon!

     9. Alison Goodman
            I absolutely loved her Eon duology, so much so that I have read them quite a few times now, and have some parts memorized. The writing style is so unique and just beautifully written. Alison Goodman has a few other books out, and I really want to pick them up so that I can read them and (hopefully) love them!


    10. Maria V. Snyder
            I read Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study trilogy over a couple of days, and it was amazing. I loved the whole idea of the story, and I thought that I had never read anything like it. I know she has  another trilogy out, and maybe a few more books as well, and I hope to get to them soon!

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1)

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Fantasy (young adult)

Pages: 372 (paperback)
Publisher: Square Fish
Publication date: May 7th, 2013


Synopsis from Shadow and Bone's Goodreads page


Alina Starkov doesn't expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, she is sure of only one thing: her best friend, Mal--and her inconvenient crush on him. Until the day their army regiment enters the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. When their convoy is attacked and Mal is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power not even she knew existed.
Ripped from everything she knows, Alina is taken to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. With Alina's extraordinary power in his arsenal, he believes they can finally destory the Fold. Now Alina must find a way to master her untamed gift and somehow fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. As the threat to the kingdom mounts and her dangerous attraction to the Darkling grows, Alina will uncover a secret that could tear her heart--and her country--in two.


I have had this book on my shelf for about a year and a half, and I had been meaning to read it since the day I got it, but instead...I was stupid in not reading this sooner than the year and a half I have now had it.
I really, really enjoyed this book. There is a map (always a GREAT sign when you open a new fantasy novel) that is beautifully detailed, and a list of the hierarchy of the Grisha, which really helped when you first start getting into the book and the world. It is a very engaging, attention grabbing book, to say the least. It gets a strong hold of you from the very beginning and has you tangled up by the second chapter, needing more.
Shadow and Bone was an amazing read, from the characters themselves to the world to the powers of the Grisha, everything was superbly well thought out and written. I loved the characters and the writing, but I wasn't such a massive fan of how Alina grew as a character as the book progressed.
I found Alina very whiney and kind of childish at one point of the book, which I can understand after everything that had happened (and keeps happening) to her, but I feel that she could have at least tried to find solace in something. She ends up being in a grumpy, aggravated and distraught mood at one point in the book, and the mood carries on through the rest of the book. Many of the characters become annoyed with her, and instead of apologizing or trying to explain herself, she ends up just standing there in shock and not doing anything, choosing to wait for the other person to come to her first when she was the one who instigated the problem in the first place.
I did find the book very fast-paced, and therefore I found that I needed to check the map and the hierarchy included in the front of the book quite often, but that is to be expected for a relatively short, fast-paced fantasy read.
Other than the character development of Alina, I throughoutly enjoyed the book. Leigh Bardugo has a very powerful voice through her words, and her world is just magnificent. The book just leaves you crying for more throughout the entire thing, and as soon as you turn the last page you need the next one. It was a very easy read, having read it in less than two days and currently finishing up the second book in the series as I write this.
The world was wonderful, the powers mystical, the characters witty and enjoyable, and the writing was absolutely fantastic. An amazing book, and I don't want the trilogy to ever end!
Overall - ★★★★.5☆

Top Ten Tuesday (3): Reads of 2015

Hi everyone! I can't believe this is the third top ten Tuesday I've done for you...it feels kind of insane! It feels like just yesterday I started up my blog and my instagram, and it's been over a month already

This week, I've decided to do the top ten books I have loved reading this year, so enjoy!

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and Dragonfly In Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon
2. Armada by Ernest Cline
3. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
4. The Martian by Andy Weir
5. Looking for Alaska by John Green
6. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
7. Rooms by Lauren Oliver
8. The Walled City by Ryan Graudin
9. Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
10. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Not all of these books were 5 stars, but every one of them was absolutely amazing and I loved every single one of them. My top adult book was obviously Outlander, and my top young adult book was Looking for Alaska by John Green. It was so good, I will probably end up re-reading it before the end of the year!
Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Review: Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

Title: Extraordinary Means

Author: Robyn Schneider

Genre: Contemporary (young adult)

Pages: 324 (paperback)

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication date: May 26th, 2015

Synopsis from Extraordinary Means' Goodreads page


At seventeen, overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals, where it's easier to fail breakfast than it is to flunk French.
There, Lane encounters a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds his whole life. And as he gradually becomes one of them, Sadie shows him their secrets: how to steal internet, how to sneak into town, and how to disable the med sensors they must wear at all times.
But there are consequences to having secrets, particularly at Latham House. And as Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love and their group begins to fall sicker, their insular world threatens to come crashing down.


This book was such a wonderful thing to sit down and read. I absolutely loved Robyn Schneider's The Beginning of Everything, and it was one of my favourite reads of 2013. So when I learned that she was releasing another book this year, I was ecstatic. And man, was I not disappointed.
Extraordinary Means is a very sad book. It deals with tuberculosis, teenager angst, and heavy material. I was expecting to cry and be upset while reading it, and I didn't know if I would be able to connect to any of the characters because I can't even begin to understand what it would be like to have TB and be placed in a sanatorium because of it.
What I didn't expect was that the teenagers were just like every other teenager in the world; they just wanted to fit in, they just wanted to make friends, make memories, and live a life full of adventure. Now, that I can connect with. Each and every character had something about them that was extremely easy to relate to. Photography, music, art, reading, school, stress, a relationship. Every single one of them was well thought out and, well, just like every other teenager in the world. They just want to be normal, be happy. But it isn't as simple as that.
Being a normal teenager isn't possible. The definition of normal is conforming to the standard or the common type. But "normal" in one place is different from another. It's normal to wear parkas in the Yukon, and bikinis in Florida. If you switched them around, well.
At Latham, it's normal for everyone to have TB. That's why they're all there in the first place. But for everyone outside of Latham, it's extremely un-normal. They're considered the freaks, the abnormalities. They have nurses checking up on them all the time, and they go to the doctor at least once a month. That's their normal. So, of course who wouldn't want to sneak out and go into town for Starbucks? Who wouldn't want to wear fancy dresses and ties to pyjama movie night? The characters in Extraordinary Means are abnormal for those in Latham, but they're living the normal that they've had their whole lives. Their normal is similar to everyone outside of Latham, but slightly parallel. Sneaking around with alcohol, watching movies on a school night, fighting for Internet connection. But also needing to pass breakfast, wear permanent med sensors on their wrists, and living in the middle of the woods at a summer camp...year round.
Robyn made the characters quirky, but a quirky that was connectable with. She made the setting just like the summer camps that we all went to, or that we had heard about from our friends. She made every single thing, down to stress from school and the question of where to sit on your first day at a new school just like every other day for a normal teenager. Except that they were in a sanatorium for kids with TB, and that's where the story comes from.
It was an amazing book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of John Green's books, love stories, or contemporary books.
Overall - ★★★★.5☆

Top Ten Tuesday, Fall Edition (2): Fall TBR List

This Tuesday, since it is now the second Tuesday of September and fall is quickly approaching, I decided to share with you my top ten young adult books at the top of my fall TBR list!

1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha trilogy, #1)
2. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha trilogy, #2)
3. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha trilogy, #3)
4. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
5. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
6. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke (reread - Between #1)
7. Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke (Between #2)
8. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
9. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
10. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

We'll need to see if I end up reading all of these books this fall, because it's a lot of first books in series. I may end up starting one series and seeing it all the way through instead of starting a bunch of individual series, but who knows? There's nothing I love better than curling up by the fireplace, or just under a blanket with hot chocolate and a good book. Have a lovely fall!