Mid-Year Book Update

I saw this tag on https://btbpd.wordpress.com/category/booktube-tags/ so I figured I'd give it a go! They got the idea from https://nutfreenerd.com/2014/08/08/mid-year-book-freakout/

1.  What's the best book you've read so far in 2016?

          It was a reread, but my favourite book was definitely The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. I absolutely LOVE her books, and I have read The Raven Boys multiple times and love it more every time I read it. I have a full review of it here.

2.  The best sequel you've read so far in 2016?

          I have only read two sequels this year, and since one of them was in The Raven Cycle (and I've already gushed about it) I have to say it would be Prodigy by Marie Lu. I loved the entire trilogy, and I fell in love with the characters so much throughout the trilogy I was sad it was over so fast. I'm definitely going to be rereading this trilogy soon.

3.  What's a new release you haven't read yet but want to?

          Ruined by Amy Tintera. It just came out this past May, and I`m so excited to get my hands on it and read it. I love her Reboot duology, and I`ve been waiting for her to write another book ever since.

4.  What new release for the second half of the year are you most anticipating?

          Tales from The Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare. The physical copy is coming out in November, and I have been waiting for it for so long, and I'm forced to wait a bit longer. I'll be buying it as soon as it comes out and reading it the day I get my hands on it.

5.  Your biggest book disappointment so far?

          Nothing by Janne Teller. I was so excited to read it because I thought it was such a good idea, but I ultimately ended up not being a massive fan of it. I found some parts to be shocking and a bit disgusting as well. I have a full review of it here.

6.  Your biggest surprise?

          We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates. I had to read it for school in order to write a report on it, and I was amazed at how good it was. It's definitely a new favourite and I'm going to be rereading it and reading many other books by her as well. I have a full review of this book here.

7.  Favourite new author (debut or just new to you)?

          Marie Lu. I read her Legend trilogy earlier in the year, and I`m addicted to her writing now. I can't wait to read her Young Elites series!

8.  A book that made you cry this year?

          Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler. I found so many parts of it so insanely sad, but I also loved it so much. I think it would be a great book to read during a break up, to try and get through certain things.

9.  Favourite book-to-film adaptation you saw this year?

          I actually haven't seen any book-to-film adaptations yet this year. But I will be reading and then seeing Me Before You very soon, and I am very excited for it!

10. What book do you need to read by the end of the year?

          I NEED to read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas by the end of this year. I`ve been putting it off for so long and all of my friends have been trying to force me to read it. Hopefully I`ll get to it by the end of the summer!

A to Z Bookish Survey

This tag was created by Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner. I've done a few tags now, and I'm really starting to love doing them! This one is called the A to Z Bookish Survey tag.

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Author you’ve read the most books from:

Cassandra Clare! I think I've read almost every single book she has published, multiple times. I'm a die hard Cassey Clare fan, and I always have been.

Best Sequel Ever:

I'm only going to count the sequels in a duology, because I have too many favourite sequels. Either Eona by Alison Goodman or The Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake, they were both absolutely amazing and I loved every second of both of them.

Currently Reading:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Drink of Choice While Reading:
Either water or  lemonade, or hot chocolate if I want something hot.

E-reader or Physical Book?
Physical book, always. I've never owned an e-reader or anything like that, I just love the feel of the pages in my hands too much.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

Gansey from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. No doubt there at all.

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. It had been sitting on my shelf for the longest time, and the trilogy is my all time favourite trilogy ever. (Beside The Infernal Devices, of course).

Hidden Gem Book:

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates. I had to read this last month for an essay for class, and it was an amazing book!

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

When I started by bookstagram and my book blog last year, they really changed who I was as a reader and who I was as a person. Making them made me even more enthusiastic about reading and writing, and they helped me to meet so many more people than I could have without them.

Just Finished:

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black (and I loved it!)

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:
Anything with a lot of romance or a very adulty-type romance. I like lighthearted, YA much better than steamy.

Longest Book You’ve Read:
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, at 947 pages.

Major book hangover because of:
Looking for Alaska by John Green. It was such an amazing book the first time I read it, that all I wanted to do was re-read it.

Number of Bookcases You Own:
5, with boxes in my closet, as well as stacks everywhere throughout my room.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, it's a book that can always get me out of a bad slump.

Preferred Place To Read:

My bean bag chair, my dad's armchair, the couch, or my bed. Pretty much anywhere I can, but I prefer the comfiest places.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

"Live in the present, remember the past, and fear not the future, for it doesn't exist and never shall. There is only now." -Christopher Paolini, Eldest. This series was one of the series that really got me into reading and into writing, and it always helps me to try and believe in myself when I need to.

Reading Regret:
Not getting into more classics when I was younger. I've been collecting them for so long, and I've barely read any of them.

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):
I still need to read The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater to finish the series. Also, I just have to read the final book in the Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:
I'm keeping Harry Potter out of this, because obviously it's one of my all time favourite books, ever.

1. TID and TMI by Cassandra Clare (I just can't pick, I love them all too much!)

2. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

3. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

Cassandra Clare anything. Movies, books, fandom stuff. If Cassandra Clare writes 3000 books in the Shadowhunter world, I will read all of them. Multiple times.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. Ever since I finished the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy I've needed MORE from her. I'll read anything she writes. I'll read her grocery lists.

Worst Bookish Habit:

Buying more and more and more and...more books before I have even put a dent in my TBR pile.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

Just One Day by Gayle Forman.

Your latest book purchase:

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black and Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. I read that book super late into the night, and I regret nothing.

Places I Get Books!

Something that I have always been extremely passionate about are books. I've always loved the feel of a book in my hands, and I have therefore never been one for ereaders or apps on my phone. I just can't get away from the paper in my hand, and the joy of being able to have bookshelves upon bookshelves of books to choose from...I'm not the only one, right?!?

(Disclaimer) I have not been paid or asked by any of these places to endorse them, I just love them all and I want more people to buy books. These are just my favourite places to go for me to get books.

One of my favourite places to go to to buy books is definitely Chapters. I live in Canada, and that is the most popular bookstore here. Chapters, Indigo and Coles are all one company, but each store has a different feel to them. Coles is the smaller ones, inside of malls and other places, Indigo is more focused on design and their house decorations and style, and Chapters has more books than both of them. Chapters is very homey, and they always have a massive selection of books. Chapters is a regular book store, so a lot of the books are full price. I always go there for any new releases that I want, and they also have a lot of awesome sales going on that are always awesome to check out. (Their top best selling books are usually 40% off!! Like what??) And their discount/bargain section is always, ALWAYS worth checking out. I usually can find one or two gems in there every single time I go.

I also get a lot of my books from Book Outlet. They're an online website and also a warehouse located in St. Catharines, and their prices are insane! (Check them out here to see what I mean! bookoutlet.ca ) They always have such cheap books, and twice a year they have a massive sale. Over March break they have a box sale, where you go in and they give you a large box, and you fill it with as many books as you can for $30 CA! Which is insane and very dangerous...I easily get $1000 plus every year worth of books. Also on boxing day every year, they have everything in their store at 50% off of their already insanely cheap prices, which is amazing. A lot of their books are not really new, but they have an awesome selection, and they are getting newer and newer books.

The library is also an amazing place for me to get books, especially if I'm not 100% sure if I'll really like it. I go to the library a lot to just look around, do some homework, and to just de-stress. The library is a great place to go to for books if you're on a budget, don't have a lot of room for a lot of books, or just need a place to relax and study!

The last place I go to for books are local bookstores. They usually don't have a lot of the new releases I want, but some of them have a really good selection and it's always very important to check out local stores and support them, otherwise there will be less and less places to go to for books in the future.


I hope this helped some of you guys in any way!