T5W: Gift Wrapped

 There is no gift I enjoy more than a good book, especially if it was someone's favorite book. Butttttttttt, I am far from perfect at reading said books. in fact, I have some on my TBR that have taken me a hot minute to get around to or still haven't gotten around to. 

1. The City of Brass

I've heard so many good things about this trilogy and I do truly want to read it a lot but for some reason I just haven't picked it up yet. I either received this book for Christmas last year or the year before and it is now towards the top of my list for to reads next year. 

2. Nevernight

I am pretty sure I received this the same Christmas as I received The City of Brass and the same thing applies here.

 

3. The Name of the Wind

I got this for my Birthday in 2017 and even though I really wanted to read it, its daunting size made me keep procrastinating it. I finally read it the end of last year and, of course, I loved it. I have also since read The Wise Man's Fear and The Slow Regard of Silent Things, which I also really enjoyed. 

4. Throne of Glass

I recieved this book for Christmas in probably 2016 and I only just read it the beginning of this year. Not my proudest moment. I will say, I gave this book a solid 4 stars and wish I had gotten to it years ago. 'Regerts'

5. Ready Player One

This was a gift I recieved from an ex in 2017, and only just read it last year. I am terrible. Again though, I loved this book and wish I had gotten to it sooner. 

T5W: No Thanks

 Characters in unthankful situations.

1. Harry Potter (The Whole War Thing)

All the wizards (and arguably muggles) are having a rough time, fearing for their lives, fighting it out against he who shall not be named. Though not all of them have the same pressures on them quite like the chosen one does.

2. Game of Thrones (The Whole War Thing)

Like Harry Potter the characters in this story all find themselves in situations that are far from preferable. No one is safe, people are dropping like flies, everyone is related...

3. Red Rising (The Crazy School Thing)

Literally thousands of gold youths study and fight to be chosen to go to a school that is every level of f*cked. Also, this book is amazing and I highly recommend you picking it up.

4. The Maze Runner (The Unescapable Maze Thing)

Imagine being stuck in a situation in which you are living in a small compound surrounded by tall walls in the middle of a large maze with no memory of yourself before getting there. Your goal, to run the maze all day, making it back before nightfall of course, in an attempt to make a map that helps you gtfo. I don't know about you, but I would be very disgruntled, to say the least.  

5. The Lord of the Rings (The Whole Ring and Evil Eye Thing)

Poor Frodo was given an evil ring and basically forced to embark on a journey far into enemy territory in order to destroy it and Sam had to put up with his sh*t the whole time. I will say though, if I were in their situation, I probably would have died before I even made it to the Prancing Pony. 

T5W: Topaz

 This weeks topic was originally supposed to be Latin Lit, where we discuss Latin authors characters and the like. But, since I wouldn't come up with a list that followed the guide lines I am going to use the alternative topic. Topaz, this one is all about books that have covers similar to the color of Topaz. 

1. Fangirl Manga Vol. 1 - I have no idea how many of these they are going to make but I have a feeling it is going to kill me slowly inside waiting for the other volumes. 

2. Attachments - An adorable office romance. As someone who is dating someone they met in the office, this story brings up so many emotions and pretty darn cute. Pretty much exactly what you expect from Rainbow Rowell.

3. Dark Age - RED RISING IS AMAZING. (Though everything after the initial trilogy is not nearly as good as the original three)

4. Uprooted - I am a sucker for a retelling. This is the only thing I have read from this author but some of her other work is on my list of books to read. If you have any loved retellings please let me know, I am in the market for some more. 

5. The Name of the Wind - I both love this duology and am disappointed with it all at the same time. Story aside, I can't get over how great this looks on a bookshelf.

T5W: Non-Fiction November

This weeks topic was all about non-fiction that I really enjoyed and would recommend to others. I usually only read autobiographies about funny comedians and you will see below but there are actually a few here that I learned a lot from. Also, as always, let me know in the comments if you have any non-fiction recommendations, I have been trying to broaden my horizons and get more into the genre. 

1. Girl Logic: The Genius and the Absurdity

“Hard work and intention often go unnoticed. All people see is what you don't do or what they think you should be doing better.”

2. Yes, Please

“However, if you do start crying in an argument and someone asks why, you can always say, "I'm just crying because of how wrong you are.”

3. Scrappy Little Nobody

“Oh my god, I just made out with Legolas!' Again, I’m not going to name that actor, as I wish to respect his privacy”

4. The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus

“To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.”

“You can’t fight off Ebola the way you fight off a cold. Ebola does in ten days what it takes AIDS ten years to accomplish.”

5. When Asia was the World

I wasn't sure what quote to pull from this. This is a fascinating book that takes place from 700AD to 1500AD and talks about everything from the spice trade on the silk road to the apothecaries who exchanged medicine, discussing all sorts of travel from China to the Middle East, sharing knowledge, culture and so much else.

P.S. Happy Veterans day to all those who serve and have served. 

T5W: Read in Translation

 I am going to start by saying that I have no idea if this post is 100% accurate, I literally just googled, "what language was ____ written in?" to figure it out so if I am wrong....sorry. Also, I am very curious what books you have read that were translations of the original, comment down below if you participate in T5W so I can check out your lists. 

1. Inkheart (German)

I read this back in like 8th or 9th grade and I remember being pretty bored through it. But, in the decade since I feel like my tastes have changed and that I may actually enjoy this now if I pick it up, I am just scared to be wrong *awkward laugh* If you have picked this book up please let me know what you think, I am so indecisive.

2. The Little Prince (French)

I picked up this lovely little story a few years back when Netflix released a short of it I really wanted to watch but refused to do so until I had finally read the story....I still haven't seen the short.

3. Persepolis (French)

This was one of those books I had to read in one of my High School English classes and I am so happy that they made me pick it up. It is such a good story but I know that I would probably have never picked it up if I hadn't had to.

4. The Alchemist (Portuguese)

This book was both incredibly beautiful and incredibly frustrating all at the same time. I 100% recommend the read. Just do it, it's short so you have no excuse not to.

5. The Witcher Series (Polish)

Such a good series but I felt like it lost me a little towards the end. I binged the whole series (8 books I think) in like a month and a half and while I don't regret it, I wasn't completely happy with the outcome. It is so hard to talk about without giving anything away. I will give him props though for creating characters I actually cared about and a very rich world.

T5W: Spoopy Times

I usually say I am not one for spooky reads of any kind, no horror or anything like that but while going through all the books I have read I realized that I have been really into more than I realized. It was really hard for me to condense my favorite into only 5 books so I decided to choose my top 5 spooky reads that I feel like are severely underrated. 

1. The Dark Days Club

London, 1812, demons are trying to infiltrate society at every level. While this book is part of a series I felt pretty content having had only read book one, thus far. There is a lot of dark and creepy things and a girl coming into her own as she realizes demons actually exist and you can't even tell them apart from the rest of us. Let the war begin. 

2. The Man in the Picture

Most people know Susan Hill as the renowned author of the Woman in Black, but I know her more for this wonderful gem. It's a very short read, I believe less than 200 pages, but for something so short it has the same spooky aspects as her other horror stories. This is all about a man with an eerie painting of the Venice Carnival that has the ability to entrap life. 

3. Crane

This is an Ichabad Crane retelling that takes place from the perspectives of both him and his ancestor Ireland Crane and their fight with the curse of the Horseman. I mean, to me, that's enough said, this is a series that also brings in retellings of other old horror tales and creatures.

4. The Girl with all the Gifts 

A story of a young zombie girl who has intelligence seeking out the answers to this apocalyptic outbreak. 10/10 recommend. Also, there is a movie based on this book that is on Netflix though I have no idea if it is any good or even anything like the book itself. 

5. All the Beautiful People

Another zombie tail. This one is a classic about a pharmaceutical company releasing a drug to help bring those with depression's inner self into the light and instead causes them to become uber violent, blood thirsty creature. This was one of those random books I got for super cheap on my kindle and I don't regret it for an instance. This is one of those random, not well know stories that I fell like more people need to give a chance. 

If you participate in T5W or just have some spoopy reads, or show, suggestions please let me know! I am trying to broaden my horizons. 

T5W: Books that Took the Longest to Finish

 Sometimes books take forever because of the length, sometimes it is because you hit a reading slump and in many occasions, at least for me, it is because I am forcing myself to stick out a book that I am just not that into. I really, REALLY do not like writing negative reviews about books, I know that everyone has their own drastically different tastes and that authors put a lot of work into what they put out there but no book can ever cater to the tastes of every person that reads it. Because of this, some books, many of which are parts of series I actually enjoyed, are just a chore to get through for me. So here, I present to you some of said books. I tried to list books that I don't often or have ever talked about here.

1. A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2)

This book felt like it went on forever. I really enjoyed book three so I am happy that a forced myself to finish the second one in the series but it was so hard to get through since some of the perspectives annoyed the crap out of me to read, though that is mostly because I didn't enjoy reading from the pov of characters that I really didn't like. 

2. The Ghosts of Heaven

"Four linked stories boldly chronicle madness, obsession and creation though the ages."* Sounds like it would be a pretty awesome set of stories right?  Unfortunately they bored the living daylights out of me. I continued to read it because every story I came across, if I didn't like it, I figured I could power through and the next one would be better. Sadly, that didn't happen, but I spent MANY a nights trudging through it.

3. Life As We Knew It

Life as we knew it....I just....maybe I don't get it? From what I have seen this book (and the whole series?) is actually pretty popular but man, I felt like their search for normalcy dragged on into the mundane and after the initial few chapters it just got too tedious to enjoy. I read this book years and years ago but I remember it taking me well over a month to read because it took so much for me to finish it. 

4. The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2)

For an author I enjoy and a story line that brought me a lot of joy, book two in the Percy series was a fine example of "the boring second book". I mean, is it just me or the second book in a lot of series the worst one? I know its usually because the book is meant to be a filler book to add detail to the story and the world but man....killin' me. 

5. Way of Shadows

Okay, lets be a bit more positive when it comes to long books. This book took me over a month to read, and its not even that long. I tried reading about two years ago and couldn't get passed like the first thirty pages. This year I restarted it and actually finished it but it was like trying to walk through a tar pit, a tar pit that I enjoyed but tar nonetheless. I have no idea what it was about this book but no matter how much I enjoyed parts of this story it was just really rough to finish and for that reason alone I do not intend on ever finishing the series. 

If you have participated in T5W for this topic or have strong opinions about any of these book please leave them down below!

*Goodreads synopsis

T5W: Fairly Local

 I don't live in a big city like NY or Paris, and a lot of what I read is fantasy that takes place in make believe land so I tried to pull some choices that drew from different genres and places across the US. Enjoy. 

1. Geekerella

Taking place in Charleston, SC, Elle lives with her Stepmother and Stepsisters. Geekerella is definitely not the most unique or anything but it was such an adorable read and I loved all the nods to so many fandoms intertwined into the one the story revolves around.

2. My Calamity Jane

This book will draw you into 1876 America with gunslingers and the wild wild west, oh, and garou. This is a an old timey, old fashioned werewolf hunt with a real life hero-eene as the lead character. Such a fun read. 

3. Ready Player One

Taking place in a few places within 2044 America and the VR world the OASIS. This is another fun read full of fandoms and action, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has nerdy adventurous side.

4. Dread Nation

Taking place in Baltimore around the time of the Civil War. But the war between the states is derailed when the dead start rising from the battlefields from which they died. I am usually not the biggest fan of Zombie stories but I have to admit that this was a one of the best Zombie stories I have ever read. 

5. Where the Crawdads Sing

Taking place on the North Carolina coast, this story follows the life of the "Marsh Girl". To be completely honest, I am not really in love with this book, other than the end, but I know that it is loved by so many others so I am going to throw it in here. While I won't straight up suggest the book I will encourage those that are interested in it to to give it a chance. 

T5W: TL:DR

 Don't lie, there is a movie or show adaption of a book that you have watched but not read. We all want to denial this blasphemes act buttttt I am as guilty as anybody to having had done this. In fact, for one of my all time favorite book trilogies, LOTR, I watched the movies countless times before I finally picked up the books. But for the sake of staying on topic, lets talk about all those adaptions I have seen but have yet to even pick up the book. 

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Okay okay, hear me out. I watched these movies back when they were being released and, to be honest, I wasn't really a reader back in those days. and now that I have read every other book in the series I can bring myself to finish the series. I know I will cry my eyes out for so much of it and I have yet to mentally brace myself for it. 

2. It

I am honestly too freaked out by the movie to read the book, also, its sooooooo long.

3. Jurassic Park

This on is actually a book I want to read! I picked up a Michael Crichton book for the first time last year and ever since I have actually wanted to read this one as well but just haven't picked it up yet. 

4. Eragon

I have watched this movie more times than I care to admit and I have probably been told the same amount if not more times how much better the book is than the movie. The reason I have yet to pick this one up is because for some reason everytime I go to the book store and pick it up I just can't bring myself to buy it. Maybe once I burn through the last few physically unread books on my bookshelf I will pick this up and love the whole series. Side note, I am really digging both the book cover and the movie poster for this one.

5. The Princess Bride

This is one of my favorite cult classic movies, I still quote it to this day. In fact, when I was younger and got my tonsils taken out instead of a bear my mom bought my a stuffed giant rat from the movie. Maybe one day I will pick the book up but as of right now I actually have no interest in reading the book. Let me know if you thing it is really worth the read though. 

There are obviously a fair few more adaptions I have yet to read the book for but these are probably the ones that have the biggest followings. Comment below if there are any adaptions that you have seen but have yet to read the book for or if there are some the the book isn't even worth the time!

T5W: Villains Need Love Too

As always Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at gingerreadslainey and is hosted by Sam at thoughtsontomes. All past topics and the rest of this months topics can be found on the Goodreads group page.

I feel like it's been a hot second since I've posted anything...well...I suppose that's kind of true. (my November Wrap-Up is going to be where I talk about why I went MIA for like 2/3 weeks) Anyways, this weeks T5W is all about your favorite villains, and since we can all fill a list with just Harry Potter characters, I'm going to try my hardest to avoid them. Let's Go!

The Aiden from the Illuminae Files 

Let's be real now, Aiden is basically the best non-"living" villain to ever bless us with his presence. Love. Love. Love.

Dorothy from Dorothy Must Die 

Basically every pissed off drunk girl to ever wear a slutty Dorothy come to life in a fictional Dorothy villain. 

Joffrey in A Game of Thrones

*SPOILERS* We all loves watching him die, let's be honest. He was like evil incarnate, a demon spawn living inside a vicious "prince". 

Every Character in Vicious 

Every character in this book was just so real. I believe that this is what might actually happen if super power were a thing.

Everything from Ghostly Echoes 

So many villains spring up in this third installment of the Jackaby series and I love how evil and crazy each and everyone one of them are, especially since it's such an intricate story line.