Hi, there world travelers and fellow book slayers! I’m here with a wrap-up post for June, maybe a bit late but it’s here nonetheless. June was a great month for me. My summer vacation from University started, I got all As on my assignments, I went to Gran Canaria with my mom, I saw Arctic Monkeys live, and lastly, I read lots of books. In June I read 12 books which feels like a personal record of some sort. I talked about what I read during my vacation in my blog post Books I Read in Gran Canaria. However, I got more read during the month than the books I mentioned in that post so I thought I’d list them all here together with my ratings of them.
Tag: buy books
Six Bookish Confessions
Every reader and book collector is different, just as we are all different people. However, communities tend to be united in their ways or at least have a certain pattern to things. A lot of the stuff we do, we do without giving it a second thought, but sometimes if you really think about it, you realize you do certain things differently from the majority. Or so you think. That’s why I thought I’d confess to a few bookish things I do that I don’t think the majority of the book community does. But maybe I’m wrong, if I am, I’d love to hear it!
I hereby confess to the fact that…
- I buy books with my eyes on the price, everything else is secondary. When buying books I’m all about the cash and that’s just the way it is. I’m a student, I live at home and I can’t buy all the new hardcover books every month. So my tactic is to buy books during sales (Amazon kindle deals please and thank you) and to mostly buy paperback books, which I actually prefer. For international readers, such as myself, I have come to realize that when buying a physical book there are few stores with as good prices as The Book Depository. You looking for a book? That’s where you should go first. The way I usually go about buying books is that I look up the books I’m dying to read and those with reasonable prices (reasonable is different from person to person) I buy.
- I really like paperbacks better than hardbacks. This is partly because of price, which has been discussed above, but it’s also because I just prefer that format. I hate that with hardback books the cover isn’t attached to the book. It makes the book harder to read (do I take the dust jacket off or do I leave it on seriously) and I think it’s easier to accidentally hurt a dust jacket than it is to hurt a paperback.
- When reading I often prioritize shorter books over longer ones. This confession I’m almost ashamed of but I honestly don’t know how not to do it. I think it has something to do with me being stressed a lot but finishing a book during a short period of time just feels better which is why I tend to lean towards picking shorter books. Do I never read long books then? Of course, I do, I read after what the story is about but I love short books. Maybe it’s a bit weird, but that’s just how I am.
- The act of rating books is one I have not yet mastered. Rating books? How do you even do that? For the majority of my life I have rated almost all books five stars because if they made me fangirl a bit I loved them, and if I loved them they were getting five stars. I have evolved a bit from that, but I do think that rating a book is the hardest thing ever. Four stars (cake slices in my case) doesn’t necessarily mean the same for one book as it does for the other. However, I like to rate books, it gives me direction but in the end, my thoughts will tell you what you need to know about what I thought about a book.
- I act all cool around authors on social media but in reality, I’m fangirling. Why you may ask? Well because their beautiful and magical words have touched my heart and soul, and now they’re talking to me. I know they’re just human, and I’d never think or treat them as anything else but we all have people we look up to and admire. My favorite authors are just that, people who inspire me. So yes, I act cool but honestly, I’m probably smiling like a big goof behind my screen. Also, among my friends, I am known to just get very excited by things, and my favorite authors talking to me is a fabulous thing.
- I buy books secondhand. I know some people buy secondhand and others don’t but honestly, I love it. Unfortunately, I live in Sweden which means that people don’t read that many young adult (and new adult) books in English and even less actually end up in secondhand shops. However, that won’t stop me from searching. A book that has a little history outside of the story itself is pretty cool, at least in my opinion.
That was all of my six book related confessions, I bet a few of these are pretty common even if people don’t talk about them much, or am I wrong? I’d love to know what you guys think about my confessions.
What bookish things do you do that you’re unsure about whether others do as well? Do you have anything to confess?
Top Ten Tuesday #2 REWIND Top Ten Books I HAD to Buy but Still Have Not Read
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. If you want to read more about their blog feature and join the fun, you can do it here.
This week the theme of Top Ten Tuesday is REWIND meaning we should back and do a topic we missed over the years, or recently, or a topic we really want to revisit. Considering this is only my second week of doing Top Ten Tuesday this fit me like a T. I looked at all their previous topics and found one that fit me just perfectly, Top Ten Books I HAD to Buy but Still Have Not Read. For those who don’t know me, I’m a serial e-book buyer. I’m on Amazon all the time and am always searching for good books for a good price (this also inspired me to start my blog feature Freebie Friday). This has left me with a lot of books in my kindle library and also a few in my physical library that I’ve still not read. So here are ten books I had to buy but still haven’t read,
1. I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter.
2. Flat Out Love by Jessica Park.
3. The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma.
4. Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate.
5. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.
6. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa.
7. How To Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle.
8. The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi.
9. The Unearthly by Laura Thalassa.
10. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas.
Which books did you just have to buy but still haven’t read? I’m really excited to know so comment with your answer. What theme did you choose this week for Top Ten Tuesday?
Lusting For Cover
I don’t know about you guys, but I have a serious case of cover lust. I go weak at the knees when I see a beautiful book cover and am guilty of buying a book solely because of its book cover. Sometimes it pays off, other times it really doesn’t. Have you guys ever bought a book just because of book cover lust? Which book was it?
A book cover often give me the first impression of a book, so be it good or bad. I know they say don’t judge a book by its cover, which is true, but the cover undoubtedly does give you a first vibe of the whole book. If a book cover is poorly made the book usually needs to have a convincing synopsis and/or a good price in order to convince me to get it. The truth is that cover lust also applies for me when I’m only buying an ebook, the prettier a book is, the more likely I am to want to buy it. Is that sometimes bad? Yes it is. I might miss amazing books because of this mindset, but the one thing I have going for me is that I’m aware of the fact that I do it. Even though the book cover is a big part of my first impression of a book, it does take a seat in the back later on.
Way back I only went on book cover and synopsis when I was about to buy a new book but these days I tend to often go on friends and other amazing blogger’s advice. Especially when I buy a physical copy of a book. I want to know that my money goes to books that are worth it and that I know I’ll like. That doesn’t mean I don’t love it when a book has the most beautiful cover I’ve ever seen.
In the end having cover lust is not a bad thing, I think we all want pretty shiny things. However, what we need to remember is that a book is not its cover. A book is its synopsis and the story it’s trying to tell. If a book has a beautiful cover it’s only an added bonus. An author who has a book cover not as appealing as the next author shouldn’t be punished for that, because the truth is, most authors can’t choose their covers and/or doesn’t have a lot of options to go with. All authors, no matter their book cover, deserve all the love in the world if the story they have written is a good one.
A beautiful book cover can both enhance the beauty of a story and make a story that’s otherwise pretty dull appear more enchanting to the naked eye. I think we like to believe that books with beautiful covers are good, but I think in our hearts we know the stories worth putting our time and energy on, no matter what they look like.
Have you ever bought a book because of cover lust? Did it pay off or was it a complete bust? Let me know in the comments below!
Top Ten Tuesday #1 Top Ten Books I’d Buy Right This Second If …
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. If you want to read more about their blog feature and join the fun, you can do it here.
This week the theme is Ten Books I’d Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed Me A Fully Loaded Gift Card, and when I saw that I just knew I had to participate. I mean imagining which books I’d buy if I received a huge gift card is something I do on a daily basis (I’d say how sad but daydreaming about all the books is amazing I tell you). Making this list was hard, not because I can’t find ten books I’d buy right this second but because there are more than ten books I want to buy. However I did manage to narrow it down and without further ado, here’s my list,
Number 1. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Synopsis:
It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.
Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…
Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?
Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series.
Number 2. The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Synopsis:
One Life to One Dawn.
In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.
Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?
Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.
Number 3. The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall
Synopsis:
A fast-paced international escapade, laced with adrenaline, glamour, and romance–perfect for fans of Ally Carter
Avery West’s newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead.
To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle—beautiful, volatile Stellan and mysterious, magnetic Jack. But as the clues expose a stunning conspiracy that might plunge the world into World War 3, she discovers that both boys are hiding secrets of their own. Now she will have to choose not only between freedom and family–but between the boy who might help her save the world, and the one she’s falling in love with.
Number 4. Under The Lights by Dahlia Adler
Synopsis:
Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents’ wealth, and the occasional modeling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show,Daylight Falls … opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms. (Not that he’s trying to charm her, of course.) Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he’s in the spotlight—on everyone’s terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.
Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents’ disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she’s painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van’s life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she’ll have to choose between the one thing she’s always loved … and the person she never imagined she could.
Number 5. Vendetta by Catherine Doyle
Synopsis:
When it comes to revenge, love is a dangerous complication.With a fierce rivalry raging between two warring families, falling in love is the deadliest thing Sophie could do. An epic debut set outside modern-day Chicago.
When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion in her neighbourhood, Sophie Gracewell’s life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nicoli, Sophie finds herself falling into a criminal underworld governed by powerful families. As the boys’ dark secrets begin to come to light, Sophie is confronted with stinging truths about her own family, too. She must choose between two warring dynasties – the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with. When she does, blood will spill and hearts will break.
Number 6. Even In Paradise by Chelsey Philpot
Synopsis:
When Julia Buchanan enrolls at St. Anne’s at the beginning of junior year, Charlotte Ryder already knows all about the former senator’s daughter. Most people do… or think they do.
Charlotte certainly never expects she’ll be Julia’s friend. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails. And then Charlotte meets, and begins falling for, Julia’s handsome older brother, Sebastian.
But behind her self-assured smiles and toasts to the future, Charlotte soon realizes that Julia is still suffering from a tragedy. A tragedy that the Buchanan family has kept hidden… until now.
Number 7. Some Kind of Perfect by Krista & Becca Ritchie
Synopsis:
Falling in love was just the beginning
The conclusion to the epic ten-book series about the unbreakable strength of family, friendship, and love.
Lily & Lo are back one final time. Childhood best friends and soul mates.
Ryke & Daisy are back one final time. Wild risk-takers and flirty adventurers.
Connor & Rose are back one final time. Genius rivals and intellectual teammates.
Ten years of laughter. Of heartache. And love.
Number 8. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Synopsis:
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Kaz’s crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
Number 9. Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before by Karelia Stetz-Waters
Synopsis:
Shy, intellectual, and living in rural Oregon, Triinu Hoffman just doesn’t fit in. She does her best to hide behind her dyed hair and black wardrobe, but it’s hard to ignore the bullying of Pip Weston and Principal Pinn. It’s even harder to ignore the allure of other girls.
As Triinu tumbles headlong into first love and teenage independence, she realizes that the differences that make her a target are also the differences that can set her free.
With everyone in town taking sides in the battle for equal rights in Oregon, Triinu must stand up for herself, learn what it is to love and have her heart broken, and become her own woman.
Number 10. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
Synopsis:
Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile lands. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire—a dangerous gift for the future queen of a kingdom where magic is forbidden.
Now, Denna must learn the ways of her new home while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria’s formidable warhorses before her coronation—and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine (called Mare), sister of her betrothed.
When a shocking assassination leaves the kingdom reeling, Mare and Denna reluctantly join forces to search for the culprit. As the two work together, each discovers there’s more to the other than she thought. Mare is surprised by Denna’s intelligence and bravery, while Denna is drawn to Mare’s independent streak. Soon their friendship is threatening to blossom into something more.
But with dangerous conflict brewing that makes the alliance more important than ever, acting on their feelings could be deadly. Forced to choose between their duty and their hearts, Mare and Denna must find a way to save their kingdoms—and each other.