Book Blitz: The Boy Who Wields Thunder by Gibson Morales

Stacking the Shelves (43)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Purchased

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

It's All Greek To Me byCharlotte Higgins

Necropolis by Catharine Arnold

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Library

The Lewis Man by Peter May

The Chessmen by Peter May

This haul is kind of mix of different genres - even a mix of non-fiction and fiction. But hey, I'm trying to be more "historian" and read more of my chosen field, as well as broaden my horisont with Peter May's crime novels and Walt Whitman's poems.

Book Blitz + Giveaway: Clean by Mia Kerick

Bookish Goals for 2016

Generally, I don't make new year's resolutions. Haven't made in years. I don't usually even set any goals for myself for the new year. However, I have few bookish goals for 2016, and I'd like to share those with you (and maybe check at the beginning of 2017 if I managed to achieve any of these).

First of all, I want to read at least 60 books.

That's how many I read last year, and how many I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge for this year. I'd like to read even more than that, but you never know how much time university takes. As a history major, I have a lot of reading and studying to do, and it takes time off from reading. But I think sixty books is manageable.

I also want to read more classics.

When I was in high school (almost four years ago, where did the years go?), I wanted to read more classics and more "adult" books. Simply because people didn't put much value in young adult books. I tried to read few, and some I had to read for school. While I found new favourites, such as The Picture of Dorian Gray, most of those books failed to inspire me to actually read more classics. Indeed, I rather stopped reading (not completely, I still read way more fanfiction than anything else). Since then I haven't read any classics (if you don't count re-reading Wuthering Heights). However, I found a passion to read classics, especially classics from Ancient Greece (such as The Iliad, The Odyssey, Sophocles' Plays) at the end of 2015. In 2016, I wish to read The Iliad, some major plays from Ancient Greece, some Shakespeare, more Jane Austen, and more Brontë's sisters books. At least. Let's start with those and see if I'm inspired to read even more classics!

I intend on finishing the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan.

As well as reading Riordan's 2016 releases; The Hidden Oracle, and Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor.

I read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians when I was in high school. But I never continued with the Heroes of Olympus even though I worshiped Riordan's writing. I think it was partly because those weren't narrated by Percy, and because I read the first book of Kane Chronicles and couldn't stand the main characters. So I just didn't continue in fear of it ruining the brilliantness of Percy Jackson. However, in December finally read The Lost Hero, and gosh did I love it! So next year I want to read the rest of that series. I think I'm doing fine as I have already finished The Son of Neptune, and I'm halfway through The Mark of Athena.

My next goal is to go YALC in July, which is held in London.

Yes, I already got tickets, and a hostel booked. Nothing will stop me attending the book event now that I finally have a solid chance going there as I live in UK now. I can't wait to see what's the YALC is like! To meet authors, publishers, bloggers, and everyone. And books.

Lastly, I want to re-read old favourites.

I'm bad at re-reading. It's because I feel bad of re-reading when I have a pile of unread books. This year I want to get rid of that kind of thinking, and if I feel a need to re-read something, I will. I'd like to re-read the first five Harry Potter books, as well as the original Percy Jackson series. Other possible favourites I'd like to visit again are Wuthering Heights, Under the Never Sky, and The Song of Achilles.

That's all of my bookish goals for 2016. Do you have any bookish goals for the next year?

2015 End of Year Reading Survey

Annual book year survey is created by Jamie @ The Perpetual Page-Turner. I'm a bit late of posting this, but heck, there's a ton of hard questions there! So here's a brief (or not) look at my reading and blogging year of 2015.

2015 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 60

Number of Re-Reads: 2

Genre You Read The Most From: Contemporary & Young Adult.

Best In Books

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

I have to cheat a little bit and say a few of my ultimate favourites from different genres. There just was so many fantastic books that became my favourites in 2015 to just name one.

Contemporary: Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Fantasy: Half Wild by Sally Green

Retelling: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Mythology: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Sci-fi; Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough. The blurb and idea sounded so unique and fantastic - I mean, we're talking about Love and Death being personalized, and of them playing eternal game of love and death. However, the main characters were boring, the setting was not intriguing enough, and overall the book just felt flat.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan. I don't know what I expected, but the story blew me away. Especially the narrator choices were very surprising in a very pleasant way. It turned out to be unique reading experience, and yeah, it totally surprised me.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

I'm not sure how many actually read it, but Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is a book I've been pushing to people since I read it in January 2015. Honestly, I'll keep pushing it to people until they will read it!

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?Best series I started: The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan (read The Lost Hero, first in that series)Best sequel: Half Wild by Sally GreenBest series ender: Earth Flight by Janet Edwards (okay, it was published 2014, but this was the only series I actually finished this year - and it totally deserves the title of best series ender in my books.)

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

Naming only one is a crime. I had a great reading year, because I discovered so many new authors to me, which I fell in love with. To name my absolute favourites, I'm going to answer: Madeline Miller, Becky Albertalli, Cordelia Jensen, and Marissa Meyer.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?The Blackhouse by Peter May. Even though I love crime TV shows, I never read contemporary crime books. I don't know why, but I reached out of my comfort zone for The Blackhouse because it takes place in Scotland, and I wanted to read something contemporary that takes place there. I wasn't disappointed, and I'll continue with May's Isle of Lewis series.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan was definitely action-packed - as Riordan's books always are. However, the most unputdownable book of the year for me was The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I simply couldn't put it down because I loved every moment of it - even though there wasn't always thrilling action in it. So in a way, both of the books I mentioned fit perfectly for this question.

9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I feel like repeating myself for bringing this up question after question, but I fell in love with this book. It broke me, and I loved every moment of it. I just know I'll need to read it again soon.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?

It's a tie between The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and Half Wild by Sally Green.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?Wolf from the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. He ate my heart, and I just can't forget him. Also, the name is perfect, and I refuse to call him anything else.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?There were many, but The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is my answer. The legend itself is heartbreaking, and Miller's writing style made it even more heartbreaking and beautiful.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?Boys Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman was most thought-provoking for me. It made me think even more about how male's are treated when it comes to children that are not planned, and how the teenage father's are treated. It just pointed out what I already knew - how with all the talk about female's having a right for their body and to make a decision about abortions and their children leaves out of the opinion of the male's. That in today's world a female can choose an abortion without ever telling the father about existence of the child, or do the abortion even if the father would want to raise the child. The book wasn't about all of that, but it made me think about it even more, especially how everyone treated the main character, as if everything was his fault because he was a boy.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. Why? I was unbelievably stupid when I didn't read this right after the Percy Jackson series finished. Why I waited five years to dive into this? The only positive thing about waiting seems to be that now all the five books have come out, and I can marathon them.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

"We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. We make more than dust. That's all we ask of you. Make more than dust." - David Levithan, Two Boys Kissing

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?Shortest: The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer (18 pages)

Longest: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (551 pages)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Nothing particular, however, I was pretty shocked when my ship actually sailed for a while in Half Wild by Sally Green. Let's just say that I screamed, cried, and celebrated when my ship kissed.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)Nathan and Gabriel from Half Wild by Sally Green. My ship is better sail in the last installment of the series, or I'm going to be really mad.

Also, Patroclus and Achilles from The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Nothing will keep me from loving them for the rest of my life.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

From Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan: the friendship of Magnus, Blitz, and Hearth. It just was so good dynamic. And they were hilarious.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read PreviouslyTwo Boys Kissing by David Levithan. Well, I had only read Will Grayson, Will Grayson from Levithan before but it totally counts even if it was co-written with John Green. I also read Boy Meets Boys from Levithan this year, but Two Boys Kissing was divine and beat everything else I've read from him.

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

I'm not sure if I read anything this year because of peer pressure or solely on a recommendation from someone else. I don't generally read anything without checking it out myself, so if someone recommends a book to me, I read the blurb before deciding. The peer pressure also don't really work on me, because if people try that, I'm most likely to refuse to read it at all. I'm funny like that.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?

WOLF! From the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. He's so perfect because he's not perfect, and I really don't have words how much I love Wolf. He needs all the love. More than that, he needs to be more present in the saga (well, I'm still reading Cress, but there's way too little of Wolf there).

23. Best 2015 debut you read?This is something that should be clear without asking, because I have recommend it to everyone and pressured people to read it. The answer is Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. It's brilliant. Read it!

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

I could say anything by Rick Riordan that I read past year, because he's a master at that. But for a chance, I'm going to say Marissa Meyer's books (I read Cinder, Scarlet, and half of Cress in 2015). The world-building is so vivid, and even though I didn't identify with any characters while reading Cinder, the world-building won me over thousand times.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Without a doubt Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan. Riordan's books are always hilarious, but I laughed out loud so many times while reading Magnus Chase's adventures. It's truly hilarious.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I wept. I wept so much, and I still do if I think about it a lot.

Also, Without Chance by Christopher Bailey. The twist in the end made my cry so much.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Without Chance by Christopher Bailey, definitely. It's so beautifully written, and the story is important and cry worthy. More people should read it!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

I might repeat myself, but The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It's the book of the year that just made me feel everything, and crushed my soul because it was so heartbreaking, beautiful, and brilliant.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen. Mostly unique because it was written in verse, something I have never read before. It was also heartbreaking and beautiful, and it had some aspects that are pretty unique in YA genre.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

The White Cat by Holly Black. I loved the world-building. I loved all but one characters. I loved everything but one of the characters. Sadly, that one character ruined the book for me. The MC's obsession with the character I couldn't like or care less, and the twist in the end just ruined any chances I'd ever continue with the series. I wanted to love the book so much, but in the end I could only give it two stars because of one freaking annoying and horrible character. So yeah, this one made me s mad.

Blogging / Bookish Life

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?

I was a bad blogger and even though I discovered a few new book blogs, I can't or don't want to name anyone over others.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?

It's a tie between my review of Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda and Without Chance.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

Probably a post I made about book dedications.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

Definitely the James Dashner Event in Edinburgh in October. It was the highlight of my year book/reading wise!

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?

Bookish related, must be the event in Edinburgh where I met James Dashner. It was amazing, and one of the best moments I had this year - and truly the best bookish related moment I had in 2015.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Finding time and energy to do it, mostly this was regarding blogging. I had a really busy year when it came to studies, especially after September when I moved to Scotland and started university. So studies took a huge chunk of my time and energy, which meant I had less left for blogging. It was a challenge that I didn't conquer during 2015 so let's hope I get a hang on timing the blogging better next year :)

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

By views: chapter reveal + giveaway of The Dryad of Callaire by Saruuh Kelsey.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Maybe the post about quotes in books.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Is Scotland answer enough? Finland does have some nice bookstores, but let me tell you, they're nothing compared to Waterstones, WHSmith, or those lovely independent, and second-hand bookshops Scotland (and UK) are full of. Also I visited Foyles and Hatchards in London for a first time in 2015, and it was amazing.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I completed the Goodreads Reading Challenge (60 books) and LGBT Reading Challenge (my challenge was to read 10+ LGBT themes books, and I read 17).

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?All of Rick Riordan's books I have not read yet (excluding the Kane Chronicles as I wasn't a fan of the first book of that particular series). Basically this means books two to five in The Heroes of Olympus series, the new Apollon series, the sequel to Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer, and the Percy Jackson and Greek Gods & Heroes books. I was fool for not diving into The Heroes of Olympus series years ago when I finished the Percy Jackson series, but I found that love and passion again for Riordan's books so I'm going to spend much time with his books in 2016.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?There's many I'm anticipating, but Half Lost by Sally Green is my most anticipated one. I need to know what happens to Nathan, and Gabriel, and I need to know whether my ship will sail once again or not.

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I'm so behind looking for 2016 debuts, so sadly I don't have an answer for this question.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?For a series ending, I'm waiting for Half Lost by Sally Green more than anything. For a sequel, I'm dying to get my hands on Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?I hope to read a lot, and keep up with the blogging. Last year I slacked with the blogging because I was so focused on my studies and too tired to actually blog when I had time. So for 2016 I wish I can make a schedule that will work for me - to keep up with my studies, exercise, reading, blogging, and social life. And yeah, I want to read more books than I read this year, which means over sixty books. 

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone?I'm afraid I haven't read any 2016 releases yet.

Stacking the Shelves (42)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Purchased

Caligula by Suetonius

Jason and Medea by Apollonius of Rhodes

The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell

The Madness of Cambyses by Herodotus

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

End of Days by Susan Ee

Wagner the Werewolf by George W.M. Reynolds

Freebies on Amazon

Never Never (Part 1) by Colleen Hoover

Something Like Summer by Jay Bell

I'm a bit crazy about the Penguin Little Black Classics. But hey, they're only 80p per book, that's not a bad - it's a bargain. A great way to introduce yourself to some classics without having to read hundreds of pages. And yes, I have a Rick Riordan streak going on. I can't get enough of his books!

What did you get this week? Comment or leave a link to your haul!

#TBRTakedown 3.0 // How did I do?

#TBRTakedown 3.0 is a week long read-a-thon, which will be running from January 4th (12:00 AM) to January 10th (11:59 PM). It's hosted by @leaninglights, and you can watch the introduction video here. The video also contains the seven challenges for the read-a-thon.

Well, it certainly could have gone better. I guess I lacked the motivation to truly read because I was hooked on binge watching Criminal Minds, and I did have some things to do during the week (e.g. celebrate my birthday). So all I managed to do was read three books. Maybe next time I'll have my head around read-a-thon so I can actually read much more. However, here's a recap of what I read and did I manage to do any challenges.

I read the following books:

 

1. Read a book from your most recent book haul.

I did just that with The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (just like I planned).

2. Read a book on your TBR Shelf over a year (or longest).

All of the three books I read, all were from recent hauls, so I didn't rise up to this challenge.

3. Read a book outside your comfort zone! (Genre, content, etc).

Well, poems are pretty much out of my usual comfort zone so I kind of managed to top this challenge as I read The Night is Darkening Round Me by Emily Brontë.

4. Read a first book in a series.

Nope, didn't do that.

5. Complete a series/Read a sequel in a series.

I read Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods by Rick Riordan, which was a companion to the original Percy Jackson series. I count it as a sequel. Or completing the series, however you want to see it.

6. Read a FIRE color book (Fire colours such as shades of red, pink, purple, lilac, burgundy.) Lucky Colors for 2016.

The cover of Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods by Rick Riordan is all about orange so I count it as a fire colour.

7. Read a non-novel item: poem, verse, novella, short story, etc.

The Night Is Darkening Round Me by Emily Brontë fits this challenge and I managed to read it.


With combining the books and challenges, I managed to complete five of seven challenges with the three books I read during the #TBRTakedown. I'm kind of happy about that, especially since I only read so little.

#TBRTakedown 3.0 // My initial post and TBR for the read-a-thon

#TBRTakedown 3.0 is a week long read-a-thon, which will be running from January 4th (12:00 AM) to January 10th (11:59 PM). It's hosted by @leaninglights, and you can watch the introduction video here. The video also contains the seven challenges for the read-a-thon.

This will be the very first read-a-thon I'm participating that's hosted by someone else (I have done a few short read-a-thons with a friend). I'm not sure how much I get reading done as next week is my birthday week, but I don't have classes yet. I decided to join the #TBRTakedown just today, which is why my TBR is a little hastily thought. I plan on reading more than the four books which I'm reading for the challenges. I just haven't decided yet what else I'm going to read. However, these are the challenges, and the books I'm about to start the read-a-thon: 

1. Read a book from your most recent book haul.

For this challenge, I plan on reading The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.

2. Read a book on your TBR Shelf over a year (or longest).

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo have been on my TBR shelf for almost two years now, so that's my choice for this challenge.

3. Read a book outside your comfort zone! (Genre, content, etc).

I haven't decided any book for this challenge yet. I'll see during the read-a-thon if I'll do this one at all.

4. Read a first book in a series.

I'm combining challenges here, and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo will be my choice. 

5. Complete a series/Read a sequel in a series.

I plan on reading The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, a sequel to The Lost Hero, and second book in The Heroes of Olympus series.

6. Read a FIRE color book (Fire colours such as shades of red, pink, purple, lilac, burgundy.) Lucky Colors for 2016.

I have a few choices for this one, but I can't make myself to decide. I'm a mood reader so I'll probably make the decision some time during the read-a-thon.

7. Read a non-novel item: poem, verse, novella, short story, etc.

The Night Is Darkening Round Me by Emily Brontë is my choice; it's a short collection of Brontë's poems.

I'll make another post after the read-a-thon is over, to show you how much reading I did during the week, and which challenges I conquered.

There's still time to join the read-a-thon, so if you have time, do so. If you want to leave a link to your post/video about participating the #TBRTakedown, please do so, and I'll check it out and follow your progress :)

Stacking the Shelves (41)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Purchased

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The Night Is Darkening Round Me by Emily Brontë
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
Circles of Hell by Dante

Gifts

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
I Am the Mission by Allen Zadoff
Norma by Sofi Oksanen
What did you get around the holiday season?