4 Month Wrap-up: July, August, September and October

Tags

A Corner of White, A.S. King, Amy Ewing, Aurelia Wills, Barry Jonsberg, Black, Brodi Ashton, Cat Clarke, Crimson Bound, Cruel Beauty, Cynthia Hand, Deborah Biancotti, Eleanor and Park, Em Bailey, Far From You, Fleur Ferris, Francesca Haig, Frayed, Garth Nix, Harry Potter, Here I Stand, Hold Me Like a Breath, It Looks Like This, J.K. Rowling, Jaclyn Moriaty, Jay Kristoff, Jennifer Donnelly, Jodi Meadows, John Flanagan, Justine Larbalestier, Kara Terzis, Lady Renegades, Lauren James, Lauren Oliver, Maggie Stiefvater, Magnus Chase, Margo Lanagan, Megan Miranda, Miss Mayhem, My Lady Jane, My Sister Rosa, Nevernight, Pandora Jones, Paula Garner, Phantom Limbs, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Rafi Mittlefehldt, Rainbow Rowell, Ranger's Apprentice, Rebel Belle, Renee Ahdieh, Replica, Rick Riordan, Rosamund Hodge, Sabriel, Scott Westerfeld, Shield, Someone I Wanted to Be, Soulprint, Spark, Stray, Swarm, Tess Sharpe, The Black Key, The Book That Made Me, The Fire Sermon, The Hammer of Thor, The Last Beginning, The Lost and the Found, The Mirror King, The Raven Boys, The Rose and the Dagger, The Ruins of Gorlan, The Special Ones, The Sword of Summer, These Shallow Graves, Tiffany Schmidt, Zeroes

WOW, it has been a long time since I’ve posted anything.

Such a long time.

So, let’s have a look at what’s been going on in the last four months.

July

In July had my first prac teaching thing, which was a bucket load of fun.

I’m definitely on the right career path, guys.

Books read:

Rebel Belle trilogy, by Rachel Hawkins

Books Bought:

Nevernight, by Jay Kristoff
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, by John Tiffany and Jack Thorne (and J.K. Rowling)

August

Nothing exciting really happened in August…that I can remember. It was 3 months ago, guys.

I just finished my prac teaching, went back to uni. There was probably some book event on that I’ve now forgotten about.

Books read:

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, by John Tiffany and Jack Thorne (and J.K. Rowling)
The Fire Sermon, by Francesca Haig
Shield, by Rachael Craw
Frayed, by Kara Terzis

Books Bought:

A Corner of White, by Jaclyn Moriaty
The Special Ones, by Em Bailey
The Rose and the Dagger, by Renee Ahdieh
Shield, by Rachael Craw

September

In September we had YAFanFest, which was heaps of fun.

And then we had a Rachael Craw Skype chat at Dymocks which was SO AWESOME!

I also had my uni mid-semester break, which meant I got loads more reading done.

Books read:

Hold Me Like a Breath, by Tiffany Schmidt
Zeroes, Swarm, by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti
Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
Please Ignore Vera Dietz, by A.S. King
The Book that Made Me, by various
Pandora Jones trilogy, by Barry Jonsberg
Soulprint, by Megan Miranda
Far From You, by Tess Sharpe
Rangers Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan, by John Flanagan
The Lost and the Found, by Cat Clarke

Books Bought:

Sabriel, by Garth Nix
Swarm, by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti

Books Received:

For review (Thanks Walker!):
The Last Beginning, by Lauren James
The Black Key, by Amy Ewing
My Lady Jane, by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Here I Stand, by Amnesty International

From the YAFanFest goodie bag:
These Shallow Graves, by Jennifer Donnelly

October

Books read:

Black, by Fleur Ferris
The Sword of Summer, The Hammer of Thor, by Rick Riordan
Cruel Beauty, by Rosamund Hodge
Crimson Bound, by Rosamund Hodge
The Mirror King, by Jodi Meadows
The Raven Boys (reread), by Maggie Stiefvater
My Sister Rosa, by Justine Larbalestier

Books Bought:

The Hammer of Thor, by Rick Riordan
Replica, by Lauren Oliver
Illustrated Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay

Books Received:

For review (Thanks Walker!):
Phantom Limbs, by Paula Garner
Someone I Wanted to Be, by Aurelia Wills
It Looks Like This, by Rafi Mittlefehldt

Potterhead July: Book Moments that Should Have Been in the Movies

Tags

Harry Potter

So, for Potterhead July, I (finally) decided on a topic: Harry Potter book moments that should have been in the movies.

Book 1: Peeves

I know this is supposed to be about book moments that should have been included in the movies, but the majority of book 1 actually did make it into the movie.

But Peeves, PEEVES, did not make it in…and every scene with him is just so great that I just really wish he’d been included.

Book 2: Lockhart

In the movie, they just get the recipe for the Polyjuice Potion from a book in the library…in the book, they need a book from the restricted section.

And they need a teacher to sign the note.

Book 3: Sir Cadogan and McGonagall

Ok, the original plan was to just choose one moment from each book, but I needed to…

The movies included the Fat Lady being attacked by Sirius Black, but not the part where she got replaced by a crazy knight who changed the password at least twice a day.

And another thing they didn’t include was McGonagall’s reaction to Trelawney’s prediction of Harry’s death.

Book 4: Preparing for the Maze

This is where it starts to get tough, because there is SO MUCH that got left out: The Dursleys meeting the Weasleys, Percy’s cauldron bottom reports, Dennis Creevey…but the one I chose was where Ron and Hermione helped Harry practice for the third task; particularly his learning to use a stunning spell.

Book 5: St. Mungo’s Hospital

Again, lots of possibilities, but this choice was actually pretty easy. Every scene at St Mungo’s was completely cut out of the movie, which was such a shame since it featured various moments such as: Arthur getting stitches, Professor Lockhart, and Neville’s parents.

Book 6: Dumbledore at the Dursleys

Another book with a lot of possibilities, but yet again an easy choice. Even though book 6 features such great moments, like: The Muggle Prime Minister talking with Fudge/Scrimgeour, Harry and Ginny (movie did NOT do that justice), and Scrimgeour visiting Harry at Christmas. Oh, and let’s not forget the reappearance of Fleur Delacour.

However, if I could have any one thing changed about the 6th movie, Dumbledore would have visited the Dursleys, because that was just gold.

Book 7: Percy and the Evacuation of the Students

Again, two choices because how could I not.

Obviously, none of the previous movies had placed any emphasis on the estrangement of Percy from his family, so his return during the battle of Hogwarts was also subtle. In the books, however…

And then there’s the fact that they got the students out of harms way before the battle started. And the fact that Harry blatantly refused to hold the Slytherins hostage.

Do I really want to go to Hogwarts?

Tags

Harry Potter

So, I thought I would start off the year with an existential crisis…

Ok, so I’ve decided to compile a list of pros and cons of going to Hogwarts

Pros

Magic

Magic is obviously the main reason everyone wants to go to Hogwarts

 

Umm…that’s it?

Like, why else do people want to go to Hogwarts?

The teachers?

The Quidditch?

And so now, we move into the cons.

Cons

Magic is HARD

Like, it takes them ages to learn how to make a feather float!

Hogwarts is dangerous

They actually have to do work

In SO many books/tv shows/movies/etc. they never seem to have to do any work…but at Hogwarts?

Like, seriously. The movies seriously under-represent how much work they have to do.

And they have to write with QUILLS! And INK! And they have to write massive-long essays BY HAND!

Like, I can barely type an essay on my computer, which brings my next point…

There is no internet/computers/technology of any kind

Like, guys, this means no twitter, no youtube…and no Google!!

So, they have to write these massive long essays, by hand, with quills, and they have to do all the research without Google!

Like, how do they even? I suppose it wasn’t so bad back in Harry Potter’s day, because it was the 90s and computers/the internet weren’t quite such a big thing, but these days?

In conclusion

So, I guess as much as I would LOVE to have magic, going to Hogwarts doesn’t seem as great as everyone says.

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What about you guys?

Do you want to go to Hogwarts? Even though the lack of internet/modern technology in general would make it 10x harder than muggle school? Let me know.

Stacking the Shelves: The Yearly Edition 2015

Tags

A Court of Thorns and Roses, Alexandra Bracken, Alienated, All Fall Down, All the Rage, Ally Carter, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Amie Kaufman, Amy Ewing, An Ember in the Ashes, Barry Jonsberg, Because You'll Never Meet Me, Bright Before Sunrise, Brigid Kemmerer, Champion, Cloudwish, Courtney Summers, Cynthia Hand, Dawn Kurtagich, Dead of Winter, Demon Road, Derek Landy, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, Ellie Marney, Every Move, Every Word, Far From You, Fiona Wood, Fleur Ferris, Frostbite, Half Wild, Happily Ever After, Harry Potter, Harry Potter Illustrated Edition, Hold Me Like a Breath, Holly Black, Illuminae, Illusions of Fate, In the Afterlight, In The Skin of a Monster, J.K. Rowling, James Smythe, Jane Austen, Jay Kristoff, John Flanagan, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Julie Kagawa, Justine Larbalestier, Kady Cross, Kathryn Barker, Kerstin Gier, Kiera Cass, Kiersten White, Kresley Cole, Laini Taylor, Lair of Dreams, Lauren James, Lauren Oliver, Leah Thomas, Legend, Leslye Walton, Libba Bray, Lisa M. Stasse, Maggie Stiefvater, Magnus Chase, Magonia, Margo Lanagan, Maria Dahvana Headley, Marie Lu, Meagan Spooner, Megan Miranda, Melinda Salisbury, Melissa Grey, Melissa Landers, Miss Mayhem, Pandora Jones, Panic, Percy Jackson, Pittacus Lore, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Prodigy, Queen of Shadows, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Ranger's Apprentice, Razorhurst, Rebel Belle, Red Queen, Renee Ahdieh, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, Risk, Rogue, Ruby Red, Sabaa Tahir, Sally Green, Sarah J. Maas, Sea Hearts, Shadow Kiss, Shiver, Sisters of Blood and Spirit, Skulduggery Pleasant, Soman Chainani, Sophie Jordan, Soulprint, Spark, Star Wars, Stephanie Oakes, Stray, Susanna Clarke, Tess Sharpe, The Darkest Part of the Forest, The Dead House, The Diviners, The Dream Thieves, The Fate of Ten, The Foretelling of Georgie Spider, The Forsaken, The Girl at Midnight, The Heir, The Iron Warrior, The Jewel, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, The Next Together, The Raven Boys, The Ruby Circle, The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, The School of Good and Evil, The Scorpio Races, The Sin Eater's Daughter, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, The Wrath and the Dawn, These Broken Stars, Thicker Than Water, Tiffany Schmidt, Trish Doller, Uninvited, Vampire Academy, Vanishing Girls, Victoria Aveyard, Way Down Dark, Where the Stars Still Shine

Stacking the Shelves is a thing where we talk about the books we’ve collected in the past week. These can be bought, delivered, ARCs, ebooks, etc.. Pretty self-explanatory.
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tygna’s Reviews

When I did this last year, it was so much fun I just had to do it again.

So, here are ALL the books I obtained throughout the year 2015.

Books Bought:

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, by Leslye Walton
Illusions of Fate, by Kiersten White
Hold Me Like a Breath, by Tiffany Schmidt
An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
Illuminae, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Magonia, by Maria Dahvana Headley
Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard
The Ruby Circle, by Richelle Mead
The Diviners, by Libba Bray
Lair of Dreams, by Libba Bray
Way Down Dark, by James Smythe
The Darkest Part of the Forest, by Holly Black
Pandora Jones: Admission, by Barry Jonsberg
The Last Time We Say Goodbye, by Cynthia Hand
Razorhurst, by Justine Larbalestier
Alienated, by Melissa Landers
Sea Hearts, by Margo Lanagan
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, by Stephanie Oakes
These Broken Stars, by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh
The Dead House, by Dawn Kurtagich
Vanishing Girls, by Lauren Oliver
Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, by Rick Riordan
All Fall Down, by Ally Carter
Ruby Red, by  Kerstin Gier
The Sword of Summer, by Rick Riordan
Rebel Belle, by Rachel Hawkins
Miss Mayhem, by Rachel Hawkins
The Fate of Ten, by Pittacus Lore
In the Afterlight, by Alexandra Bracken
Every Word, by Ellie Marney
Every Move, by Ellie Marney
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling (new edition)
Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope, by Ian Doesher
Vampire Academy: Graphic Novel
Frostbite: Graphic Novel
Shadow Kiss: Graphic Novel
Legend: Graphic Novel
Sisters of Blood and Spirit, by Kady Cross
Far From You, by Tess Sharpe
The Sin Eater’s Daughter, by Melinda Salisbury
Uninvited, by Sophie Jordan
Soulprint, by Megan Miranda
In The Skin of a Monster, by Kathryn Barker
The Girl At Midnight, by Melissa Grey
The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater
The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater
Risk, by Fleur Ferris
Ranger’s Apprentice #1, by John Flanagan
Because You’ll Never Meet Me, by Leah Thomas
Skulduggery Pleasant books, by Derek Landy
The School of Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani
Dreams of Gods and Monsters, by Laini Taylor
Rogue, by Julie Kagawa
Happily Ever After, by Kiera Cass
The Heir, by Kiera Cass
Half Wild, by Sally Green
Prodigy, by Marie Lu
The Foretelling of Georgie Spider, by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Queen of Shadows, by Sarah J. Maas
Box Set of Puffin Classics, various authors
Harry Potter Illustrated edition

The Shiver Trilogy, by Maggie Stiefvater
The Scorpio races, by Maggie Stiefvater
Champion, by Marie Lu

Books Won:

The Jewel*, by Amy Ewing
Spark*, by Rachel Craw
The Iron Warrior, by Julie Kagawa
Demon Road (signed ARC), by Derek Landy
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
Cloudwish, by Fiona Wood
In the Afterlight (signed), by Alexandra Bracken

I also somehow ended up getting a bowling ball.

*Won in 2014, received in 2015

Miscellaneous:

ARCs and Review Copies (requested and surprise):

Bright Before Sunrise, by Tiffany Schmidt
Where the Stars Still Shine, by Trish Doller
Stray, by Rachael Craw
The Next Together, by Lauren James
Thicker Than Water, by Brigid Kemmerer
A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, by Stephanie Oakes
The Sword of Summer, by Rick Riordan

Books I got through BooksForTradeAU:

Pandora Jones: Deception, by Barry Johansberg
Pandora Jones: Reckoning, by Barry Johansberg
The Forsaken, by Lisa M. Stasse
Cinder (ARC), by Marissa Meyer (Not pictured)

Presents (Birthdays, Christmas, etc.):

Panic, by Lauren Oliver
Dead of Winter, by Kresley Cole
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Seth Grahame-Smith (and Jane Austen)

Books I got for free (through various means):

White Time, by Margo Lanagan
All The Rage, by Courtney Summers
The Lost and the Found, by Cat Clarke
This Raging Light, by Estelle Laure
Pompidou Posse, by Sarah Lotz
Dumplin’, by Julie Murphy
Running Like China, by Sophie Hardcastle
We All Looked Up, by Tommy Wallach
Hidden, by Marianne Curley
The Astrologer’s Daughter, by Rebecca Lim
Lifespan of Starlight, by Thalia Kalkipsakis
State of Grace, by Hilary Badger
Cooper Bartholomew is Dead, by Rebecca James

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So…that was all the books I got my hands on 2015.

How was every one else’s year?

What do you mean, it’s November?

Tags

Amie Kaufman, Back to the Future, Derek Landy, Ellie Marney, Every Breath, Every Move, Every Word, Far From You, Happily Ever After, Harry Potter, Harry Potter Illustrated Edition, Hold Me Like a Breath, Illuminae, In The Skin of a Monster, J.K. Rowling, Jay Kristoff, Julie Kagawa, Kady Cross, Kathryn Barker, Kiera Cass, Magnus Chase, Pokemon, Rick Riordan, Skulduggery Pleasant, Tess Sharpe, The Girl With the Windup Heart, The Iron Warrior, The Selection, The Sword of Summer, Tiffany Schmidt

But…how…wait…Where did the year go??

So…October was a busy month

First of all, I FINALLY got to go to the YA Book Club that meets at Dymocks once a month 😀

Photo taken by Emily

(I’ve been trying to get there since the first one)
And so I got my copy of In The Skin of a Monster signed 🙂

And then there was a rerelease of the first Pokemon movie at Hoyts, so naturally, my brother and I HAD to go see it (we have it on video…VIDEO, PEOPLE), and my sister hadn’t seen it, so she came along too.
Much fun was had.

Also, the Back to the Future movies are now set entirely in the past. Please excuse me while I go lament the fact that I do not yet have a pink hoverboard.

And the Illuminae Book Launch happened! Aside from a disappointing lack of underwater jet skis, it was very enjoyable. And I got to meet the authors, which was pretty awesome.

Books Bought:

Hold Me Like a Breath, by Tiffany Schmidt
Far From You, by Tess Sharpe
Happily Ever After, by Kiera Cass
Every Word, by Ellie Marney
Every Move, by Ellie Marney
Illuminae, by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Many Skulduggery Pleasant books, by Derek Landy (seriously, though, this entire pile cost $20!! How was I supposed to not?)

Books Received:

Illustrated HP and Tote bag (which I preordered a very long time ago)

Magnus Chase (signed)

Dymocks had a twitter competition, and so I won The Iron Warrior, by Julie Kagawa

Books Read:

In the Skin of a Monster, by Kathryn Barker
Every Breath, by Ellie Marney
The Maleficent Seven, by Derek Landy
Every Word, by Ellie Marney
Every Move, by Ellie Marney
The Girl with the Windup Heart, by Kady Cross

Plans for November?

It’s November now…which means EXAMS ARE COMING!

And this time around, I get the added pleasure of having both my exams on the SAME DAY!

So…yeah…I’m gonna be disappearing for a little bit. I’ll post occasionally, but I will be mostly absent.

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So, how was your October? Any Plans for November? Let me know.

The Challenge: A Summary

Tags

A Court of Thorns and Roses, Alexandra Bracken, All Fall Down, Ally Carter, Amie Kaufman, Ballad, Cooper Bartholemew is Dead, Cynthia Hand, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Derek Landy, Half Wild, Harry Potter, In the Afterlight, J.K. Rowling, Justine Larbalestier, Laini Taylor, Lauren Oliver, Leslye Walton, Maggie Stiefvater, Meagan Spooner, Megan Miranda, Melinda Salisbury, Never Fade, Rachel Hawkins, Razorhurst, Rebecca James, Rebel Belle, Red Queen, Richelle Mead, Ruby Circle, Sally Green, Sarah J. Maas, Shadow Kiss, Skulduggery Pleasant, Sophie Jordan, Soulprint, The Darkest Minds, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, The Sin Eater's Daughter, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, These Broken Stars, Uninvited, Vampire Academy, Vanishing Girls, Victoria Aveyard

As some of you may recall, I gave myself a challenge at the beginning of February. I was to limit myself to reading only books that I already owned/had out from the library. I was not to buy any new books in this time, with the exception of new releases.

So, how did I go?

Well, silly me forgot to take into account the fact that it was my birthday in February. Which means that I got birthday money to spend on ALL THE BOOKS!!!

So, here are the books I bought with my birthday money:

And here are the books I was ‘allowed’ to buy during the challenge period:

And here are all the other books I bought because they were there, or because they were cheap, or because books.

And here’s a picture of them all together:

Total number of books bought: 16.

That’s like, one book every 4 days.

Better yet, for every one book I was allowed to buy, I bought three others.

Reading wise, I faired a little better, reading 6 of the books I bought, as well as several others:

And due to the fact that I read a few ebooks/library books/Netgalley books, here is a full pic of all the books I read:

Total books read: 18.

So, while I did technically read more books than I bought, I made a very, very small dent in my to-read pile. Also, some of these books didn’t make it to the to-read pile before they got read (namely, the ebooks/Netgalley books), so they were, if anything, counter-productive.

In conclusion:

The Liebster Award…again

Tags

Cassandra Clare, City of Bones, Harry Potter, Heir of Fire, J.K. Rowling, Michelle Hodkin, Sarah J. Maas, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Throne of Glass

So, I have once again been nominated for The Liebster Award. Go me!

This time I have been nominated by the lovely Janna from Writing Visually

So, once again, the rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. Answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate other bloggers.
4. Give those bloggers 11 questions to answer and let them know they’ve been nominated

And now for the questions:

1. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I’m tempted to answer with Harry Potter. However, I already have those books practically memorised.

So, since you are forcing me to choose, I’m going to say The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin.

2. If your life was a book what would it be called?

The Magical Adventures of Cassie the Weird.

Since it couldn’t be a book, I made it a blog.

3. Who was your first fictional crush?

Harry Potter, I believe.

4. Traditional publishing vs self publishing – which would you choose if you had the choice? And why?

Ok, back to the hard questions.

Probably traditional publishing. Because with self-publishing you have to do all the work yourself and that sounds hard and I’m lazy.

5. Ebooks vs real books? Which wins?

Real Books. Always.

6. Do you read picture books or graphic novels? Why/why not?

Not really, but that’s mainly because other books take up so much of my time.

I’ve got nothing against them, though. I just prefer novels.

7. What are your thoughts on NA (new adult) fiction?

Well, I haven’t really read any NA. However I do see it’s relevance, and I think it’s a good genre to have.
Really, I think of it as YA, but for a different age group. People look down on it, but it has so much potential. Because the generation of kids that made YA so popular are starting to finish high school, so they aren’t relating to those character’s as much, and so we need more books about people leaving school and going off to college, or starting work, etc.

8. What is a book you’ve read purely because of the cover?

Ok, this is hard, because I know there is one.

Oh, wait, I didn’t read Throne of Glass for the longest time because of this cover:

But then people started getting excited for Heir of Fire, and then I saw this cover:

And I was like “WHOA! I have to read that!”

9. What must a book have in it for you to fall in love with it?

Words. Words are good.

But aside from that…it usually needs some sort of paranormal/supernatural/dystopian happenings. I’m not a big fan of contemporaries (unless they rip your heart out and leave you to die…then I seem to like them).

And romance. I love romance.

But otherwise I’m not overly picky. I don’t mind clichés or predictability or similarities to other books. As long as it’s done well, I like it.

10. Are there any movies/TV series out there that you think are better than the books from which they originated?

I haven’t seen any that I would consider better as such.

I thought City of Bones came close, though. Because, while I love that series, I do have some serious issues with it that weren’t as present in the movie.

11. Where is your favourite place to read/write?

My bed is the answer to both.

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So, that’s it. I’m not going to bother with the tagging and the questions and things. If you want to consider yourself tagged and answer the above questions, you can go ahead. But otherwise,

TTT: Favourite Book Heroines

Tags

Ambelin Kwaymullina, Bloodlines, Brigid Kemmerer, Disruption, Harry Potter, Hex Hall, I Am Number Four, J.K. Rowling, Jessica Shirvington, Julie Kagawa, Maggie Stiefvater, Michelle Hodkin, Pittacus Lore, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Richelle Mead, Sarah J. Maas, Spark, The Darkest Minds, The Immortal Rules, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, The Iron Fey, The Raven Boys, The Raven Cycle, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Throne of Glass, Top Ten Tuesday, Vampire Academy

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Fifteen Favourite Heroines from Books

1. Hermione Granger, from Harry Potter

2. Rose Hathaway, from Vampire Academy

3. Sydney Sage, from Bloodlines

4. Blue Sargent, from The Raven Boys

5. Celaena Sardothien, from Throne of Glass

6. Sophie Mercer, from Hex Hall

7. Maggie Stevens, from Disruption

8. Evie, from Spark

9. Mara Dyer, from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

10. Allison Sekemoto, from The Immortal Rules

11. Meghan Chase, from The Iron Fey

12. Layne, from Spark

13. Ashala Wolf, from The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

14. Number Six, from I Am Number Four

15. Ruby, from The Darkest Minds

Harry Potter: A Magical Adventure

Tags

Harry Potter, Harry Potter Book Night, J.K. Rowling

As some of you may be aware, tonight is Harry Potter Book Night! This is basically the most epic thing ever, and while I cannot attend an actual bookstore celebration, I can still enjoy the fact that there is a night dedicated to Harry Potter.

I thought I would celebrate tonight by posting about my experiences with Harry Potter, from the first time I tried to read it to the time I went to the midnight screen of the last movie dressed as Luna Lovegood.

It’s a bit long, and I apologize for that, but I didn’t have time to create multiple posts to schedule throughout the day.

The Liebster Award

Tags

Amy Zhang, Bloodlines, Divergent, Falling into Place, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, J.K. Rowling, Kasie West, Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin, Percy Jackson, Pivot Point, Rick Riordan, Sarah J. Maas, Suzanne Collins, Throne of Glass, Vampire Academy, Veronica Roth

Funny story, this is actually the first thing I was nominated to do (so very long ago). It was also the last tag-thing I had to do, but then Monday’s post got delayed, so there’s on more coming.

I was nominated by Always Opinionated Girl, and now I have to answer these questions:

1. Which fictional character are you most like?

As I said in yesterday’s post, Luna Lovegood.

2. Which fandoms are you in?

Hahahaha…so many…
Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Vampire Academy, Hunger Games, Divergent, Mara Dyer…

Basically, this is my computer background.

3. What is your favourite book cover?

I love most book covers SO MUCH! I have no idea how I’m supposed to choose.

4. Which 5 books would you take with you to a desert island?

*sobs* Only five!?
I’m going to change this question to ‘series’…
Harry Potter
Percy Jackson (including Heroes of Olympus)
Vampire Academy (including Bloodlines)
The Mara Dyer trilogy
Throne of Glass series

5. What is your favourite children’s picture book?

I don’t remember a lot, but I remember loving the Franklin books.

And my favourite one I’ve read recently is Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and Grumpy Little King.

6. What do you like most and like least about book blogging?

Like Most- talking about books with people who understand books’ awesomeness.

Like least- The time consumingness (which is totally a word)

7. When was the last time you cried reading a book?

I cry very easily in books, but the most recent read that made me cry was Falling into Place, by Amy Zhang.

8. Which book are you most embarrassed to say you haven’t read?

I’m not embarrassed about not reading books…because it’s almost always a case of ‘haven’t read it…yet’.
Although some people act like I should be ashamed that I’ve read no John Green.

9. Why and when did you decide to start your blog?

I’d wanted to start for a few years, but I didn’t really get into it until earlier this year, shortly after #PTALive Sydney

10. What are three things about you that not many people know?

I find these questions hard, because I never know what to say…

a) I used to play muggle Quidditch, but quit because it was too social.

b) I love pop music from the late 90s, early 00s.

c) I got twitter so that I could enter a book giveaway, which I didn’t win.

11. What one book would you recommend I read?

Only One!?!? Probably The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin. Or Pivot Point, by Kasie West.

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Ok, now I’m supposed to nominate people to complete another 11 questions.

I think we’ve established that I’m lazy, and so instead of nominating specific people, I’m just going to say, if you want to do this, then go ahead.

And these are the questions:
1. How did you get into blogging?
2. Which types of books do you prefer (ebook, audiobooks, ‘real’ books, etc.)?
3. How do you sort your bookshelves (alphabetically, rainbow, genre, etc.)?
4. What’s your opinion on ebooks, kindles, etc. (love them, hate them, indifferent)?
5. Do you prefer buying books, or borrowing them from the library, friends, etc.?
6. Would you buy a book after you’ve read it?
7. Do you like owning complete series? Or are you happy to only own 1 or 2 books from a series (and borrow the rest)?
8. Do you ever DNF (Did Not Finish) books? If so, do you write DNF reviews?
9. Have you ever read the end/last page of a book early, just to see how it ends? Or have you ever looked the ending up on wikipedia (or a similar website)?
10. Have you ever been waiting for a book, only to accidentally read a massive spoiler online before you could get to read it?
11. What are some books that you would recommend to anyone/everyone?

If you’re lazy, like me, or if you’ve already done it, then just choose one or two of the above questions and answer it in the comments.