Hey Guys! Since I have my good days and my bad days when it comes to writing and posting, I decided that a 30 day challenge such as this one may be a great way to keep me posting consistently. BUT if I somehow miss a day or post it late I am not stressing out about it. Blogging is something I enjoy but it is NOT a chore so I don't want to treat it as one. I hope you all understand! :) I came across this challenge thanks to Chantal over at CK's Reading Corner. Go check out her blog btw because she is awesome! She came across it on Aya's blog Books Wide Open, another lovely blogger whom you should check out! We aren't really sure where it originated from or who created it but if you do happen to know PLEASE let me know so we can give the person credit!
Day 9: A Book You Thought You Wouldn't Like But Ended Up Loving
For years I had heard plenty of people not only talk about Kurt Vonnegut but more specifically, Slaughterhouse-Five, yet I never thought to pick it up. Want to know the EMBARRASSING reason why??? For YEARS I thought this was a HORROR novel! I am ashamed to say that I didn't even bother to read the synopsis before making this CRAZY assumption! This might fill you in on what a WIMP I am that the tittle alone scared me...Luckily I saw someone on Booktube review this a while back (now I can't even remember who it was) and finally realized that it most DEFINITELY was NOT horror! I decided to pick it up but was still a bit apprehensive because I thought it might be a little dense or boring. I ended up reading it in almost one sitting and absolutely LOVED it! It was so fantastic and funny! I loved the satirical humor so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the way it was written and the fact that it jumped from the past to the present and back without any real warning. It made the reading so enjoyable and fast. There were so many beautiful quotes and parts that made me tear up. I was really mad at myself for waiting so long to read this one! I will definitely be picking up more Vonnegut books in the future since I loved his writing style!
If you are hesitant to try this one, DON'T be! You might be surprised at what you find!
Hey Guys! Since I have my good days and my bad days when it comes to writing and posting, I decided that a 30 day challenge such as this one may be a great way to keep me posting consistently. BUT if I somehow miss a day or post it late I am not stressing out about it. Blogging is something I enjoy but it is NOT a chore so I don't want to treat it as one. I hope you all understand! :) I came across this challenge thanks to Chantal over at CK's Reading Corner. Go check out her blog btw because she is awesome! She came across it on Aya's blog Books Wide Open, another lovely blogger whom you should check out! We aren't really sure where it originated from or who created it but if you do happen to know PLEASE let me know so we can give the person credit!
Day 8: Most Overrated Book
Okay, okay, don't kill me over this one! The reason that I chose The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is not really cause I think the book itself is overrated, it was more people's reaction to it that put me off. Many people LOVED this book because they felt they could relate a lot to the main character, Charlie, and his experiences in High School. I for one, couldn't. My high school experience was totally different and didn't revolve around a lot of the typical scenarios that most people identify with. BUT that is not why I didn't like the hype around this book. My issue was that a lot of people said they connected with Charlie and were JUST like him and saw him just as a shy wallflower BUT there were reasons that highly impacted the way he was. We read about this issue and how it affects him but I felt so many people totally glossed over this issue and didn't take into account how this played a role in who he was today. I thought that people claiming they were JUST like him belittled what he had gone through and the impact it had on his personality and development. Now this is all MY opinion and I have nothing against anyone who loves this book as I myself enjoyed it as well but it is just something that I kept hearing that rubbed me the wrong way.
Hey Guys! Since I have my good days and my bad days when it comes to writing and posting, I decided that a 30 day challenge such as this one may be a great way to keep me posting consistently. BUT if I somehow miss a day or post it late I am not stressing out about it. Blogging is something I enjoy but it is NOT a chore so I don't want to treat it as one. I hope you all understand! :) I came across this challenge thanks to Chantal over at CK's Reading Corner. Go check out her blog btw because she is awesome! She came across it on Aya's blog Books Wide Open, another lovely blogger whom you should check out! We aren't really sure where it originated from or who created it but if you do happen to know PLEASE let me know so we can give the person credit!
Day 7: Most Underrated Book
Some of you may be thinking: "Really Judith? You picked a book by one of the most popular authors of our time?" Hear me out. Yes, John Green IS one of the most well known authors and almost everyone has either heard of or read one of his books. BUT if we look at the bigger picture almost NO ONE ever talks about THIS particular book! And if they do happen to make their way up to reading it they find it to be boring and their least favorite out of all his works. And frankly I don't understand why? An Abundance of Katherines was my fourth John Green book but it is my second favorite, after TFIOS of course. I REALLY enjoyed this book so much! Like a million times more than Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. I liked all the characters and the distinct personalities they each had. I loved the quirky way it was written, using the footnotes and diagrams, I thought it was great to read the tidbits of trivia and to have a main character who was really smart and a bit different. I found myself wanting more after I was done! I would really encourage for all of you to go give this book a chance! Just promise me you WON'T go in expecting it to be like his other novels!
Let me know what your favorite John Green novel is. :)
Hey Guys! Since I have my good days and my bad days when it comes to writing and posting, I decided that a 30 day challenge such as this one may be a great way to keep me posting consistently. BUT if I somehow miss a day or post it late I am not stressing out about it. Blogging is something I enjoy but it is NOT a chore so I don't want to treat it as one. I hope you all understand! :) I came across this challenge thanks to Chantal over at CK's Reading Corner. Go check out her blog btw because she is awesome! She came across it on Aya's blog Books Wide Open, another lovely blogger whom you should check out! We aren't really sure where it originated from or who created it but if you do happen to know PLEASE let me know so we can give the person credit!
Day 6: A Book That Makes You Sad
Oh boy, this book. Let me preface this by telling you that I went on Goodreads a few minutes ago to get the link for the synopsis and I somehow got sucked into reading the quotes, and man was that a bad idea. I just spent the last ten minutes sobbing over the beautiful words. If just reading a couple quotes can do that to me then I imagine you can figure out why I chose this book for today's topic. I think a better phrasing would be that this book made me emotional because the amount of feelings I experienced was astronomical! Making Faces by Amy Harmon is one of the most BEAUTIFUL stories I have ever read. It is a book that tackles some very very hard topics such as terminal disability (in this case, MS), abusive relationships, war and PTSD, faith and religion, inner/outer beauty, disfigurement, and death, to name a few. But it is done so in the most gorgeous and inspiring way. I loved both Ambrose and Fern as characters and as a couple but Bailey stole the show for me. He never let his disability define him, nor did he feel pity for himself. I couldn't help but feel so inspired as I read about this amazing and beautiful human and his struggles. This novel also re-affirmed my belief that inner beauty is the most important part of any human being. We are often so caught up in seeing what is on the outside and judging others that we don't take the time to truly KNOW them and we might be missing out on some of the most INCREDIBLE people we may ever encounter. I know my words will never even come close to reflecting how much this book has impacted me but as I sat here typing this I cried the whole time. This book gave me the gift of FEELING and I will forever hold on to it.
“True beauty, the kind that doesn't fade or wash off, takes time. It takes pressure. It takes incredible endurance. It is the slow drip the makes the stalactite, the shaking of the Earth that creates mountains, the constant pounding of the waves that breaks up the rocks and smooths the rough edges. And from the violence, the furor, the raging of the winds, the roaring of the waters, something better emerges, something that would otherwise never exist. And so we endure. We have faith that there is purpose. We hope for things we can't see. We believe that there are lessons in loss, power in love, and that we have within us the potential for a beauty so magnificent that our bodies can't contain it.”
Hey Guys! Since I have my good days and my bad days when it comes to writing and posting, I decided that a 30 day challenge such as this one may be a great way to keep me posting consistently. BUT if I somehow miss a day or post it late I am not stressing out about it. Blogging is something I enjoy but it is NOT a chore so I don't want to treat it as one. I hope you all understand! :) I came across this challenge thanks to Chantal over at CK's Reading Corner. Go check out her blog btw because she is awesome! She came across it on Aya's blog Books Wide Open, another lovely blogger whom you should check out! We aren't really sure where it originated from or who created it but if you do happen to know PLEASE let me know so we can give the person credit!
Day 5: A Book That Makes You Happy
There are literally hundreds of books that make me happy because reading in and of itself brings me so much joy. BUT seeing as I had to narrow it down to just ONE (who thought up this madness??!), I figured I would go with the first book I could think of that made me smile the whole way through and still makes me smile just thinking about it. That book is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell! I ABSOLUTELY ADORE this book! From the second I opened it up I knew it would be magical. I loved Cath as a character because in some ways I saw a lot of me in her, even though I didn't suffer from the same social anxieties she did, she was so easy to relate to. I loved that Rainbow was able to depict College life as so much more than just drugs, parties, and drinking. I loved that she wrote fan-fiction based on a book series that resembled Harry Potter, it brought back a lot of nostalgia! AND I LOVED Levi! OMG I could read thousands of pages just about him. Every time he made an appearance I just couldn't help but grin from ear to ear! I want a Levi in my life even if I have to settle for being just friends because I think he would make everyone's life a little brighter! Even though this book does deal with darker issues such as abandonment and mental illness, it does so in a lighthearted and approachable way. Everything Rainbow writes is GOLD and this was no exception! <3
P.S. I am DYING for Carry On to come out on October 6th!!! I need it like yesterday!
Hey Guys! Since I have my good days and my bad days when it comes to writing and posting, I decided that a 30 day challenge such as this one may be a great way to keep me posting consistently. BUT if I somehow miss a day or post it late I am not stressing out about it. Blogging is something I enjoy but it is NOT a chore so I don't want to treat it as one. I hope you all understand! :) I came across this challenge thanks to Chantal over at CK's Reading Corner. Go check out her blog btw because she is awesome! She came across it on Aya's blog Books Wide Open, another lovely blogger whom you should check out! We aren't really sure where it originated from or who created it but if you do happen to know PLEASE let me know so we can give the person credit!
Day 4: Favorite Book Of Your Favorite Series
This might come as a bit of a shock to you. Heck, it is even a bit shocking for me! When I was first reading this series I always regarded Prisoner of Azkaban as my favorite of the lot and this remained so for many years after. A couple months ago I decided to re-read the series and I absolutely fell in LOVE with The Chamber of Secrets! It was as if I was reading it and experiencing it for the first time ever! I guess in the past few years I had gotten used to the movie adaptation and I did not realize how much stuff happens in the book! It was amazing and I can't wait to re-read it again! I only have made my way up to the 4th book in my latest re-read so it can change again but as of now this is my favorite! <3
Hey everyone! I thought I'd share a couple of books I have picked up this month! I haven't really bought a lot of books compared to other months and actually the majority of them have been bargained priced, so I don't feel guilty! :)
Me and my co-worker/friend decided to do a little book shopping on our day off a week or two back and I scored 5 books and 2 bookmarks from that trip! The first stop we made was a second hand local bookstore that a lot of people here have been telling me about for months. Confession time: I don't really EVER shop at used bookstores. I like my books to be in mint condition and sadly most used books end up being a little beat up. :( But I decided to give this place a shot since so many people love it. To tell you the truth I was a bit disappointed. Not only WERE the majority of the books in bad conditions but they were so EXPENSIVE for being used! I went looking in the YA and MG section first and almost all paperbacks were $8 and hardbacks $14. I get that this IS cheaper than buying them at say B&N but I could get all those books for the same price or cheaper on Amazon or Bookoutlet so I couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a copy I wasn't going to be happy with.
I did manage to snag two books and a bookmark there though, so it wasn't all bad!
The first book I managed to snag was the second book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket! I bought the first one, The Bad Beginning, from Bookoutlet earlier this year for like $2.99 but I hadn't been able to find the second one anywhere for less than $10. I found a copy in PERFECT condition (minus a stupid sticker) for $6.50! I was so excited about this find! I know at this rate it will take me forever to get all the books in the series but I must stay strong!
The second book I found was Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella! I had to dig through about 15 copies of this before I found one in perfect condition but this one was only $1.99! I actually got the edition with the white cover, which I must say I much prefer. I am ashamed to say I have never read a Sophie Kinsella book but I DID watch the movie adaptation of this one before I knew it was a series and really loved it! Can't wait to give this a read!
After leaving the second hand bookstore we headed to B&N. I had decided I only wanted to look in the bargain section because I didn't have much money to spend and wanted to get a few books not just one. I managed to find THREE bargain books, all for about $5 each! The best part is they were all books I had really been wanting to read.
The first book I spotted as soon as I got to the bargain section was this BEAUTY, You by Caroline Kepnes. I heard about this book over on Lindsey Rey's Booktube channel and instantly wanted to read it. Okay, no, I lie. I debated on this one for a while but simply because I am the biggest chicken you will ever meet and I get so easily freaked out. This book is not only from the perspective of a stalker which is a big fear of mine but it is also told in second person, making you feel as if he really is stalking you, the reader. I will have to put my fears aside and give it a read cause Lindsey made it sound so amazing!
The second book I found at B&N was The Edge of Never by J. A. Redmerski. I have heard many good things about this series and even though I am not 100% sure about the premise for the book I am excited to go into it pretty blind. also, I don't know what it is but I LOVE this cover! I find myself just staring at it whenever I see it!
Easy by Tammara Webber is another New Adult book that I have heard AMAZING things about. I don't know all the details about it, nor do I want to but it sounds like an amazing story about love, relationships, and healing. Need to read this one SOON!
The last book I hauled this month was Zodiac by Romina Russell. I actually ordered this one off of Amazon one day when my boyfriend was placing an order. Hehe, sneaky! :D I am super excited about this one as well. I think the concept of using the astrological signs is so unique and creative and I can't wait to see what she does with it. Plus I have been craving a good Sci-fi story!
These are the two ADORABLE bookmarks I got this month! I am a bit obsessed with bookmarks and have quite a bit. I might make a post in the future, solely dedicated to them...hmmm maybe a series...anyways, the mustache one I got at B&N for about $4 dollars and I had been wanting it for quite a bit so I decided to treat myself. The Dr. Seuss one I got at the second hand shop for 50 cents! I am a big fan of his books and I thought not only was it cute but it had a great quote on it!
Okay, that's all for this month's haul! I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know what books you picked up this month! I'm off to watch some Booktube videos but I will leave you with this Jessie J song because I was listening to her all her songs while writing this post! Gosh I love her! :)
