Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Pokemon Indigo League #ReadThemAllThon TBR



Are you a Pokemon lover? Are you addicted to Pokemon Go? If you are, your in the right place. The blog Read at Midnight created a read-a-thon fit for both book nerds and Pokemon nerds, The #ReadThemAllThon! With this cool new read-a-thon you can evolve a Pokemon! It runs from August 14th to September 4th.

You can earn different badges by completing challenges as well as get CP for your Pokemon! For example, if you read 10 pages in a book, you get 1CP.

If this sounds like the perfect read-a-thon for you, than sign-up here. You can also go and view the badges and extra challenges!

https://readatmidnight.com/2016/07/25/pokemon-indigo-league-readthemallthon-sign-up/

My TBR:

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand (Thunder Badge)
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (Soul Badge)
How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran (Rainbow Badge)
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Marsh Badge)
Confessions: The Private School Murders by James Patterson (Flame Badge)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Cascade Badge)
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (Earth Badge)
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (Boulder Badge)

My pokemon will be Bulbasaur!

Hope you can join in on the fun!

XOXO Elizabeth



Friday, August 12, 2016

Friday Reads 08-12-16

Hello fellow readers!
It's officially Friday, and you know what that means......FRIDAY READS! I have done a whole lot of reading and a whole lot of not socializing.
This week I finished The Unexpected Everything, A Monster Calls and am half way through The One.
A review will be posted for A monster Calls on Tuesday, August 16th.
This week has been really good! I have enjoyed everything I have read so far! Below are my daily read pages.

Monday - 0 pages
Tuesday - 200 pages of The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Wednesday and Thursday - 216 pages of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Friday (so far) - 165 pages of The One by Kiera Cass

Total read pages: 581 pages

I hope to finish The One either today or tomorrow! After I finish The One I will start The Private School Murders by James Patterson.

This is all I have read so far! Hope reading is going well for you too! See you next Friday with another update!
XOXO Elizabeth

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

I wanted to read A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness because I saw that it was being made into a movie. I had tried to read it once before but didn't get that far with it. I knew I loved Patrick Ness' handwriting because I had read The Knife of Never Letting Go, so the other day I picked it up from my library, sat down and dedicated my time to it. Going into it, I knew nothing except that there was a monster in the form of a tree.

This book is about a boy named Conor who is struggling in life. His mother is very ill and everyone treats him differently because of it. This is a story of a boy realizing what his truth is, and not to be afraid of it. In the front of Conor's house, sitting upon a hill is a yew tree. One night he wakes from a recurring nightmare to find his name whispered through the winds. A monster, formed from the yew tree, visits him every night at 12:07, but why? The monster tells him three stories in return for a fourth, Conor's. Through out the book, Conor struggles with bullying, nightmares and self realization. In the end, he tells you his truth while letting go of his mother.

Synopsis:
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.
This book surprised me. I was expecting a creepy/ horror novel but it was quite the opposite. As it being very short, I didn't expect it to have a lot of substance. From the beginning, I was intrigued to see where the story led. You don't often read about monsters made out of trees. From the beginning you question why Conor isn't afraid of the monster and what his real fear is. There were a lot of great messages that really hit home. Conor really goes through the stages of how to deal with his mother's illness. At one point you have all your hope in the story having a happy ending and then that get's taken away. Patrick Ness did an AMAZING job portraying emotions. The ending made me want to cry my eyes out! If someone is dealing with not being able to let someone go, then this book is great for them! Conor's nightmare was very real. I find it a nightmare that many can have when dealing with grief or going through the stages of losing someone. My heart literally ached when reading it! Truly a beautiful book!

The illustrations were awesome! They had that creepy grunge feel to them that set the mood for the book. The monster was beautifully drawn and in one picture you can see the tendrils of the monsters roots webbing into the ceiling. That was my favorite picture.


Do I think this could be a great movie?
ABSOLUTELY! I think the movie has great potential. If done right, the audience will be able to see what grief is like and that it is okay to be angry. I would like more creepy aspects in the movie.

In the end if you don't want to read about cancer, don't read this book! If you love Patrick Ness and don't mind crying, then I highly recommend this book! I read it in two days, and have no regrets.


https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/370361.Patrick_Ness

XOXO Elizabeth

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Tips For Buying College Textbooks

Before you start college, all you hear about is how much the textbooks are. Well, let me tell you, it's not a lie. As a freshman starting college in the fall, I have had to experience this first hand. I may not be a veteran at college yet, but I do have a few tips for you.

Number one-
Research!
You might be scared to buy a textbook from anywhere but your university's bookstore but don't be. I had the same fear. I bought most, if not all my books from my university's bookstore and am regretting it. When you put in your order, they have the right to change or cancel some things in your order and they take for ever to process it. While this may not be for all colleges, it is what I have experienced. My college had made changes to multiple orders of mine, leaving me questioning what to do. It has been a headache! For the future, just research! If the textbook is a couple dollars cheaper or a couple dollars more on amazon, get it on amazon!

Number two-
Get used books!
For some textbooks, it is more wise to get it new. The textbook might also be sold only as new, but for most, there is a option to buy it used. If you are taking a writing class, buying a used textbook might actually help you more. The notes or highlights in the textbook might teach you things that you had not considered. Another reason, which is a no brainier, is that used textbooks are cheaper. If you can save money, do it!

Number three-
You don't need to buy every textbook recommended to you. This was my down fall. As a freshman going to college for the first time, I got it in my head that whatever was recommended, you needed. This is SO false. Look-up what that recommended textbook is about and if you think it might help you, then great! Not everything they recommend will help you.

These are my tips! If you have any that you have thought of, message me! I would love to hear what you have to say!

xoxo Elizabeth

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Re-reading Books

I have never been one to re-read books. I always had too many books on my TBR to even think about it. With the Cassandra Clare series marathon I am participating in, I am re-reading a book for the first time ever! And let me tell you, it has been fun!

I am reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare again, one of my favorite books! The first time, I was always waiting in anticipation. Questioning what is going to happen next. The second time, I am realizing that it is so much better! I know what is going to happen so I take more time observing everything. The best part is being able to see the relationships between characters develop more closely.  In City of Bones, it is amazing reading how the relationship develops between Clary and Jace. The second time around you can really see how fast he falls for her and how much he cares. As well as you discover new details you forgot.

Would I recommend re-reading books...HECK YES!

Some books I want to re-read are The Book Thief and The Hunger Games.

If you have ever re-read a book and loved it better the second time, leave a comment of what it was!

xoxo Elizabeth

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Cassandra Clare Announces New Books?!


As we all know, Cassandra Clare is a Beast at what she does. From the Mortal Instruments to the Infernal Devices she has been able to paint a world with unique characters and evil downworlders. All her books leave you wanting more, and she has yet to disappoint. As of recently, Cassy has announced another Shadowhunter series as well as the second book in the Dark Artifices Series.

The second book in the TDA series, Lord of Shadows, is set to come out April 11, 2017. With Lady Midnight doing so well, it will be interesting to see how the next one is! The third book was announced to be called Queen of Air and Darkness.

Cassandra Clare continued with further announcements when she released that she is working on another Shadowhunters series set in London! The Last Hours starts off with book one, the Chain of Thorns. This is set to be a trilogy.


The Last Hours is a new Shadowhunters series set in 1903. It deals with the next generation after Will, Tessa and Jem as well as Charlotte and Henry’s children, Tatiana Blackthorn’s children, the Lightwood kids, and many more. 1903 is right around the time the Victorian era tips over into the Edwardian era — beautiful clothes, fabulous history and so much more that I’m excited to write about!
The title is taken from the book Great Expectations, of which the series is a retelling: those of you who’ve read The Midnight Heir installment of the Bane Chronicles probably have some ideas about certain of the characters!
There will be three books: Chain of Thorns, Chain of Gold, and Chain of Iron — also a reference to Great Expectations.
The books will interconnect with The Dark Artifices trilogy as two separate trilogies that are also the stories of the Blackthorns, Herondales and Carstairs, much like TMI and The Infernal Devices interconnected despite taking place in different time periods and locations.

There has been rumors of an adult series told through the life of Magnus Bane, the high Warlock. As well as a fifth Shadowhunters series called The Wicked Powers. The Titles comes from a children's poem in the Shadowhunter universe, "And Bronze to summon Wicked Power." The series will be set three years after The Dark Artifices, and will be focused on two of the younger Blackthorns. The Wicked Powers could start to be published around 2020.


If you did not know, Cassy has a middle grade series with co-author Holly Black, The Magisterium series. It is set to have five books and the first two are already out. The third book, The Bronze Key is coming out August 30th, 2016. The fourth book in the series, The Golden Boy is to be published in 2017. The series follows a kid by the name of Call who isn't like the other kids. The harder he tries not to have magic, the better he is at it. Joined by two of his friends, they battle monsters and other things waiting in the darkness. 

The Bronze Key Coming August 30th, 2016
The Golden Boy Coming 2017
The Enemy of Death Coming 2018

Want to know about everything she has written? Click here!
http://www.cassandraclare.com/my-writing/novels/

I'm always excited to see what Cassandra Clare is going to do next! What book are you most excited for? 

xoxo Elizabeth

Thursday, July 28, 2016

The Zoella Book Club

Hello!

I have been a fan of Zoey's for a while now and when I found out she was doing a book club I was ecstatic! This book club is run through WH Smith. Zoey picked eight contemporary novels that she enjoyed. Recently I have been loving contemporary novels, so I decided to join in on this fun book club!

The Eight Books that you can read are:

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25437747-beautiful-broken-things?ac=1&from_search=true


We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16143347-we-were-liars?ac=1&from_search=true


The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward



Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon


The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson



Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher



Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell


I hope you guys could join in before summer comes to an end!
There is a competition going on for the book club!

WH Smith Blog Post
https://blog.whsmith.co.uk/tag/the-zoella-book-club/

Competition
https://blog.whsmith.co.uk/zbc616-win-a-personal-video-from-zoella/

xoxo Elizabeth