Tag: MaggieStiefvater

Reading + Writing Update – Biannual Bibliothon 2019 Day 1 & 2

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Happy Sunday!

I was going to do daily updates for the current readathon I’m participated in, the Biannual Bibliothon, but I decided to do a reading update every 2 days instead. It works out that this is the second day of the readathon (well, the very, very end of the second day) and also the day I post my weekly reading and writing update so yay. I’m tackling two birds with one stone. Anyways, let’s get into it!

This week was a decent reading week. Not my best, but I did finish reading 2 books and started on a third! On Tuesday, I finished the fourth and final book in the FABULOUS Raven Cycle quartet by Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven King. It was a good book but honestly, I wasn’t that satisfied with the ending. It seemed…too easy for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the characters and want them to live happily ever after, but the way things got resolved was strange, to say the least. I still really enjoyed it though and flew through it! The next book I started on was Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Every month or so I need a little break from fantasy and magic, and desperately need to slip into some cute contemporary stories. Soooo, I chose Anna and the French Kiss and it was exactly what I needed! I actually only finished it a few hours ago…but hey, it got done and I had fun so that’s all that matters. Last but not least, I started my second read of the Biannual Bibliothon (whoops, forgot to mention that Anna and the French Kiss was my first read of the readathon!), Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I mentioned in my goals for 2019 that I wanted to read more classics so here I am, reading classics! I’m really excited to read this and join the bandwagon, and I’m hoping I truly like the story but I have no idea at this point in it. I might be around 30ish pages into it so I still got a ways to go. If you want to see what I plan on reading for the rest of next for the readathon, check out my TBR HERE!

I think I’m done my writing break. While I took most of my winter break off from writing back in late December/early January, I think that was enough time for me to replenish my creativity. It felt so strange not to write, and honestly, I really didn’t like how it made me feel. I haven’t written a crazy amount this week or anything, but I did write well over 2,000 words and I think that’s a healthy amount when getting back into the swing of things. I’m working on a non-magical piece…actually the short story version of a later script I will be writing/adapting for my writing class. We are doing screenwriting but in order for me to fully create a fleshed out story, I need to write the in-depth short story for it first. My first draft of it was about 1,500 words and I’m looking forward to tackling the second draft tomorrow!

Anyways, that is all for this update and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post as well as my social media accounts linked down below. Thanks for reading ๐Ÿ™‚

Last Blog Post:ย Biannual Bibliothon Day 2 โ€“ Christmas Party

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Reading Update!

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During the months of August and September, I read a grand total of 1 1/2 books…yeah not too impressive. On Thursday though, I finally finished Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier! I think I have been finally pulled out of my reading rut and am finally ready to keep on reading. Currently I am now reading Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Abertalli, and am about a hundred pages into it already. It is such a fast paced, light hearted and enjoyable read that I have no doubt I will be able to finish it this weekend. Today I am doing a lot of traveling as well as tomorrow, so I plan on getting quite a bit of reading done. Hopefully I will finish Simon today and get started on my next read, The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater, because it is the perfect book for the fall time and I am excited to continue on with this series!

That is all for my reading update and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Series I Haven’t Finished…

October 2017 TBR!

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September wasn’t the best reading month, but I plan on turning things around in the month of October. I tried to choose books that gave me a cozy or dark vibe, so here are the books I plan to read!

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

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The Dream Thieves is the second book in The Raven Cycle series, which is a dark, whimsical series that follows a unique cast of characters. In the first book, The Raven Boys, we follow Blue, a sixteen year old girl from a family of psychics who had never showed any signs of possessing the same gift. That is, until one night when the soon-to-be dead walk by, and she sees one named Gansey. Things get complicated though, when she meets the not-yet-dead version of Gansey in real life, and she struggles to figure out what how they are connected. There is also a bit of Welsh mythology in this series which I thought was really cool, and I overall really enjoyed the first book and hopefully I enjoy this one too!

Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

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This book has so much hype around it so I thought it was about time I pick it up. It is also going to become a movie that comes out sometime in 2018 and stars Nick Robinson as well as some other very popular actors. Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda, follows our main character named Simon, who is not-so-openly gay. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at the risk of being exposed unless he plays wingman for the class clown, Martin. I haven’t read a book like this, but since everyone who has read it loves it, I have no doubt I will too.

Ruby Red by Kerstin Grier

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Honestly, this is the perfect book to read during the fall time because it is dark and has magic. It is just a book that I can picture reading on a rainy day with a cup of earl grey tea…specifically earl grey tea. Ruby Red follows a girl named Gwen who comes from a family of time travelers, but it is her cousin Charlotte who is believed to possess the gene. But when Gwen finds herself transported back to the past, secrets slowly begin to unravel and the spotlight is shone on her as she is thrust into the world of time traveling, along with her annoyingly handsome counterpart, Gideon. I love, love, love this book and talking about it makes me want to not only re read it, but watch the movie as well!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan (Graphic Novel)

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I have been meaning to read this graphic novel since I bought it…but just haven’t. I am committed to read it once I finish Geekerella by Ashley Poston, and I am so excited to read a book I love in graphic novel format! This is the third book in the Percy Jackson series, which follows a boy named Percy Jackson who is brought to a special camp called Camp Half-Blood, which is for people like him, demigods. The books are filled with quests, adventure and action, along with awesome characters that you can’t help but love!

That is all for my October 2017 TBR, and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: October 2017 Talk!

October 2017 Talk!

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October is approaching at a rapid pace and I am ready to welcome it with open arms. October is easily one of my favourite months because it is 100% fall, there are amazing Disney movies out and also Halloween! There are also a few books to make it more exciting, and here are the ones I am looking forward to.

~Books~

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

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If you didn’t know, Maggie Stiefvater is the author of The Raven Cycle series, which I am slowly making my way through and am ultimately enjoying. Now since that series has concluded, she is coming out with a brand new book and I cannot wait to get my hands on it! I personally like going into Maggie Stiefvater’s books without knowing or understanding the synopsis, but I can tell this is going to be a dark and whimsical book just like all of her others. October 10, 2017

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

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ย I know I am not the biggest John Green fan, but I always read his books so I know eventually I will pick up this one too. Turtles All the Way Down follows sixteen year old Aza, who for the prize of $100,000, investigates the mystery of the fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett with the help of her friend Daisy. This seems a bit different than what John Green usually writes but nonetheless, I am interested to see what it is like.ย October 10, 2017

Sadly there were no movies I was really looking forward to, but those are the few books I am excited to get my hands on! I hope you enjoyed this quick October 2017 Talk, and don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Reading/Writing Update.

 

 

 

Fall Reading Recommendations!

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Fall is my favourite month because the weather has cooled down so it isn’t 100 hundred degrees anymore, and it is the perfect time of the year to curl up and read a good book with a cup of hot tea or coffee. Personally, I feel like the books I read in the fall are more heavy and dark books, so here are a few recommendations!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

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This is the perfect book to read in the fall because it is dark and mystical and is definitely a page turner. The Raven Boys follows a cast of different characters and one of them is Blue Sargent, a girl from a family of psychics who doesn’t seem to possess the same gift. That is until one night she sees a ghost of the soon-to-be dead and he introduces himself as Gansey. Blue is mystified at how she could see him, but when she meets the real Gansey one day, things flip upside down. I really enjoyed this book and am excited to continue on with the series this fall!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

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Throne of Glass is a dark, high fantasy series that has magic and assassins, and is overall a very complex and interesting story. While I am not a huge fan of the books after book two, I did really enjoy this first one and am dying to give it a re read. Throne of Glass follows an assassin named Calaena Sardothian who has been let out of a slave camp so she can participate in a tournament to become the king’s personal assassin. There is a lot of action, romance and adventure and while it has been a while since I first read it, I remember that I loved it!

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

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I would say all of Stephen King’s books are very dark, so I had to add one to the list. This is the first book in The Dark Tower series, which has been recently adapted into a movie. Since I have only seen the movie and haven’t read the book (yet), and since the setting sounds pretty complex I won’t try to explain it because I would probably not do it justice! It does sounds like a very adventurous and entertaining read though, and am excited to get to it this fall.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

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This is a contemporary book that follows a girl named Mia Hall. Mia strives to get accepted into Julliard and live out her dreams of playing the cello, but that is all jeopardized when she and her family get into a car crash. We follow Mia in the past and present, and learn more about her as well as what is going on around her during the crash. This is also a movie, which I really enjoyed, and is dark and sad, but also happy and fluffy a lot of the time!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

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The Hunger Games may be one of the darkest books out there because of its concept…but I think that is what makes it so appealing. The Hunger Games, if you didn’t know, follows our main character Katniss who lives in a society where at the age of 12, you are reaped among others to participate in the Hunger Games, where 24 kids are placed in an arena and forced to kill each other to win. The movies are amazing and the books are also good and very fall appropriate so definitely check them out if you haven’t already!

Those are five book recommendations for fall and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Reading/Writing Update!

September 2017 TBR

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Sooo I read like nothing in the month of August because I was so busy with finishing up work, going to camp for a week and then moving. However, I did read for the last week and am back into my regular reading swing so here are the books I plan to read in the month of September!

Obsidian and Onyx by Jennifer L Armentrout

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I love reading this series during the back to school season because these books, for a big portion, take place at school. In the first book in this series, Obsidian, we follow our main character Katy who has moved to Virginia with her mom for a fresh start only to discover she has moved next door to two strange twins that flip her life upside down as she enters their world. If you are looking for a very fast paced and easy read, this is always one of the first books I recommend!

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

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As I mentioned in my July wrap up, I finished The Raven Boys about a month ago and really enjoyed it. It is the first book in the Raven Cycle series which is very mystical and unique! I want to read the second book before I forget too much from the first so I am trying to get to it as soon as possible this coming month. The Raven Boys follows a series of different POV’s as these different characters come together to put the pieces to finding a lost Welsh king together. Really enjoyed the first book and I hope I like the second one even more!

The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

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The first book in this duology, The Wrath and the Dawn was such a fantastic read that I was dying to get my hands on the second. I have heard that it isn’t as good as The Wrath and the Dawn which makes me sad, but I am still determined to read it! The first book follows a girl named Shahrzad who volunteers to be the young King’s wife, knowing that she will be killed the following morning like his many other wives before her. But when she bargains with her life and lives to see the rising sun every day, secrets are uncovered and she realizes the King may not be the monster everyone believes him to be. Loved, loved, loved the first book and hopefully the second and last one will not disappoint!

Since this is the month I go back to school (along with many others), I am going to keep my TBR at a respectable number because I know I will not be able to read a lot. But anyways, those are the books I plan to read this coming month and I hope you enjoyed!

 

Books I Need to Read Before 2018!

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2017 has been a busy year of new releases and I still haven’t caught up despite the year being half over. Here is the list of books that I really, really want to read before 2017 is over!

The Dreams Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvaterย 

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As most of you probably remember from my BookTubeAThon updates, I read The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. This is the first book in The Raven Cycle series, and I would really like to get to the other three and finish this fun series before 2018! I thought the first book was very dark and mystical and had very interesting aspects that I don’t see a lot in the books I read. I do plan on finishing this series before the end of September and I do think I can easily get it done!

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare

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Even though I am a massive Cassandra Clare fan, I just haven’t finished this novella bind up following Simon Lewis, a main character from The Mortal Instruments series. I did read the first 50 or so pages, but I couldn’t really get into it so I put it down and just haven’t picked it up since! A lot of people rave about it and I have no idea why it felt so slow to me, but I am still going to try to and get it done.

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

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My grandfather read me this story when I was younger, and I really enjoyed listening to it so ever since, I have been very interested in reading it. I have also had it on my shelf since forever, and think it is about time I pick it up. If you didn’t know, this is a classic that follows a man who makes a bet that he can travel around the world in 80 days. I have heard nothing but good things so I am so excited to pick it up and give it a read!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan’s Curse (Graphic Novel) by Percy Jackson

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Graphic novels have never been something I picked up a lot, but I would like to gradually start doing so. I got this Percy Jackson graphic novel for a very good price and am dying to give it a read! Since I love Percy Jackson I have no doubt it my mind I won’t love this graphic novel and hopefully it will encourage me to pick up more in the future.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

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If you didn’t know, this book is being adapted into a movie, and the trailer looks amazing! This is another book I have heard nothing but amazing reviews about, and am so, so excited to finally pick it up. This book is really hard to get your hands on because there are many holds on library copies and all the stores seemed to be sold out except for online! I will eventually buy it online but it may take me a bit longer to read this one but I am determined to!

Those are some of the books I want to read before 2018 and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Reading/Writing Update!

BookTubeAThon Day 6 Update

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I finally had a day where I could spend more time reading, and while I got less reading done than I would have liked, by now I have realized that is sometimes how it goes. Anyways, tomorrow is the last day of BookTubeAThon and while the thought makes me very sad because it was such a fun ride, I am also a tiny bit relieved to not feeling obligated to read so many books. I do enjoy reading all these books, but I could NOT read 7 books every week or I might go insane! Anyways, here is what I managed to read today:

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As of today, I have officially read 4 books for the BookTubeAThon and have completed 4 challenges: read a book in one day, read a hyped book, read a book with a character that is very different from you and read a book with a person the cover. I have changed my TBR and challenge order slightly, but for the majority the books are the same! But anyways, today was the day I finished The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, a book that had been sitting on my shelf for a while now, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I really loved the dark, mystical vibe it gave off, and cannot wait to continue on with the rest of the series! Apart from The Raven Boys, I also started Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and got 80 pages into that! I do plan on finishing it first thing tomorrow morning considering that I have to finish 3 whole books tomorrow, in order to complete all the challenges, so wish me luck…

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DAY 6 OVERVIEW:

Books Completed: 1

Pages Read: 273 (193 of The Raven Boys and 80 of Anna and the French Kiss)

I hope you enjoyed this update and I will be back tomorrow with the final one for BookTubeAThon 2017!

BookTubeAThon Day 5 Update

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Whooo! This update isย actually going up on time for once.

Today was day 5 of the BookTubeAThon which is really sad because now there are only 2 days left. BookTubeAThon is such a fun event to participate in, but like they say, all good things must come to an end. Anyways, here is what I managed to get done today!

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My goal for today was to finish The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater which I started last night, but ended up only reading a chapter or so. However, I did not achieve my goal of completing the other 400 or so pages of The Raven Boys today. I did read exactly 200 pages though, which means I have a little less than 200 pages left to go. I do planning on doing a good chunk of reading in the morning but I am determined to finish The Raven Boys tomorrow afternoon and start re reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins!

DAY 5 OVERVIEW:

Books Completed: 0

Pages Read: 200 (The Raven Boys)

That is all for my BookTubeAThon Day 5 Update, and I hope you enjoyed. Oh, and also, there will be no reading/writing update tomorrow just because I have been regularly updating you all on what I am currently reading, and also because I have not done any writing since Monday…But anyways, don’t forget to check out my last blog post: August 2017 TBR!

August 2017 TBR!

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July was an okay reading month, better than the last few months, but I am still really behind on my reading goal, and I want to get a lot of reading done this summer. So, I have a slightly ambitious August TBR, and since I will be less busy, I plan on reading a LOT. Anyways, here is my TBR and I hope you enjoy.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

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I started this book in the beginning of July, but got distracted with others so I plan on finishing it this August. It is a fun, summery contemporary that is perfect for summer vacation, and follows a girl named Emaline who works at her parents realty place and there, she meets an artsy boy from New York that she can’t help but fall for. I am really excited because I expect to just fly through this book, and I know I will enjoy it!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

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This was a book I purchased a while ago, and I really want to read it because I just keep hearing amazing things about it. Honestly, I want to go into it with no grasp on what it is about, but if you are curious then definitely look it up!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

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I re read this not that long ago, but honestly, I love this book so much that I just NEED to read it again. This book follows a girl named Anna whose parents send her to an American boarding school in Paris. There, she meets a fun and loving group of friends and against her will, starts to fall for one of them. Hard. Again, this is another light hearted contemporary that is a classic and a must read!

Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout

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Since August is the month before I go back to school, I am in the school vibe and have the craving to read books that partially take place at school…so yeah, Obsidian is on my TBR! Obsidian follows a girl named Katy, who after a spontaneous move to Virginia with her mother, moves next door to two strange twins named Dee and Damon Black, and learns that there is more to them and their world than she thought. This book is like a sci-fi-contemporary, and I really love the combination and am excited to re read it!

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

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Yep! I am still re reading The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, and it has been so much fun because I just love this series. City of Lost Souls is the fifth book in The Mortal Instruments series, but without spoiling it, the main story line is that it follows teenaged Clary Fray whose mother is kidnapped from their New York apartment, and on her journey to save her, Clary discovers that her mother was part of a world of angels and demons, and that she too, has a place in it. This is my favourite series because of the characters and the plot line, and I am so happy to be back into this great world of Shadowhunters!

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

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I feel like this is one of those classic YA’s that you should read if you like cliche plot lines…and guess what. That’s me! Hush, Hush follows a girl named Nora who never really saw herself falling in love, well at least not at her school. That is, until Patch comes along and things start to change. Throughout the story though, Nora becomes weary of Patch because he starts to know things that nobody should know, and eventually the truth about him comes out. I am excited to give this a try and hopefully I will like it!

Those are all the books I plan to read in the month of August, and you should comment down below any books you plan on reading this month because I would love to know!