First line in A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
Hi, fellow readers. As you can probably tell from the title, this post is about the books on my TBR that I expect to rate 5 stars. It’s fairly popular in the bookish community and I always find those follow-up post very interesting. So, I figured I would do one myself.
I’ve picked out 5 books which I’m fairly confident will get a 5-star rating from me. I’ve excluded books that aren’t out yet because I want to be able to read these in the near future.
This is the only classic on this list of predictions. I loved the movie as a child, but I’m also prepared for the “Disney made everything nicer” thing that’s bound to occur. One of my favorite BookTubers, Merphy Napier, lists this as her favorite book. According to her, the book is a little sad which is just my thing.
This is a bit of a chancy one. It’s still a series I don’t know very much about, but everyone who’ve read it seems to love it. I’ve read one of Chima’s books before, and I thought it was fine. It’s been a while, but I know that I didn’t hate her writing style or anything. The synopsis of this one seems interesting enough to give it a go.
When people praise this book, they seem to praise Chambers writing style a lot, and writing style is just very important for me when rating a book. I’ve also heard that this is a good sci-fi book for people who don’t read sci-fi. The sci-fi elements apparently aren’t that prevalent or important to the story. I also love character-driven books so I have high hopes for this one.
The safest book on the list. It’s impossible for me to imagine that the second book in The Stormlight Archive isn’t going to be a 5-star book. It’s average rating on Goodreads is 4.76 based on 170,000 ratings. That’s insane! I loved the first book so much, and I can’t wait to continue the series.
I have no reason for this other than everyone else seems to like it. I’ve only ever read one literary fiction book in my life, but that ended up being one of my favorite books of all time (A Little Life), so I’m tentatively trying again.
I can’t wait to read these! Hopefully, I can return to this in about six months to confirm that they were all great. Have to read any of these? Or are they also patiently waiting on your TBR? Let me know in the comments.
Hi guys.
Today I wanted to talk a bit about what we all wish we had more time for:
rereading books. I used to do this a lot more when I was younger. I had 3 or 4
series I just went through over and over and over again. I remember my mom
being very confused by this. She never rereads a book *gasp* and would ask me
why I wanted to read Harry Potter for the 12th time when I know what
happens. My answer: Because I know
what happens. When you read a book for the first time, it’s very hard to pay
attention to EVERYTHING. You won’t understand all the hints but it’s so
rewarding to read it again and see all of those connections you missed the
first time. I also find myself loving characters I might have been indifferent
about the first time, because I now know their complete character arc and
appreciate their development.
This post
was actually inspired by my recent reread of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I’ll
let you know more about my thoughts about the book in my October wrap up but
for now I will reveal that my rating went from 3 to 5 stars. Therefore, this
post is also a reminder to reread books you didn’t completely love the first
time. With Carry On, I definitely read it at the wrong time in my life.
The
unfortunate thing about rereads however is when you read your favorite book…
and it’s not your favorite anymore. I recently experienced this when I reread
The Maze Runner by James Dashner. That was not like I remembered it.
I have a
lot of books I want to reread and now I’m going to tell you which ones. First,
a couple of books I want to give a second chance.
Dust Lands by Moira Young
Books in
series:
Blood Red Road – published in 2011. Read in 2013. My rating was 3 stars.
I actually
own the first book and I think I only DNF’d Rebel Heart because the library
wanted their book back. I just never got around to getting it again. I remember
the writing being very difficult because the characters spoke with an accent.
That meant I read it super slowly. I think that as an adult it might suit be
better. Plus, my English has improved (hopefully). I remember that the story
had so much potential and I actually want to know how it ends.
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Books in
series:
The Fellowship of the Ring – published in 1954. I read this before I was on Goodreads so sometime before 2011. No rating.
To say that
I’ve read these might be a stretch as I skimmed SO many of the descriptions. I
did not like the series at all and thought it was oh so boring. I’m not
completely convinced that I will feel any different today but I want to give
them a second chance at some point. I WAS very young when I read them the first
time and I’m assuming that I’ll understand more of the story now so we’ll see.
That’s all
I’ll commit to at this point. Not every book deserves a second chance. Of
course, I also want to reread some of my favorite books. Some of the ones I
know I’ll still love or maybe love even more. I won’t give much of an
explanation for these because ‘duh’.
The Raven King – published 2016. Read in 2018. I rated it 4 stars.
Monsters of Verity by Victoria Schwab
Books in
series:
This Savage Song – published 2016. Read in 2018. I rated it 4 stars.
Our Dark Duet – published 2017. Read in 2018. I rated it 4 stars.
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Yes, I just want to reread the second book in Arc of a Scythe because that was freaking amazing! Scythe wasn’t bad, but it was just nowhere near the level of Thunderhead.
I hope you enjoyed this and maybe feel inspired to pick up a book you’ve already read. Remember, the new releases will still be there when you’re done. What book do you want to reread? Have you ever changed your mind about a book for the better because of a reread? I feel like I most often experience it the other way around so I’d love to know if that’s just me.
First line in Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
It’s time
for everyone to hate me. Well, I hope you won’t, but this post might have some
unpopular opinions sprinkled throughout. I want to talk about some of those
very hyped books that are probably very good, but I just don’t have any
interest in. I’ve learned that you just can’t read all the popular books
because there are so (!!) many. I’ve also too often read a book only because it
was extremely hyped and found that I hated it. This post is me trying to avoid
that.
(The first
line at the beginning of this post is from Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi
Adeyemi. A very hyped book I read and hated.)
I’ve picked
7 books/series that I don’t want to read. There are more of course, but I’ve tried
to find the most popular ones so enjoy (hopefully).
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor
Jenkins Reid
Yeah, I’m
starting with the one most people love, I guess. It’s great that so many people
love it and I’ve heard/read so many reviews for it. It’s just that nothing in
those reviews has made me go “Oh, that sounds very interesting.” Just by
reading the synopsis, I can tell that I’ll be bored out of my mind if I ever
read this so it’s a no. It’s just not for me.
The Lightbringer Series by Brent Weeks
As with most other epic fantasy
series, it’s difficult to tell what this is actually about. I just know from
other people’s reviews that sexism and detestable characters are very
prevalent. I’m reading so many other popular (and long!) fantasy series at the
moment so I’m okay with skipping this one.
Anything by Sarah J. Maas
Let me just say that until I discovered
booktube last year, I had never heard about Sarah J. Maas or any of her books.
That has been rectified now because WOW that’s a topic. I’ve learned that they
aren’t for me. I’m not very much into fantasy with a huge romance plot in
between. I want my books to either be fantasy or romance. No mixing it up which I understand that Maas does a
lot.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
I’m in a complicated relationship
with YA contemporaries. Either I love them to death, or they kill my will to read
ever again. For that reason, I spend a lot of time learning as much about the
books as possible without getting spoiled. What I’ve learned about To All the
Boys I’ve Loved Before hasn’t made me excited to read it. I also tend to steer
clear of the fluffy contemporaries and I feel this is one of those. I need them
to be more hard-hitting to enjoy them.
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
I’m just very frightened by the
formatting of this book. Everybody is praising it for exactly that, but I just
want normal pages with paragraphs of text, okay. I also rarely read science
fiction that isn’t dystopian. It’s just not my genre and so I have no interest
in this book.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
I used to be somewhat interested in
this series when I first heard of it because it’s fairytale retellings. However,
I learned that they are very romance-heavy and therefore not something I feel a
great need to read. Again, it’s also science-fiction which just makes me wary.
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
I’m really not into assassins, guys. I just don’t like them and therefore I steer clear of books with assassin main characters. From the reviews of this, I also feel like it’s very much a hit or miss. People either love it or they hate it which makes me think that Nevernight is not for me. It also has one of my least favorite tropes which is a school setting.
Those were some of the popular books I don’t have any interest in reading. I really want to know if you feel the same way about some of these, but I also want to hear if you really love them and why. Just let your frustrations out in the comments. One could have a change of heart of course with enough persuasion.
First line in A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
In July, I did a post about some of favorite book tropes, so now I figured it was time to share some of the tropes that I don’t enjoy. This doesn’t mean that I hate every book that has these tropes but I’ll be more wary of picking up the book.
Just to clarify:
Tropes are certain elements or themes that appear in a wide range of books.
Many tropes are even adherent to specific genres. A trope doesn’t equal
something bad but some can feel like that because of overuse and unoriginality.
In this
post, I’ll define some of my most disliked tropes and why I dislike them. If
I’ve enjoyed a book despite one of these tropes, I’ll also let you know which
ones.
The Competition
Definition: A competition or a tournament takes
place and lasts for the majority of the book.
Why I don’t like it: This might seem like a weird one
but stay with me for a second. To me, a competition is there to define when the
action can happen. Mainly in the way that the climactic point of the book can’t
happen till the competition is close to ending or over completely. I want to be
surprised. I’ll end up just waiting impatiently for the competition to come to
a close so the exciting thing can happen. It hinders my enjoyment of the other
elements in the book which I might have liked.
Here are
some exceptions:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling – Fun story: I really struggled with this book the first time I read it because of the tournament. I got through it and now it’s my favorite in the series.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – I think this is an exception because the Games doesn’t have a defined ending. It could literally end at any moment and thereby it maintains the element of surprise for me.
The not-like-other-girls female characters
Definition: Female characters who go out of
their way to appear the least feminine as possible because apparently, it’s
cool to be masculine. This include hate towards other girls for being feminine
and liking “typical” girl things. This is also that “strong” female character
who’s mainly considered strong because she can hit people.
Why I don’t like it: I struggled a bit with the name for
this trope but if it helps you, I was basically just trying to describe Lila
Bard from A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. It’s that kind of character
I don’t enjoy reading about. I don’t mind a masculine female character as along
as the author makes me believe that’s actually who they are. That’s just rarely
the case, and the façade implies that it’s wrong or weak to be feminine.
I have no exceptions for this trope.
School Setting in Fantasy
Definition: Our main character spends the
majority of the book at a school in a fantasy world to learn magic, science,
assassination etc.
Why I don’t like it: This seems like a very popular
trope that many people like but I will actively avoid it if the entire book
takes place at a school. I find it a bit boring to have that kind of fixed
setting because I see it as restricting to the story. It’s also bit too much
like real life. You often have the bully, the popular group and so on. I don’t
want that kind of predictability when reading fantasy.
I have the
one exception you’re all excepting me to have:
Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling – Yeah, this is the perfect school setting because anything can happen at Hogwarts so it’s never boring.
Redemption Arc for the Villain
Definition: The villain ends up being one of
the good guys. This can come about in different ways. The villain could turn
out to have been misunderstood or realizes their mistakes and are reeled in by
the hero.
Why I don’t like it: The villain needs to stay bad! Otherwise,
what’s the point? Sometimes it can feel like all that was necessary was a
conversation. And not that extravagant plot we just went through.
I won’t
give exceptions for this one because that would be spoilers.
The Mentor Who Dies
Definition: Our main character has a mentor/father
figure typically from the beginning of the book. He or she teaches our main
character about life, magic etc. for then to die about half way through the
book or by the end of the first book in a series. This is done so that our main
character is able to test what they’ve learned and stand on their own.
Why I don’t like it: The predictability. In 10 out 10
books, the mentor character dies. We know it from the moment they are
introduced that we shouldn’t get too attached to them. I know it’s necessary
for the story progression but don’t make it that obvious.
I have
exceptions but again, it will be quite a big spoiler to mention.
Those were
the tropes that I don’t particularly enjoy finding in books. Do you agree with
me on some of them? What is your most hated trope?
“The eleventh apartment had only one closet, but it did have a sliding glass door that opened onto a small balcony, from which he could see a man sitting across the way, outdoors in only a T-shirt and shorts even though it was October, smoking.”
First line in A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
A few weeks ago, I shared my favorite bookish quotes from my favorite books. It was very fun to make so I wanted to make other post with a different topic.
Good and strong friendships in books are so important and I will almost always love the book if it ticks that box. Therefore, here are 5 quotes that describes what friendship means.
“It’s strange how many ways there are to miss someone. You miss the things they did and who they were, but you also miss who you were to them. The way everything you said and did beautiful or entertaining or important. How much you mattered.”
A List of Cages by Robin Roe
“Wasn’t friendship its own miracle, the finding of another person who made the entire lonely world seem somehow less lonely?”
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
“My old grandmother always used to say, Summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever.”
A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
“A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.”
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
“Why wasn’t friendship as good as a relationship? Why wasn’t it even better? It was two people who remained together, day after day, bound not by sex or physical attraction or money or children or property, but only by the shared agreement to keep going, the mutual dedication to a union that could never be codified.”
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Did any of these quotes
resonate with you? Or do you also love any of these books for their portrayal
of friendship?
“Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world.”
First line in Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Today I wanted to talk about a quite popular topic I guess: book tropes. Tropes are certain elements or themes that appear in a wide range of books and many tropes are even adherent to specific genres.
Tropes aren’t necessarily bad but some can feel overused and unoriginal. That is not always the case so I wanted to discuss some of the tropes I really like to see in books. They are the things that grab my attention when reading the synopsis of a book and ultimately makes me want to read it. For each trope I mention, I’ll also give you some book recommendations in case you’re also a fan of that specific trope.
The Chosen One
Definition: A character embodies the Chosen One trope by being the only one who can solve a problem e.g. slay the dragon, save the world from total destruction, overturn the corrupt government. They can be tasked with this through a prophecy or because they possess some ability or skill set that no one else does.
Why I like it: This is a very unpopular trope at the moment, but I still really enjoy reading about a chosen one. I like reading about how the character handles the pressure of whatever task he/she needs to complete. It gets very psychological because the character questions themselves about who they really are and what their morality is like.
A LOT of books contain the chosen one trope but here are a few I really enjoyed:
Definition: A friendship between two or more characters that makes you wish you were friends with them too. It’s deep, wholesome and central to the plot.
Why I like it: I will always prefer a strong friendship to a romantic relationship in my books. Characters sanity and logical sense often goes out the window when they are in a relationship. I don’t want that. I want characters who care for and understand each other but still insult the other on a daily basis. They need to keep each other grounded after all.
Definition: I’m going with a very broad definition here. A member of a royal family that is somehow thrust out of their comfort zone. Examples are leaving their home to go on a quest, being kidnapped, suddenly being forced to make life or death decisions for their kingdom.
Why I like it: This is really just a fancy way of saying that I like royalty in general in my books. I like how a royal person can start of by being a bit entitled and naïve about the world and then learn through their mistakes. With a bit of development these royals often display strong leadership skills and maybe some intelligence.
Additionally,
I really prefer my books to be quite political and a royal main character is
just the best way to achieve just that.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (maybe not so awesome but they are royals)
Medieval European Setting in Fantasy
Definition: The story takes place in a setting reminiscent of Europe in the Middle Ages in terms of political structure, architecture, way of life etc. This does not mean that everything is exactly the same but that the author has used it for inspiration and can change whatever they like.
Why I like it: I’m European and have spent a lot of time studying Europe. A fantasy story set in Europe is familiar and easy for me to get into. The Middle Ages is also just a time of great turmoil which can be a foundation for many conflicts.
Books set
in a medieval-Europe-inspired world (there’s a lot but here are 6):
Definition: Two characters despise/want to kill each other for justifiable reasons but then realize that their strong feelings are actually love. The characters are often forced to spend time together in a situation that makes them see the other character in a different light e.g. a dangerous mission, homework assignment or they are trapped together.
Why I like it: When I read about a romance, I need it to be passionate and fiery. In my experience that most often occur when love blossoms from hate.
Here are
some books where characters hate each other before they make out (naturally,
slight spoiler):
Definition: A tyranny or a corrupt government that functions as the main obstacle for the main character. It’s often embodied by a single person (e.g. president, ruler, king) that needs to be removed for our heroes to win.
Why I like it: As mentioned earlier, I find it fascinating when books revolve around politics. Even though it often appears in fantasy books, these political themes are what connects the books to our real world. It gives me something to think about. I also just like seeing how these villains abuse their power to their own gain. It’s a different kind of power in fantasy book where the villain often has some kinds of great magical abilities.
Here are
some books with governments that are seriously bad:
Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness (a perfect version of this trope!)
When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist.”
First line in Circe by Madeline Miller
Hi,
readers. Today, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes with you all.
I use the Goodreads Quotes-feature quite a lot and often go through the quotes
for a book I just read. I “like” the ones I really connect with so that I can
go back to them later and be reminded of their wisdom (or get a good laugh).
For this post, I’ve picked some of the best quotes from my favorite books that all have something to do with books or reading. They are just the most relatable to me and hopefully also to you.
God bless the book people for their boundless knowledge absorbed from having words instead of friends.”
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Haven’t we all been told we read too much? This quote a perfect reminder that that can never be a problem.
Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Reading is just as necessary as breathing? I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.
Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convince that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The quote to show your friends when you very aggressively force them to read your new favorite book. I mean, we’ve all done that at some point.
It was amazing how many books one could fit into a room, assuming one didn’t want to move around very much.”
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
There is simply no such thing as too many books.
“You’ve read the books?”
“I’ve seen the movies.”
Cath rolled her eyes so hard, it hurt. (Actually.) (Maybe because she was still on the edge of tears. On the edge, period.) “So you haven’t read the books.”
“I’m not really a book person.”
“That might be the most idiotic thing you’ve ever said to me”
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The lovely discussions with non-readers who firmly believe that seeing the movie is the same as having read the book. And how is someone not a book person?
Drinks were a lot like books, really: it didn’t matter where you were, the contents of a vodka tonic were always more or less the same, and you could count on them to take you away to somewhere better or at least make your present arrangements seem more manageable.”
The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman
Never though I would see books compared to drinks but here we are. They can both be a way to escape reality, but I think books might be healthier.
If you have never spent whole afternoons with burning ears and rumpled hair, forgetting the world around you over a book, forgetting cold and hunger–
If you have never read secretly under the bedclothes with a flashlight, because your father or mother or some other well-meaning person has switched off the lamp on the plausible ground that it was time to sleep because you had to get up so early–
If you have never wept bitter tears because a wonderful story has come to an end and you must take your leave of the characters with whom you have shared so many adventures, whom you have loved and admired, for whom you have hoped and feared, and without whose company life seems empty and meaningless–
If such things have not been part of your own experience, you probably won’t understand what Bastian did next.”
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
This is simply the most relatable thing I’ve ever read. Full stop.
Bonus quote just for you:
To really be nerd, she’d decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.”
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
This doesn’t necessarily refer to books but is very fitting anyway. I’m definitely a nerd.
I hope this
was somewhat fun to read. I definitely enjoyed making it. I intend to make this
into some kind of series of post but with different themes each time. I’m planning
to do one on friendship next but let me know if there are topics you’d like to
see.
Also, I’ve
of course only included quotes from books I’ve read, so feel free to comment
with some of your own favorite bookish quotes.
