Category Archives: Books

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

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The first day of senior year: everything is about to change. Until this moment, Sal has always been certain of his place with his adoptive gay father and their loving Mexican-American family. But now his own history unexpectedly haunts him, and life-altering events force him and his best friend, Samantha, to confront issues of faith, loss, and grief.

Suddenly, Sal’s throwing punches, questioning everything, and discovering that he no longer knows who he really is–but if Sal’s not who he thought he was, who is he?

First published: 2017

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Summer Book Haul (and a little catch-up)

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It’s been ages since I did a proper book haul post, because I usually buy books in small batches which I don’t think warrant an entire post. Recently, though, I’ve had the biggest urge to buy ALL THE BOOKS. The pictures in this post aren’t even up to date anymore as I bought at least three new books since taking them. Oops.

This can partly be blamed on the fact that since a couple of monhts now I’ve been working in a bookstore. So, that means I’m spending multiple days a week surrounded by books – how could I possibly resist that? I’m not that strong-willed! The job is a lot of fun, as was to be expected. It’s not a very steady job – I work very irregular hours because I am one of the on-call employees, but it’s fun and I’m not sitting at home all week, so I’m not complaining. Plus, did I mention all the books?

Speaking of books (wow, great segue), I’m kind of bummed that I haven’t been able to keep a regular blogging schedule. I really do want to get back to blogging a lot, but I’m hardly finding the time to write posts, let alone read other blogs. It’s been about 6 months since I said I would be back, and I’m still not happy with how much I’m posting. Not sure if I can do that much about it, though. Maybe I can figure out a bit more of a routine, but the irregular working hours complicate stuff a bit. We’ll see how it goes!

Now, let’s move on to the actual book haul part of this book haul post!

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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

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Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: If he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing with, will be jeopardized.

As his email correspondence with Blue grows more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out – without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

First published: 2015

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The Book Cake Tag

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It’s been ages since I did a book tag, but a while back Morgan from The Bookish Beagle tagged me to do the Book Cake tag. Books, cake… seems like the perfect tag for me, doesn’t it?

So, we’re going to build a book cake! We’ve got a couple of ingredients (flour, butter, eggs, icing, sprinkles and the cherry on top), and they’re all linked to prompts, which will be the basis for my book picks. You know, your basic book tag – it doesn’t really need any explanation.

Let’s get to it!

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A Harry Potter Appreciation Post – #HarryPotter20

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Disclaimer: this post contains spoilers for the Harry Potter series – although, to be fair, if you haven’t read it yet but are offended by HP spoilers, that’s kind of your own fault, isn’t it?

There’s a hashtag trending on Twitter today – most of you will have probably seen it: #HarryPotter20. In case you missed it: 20 years ago today Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published. Every other post on any of the social media seems to be about how Harry Potter changed someone’s life, or shaped their future – it’s kind of heartwarming. So I figured I’d jump on the bandwagon. Because (surprise, surprise) Harry Potter has been a huge part of my life as well.

This morning, I tried to remember when exactly I was introduced to Harry and J.K. Rowling, but I wasn’t sure. I do remember that I got the book as a present for my birthday one year (so it must have been October), and that that was the first time I’d heard of it. I checked the publishing information for that same copy, and that particular copy was published in 2001 – so let’s go with that! Four years after its original publication, Harry entered my world – in Dutch, mind you; it wasn’t until years later that I got to know “Hogwarts” instead of “Zweinstein” and “Diagon Alley” instead of “Wegisweg”.

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That Time I Binge-Read The Raven Cycle

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I finally did it, guys. I finished reading The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater!

Back in the summer of 2016 I read the first two books of the series, The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves, but then my internship happened and graduating happened and I just didn’t get around to reading the rest of the series, even though I really wanted to.

A while back I decided it’d be a good idea to binge read the entire series. I figured it would be a much better experience to read the entire series without long breaks between the books. Plus, when I read The Dream Thieves I’d already started my internship, so I only read a couple of pages or a few short chapters at a time. Not my favourite way to read a book.

When Bout of Books 19 rolled around a few weeks ago I decided this was my chance! I would start my binge read. I read the first two books during that read-a-thon, and finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue and The Raven King when I was on holiday in France two weeks later.

I figured it be best to do one big review for the entire series, since I read them all in such a short period of time. Plus – it’s much easier for me. That does mean that this post features some spoilers, though, but only for the first book!

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Classics: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

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Yep. Up until earlier this year I’d never read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. I’d also never seen any of the film adaptations (still haven’t, actually), so apart from some little nuggets of information and a general idea of “Alice” I didn’t even know what the story was about really. To be honest, I’m still not quite sure, but is anyone?

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Bout of Books 19

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When the end of my internship and thus my university career in general was approaching I was really looking forward to all the time I would have for reading (and blogging). That’s a few months ago now, and I have to say – I’ve not read much at all. I’ve only read 7 books so far this year, which is way too few. Lucky for me, I found out this week that my favourite read-a-thon is having its 19th edition next week.

boutofbooks19The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

I’m not really sure how much time I’ll actually be able to spend on reading next week, but I’ll try my best to read as much as I can and have fun while doing so. That’s what Bout of Books is all about after all!

I’ve been thinking about doing a binge read of the Raven Cycle books by Maggie Stiefvater. I’ve already read the first two books, but I read the second one stretched out over a pretty long period of time, so I wasn’t able to really get into it (although I loved it nonetheless). To really get the full experience, I figure a binge of all four books is in order. Perhaps I’ll start on that next week!

I think I’ll add my daily updates to this post, which I’ll then tweet out every day. Perhaps I’ll also participate in some challenges, most likely on Instagram. We’ll see how it goes! In any case, I’m really excited about participating again.

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On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher

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Evie Snow is eighty-two when she quietly passes away in her sleep, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. It’s the way most people wish to leave the world but when Evie reaches the door of her own private heaven, she finds that she’s become her twenty-seven-year-old self and the door won’t open.

Evie’s soul must be light enough to pass through so she needs to get rid of whatever is making her soul heavy. For Evie, this means unburdening herself of the three secrets which have weighed her down for over fifty years, so she must find a way to reveal them before it’s too late. As Evie begins the journey of a lifetime, she learns more about life and love than she ever thought possible, and somehow, some way, she may also find her way back to the only man she ever truly loved…

First published: 2016

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

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A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of peculiar photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its decaying bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that miss Peregrine’s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.

First published: 2011

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