My Goodreads TBR

As I was browsing Goodreads  a few days ago I saw I had 398 books on my to read list. I must admit it scarred me a bit, so many books to read and so little time. looking at the dates I added a book to the list, the first one added are added in dec 2011 and I still haven’t had time to read it. I must say I don’t know precisely which books are on the list and which aren’t. It made me feel quite unsettled.

It got me thinking about the urge I feel to read as many books possible even when I don’t have the time to read so many books. And how I feel like I have to read al the books on my TBR pile even if some of the books don’t seem as luring as they did when I put them on the list.

I have read 150 books and volumes of comics this year, and 2015 still has a few months left but even if I try to read more I don’t think it would make me feel more happy or satisfied. I read because I like to travel through different worlds and times. I’ am a dreamer and an adventurer, a nosy bookworm and some worlds I like to revisit others I spent a few hours in and then there are the worlds I can’t get enough of and read every book in the series only to visit a so dear loved world. And having such a humongous bucketlist of places to wander seems not as bad as it did a few days ago.  I will travel places through books and it will be marvelous.

Lots of love,

Hanneke

Top books of Summer

Over the past couple of months I read a lot of good books, as I didn't have the time to do weekly or monthly wrap-ups I thought I would share the best books I read this summer.

1. The Murder Complex - Lindsay Cummings 

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision. (summery from Goodreads)

I heard nothing but good things about this series, but hadn't found any time to read it. The world is amazing and the writing style is really addictive it was an great young adult book, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. 

2. The Emperor's Soul - Brandon Sanderson

Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor’s scepter, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Though her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead. (summery from Goodreads)

This Novela was as amazing as al the other works by Brandon Sanderson that I have read. Not only do I love his world building skills but the characters are always beautiful skilled. It was the first novela I read in a long time and certainly the best novela. 


3.Alex+ Ada vol 1,2,3- Jonathan Luna, Sarah Vaughn

The last thing in the world Alex wanted was an X5, the latest in realistic androids. But after Ada is dropped into his life, he discovers she is more than just a robot.( summery from Goodreads)

I heard a lot of good things about this comic and once i read the first issue I was hooked. The storyline is amazing and I can't wait for more. 

4.City of Bones- Cassandra Clare 

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? (summery from Goodreads)

I waited ages to read the first book in this series. I already read the infernal devices trilogy and absolutly loved it but there were so many other good books i wanted to read that I didn't came around to reading it. But it was a great young adult book. 


5.Low Vol 1- Rick Remender, Greg Tocchini 

Millennia ago, mankind fled the earth's surface into the bottomless depths of the darkest oceans. Shielded from a merciless sun's scorching radiation, the human race tried to stave off certain extinction by sending robotic probes far into the galaxy to search for a new home among the stars. Generations later, one family is about to be torn apart in a conflict that will usher in the final race to save humanity from a world beyond hope( summery from Goodreads) 

The art work in this comic is amazing! I really like al the colors and designs. I had some problems with the story in the beginning but now I'm hooked and want more. 

What were your favorite books that you read this summer?

Lots of love,

Hanneke 

TBR & Read-a-thons in September

As September is starting tomorrow I would like to share al the books I plan to read this upcoming month. Summer went by far to quickly and I was having a bit of a reading slump which resulted in reading a lot of comics and really short stories and starting to many books. This month I hope to finish some of the books I started and I plan to participate in a lot of Goodreads Group reads ;)

 Books started last month I plan to finish:

•  Red Rising 
• Written in Red 
• Neferti’s Heart 
• The Runaway King 
• The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl 

 Books I will be reading during groupreads:

• Addicted to YA: The Iron Trial  and Queen of Shadows 
• Year of Cosmere: finishing Way of Kings and then start Words of Radiance 
• Booktube ss awards: Saga, The Meeker and the All-seeing Eye
• A-year-a-thon: The Giver, 1984 
• Girls, guns, grimoires: Perdition 
• Buddy read with elizabeth paige: The Wrath and the Dawn 

 As always the list is way more ambitious than what I probably will manage to read. And as university starts again this week i’m a bit anxious about my reading time but I still hope to read some good books.

 What are you planning to read in September? Let me know in the comments!

 Lots of love Hanneke

Wrap-up Week of wisdom

During the week of wisdom I managed to read 3 books and start another 3. It was a fairly successful week and I'm really looking forward to the next week of wisdom as it will be another blast.

Orange is the new black

I gave this book 3,5 stars (3 stars on Goodreads), I was really looking forward to reading this book as I am in love with the TV-show. Unfortunately the book didn't cover much new ground, although I definitely enjoyed Piper more in the book than I do in the TV show. I was bored throughout the book and I was kind of glad when I finished it.

If I hadn't seen the TV-show first I think I would have given this a much higher rating as it was well written, funny and I really enjoy the setting and characters.

Ruby Red

I gave this book 3 stars. I had some problems with the book in the beginning, it was quite difficult to understand the world and to get what was really going on. The characters seemed a little bit flat to me and it took some time to liking them. The book did get better near the end, and I really like the suspense and the time traveling aspects.

Overall it was not the best time travel book I have read but it was fairly enjoyable.  I think I will give the next book a go to see if the series gets better.

The Wrath of the Dawn

I only read 94 pages of this one so I can't really review it but the beginning is amazing, it really sucked me in and I can't wait till I have time to read some more.

Storm Front

I started this book and read 54 pages. I'm quite enjoying it so far and have heard great things about this series. So I hope it will be as amazing when I read it further.

Amy and Roger's epic detour

I gave this book 2,5 stars. I  almost never read contemporary books and this one was definitely not my cup of tea. I didn't like any of the characters nor the setting. It was really boring and I skimmed through a lot of the pages. I guess if you like contemporaries you might like this book way better than I did.

Heartless

Last but certainly not least I started the fourth book in the parasol protectorate series. I read the first 64 pages. Since I starting reading this series I'm in love with the setting and the characters. Also Cail Carrigers humor is always spot on.


How was you're reading week?

Lots of love,

Hanneke

update week of wisdom

So we are on day 4 of the read-a-thon today so time for an update!

On monday I had an amazing reading day and I managed to finish Orange is the New Black,

Tuesday I managed to read 2/3 of Ruby Red

On wednesday I didn't read that much, I was to distracted and read only 90 pages of The Wrath of the Dawn.

In Total I read 90+ 298+ 224= 612. Which is quite a nice number of pages!!

I haven't read today but I'm planning to read in a bit.

How is your week of wisdom going?

Lots of love,

Hanneke

Summer reading goals

I always set goals for myself every so often, it really helps me to keep focused and to be honest it’s just fun to make plans and list and never do what’s on them. For the summer months I thought it would be nice to make myself some book related goals as I have more time to do some reading.  

• TBR to zero At this moment I have 12 unread books sitting on my shelf, I know not a huge pile but I really want to buy some new books...
• Read 6 books of the reading challenge As i’m participating in the 2015 reading challenge, and i’m only halfway through the challenges I thought it would be awesome if I could kickstart the second half of the year by reading 6 books for the challenge.
• Finishing up 5 series I started I admit I have a book problem, I always seem to read one or two books in a series and never finishing it…
• Finishing books previous TBR’s I never manage to read al the books I want to read during a month, Why does time go so quickly. 
• finishing 10 series  apart from the 5 series mention above it would be awesome if I managed to read some of the other series on my goodreads list, cause it’s getting out of hand..
• Read 5 standalones Though I never seem to finish series I also almost never read standalones 
• Read 10 non-fiction books I really enjoy reading non-fiction books, did I tell you I am a real geek?
• Read 10 comic series. This year i’m starting to really get into comics. The only problem is there are so many great graphic novels and finished comic series out there. 

I know the list is kind of over ambitious and I know I will probably don’t do any of them, but still it’s quite the list isn’t it. What are you're summer plans? Do you have any summer reading goals? Let me know down in the comments!

Lots of love,

Hanneke 

Week of Wisdom Read-a-thon

I love read-a-thons and read-a-longs ever since I started dabbling around in this wonderful world of books online. One of my more favorite read-a-thons is the week of wisdom read-a-thon. The read-a-thon is held a few times a year mostly during the summer months by the amazing Erica. It is always an amazing event. The idea of this read-a-thon is to read/start 7 books during the week. Each day of the week has a special genre in which you choose and read a book. It is so challenging and fun way to read a lot of different books during the week.  

For the read-a-thon I chose the following books: 

Mature Monday- Orange is the new Black

Timeless tuesday- Ruby red

Whimsical Wednesday- The wrath of the dawn

Thrilling Thursday- Storm front 

Friday Feels-Amy and Rogers epic detour

Series Saturday- Soulless book 4 Heartless

Sunday Funday- TBD

I have quite a busy week, but I still hope to do some reading, and finish some books. 

Do you participate in read-a-thons? And what are you reading this week? let me know in the comments below!

Lots of love,

Hanneke