MAY 2016

Hiiya everyone!

I'm really glad to be back on my blog and I am happy to see that my previous posts have been well received. I decided that I want do a post like this monthly, where I will tell whatever is on my mind, and of course talk about the books I read in that particular month.

May has been quite the good month. May for me started with the second week of the 'May vacation' (a Dutch vacation). In the second week I started school again which has been going great as well. I also had a fun slumber party this month with a few friends and my boyfriend, where we watched the Eurovision Song Contest #TeamDouwe. I am currently quite stressing out over school and internship because at the end of June we need to be done with everything. Luckily I can get super relaxed and destressed by reading books and that's exactly what I did in May. I read a grande total of twelve books!

BOOKS I READ

A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre - 2/5

Under A Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes- 2/5

Indiase Sprookjes by Various Authors -  4/5

Day of Tears by Julius Lester - 5/5

Soy Sauce for Beginners - 3/5

Eat My Heart Out by Zoe Pilger- 1/5

Sex Lives of Siamese Twins - Irvine Welsh- 3/5

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - 5/5

Love Rosie by Cecilia Ahern- 4/5

Lucky Us by Amy Bloom - 2/5

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue 3/5

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them by Newt Scamander/J.K. Rowling - 4/5

CURRENTLY READING

Progress: 66/352

I am actually buddy reading this book with my online-friend Mirte, which is pretty cool!

FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE MONTH

 

I really can't decide which book I loved more. They are both very different from each other, one is a historical recreation and one is adult contemporary fiction. I loved them both!

LEAST FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE MONTH

I absolutely hated this book. I found the characters annoying and weird and I just didn't like the book. I'm glad I received this for free because I wouldn't want to spend my money on it. 

And that's all for May. I hope you enjoyed May! Please feel free to let me know what you read through May and any recommendations! Talk to you soon :)

BOOK REVIEW | THE ROSIE PROJECT BY GRAEME SIMSION

Title: The Rosie Project
Author: Graeme Simsion
Published: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 298
Rating: 5/5

"Meet Don Tillman. Don is getting married. The only thing is, he doesn't know with who. But he has designed a very detailed questionnaire to help him find the perfect woman. One thing he already knows though, that it is not Rosie. Absolutely, completely, definitely not."

I bought this book two to three years ago, when it was just released at Waterstones in Amsterdam. It had been on my TBR-shelf ever since. I just lost interest in it, I didn't really care about it anymore, until a month ago. I set myself the goal to read all the books that are on my book shelf for more than two years, including this one. 

And what a great surprise, because turns out, I absolutely love this book. I loved the writing style of this, the story was just hilarious. It made me laugh out loud, and I absolutely adored the characters. I liked the fact that alcohol also had a great part in the book, which in my opinion was a great aspect. 

I loved this book, and I can't wait to order 'The Rosie Effect' and read that one! I would definitely recommend this if you are into adult fiction!

THE BOOK BLOGGER TEST

Hello everyone!

It is time for another tag :) I just love doing tags and I hope you enjoy reading them! Today I'm doing the Book Blogger Test, and before I start, can I just say how proud I am of myself for making my own little tag logo, shown above here!

What are your top three book pet peeves?

1. When there is a swear word on every, single page. I'm currently reading 'Sex Lives of Siamese Twins' by Irvine Welsh, and there is so much swearing. I don't like it all. 

2. CRACKED SPINES. ARHJAKFH.

3. When the cover is to cheeky to read in public. I honestly never like these covers anyway, and they make me feel embarrassed to read them in public.

Describe your perfect reading spot.

My perfect reading spot is definitely my own room. I will lie in my bed, read a book, while being surrounded by books. It's the perfect little reading spot.

TelL us three book confessions.

1. I read 'The Great Gatsby' two/three years ago and disliked it a lot. I am planning to read it again because when I read it the first time I just turned 15 and I might have just been to young to read it. Or maybe I just really don't like it. I will keep you updated!

2. I love, love, love contemporary. I just love romance and sweet stories, for example Anna and the French Kiss. It makes my heart feel things. :)

3. My 'TBR' shelf isn't as big as most people's on the interwebs is. Mine only consists of nineteen at the moment. 

When was the last time you cried during a book?

The last time I cried while reading a book was definitely 'Orbiting Jupiter' by Gary D. Schmidt. It's my absolute favourite book, I would recommend it to everyone. It is also the only book which made me cry.

How many books are on your bedside table?

I don't actually have a bedside table... but there is currently one book lying next to my bed, which is the book I'm currently reading. 'Sex Lives of Siamese Twins' by Irvine Welsh.

What is your favourite snack to eat while reading?

My favourite snack is definitely any kind of fruit or chocolate. The Albert Heijn currently has this fruit mix with: coconut, papaya, pineapple, mango and pomegranate in it, which I absolutely love to eat while reading hihi. And the Milka Collage with Raspberry is also a winner!

Name three books you would recommend to everyone.

1. Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt.

2. Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

3. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.

Show us a picture of your favourite bookshelf on your bookcase.

I don't have a bookcase. I just have 3 bookshelves in my room and that is all the space there is for books in my room since I have a really, really small room. Excuse the shitty photo quality, I had to take this picture with my phone. On this shelf are my recent reads, as well as my dream journal, some pencils and colouring book marks. 

Write how much books mean to you in just three words.

Just, might, everything?

What is your biggest reading secret.

I skim books when I don't like them at all, but do want to finish them. Because I never leave a book unfinished. So far this has happened to three books. 



Thanks for reading :)

BOOK REVIEW | SOY SAUCE FOR BEGINNERS BY KIRSTIN CHEN

Title: Soy Sauce for Beginners
Author: Kirstin Chen
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 256
Rating: 3/5













For what I recall, 'Soy Sauce for Beginners' is the first book I read set in Asia, following an Asian main character.

So this is not what I normally grab, but I did enjoy it. This book was a really light read that I picked up one evening, read seventeen pages, fell asleep, picked up again the next morning and finished in one sitting. 

The story is about a thirty-year-old woman name Gretchen. After her boyfriend cheats on her, she decides to move back to her childhood home in Singapore for a little while. But once she arrives, she soon finds herself confronted with her entire adult life.

The story itself was in my opinion a light read, which I really enjoyed after reading 'Days of Tears'. I liked the writing style and the character building was alright in this book. I really enjoyed the fact that Kirstin wrote a lot in dialogues. 

You probably don't know this but I am a huge 'Orphan Black' fan. Now if you watch Orphan Black as well, you probably know the character Paul. In this book we also follow a character named Paul. In my head I always imagine how certain characters look and I think Paul from this book would look the same as Paul from Orphan Black hihi. 

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY: SUMMER READS

Yay! Another blog post :) So I have been watching the Top 5 Wednesday videos on Youtube for quite a while, and I have decided that I will also be doing them from now on. This weeks T5W is Summer Reads, this can include beach reads, fun reads or any book we associate with the summer for whatever reason. 

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
I read Anna and the French Kiss two years ago, and I absolutely adored it. I actually really want to re-read this again this summer. I also finally ordered 'Lola and the Boy Next Door' and 'Isla and the Happily After' to read this summer as well. 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
This I also read two years ago. It has been my all time favourite book since a couple of months ago, it sits second place now. Wonder is such an incredible story with in my opinion such an important message. Definitely a good read for in the garden.

Bridget Jones: The New Diary by Helen Fielding
Bridget Jones, I loved the movies and I also really enjoyed the book, although in all honesty I have to say that I enjoyed the movie better. Bridget Jones is such a funny read and I would love to read the other BJ books on the beach one day.  

Terug naar de Kust by Saskia Noort
'Terug naar de Kust' is a Dutch book, but is translated to English, German and French as well. It is a great Dutch thriller about a woman who gets abortion and shortly after that get's threatened to death because of it. It is a really tensive book with a cat-and-mice game between the attacker and our main character Maria.

Blauw Water by Simone van der Vlugt
'Blauw Water' is once again a Dutch thriller. It has been translated to English, German, Danish and Polish and it definitely worth a mention in this T5W. I read this two summers ago, and I enjoyed it so much. I recommended it to my sister as well and she also really enjoyed it!


Thanks for reading :)

BOOK REVIEW | DAY OF TEARS BY JULIUS LESTER

Title: Day of Tears
Author: Julius Lester
Published: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 192
Rating: 5/5

"On March 2 and 3, 1859, the largest auction of slaves in American history took place in Savannah, Georgia. More than 400 slaves were sold. On the first day of the auction, the skies darkened and torrential rain began falling. The rain continued throughout the two days, stopping only when the auction had ended. The simultaneity of the rain storm with the auction led to these two days being called: "the weeping time"."

Day of Tears is my first time ever reading a historical recreation. This story is about the biggest slave auction in American history and Julius Lester took a couple of characters from the real historical account. These characters are Pierce Butler, his daughter Sarah and Frances, the auctioneer and Fanny Kemble. This book, which has been written completely in dialogue, tells how they experienced this slave auction.

Julius Lester brings us great characters, who'm you really feel sorry for sometimes. The story is put together great and Julius Lester thought of every last detail writing this book. The story is as heartbreaking and as heartwarming.

Julius Lester knows exactly how to describe things. The choice in words he makes is absolutely beautiful and takes the story to a high level. The fact that you can really tell by reading the book, why the name 'Day of Tears' has been given to to this book is amazing as well.

I don't have anything negative to say about this book. I find that we in school, don't learn enough about slavery, slave auctions and it's history. I think we should learn more about this subject and I think that once we might will, this book should be used in classes. 

DISNEY BOOK TAG

So I'm finally back on the blog, since I have more time right now. Hopefully this will stay like this, so I can upload more often since I really enjoy writing about anything book or disney related. So I really love, love, love disney. So when I saw the Disney Book Tag I was really pumped to do it even though nobody tagged me. 

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THE LITTLE MERMAID: A CHARACTER WHO IS OUT OF THEIR ELEMENT, A “FISH OUT OF WATER.”

I never thought I would mention this book on my blog since I really didn't like it (my first 1-star read ever) but I would say Johanna from 'How To Build A Girl' by Caitlin Moran. She was really different from other characters that you normally see in contemporary/young adult books.

CINDERELLA: A CHARACTER WHO GOES THROUGH A MAJOR TRANSFORMATION.

I have to say Alina Stark from the Grisha trilogy. This might not be the most creative answer, since a lot will probably have answered this question with the same answer, but this was the first character that popped in my head. 

SNOW WHITE: A BOOK WITH AN ECLECTIC CAST OF CHARACTERS?

So for this question I have two books, who'm I really love the complete cast of. Obviously Harry Potter, and secondly 'Orbiting Jupiter'. 'Orbiting Jupiter' by Gary D. Schmidt (my favourite book by the way) has so many lovely characters in it, and I by the record, only despise one character in this book. 

SLEEPING BEAUTY: A BOOK THAT PUT YOU TO SLEEP?

I tend to fall asleep with books in my head a lot, since when I get home from school or internship on Friday I am a wreck. I tend to grab a book but fall asleep within thirty minutes because I am so tired. The last book that happened with was 'Day of Tears' by Julius Lester. But for the record I love this book, it's great so far and I can't wait to finish it. 

THE LION KING: A CHARACTER WHO HAD SOMETHING TRAUMATIC HAPPEN TO THEM IN CHILDHOOD?

Definitely mentioning my fave, 'Orbiting Jupiter' again. 14-year-old Joseph has experienced a lot of traumatic things in his childhood...

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: A BEAST OF A BOOK (A BIG BOOK) THAT YOU WERE INTIMIDATED BY BUT FOUND THE STORY TO BE BEAUTIFUL?

I still don't own this book yet, because I am so intimidated by it, is 'We, The Drowned' by Carten Jensen. This is Danish historical fiction, and it sounds super interesting but it is also 704 pages of thin paper, and small letters. 

ALADDIN: A CHARACTER THAT GETS THEIR WISH GRANTED, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE?

I'm saying Shahzrad for this one. Simply because, she wants to be the next queen of the murderous boy-king, and she get's to be it. For better or for worse. 

MULAN: A CHARACTER WHO PRETENDS TO BE SOMETHING OR SOMEONE THEY’RE NOT?

Since I really didn't know a character matching to this description I am gonna say Professor Quirrell. Do I need to say more?

TOY STORY: A BOOK WITH CHARACTERS YOU WISH WOULD COME TO LIFE?

For this question I again have to say, either Harry Potter (minus the deatheaters and Voldy) or Orbiting Jupiter (minus one character who'm I won't mention since it will be a spoiler). 

DISNEY’S DESCENDANTS: YOUR FAVORITE VILLAIN OR MORALLY AMBIGUOUS CHARACTER?

What is Disney's Descendants? I don't know. But for this question I'm gonna say The Darkling from the 'Grisha Trilogy'. I loved him since book one, and I don't even care that he is a manipulative liar-bitch.