JUNE 2016

Hello everyone!

First of all, I want to thank you again for reading my blog. It makes writing for it such a bigger joy. June wasn't a really good reading month for me. I had such a busy month because we had our finals week and I had to do a lot for my internship. Those are the reasons that I only read 3 books this month. Luckily I am (almost) done now, and beside work the only thing I will be doing this weekend is reading.

BOOKS I READ

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton 5/5

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs 5/5

Matched by Ally Condie 3/5

CURRENTLY READING

Progress: 120/480

I really don't know what is happening in this book so far, but I am enjoying it a lot. 

THIS MONTHS PURCHASES

Since I recently booked a holiday with my boyfriend to Crete (yay) I am not allowing myself to buy any books. But three days ago, I failed. I accidentally went on the Book Depository and ordered this paperback version of 'Everything I Never Told You' by Celeste Ng. It has been on my wish list for such a long time so I think it is fair enough that I bought it. 

Thanks for reading, speak to you soon :) -x-

RAPID FIRE BOOK TAG

Hello friends! Today I decided today the rapid fire book tag. Firstly I want to say I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been extremely busy with school and my internship but since the last test was today I'm planning to write a lot more again. With that being said, let's get into the tag.

E-BOOK OR PHYSICAL COPY?
I would definitely pick a physical copy over an E-book. As a matter of fact, I have never finished an e-book so far in my life yet.

PAPERBACK OR HARDCOVER?
Hardcover all the way!

ONLINE OR IN-STORE BOOK SHOPPING?
I prefer in-store book shopping but since that is almost 5 euro's more expensive per book, I buy books online way more.

TRILOGIES OR SERIES?
I still need to make up my mind about this since I don't have a lot of experience in reading either (I always used to be a stand alone girl).

HEROES OR VILLAINS?
A villain makes the book.

A BOOK YOU WANT EVERYONE TO READ
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt.

RECOMMEND AN UNDERRATED BOOK
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous.

THE LAST BOOK YOU FINISHED
Matched by Ally Condie, didn't like it all :(

THE LAST BOOK YOU BOUGHT
I ordered 'Everything I Never Told You' by Celeste Ng yesterday.

WEIRDEST THING YOU USED AS A BOOKMARK
The wrapper of a pop-tart which I got when I was in the UK.

USED BOOKS, YES OR NO?
Sure, although I only own one myself.

TOP 3 FAVOURITE GENRES?
1. Contemporary
2. Fantasy
3. Either dystopian or magical realism.

BORROW OR BUY?
BUY BUY BUY!

CHARACTERS OR PLOT?
That is a hard one, I must say both.

LONG OR SHORT BOOKS?
Long books!

LONG OR SHORT CHAPTERS?
Short chapters, definitely.

NAME THE FIRST THREE BOOKS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF
1. More Than This by Patrick Ness
2. Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
3. The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

BOOKS THAT MAKE YOU LAUGH OR BOOKS THAT MAKE YOU CRY?
I think books that make me cry. So far I only read one which made me cry.

OUR WORLD OR A FICTIONAL WORLD?
A fictional world!

AUDIOBOOKS, YES OR NO?

I would give it a try, if I ever own a car and need to make a long ride on my own.

DO YOU EVER JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER?
YES.

BOOK TO MOVIE, OR BOOK TO TV-SHOW ADAPTATION?
Book to movie!

A MOVIE OR TV-SHOW YOU PREFERRED TO IT'S BOOK?
Love, Rosie.

SERIES OR STAND-ALONES?
I always used to be a stand-alone girl, but I am slowly beginning to like series more.


Thanks for reading!

BOOK REVIEW | MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN BY RANSOM RIGGS

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs
Published: 2011
Language: English
Pages: 352
Rating: 5/5

I have been doubting that I would ever find a book that would give me the same feeling as I got when reading Harry Potter, but I think I found a new series!

In 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' we follow Jacob. A young boy who always sed to listen to the fairytale-ish stories of his grandfather. After a horrific incident things are shaken up. Jacob soon is discovering a remote island along the coast of Wales, where he discovers the ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

This book was definitely a 5/5 star read for me from beginning until the end. I read that some people had trouble with the fact that the build-up to the action took to long. What I find was that Ransom Riggs really took his time to develop the characters and world building. 

This book contains a lot of fantasy and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. 

Of course, I can not, not mention the photo's. The first night I read some chapters it was storming outside and I was home alone, this gave such creepy vibe to the book. I can't wait to read the second and third book in this series but that probably won't be until autumn because I am not allowing myself to purchase anymore books for a little while. 

BOOK REVIEW | REBEL OF THE SANDS BY ALWYN HAMILTON

Title: Rebel of the Sands
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 320
Rating: 5/5


























In Rebel of the Sands we meet Amani. Amani is not your stereotypical kind of girl from Dustwalk. She is quite the rebel, who knows how to handle a gun. She wants to get away from Dustwalk and her live there. One day she encounters a boy, things happen, and she is on the run, away from Dustwalk, fleeing the Sultan's army. 

This is the second book for me that I read that is set in the Arabic world. I am enjoying this world so much as well as the fantasy elements that come with it, for example: Djinns. I find them so fascinating and I love the fact that we get to know a lot about Arabic legends (made-up or not). 

The world building and character building in this book is great. I now also have my first book-crush ever, I love Jin!

This book is the first in a new series and I can't wait for the next book to come out. For so far I know 'Traitor to the Throne' will come out the 2nd of February 2017, according to Goodreads. I am also so curious about the cover, it is probably gonna be as beautiful as this one!

-x-

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY: FAVOURITE CHARACTER NAMES

Hello!

Today is Wednesday which means it is time for another Top 5 Wednesday. This week we are discussing our favourite character names which I find really exciting! Once again these are not in a particular order, because I simply can't decide which I prefer the most.

Jupiter - Orbiting jupiter

My first pick is Jupiter from the book 'Orbiting Jupiter'. I'm not gonna mention anything about the character because it will spoil like everything of the book. But I chose this because I think it is such an interesting name, -and thing, to name your child after a planet. 

Lola - lola and the boy next door

Lola is a name I loved after the first time I heard it, which I think was in the movie LOL where Miley Cyrus played Lola. I just think it is a fun and quick name!

auggie - wonder

Auggie, short for August is a character from 'Wonder', one of my all-time favourite books. Auggie is such a cute character and, August is my birth month and I think that is why I feel a special connection between me and this name. 

Sophie may - billy & me

This name I picked more because of the last name, than the first name. Again, a month, but what can I say. I guess I just really like months as a name. Beside that, Sophie is always a nice name!

Luna Lovegood - harry potter

Luna! I love that name, I think it is one of the cutest names I have heard in my life so far. It also reminds me of the stars and galaxy which is another reason why I really love this name. 

What are your favourite character names?

BOOK HAUL | MAY 2016

Hello friends!

I have been buying a lot, but I mean a lot of books this month. Since I've been getting through all the books that have been sitting on my shelf for over two years, I decided to treat myself on some new ones. This got slightly out of hand. I can't believe I actually bought fourteen new books. So don't expect a book haul next month, cause I am not allowing myself to buy any books again until I finished every book on my TBR-shelf minus three. This will be hard though since I started Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children last night and am absolutely loving it. And since I don't own the next two books in the series. We will see. For now, I will talk you through the books that I got this month. 

ROUND 1: A TRILOGY

Something you probably don't know, is that I am part of a book club. (Well actually I am part of two bookclubs.) For the month of June we decided to read 'Matched' by Ally Condie. A book which I am personally not particularly interested in, but everyone else was, so I was okay with it. Then on Facebook, I saw that someone was selling the whole trilogy and I thought, why the heck not buy them all! 

ROUND 2: ROUNDING UP THE COMPANION NOVELS
I read 'Anna and the French Kiss' two years ago and absolutely loved it. Ever since I've been having my eye on these two, but I never bought them. Now that it's finally getting close to summer I thought it was the perfect time to get my hands on them! I can't wait to read these on the beach or in the garden or elsewhere! Sadly enough 'Lola and the Boy Next Door' got send to me with a press error, but I won't e-mail Book Depository for such thing.

ROUND 3: SERIES

The Rose and the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh
I read 'The Wrath and the Dawn' a couple of months ago and absolutely loved this. I ordered this one a couple of days after it has been released, since I am not one to pre-order. The book is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to see how the story will finish.

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
Another beauty that actually got in the mail today! 'Rebel of the Sands' is another bookclub pick. This one is from the other bookclub that I am in. I actually voted for this book and the fruit machine chose this so I am really excited. I started it today and am really liking it so far.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
It was mothers day at the beginning of May and what better excuse I can have to buy another book, next to my mothers day present for free shipping. I wanted this book ever since I first saw it on BookTube and I am really excited to start this one soon. 

ROUND 4: STAND ALONES

Save Me, Kurt Cobain by Jenny Manzer
When I saw the title of this book in the 2016 releases I immediately got really excited. When I was in high school I really liked Nirvana and I listened to their music a lot, and watched a couple of documentaries about them, and Kurt Cobain in particular. I got really excited about the synopsis of this book and I'm really curious about it.

More Than This by Patrick Ness
Ever since reading 'A Monster Calls' by Patrick Ness at the beginning of this year I have been wanting to read another of his works. I saw this absolutely stunning edition of this book on sale at Book Depository and immediately ordered it. Again, I can't wait to read this one!

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavander
I have been wanting to read more different genre's so I decided to buy a book with magical realism in it. This one really appealed to me! 

ROUND 5: I WANT, I WANT, I WANT

Naamloos by Pepijn Lanen
This is a Dutch book. De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig are probably my favourite Dutch artists (with Bløf) from the Netherlands. Around six months ago I found out that one of it's members, Pepijn Lanen has two books. This is his second book and the synopsis really intrigued me. I can't wait to see if this book is any good!

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
I am probably the only person who isn't binge reading the Shadowhunters novels, but now I can finally catch up again. I read the second book in the Mortal Instruments a couple of months ago and decided to pick the third one up. So far I'm really liking it. 

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Since watching Orphan Black and talking to some of my friends about the world in depth, I have been really excited to read more about it. Funny enough a acquaintance told me to read this book two days after I ordered it, while having a conversation about how/why/etc. things are happening in this world. 


And that is absolutely it!

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY: BOOK THEME SONGS

Hiiya everyone! 

Today is Wednesday, which means T5W. I got really enthousiast reading this months topic, and I especially love this one. I have a love for music, so when books and music are combined in any shape of form I'm on top of it. 

So the first song I pick is a Dutch song called 'Omarm' by Bløf. This is a beautiful, emotional song that I can always listen to while reading. But of course, this song is especially great while reading a very emotional book (or part of a book).

The second song I love listening to while reading is 'Left Outside Alone' by Anastacia. I love to listen to this song when there is a strong female character in the book. This song just makes me feel like a powerful woman, singing a long every single word of it. 

Another Dutch song, 'Gekke Boys' by De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig. The lyrics probably sounds really, really weird to non-Dutch listeners but I love it. The beat is super catchy, and the lyrics is absolutely hilarious. I just bounce around in my chair while listening to this song. 

'Latch' by Disclosure is a song I really love to listen to while reading really love-dovey, chicklit books. For example I listened a lot to this, when reading 'Anna and the French Kiss'. And since I now finally have 'Lola and the Boy Next Door' and 'Isla and the Happily Ever After' I will probably listen to this a lot again when I will read those!

'Boss Mode' by Knife Party is a song I love listen to while reading a really adventurous, or dark, or action-packed book. For example I read this while reading the 'Grisha' trilogy. Although that isn't really dark, or action-packed or adventurous now I think about it.. But I loved listening to this while reading 'The Grisha' trilogy. 


Thanks for reading! What songs do you recommend for me to listen to while reading :) 

-x-