Pages read today: 178 pages of Shatter Me & 50 pages of Prince of Shadows

Total of pages read: 388 pages

Books read today: Shatter Me & Prince of Shadows

Books read: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Challenge: Mix 'n Match  hosted by Bout of Books

"Pick out 10-15 books from your shelf, from your local library, or from a local bookstore. They can be any genre, any language, and any length. In each book, flip to a random page and pick the 1st word (articles such as "the", "and", "an", "or", etc. don't count as the 1st word). Use all these 1st words to try to create an actual sentence. If the books are in different languages, feel free to translate them to all one language or leave them as they are! also, you can add in some articles, such as "the", "and", "an", "or", etc., if you want to make the sentence flow better."

I'd participate in this challenge, but I just arranged my bookshelf and I'm to lazy to arrange it again. =P

Bout of Books 17 Read-a-Thon. August 22nd

 Pages read today: 160 pages of Shatter Me

Total of pages read: 160 pages

Books read today: Shatter Me

Books read: ---

Challenge: Book to Movie Adaptation hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale

"All I need you to do is share with us your favorite book-to-movie adaptation and your least favorite book-to-movie adaptation. You can give reasons for your answers or just names, it’s really up to you how much you share."

Favourite: As most readers, I usually don't enjoy book-to-movie adaptations. But I loved how The Hunger Games movie adaptation turned out - to tell the truth, I also loved Catching Fire and Mockingjay (Part 1 and 2). The adaptation was faithful to the story and as well as eye-catching. 

Least Favourite: I still remember how disappointed I felt leaving the theatre after watching Eragon. Did the director/producer/writer read the book? I'm sure they didn't! I still can believe they turned one of my favourite books in a total catastrophe.

Bout of Books 17 Read-a-Thon. My Goals

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 22nd and runs through Sunday, August 28th 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 17 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team"

Who is excited for the last Bout of Books of 2016? I'm hoping Bout of Books 17 will help me tackle down my TBR pile and get me closer of my goals (I'm trying to read 70 books this year). 


My Goals (even though goals aren't an official part of the read-a-thon anymore, I still publish them because they help me keep focused on my readings) 

My goals for Bout of Books 16 Read-a-Thon are:

1. To read every day;
2. To participate in two challenges;
3. To write at least one blog post per day.

As I mentioned above, I want to get closer of my reading goal, 70 books. And, sadly, I'm far from it (I'm eight book behind the schedule). Would I love to read eight books during the read-a-thon? Of course I'd love to. But I've been a really slow reader. Not matter how much I'm enjoying a book, I'll read it slowly. Hopefully, maybe this week will change a few thins. For Bout of Books 17, I'll try to read, at least, three of the books below. I also plan on reading For Darkness Shows the Stars (ebook). Some of these books will help reach my goal for (Fairytale) Retelling Challenge.

Instagram

After Alice, Gregory Maguire

Prince of Shadows, Rachel Caine
Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi
The Chaos of Stars, Melissa Marr

As usual, good luck to every brave soul who joined Bout of Books 17. Let the games begin! ;)

Book Tag. Pokemon Go 

This tag was created by @ReadatMidnight. All images belong to her. Also, Pokemon Go belongs to Niantic and Nintendo.

When I was little, my mother would read to me every night. It was always a different story, from fables to fairytales. It was back then when I fell in love with reading. However, the book that made me the bookworm I'm today was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The first four books of this series were the first no-pictures book I ever read.

I'll always love Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. This is my favourite classic. I don't know if I ever shared it, but I collect different editions of Pride and Prejudice. I only have four different editions yet, but the number will slowly grow. 

This usually happens to me: I lose interest in a book when it's everywhere! I find it on Goodreads, on blogs, on instagram... And then it's so overhyped that if I decided to read it, I'll probably end up being disappointed (I'm looking at you Truthwitch). At the moment, because of all the buzz surrounding it, I've no interest in reading The Raven Boys. I'm not saying I'll never do it (I loved The Scorpio Races), but thanks to the release of The Raven King, I couldn't go anywhere without being slapped in the face with this series. 

The Girl at Midnight did reminded me of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but I didn't mind it. I was able to enjoy the story, no matter how similar they seemed to me. It even reminded me that I still have to finish the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. 

I like big books and I cannot lie. But they can be scary. The reason I haven't started reading Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes is because there already are so many books in the series. When I look at the first book and think about making it my next reading, I remember I've to read three more books to catch up with the series and it's demotivating. 

 

To All the Boys I've Loved Before kept me up at night. I couldn't put the book down because it was freaking adorable. There really was no suspense or surprising twists, but Lara Jean caught my attention and I just couldn't wait to see her story unfold.    

Is it bad that I've a difficult time deciding my bookish OTP? I do have a few (and I when I say a few, I certainly mean a longer list than the one I actually have in mind), but how can I only choose one?! This is too difficult... Okay, I think I'm gonna go with Kaz and Inej from Six of Crows. They are perfect for each other. Their soul is broken, but together they can pick up the pieces and become complete again. I can't wait for Crooked Kingdom to be released and see what is in store for these two.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. There wasn't a dull moment in this amazing novel. It's fast-paced and action-packed and the plot easily grabs the attention. 

This is a really difficult choice for me. I suppose it should be easy because when a world is dear to your heart, you never want to let it go. But sometimes I feel that the world shouldn't be mess with because it may be ruined. Does it make any sense? But if I really have to choose, I´d probably love a spin-off of Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier. I loved this world and one book wasn't enough.

I'm going with the Starbound Trilogy by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I don't read much sci-fi and I was pleasantly surprised with how awesome this series is. My favourite book from the series was without a doubt This Shattered World. I loved Jubilee and Flynn, two star-crossed lovers who would never imagine that their soulmate was on the other side of swamp (now that I think, I could have chosen them for my bookish OTP).

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. As I already wrote a thousand times, I've only read Cinder, but I plan on reading Scarlet very soon - probably when I've the money to buy physical editions of the series. Gosh, I really wish that imaginary loaded gift card was real...  

Aren't collector's editions the prettiest? *.* I wish I owned the Deluxe Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It's so freaking beautiful! I'm also in love the Leather-Cloth editions of A Song of Ice and Fire. I don't think it is collector's edition, but it's a box set so special that it should be.    

A debut novel? But there are so many that I'm excited for! I guess I'm going to choose Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh, which will be release on October of this year. My auto-buy author is Juliet Marillier. Whatever this woman writes, I'll buy because I know she will never let me down. Her is writing is simply beautifully-flawless. *all hail the queen*  

I feel I've been waiting on forever for A Torch Against the Night to be released (the waiting is almost over). And Crooked Kingdom. And Den of Wolves. A long list of books makes me feel like I've been waiting on forever... 

Waiting on Wednesday. Vassa in the Night

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week on WoW is Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter. Retellings are back to my Waiting on Wednesday! :D I plan reading the folktale that Vassa in the Night is inspired by, Vassilissa the Beautiful, before digging into this magical story. I haven't read many novels inspired by Russian folklore, so that's one of the main reasons why I'm very excited for this release. Also, look at the cover? *.* The bookstagrammer is my is already planning a few photos. The book will be released on September 20th.

"In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now—but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.

In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair. . . .

Inspired by the Russian folktale Vassilissa the Beautiful and Sarah Porter’s years of experience teaching creative writing to New York City students. "

From Goodreads

Bout of Books 17. Sign Up

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 22nd and runs through Sunday, August 28th 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 17 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team"

Bout of Books 17 starts next week? :O Where did the time go? I can't believe the last read-a-thon of 2016 starts next Monday! Hopefully, it will be a week full of bookish fun - as it always is. ;) Good luck to everyone joining it. 

Waiting on Wednesday. Metaltown

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week on WoW is Metaltown by Kristen Simmons. Sometimes I've to switch genres (I can't always be reading fantasy and retellings) and  Metaltown seems an interesting dystopia. I'm hoping it to be as good as the summary makes it sound. as it's been a while since I read a good dystopia. The book will be released on September 20th.

"Metaltown, where factories rule, food is scarce, and hope is in short supply.

The rules of Metaltown are simple: Work hard, keep your head down, and watch your back. You look out for number one, and no one knows that better than Ty. She’s been surviving on the factory line as long as she can remember. But now Ty has Colin. She’s no longer alone; it’s the two of them against the world. That’s something even a town this brutal can’t take away from her. Until it does.

Lena’s future depends on her family’s factory, a beast that demands a ruthless master, and Lena is prepared to be as ruthless as it takes if it means finally proving herself to her father. But when a chance encounter with Colin, a dreamer despite his circumstances, exposes Lena to the consequences of her actions, she’ll risk everything to do what’s right.

In Lena, Ty sees an heiress with a chip on her shoulder. Colin sees something more. In a world of disease and war, tragedy and betrayal, allies and enemies, all three of them must learn that challenging what they thought was true can change all the rules.

An enthralling story of friendship and rebellion, Metaltown will have you believing in the power of hope."

From Goodreads