N.E.W.T.s Magical Readathon Wrap Up! | August Wrap Up

Happy end-of-newts!

This year, I was going for Alchemist, which was the most challenging of the careers. I figured, even if I didn’t get it, I’d likely qualify for some other career. But go me – I did it! I read seventeen things this month, qualifying me for Alchemist!

My original TBR was a bit lofty, in retrospect. I did complete 17 books that filled the prompts I needed, but I ended up having to swap out a lot of my original TBR for other books when I ran into the time crunch. I finished my last one as of 10 minutes ago, and it’s about 9am on Aug 31st as I’m writing this, so I finished with about 15 hours to spare!

This is what I needed for Alchemist:

And this is what I read:

Ancient Runes

• A: Read a book recommended by a friend

Saga vol 9 by Brian K Vaughan – This ended up being super great, and man did it break my heart. I’m now full caught up on this series and I’m eagerly awaiting the next one. Come back from hiatus, please ;~:

4.5 stars

• E: Book written in past tense

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones – It was really neat getting to see the source material for a movie I love so much. I actually ended up re-watching the movie as well when I finished this. It was a good time!

3.5 stars

• O: Book that has been on your TBR for ages

Bitch Planet vol 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick – This ended up being really interesting and I’m planning on continuing. The art was different, and so was the plot. It’s definitely gotten mixed reviews and I can see why, but I ended up rather enjoying this!

3.5 stars

Arithmancy

• A: Book that ends on an even page number

Chew vol 3 by John Layman – This series is such a joy. I really liked this one.

4 stars

• E: Read a stand alone

Nod by Adrian Barnes – Now this one, this one was a really interesting read. Don’t pick it up if you don’t like hanging questions, as the author unfortunately passed away before he could write another book in the series, but for what it is, it’s really good. It follows a man in a world that can no longer sleep, and he being one of the handful who still can, has to watch the world crumble around him. Really, this was good. I really liked it.

4 stars

• O: Books that’s longer than 350 pages

You by Caroline Kepnes – The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages by Akira Himekawa – This is one of the books I had to swap out. I simply just didn’t have enough time. This is the second book in the Legend of Zelda series, but note they’re all companions, not direct sequels. Each follows a different Zelda game. I ended up rather enjoying this, and I feel like part of it was due to the fact that I’ve never played the oracle games, so I wasn’t constantly comparing them. This was good though!

3.75 stars

Herbology

• A: Audiobook

Windwitch by Susan Dennard – Originally I had left this prompt open, as I tend to pick up audios randomly. So this is the one I ended up using. Just like the first book in the series, I really enjoyed this. I’ve been itching to start Bloodwitch, which I’ll do after I read the novella.

4 stars

• E: Book between 350-390 pages

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa – This was another swap-out. This one is the first in the series I mentioned, and while it’s my favorite Zelda game, I liked this graphic novel less than the other one I read, namely because I couldn’t help but compare it to the game as I read. It was good, but my mind wouldn’t let me love it.

3 stars

• O: Book with a flower on the cover

The Girl From the Other Side vol 1 by Nagabe – This first volume was a tad slow, but the ending was interesting enough that I plan to continue it. I feel like it could become a favorite series. It definitely has the potential

4 stars

Potions

• Read your friend’s favorite book

Dorohedoro vol 1 by Q. Hayashida – This is among one of my best buddy’s manga series. She lent it to me ages ago and I figured now was the best time to pick it up. I think I read it back in high school sometime too and remember really liking it. This time around though, it was alright.

3 stars

• Book with cover in Hogwart’s house color

Chew vol 4 by John Layman – Again, this series is great. Gonna hopefully get volume 5 soon!

3.5 stars

• Book that starts with a prologue

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh – I have so many feelings about this. Parts of it I really liked, other parts I really didn’t. At some point if I get off my ass, I’ll write a review about it.

3 stars

Transfiguration

• Read a book the LGBT+ representation

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare – I did like this book a bit more than the previous book. Liked it enough to get me invested, so I plan on picking up the third one at some point here.

3.5 stars

• Read a sequel

Delicious in Dungeon vol 3 by Ryoko Kui – This was super cute, as I had predicted. I have volume four all ready and waiting too!

3.5 stars

• Read a book over 500 pages

Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas – Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki by Mamoru Hosoda – This is my final swap out. At 500 pages, I don’t know what I was thinking, originally choosing a novel. This graphic novel though flew – I think I read it in an hour. It was really good and really cute. I enjoyed it.

3.5 stars

Astronomy

• A: Moon on cover/title

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss – I ended up liking this more than I liked The Wise Man’s Fear honestly. Mostly because the lack of Kvothe. If you’re looking for action or adventure, this is not the book for you. But it’s quaint, and I liked it.

3.5 stars

• E: Night in title/series name

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon – This almost ended up being a new favorite of mine. I still really enjoyed it, but giving it a 5 at the end (which I reserve for ‘new all-time favorites’) felt a bit wrong. But don’t let that dissuade you from reading it. I still really, really enjoyed this book. It was great! My husband had been after me to read it for a while and I’m glad I finally did.

4 stars

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And that’s it – 17 books up, 17 down. I finished. And now I have the rest of the day to read whatever I want until the next readathon (Space Opera September) starts tomorrow.

If you participated in the Magical Readathon, lemme know how you did!

Winter Book Haul | #22

Hello! Welcome to my first quarterly book haul! One of my resolutions for this year was to purchase fewer books to the point where monthly book hauls were no longer warranted. This season I think I did pretty good. This is a sizeable haul, but it’s for three months of buying – January, February and March – when last year I would easily get this many books in a month.

So, so far, this goal is going pretty well. 😀

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Technically I already own a copy of Way of Kings, but I got it as an e-copy for free when amazon was having a special. I wanted a hard copy though – you can’t sniff an ebook. Otherwise everything in this haul remains unread except for the Captive Prince trilogy – I actually read those by borrowing them from a friend and then loved them so much I went out and got my own! And I got them the afternoon after I took that stack photo, which is why they’re not in it. 😛

If you’re planning on reading any of these or have read them, do let me know.

Happy reading!

Monthly recs: graphic novels and manga

Happy February. This month’s Monthly Recs Topic is graphic novels and mixed media. I’m gonna put manga into the category, too. And honestly this is gonna be mostly if not solely manga 😛

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Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit by Motoro Mase

You should read this if you like psychological character studies or 1984.

I picked this one up on a whim and have since been morbidly fascinated. This is not a series for the feint of heart.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dear Citizen:

Thank you for your loyalty. You’ve no doubt noticed that the world is a troubled place. People are apathetic, lazy, unmotivated. You’ve probably asked yourself

WHY ISN’T ANYTHING BEING DONE TO STOP THIS SYSTEMATIC DECLINE?

Rest assured that measures are being taken. Beginning immediately, we will randomly select a different citizen each day who will be killed within 24 hours of notification. We believe this will help remind all people how precious life is and how important it is to be a productive, active member of society.

Thank you for your continued attention and your cooperation and participation…

Congratulations! You have been randomly selected by the government…to DIE in 24 hours!

Demon Diary by Kara

You should read this if you like fluff

This is a super cute and funny story of a ding dong who has no idea what he’s doing who finds himself the leader of demons. His advisor, understandably, gets frustrated. Seriously this series is adorable.

Goodreads synopsis:

Raenef is the black sheep of the demon court, with minimal knowledge of magic and courtly etiquette. In order to help him claim his birthright as a demon lord, the demon masters send him the wise and noble teacher Eclipse to be his tutor. As Raenef and Eclipse begin their journey of discovery, they find that the bonds of friendship are stronger than the teacher/student relationship.

Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki

You should read this if you like historical fiction

This is one of my absolute favorite series ever, people. I love it.

Goodreads synopsis:

A hundred and fifty years ago in Kyoto, amid the flames of revolution, there arose a warrior, an assassin of such ferocious power he was given the title Hitokiri: Manslayer. With his bloodstained blade, Hitokiri Battosai helped close the turbulent Bakumatsu period and end the reign of the shoguns, slashing open the way toward the progressive Meiji Era.  Then he vanished, and with the flow of years became legend.

In the 11th year of Meiji, in the middle of Tokyo, the tale begins. Himura Kenshin, a humble rurouni, or wandering swordsman, comes to the aid of Kamiya Kaoru, a young woman struggling to defend her father’s school of swordsmanship against attacks by the infamous Hitokiri Battosai. But neither Kenshin nor Battosai are quite what they seem.

Priest by Min-Woo Hyung

You should read this if you like westerns or Constantine

This was a recent acquirement – I picked it up at a clearance sale on a whim, having heard nothing about it but feeling drawn to it because the first volume was actually bloody there. Do you know how rare that is at a clearance sale?!

It turned out to be fantastic 😀

Goodreads synopsis

In the frontier of the American West, a veil of evil threatens to engulf humanity. Servants of the fallen archangel Temozarela are paving the way for their dark lord’s resurrection. One man stands in the way of the apocalypse– Ivan Isaacs– a fallen priest who sold his soul to the devil Belial for the power to fight evil armed with a wicked blade and silver bullets. Ivan will give the heretics a baptism of blood in his pilgrimage for humanity’s redemption.

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And that’s it! There are many, many more manga that I could throw up here, but these ones have stuck out the most and aside from Kenshin, I feel like I don’t talk about them enough. 😛

I feel like like these ones could be liked by many people. Happy reading!

GetGraphic Readathon!

Guess who’s doing a readathon! Guess… who didn’t finish any books this month yet. :”D Time’s up, it’s me! This readathon is my attempt to knock down a good number of graphic novels and manga from my TBR. I heard about the readathon from one of the hosts, Sam, who posted a video giving all the details.

This readathon is one where you read graphic novels, comics and manga (as stated). It begins Friday October 6th at 5pm and ends Sunday October 8th at midnight. The whole point is try to buzz through as many as you can in the span of a weekend.

The creators of the readathon have a twitter handle (@GetGraphicThon) which will be hosting sprints, etc. Though I’m honestly not a huge twitter person, haw. So I’ll likely just be in here the whole time.

There are some neat things going on during the readathon, namely during-readathon reading challenges and pre-readathon countdown instagram challenges. I will be trying to do both of these! I’ll be posting the instagram challenges on my instragram. (Shameless plug. Follow me so I can follow you and see your pretty books :D)

The details on the challenges are:

Instagram Challenges:

10/2: Most Recent Graphic Read
10/3: Favorite Ongoing Graphic Series
10/4: Recreate the Cover
10/5: Favorite Graphic Art
10/6: #GetGraphic TBR

Reading Challenges:

1. Read from a new-to-you series
2. Read two installments of the same series
3. Read a work over 300 pages
4. Read a work with black and white art
5. Read a work picked out by a friend
6. Read at least 5 works

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My TBR for this thing will be up closer to the start date. Let me know if you are participating! Happy reading!

May-June-y Book Haul | #18

Hello, a haul today. And from this point until July 29th, I will not be purchasing any books. July 29th is the Half Price Books Clearance Sale and I’m gonna go bananas. So until then, I’m cutting myself off cold turkey. Part of me is all ‘nooooo~~~’ and the other part is ‘it’s like three weeks Emily, chill out – you’ll be fine’. 😛 I’ll probably be fine, haha.

In the meantime, I have corralled ten new books into my collection to tide me over.

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The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I FINALLY FOUND A COPY OF THIS DAMN BOOK. You have no idea how often I’ve been all ‘I’m gonna get this book’ and then there wasn’t any copies available. Could I have just ordered it online? Yes, but I wanted to buy it in person. I wanted the instant gratification of ‘I FOUND IT’ and I got it and it was splendid. From what I’ve heard, this is one of the staple ‘welcome to the fantasy genre’ books and I wanna read it.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

I did it – I caved. I’ve been sooo hesitant about buying this book for ages after reading Shiver and disliking it. But pretty much everyone who I’ve seen read this book has enjoyed it, even the ones who disliked Shiver… so, here goes nothing.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

What? I didn’t have a hardback copy of HP1? Nope, nope I didn’t. My original Harry Potter set, the one I re-read a billion times when I was younger, was paperback for vols 1-4 and hardback for 5-7. Recently, I’ve been trying to buy the hardbacks for the first four to have a complete hardback collection. I’ve been trying to pick them up used as well. This is the last one that I needed – do you know how hard it is to find a used Sorcerer’s Stone?! I’ve come across tons of copies of 2-4, but this is the first copy of the first one that I’ve found. So I snatched it and now it’s mine.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

You know, I realized that I didn’t have any Austen books, nor have I actually read any. When my local B&N had a classics sale, I snatched up this book and the one I’m going to mention next. I figured this is the best entry for Austen I could get, since it seems to be the most loved. Wish me luck!

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

This is another book I realized that I didn’t have but seems to be a staple. So I got this one in the sale, too. Hopefully I’ll like it – I’m very hesitant. Me and classics don’t usually mesh too well. I might end up listening on audio honestly. It’s easier for me to get through them that way, haha.

Chew vol 2 by John Layman

I picked up the first volume of this in the last haul and while reading it, I found it just okay… until the last few pages and then dammit, I liked it and I needed to read the rest. So here we are.

Bitch Planet vol 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick

This one has been on my radar for a while. A trip to the comic book store had me carrying it around, so woot. :”D I’ve heard lovely things about it!

Descender vol 1 by Jeff Lemire

This is one that I’ve only heard about recently. It sounds super cute and neat though, so when I saw it on the shelves, I grabbed it. I feel like I’m in a comic kick at the moment. I’m hoping to actually read this relatively soon. :”D

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Guess who got a $40 hardback graphic novel for $10. Me, that’s who. Woot. I feel like most of the time, when I read a graphic novel, I can rarely give it 5 stars. I’m hoping that with the length of this one, it’ll allow for enough character development and world building to get that rating from me. Here’s to hoping!

Orange: The Complete Collection vol 1 by Ichigo Takano

I’ve actually read this one since buying it and I really, really enjoyed it 😀 I feel like if I break my ‘no books’ ban between now and the 29th, it’ll be for the other volume of this series. We’ll see if I can hold out. This was a nice, heart-twanging book. I really, really liked it.

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And that’s it! Happy reading! :”D

September Wrap-Up and October Currently Reading

So starting off, guess who hasn’t posted in weeks. Time’s up, it’s me. I have no excuse, I just… haven’t felt like it. I’ve barely had time to sleep so what little time I did get to myself this month I spent reading.(well, I suppose that’s not a bad way to go :”D) But seeing everyone’s wrap-ups has inspired me back into it, so thank yous.

Anyway, September was actually a pretty great reading month for me. I attacked graphic novels and even finished a couple novels as well. The books I finished this month were:

Audiobooks:

Yes Please by Amy Poehler
This one I actually read during August and finished on September 1st. I couldn’t remember if I actually ever mentioned I finished it, so I figured I would. I ended up really liking this. Amy Poehler in my opinion is a wonderful woman full of talent and it was entertaining and interesting getting to hear her memoir narrated by her.

Losing It and Faking It by Cora Carmack
I fell into a bit of a new-adult kick towards the beginning of this month and since I discovered Scribd, I’ve been listening to audiobooks like nobody’s business. I’m still on the free trial, but I think I’m gonna keep it. I used it enough to warrant it, I think.Anyways, these two books are companion novels set in Texas and then Philadelphia.  They follow a couple characters as they do typical new-adulty things. There was nothing particularly stand-outy in these novels, but they were fun to read and I flew through them. I recommend them if you’re looking for something fast and cute. There’s a third in the series too I haven’t gotten to yet. I may or may not get to it. I really liked these two, but my new-adulty mood has withered. I think it’s because the season’s changing. I want fantasy and horror!

Graphic Novels:

Scott Pilgrim volumes 1-6 by Bryan Lee O’Malley
I had watched the movie before reading these so I went it with a certain level of expectation despite trying really hard to go in with a blank opinion. Turns out it didn’t matter – I really liked these. They were fun, quick and hilarious. It was cool seeing more background on the characters, Kim especially. I know in the movie they kind of mention her here and there but in the books you get her full story and I really like it. If you liked this movie or if you liked anything else by this author, pick these up.

Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley.
When I borrowed the Scott Pilgrim novels from a friend, he also lent me this novel, saying that it was his favorite graphic novel of all time and that if I didn’t love it I wasn’t allowed to tell him because then he would hate me. Well. I didn’t love it. I really, really liked it – rated it four stars, but I didn’t love it, so he has no idea how I feel, haha. Lost at Sea follows a girl who finds herself in California and is trying to get home to Canada. Through a weird set of circumstances she finds herself in the car of some classmates of hers who happened to be in the area. This graphic novel for me had a touch of surreal-ness to it and it gave it a very airy, disconnected feel. Usually that’s bad but I really liked how it felt to read this book if that makes sense. I recommend it. It’s really good.

Saga volume 5 by Brian K Vaughan
By this point, I feel all I need to say about this graphic novel series is “I love it” repeatedly until your eyes bleed.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
I’ve been seeing this one floating around the book community lately and saw it in my library so I thought ‘why not’. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was cute, funny, heart-felt. I really liked it. It follows Nimona, who is a shapeshifter who volunteers (well, insists) on being a villain’s sidekick. She’s full of spunk and wit, and the villain she serves is just as colorful. The banter between the two was hilarious and I really loved the art – it was simple but at the same time was able to convey the emotion of the characters. Nimona was highly entertaining and I really recommend it.

Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang
Boxers and Saints are two companion graphic novels, each telling a story during China’s Boxer Rebellion from differing perspectives. I felt for the characters on each side of the conflict and have since decided that all fighting is dumb. I mean really. Just talk to each other like human beings, no matter the situation. And if that doesn’t work, just ignore each other. It’s pointless to try to make another person change their ways using violence. Goodness. Both of these books were depressing as hell. I liked them, but holy cow.

Amulet volumes 2 and 3 by Kazu Kibuishi
Like the first volume, I really enjoyed these. I feel like if I was fifteen years younger, I would have loved them. But as they’re middle-grade, I liked them. I think my brain’s not allowing me to become fully engrossed. But anyways, the art in these are what’s really been drawing me in. The scenery in this series is beautiful. I think there are two or three more volumes out and my library has them, so yay :”D

Novels:

Keeping Her by Cora Carmack
This is a novella that takes place between Losing It and Faking It, which I’ve mentioned above. It follows the characters from the first book. It was cute, light and as I’ve said before, fun. If you’re gonna read the main series, I recommend this one too.

Rook by Sharon Cameron
I actually wrote a full review on this book. I feel like this book is the reason I didn’t read many novels this month. It just took me forever to get through it. I really liked it, but man it was slow-moving.

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
This is another one that took me a good bit to read. This is the second book in the 5th Wave series. As far as plot goes in this book, it was kinda slow. But I really like the characters this one focuses on. Ringer I think is my favorite. Cassie is okay I suppose. But Ringer I feel I can relate more to. She’s a lot more uh… real, I think the word is. Cassie feels kinda flat in this book. But either way, this book was obviously just meant to be an ‘okay, get ready for book 3’ book. I feel like it could have been a blog post from the author on ‘okay this is what you need to know’. But weirdly enough, even with the slowness and the obvious transition purpose, I still really liked this book. I can see why a lot of people wouldn’t, but for me a good ending usually saves an otherwise just-okay book for me. And this one’s ending was fantastic. Highly anticipating book three :”D

Right so, I read 19 things this month :”D I did gud.

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And onto October. I realized shortly after posting my September Currently Reading that I never pulled a slip from my TBR Jar. So I’m gonna pull one right now and see if I succeeded it in September. If not, poo. And I’m gonna pull another one for October to tackle.

September’s was: Read a 2015 debut novel
I actually did that!! Saga vol 5 came out this year and so did Rook, I believe. Hurray Hurray! :”D

October’s is: Read and watch a book and its film adaption

I really want to pick The Martian for this one since I read it recently and I’m almost certain that it comes out this month (might be next month) but I didn’t actually read it this month so I can’t. D:

Out of books on my shelf that have adaptions either in movie or tv form, I’m not quite sure which one I want. I had started to list them here but realized there are more than 20, so I have a good selection to pick from and not enough motivation to type them all out here. When I read it and watch it, I’ll be sure to compare the two in the review or wrap-up it ends up in.

Otherwise, I’m currently reading the following:

The Night Circus I’m listening to on audiobook, so I’m actually only physically reading four at the moment. And I ordered The Fold by Peter Clines in the mail and it arrived at my parents’ place yesterday. So I just need to drive down there and pick it up and hopefully I’ll get to that one too this month. Otherwise, I’m probably going to jump into a bit of fantasy or horror. Depends on what I find and what I feel.

How was your guys’ reading months? Favorite book? Anything book you wanna shove down my throat? Always looking for suggestions :”D Thanks for reading.

July Wrap-Up and August Currently Reading

Aaaand now the year is 2/3 over. I really wish my brain would quit normalizing things and allow me to perceive time moving more slowly like I did when I was little. Goodness. I’M GONNA BE 25 IN A WEEK MAN. I’M OLD.

Anyways, in July, I participated in a few readathons and I didn’t realize this until now, but holy cow did I read a lot of books. Well, 9 of them were books, 9 of them were graphic novels or manga. But regardless – I was going to go through each one and say a bit about it, but I feel like you’d be reading a novel, so I’m going to just list the stars for each one (and if you’d like to voice an opinion on one or two, go for it :D)

The 5 star books were:

4.5 stars:

4 stars:

3.5 stars:

2.5 stars:

1 star:

My favorite book of the month was Easy by Tammara Weber, and the least favorite was Flight volume 1. I will not be continuing that series. I felt it has such potential and it was such a let-down. 😦

So for August. As I mentioned above, I turn 25 this month (yay, my car insurance rate is being cut in half) and hopefully I’ll be able to get a lot of reading done as well. 😀

As of right now, I’m reading:

A few of these I’ve been reading for ages (namely the third and fifth book listed). I just haven’t been in the mood to finish them (even though I really really enjoy both of them so far). Both of them I’m reading with my SO. The Douglas Adams book we’re reading aloud and The Martian we’re listening to on audiobook. It’s difficult to find the time to commit to them when we’re both in the mood to read/listen. One of these days, they’ll get finished.

Also I went to the library for the first time in years a couple days ago and rented a couple books (Anya’s Ghost, The Bitter Kingdom, Flight vol 1 and Snow Like Ashes) There are so many books there that I want to read now that I know I won’t have to pay for them (namely…. Throne of Glass. xD I know I said I wasn’t gonna read it, but now that I don’t have to buy it to do so.. it’s more tempting. So if I read it, I’ll eat my hat and you all can call me goofy). As for what else I’m going to read this month, I have no idea. You know how I am with TBRs. I’ll read what I read.

EDIT: I totally forgot about my TBR Jar Challenge. This month’s slip is: “Read a book that is 500+ pages”. Guess how many pages A Storm of Swords is. ;”D That’s right, more than 500. Woop.

How was your reading month? Happy reading! 😀