January Wrap Up

January is over! Which means that it's time for a monthly wrap up.

This month I read a total of 12 books, which is ok. I'm 4 books ahead of my Goodreads reading schedule. Hopefully this trend will continue throughout the next month.

Reviewed Books:

"The Beastly Arms" by Patrick Jennings

☆☆☆☆☆
Genre: Middle Grade

"All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

☆☆☆
Genre: Contemporary

"But You Did Not Come Back" by Marceline Loridan-Ivens

☆☆☆
Genre: Non Fiction

"The Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas" by Alison Weir

☆☆
Genre: History

"Rebel of the Sands" (Rebel of the Sands #1) by Alwyn Hamilton

☆☆☆☆☆
Genre: High Fantasy

Non-Reviewed Books:

"The Scandal in Kissing an Heir" (At the Kingsborough Ball #2) by Sophie Barnes

☆☆☆
Genre: Historical Romance

It was not as good as the third book in the series, but it was better than the first one. I enjoyed it, but it's not a fave.

"The King's Curse" (The Cousins' War #6) by Philippa Gregory

☆☆☆☆☆
Genre: Historical Fiction

Not my favorite book in the series, but a nice end to it. I really enjoyed it very much and I found the main character to be very believable and likeable.

"Brother Grimm" (Jan Fabel #2) by Craig Russell

☆☆☆☆
Genre: Mystery

I started this series just because of this book and I was not disappointed. A really good mystery novel with some unexpected twists.

"Let the Right One In" by John Ajvide Lindqvist

☆☆☆☆
Genre: Horror

It was not much of a horror novel, but I really, really liked it. I can't wait to watch the movies.

"Blindness" (Blindness #1) by José Saramago

☆☆☆☆
Genre: Science Fiction

I'm not much of a science fiction fan, because of all the terminology, but this book was really easy to read. I enjoyed it and I want to check out the second book.

"Flashforward" by Robert J. Sawyer

☆☆☆☆
Genre: Science Fiction

I can't believe I liked this book as much as I did. There was not a lot action there, but it was a fast read. If you like books about time travelling, you may love this one.

"Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

☆
Genre: Contemporary

I was on the verge of throwing this book out of the window too many times. I felt like I was reading some kind of a parody of a book. It was annoying the hell out of me.

These are all of the books that I've read this month. Have you read any of them? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Book Review: "Rebel of the Sands" by Alwyn Hamilton

☆☆☆☆☆
Rebel of the Sands #1
Genre: High Fantasy
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: Feb 4, 2016 by Faber and Faber Ltd

""Tell me that and we'll go. Right now. Save ourselves and leave this place to burn. Tell me that's how you want your story to go and we'll write it straight across the sand."

Dustwalk is Amani's home. The desert sand is in her bones. But she wants to escape. More than a want. A need. 

Then a foreigner with no name turns up to save her life, and with him the chance to run. But to where? The desert plains are full of danger. Sand and blood are swirling, and the Sultan's enemies are on the rise." - Goodreads

OMG, this was the best book ever!!!

First off, I want to thank NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for giving me the chance to read this awesome book!

For me it was the perfect mix between The Demon Cycle and The Arabian Nights. The world building was so great and everything was so vividly described that for these past two days I was sent to the Sahara desert. And I loved it! Everything felt so real and it was like a movie inside my head with me playing the lead.

The characters kicked ass! I was in love with their sass and their overall behaviour. Amani is now hands down one of my favorite heroines. She had sass, brains and knows how to stay alive...well, she did try really hard to get herself killed, but she survived. Jin was also a very well developed character. I would love it if the next book is told both from Amani and Jin's POV. It would be fantastic to go inside his head.

I really liked the interaction between the characters. None of them was just there, everyone had a purpose, which was really great. I was fond of the romance in the book - really smooth and subtle.

The mythology used in the book was a really nice touch. I loved all of the creatures and the way they were portrayed - the Djinnis, Buraqis, Nightmares and all tha jazz. Everything fitted the setting so perfectly. Nothing was redundant.

I honestly can't believe this is a debut novel. It was definitely more than I expected, which makes me so happy and appreciative. "Rebel of the Sands" has everything I love in a novel - well developed characters, gripping story, great world building and whole lot of action. The only bad thing I can say about the book is that I need more and I have to wait for the second one. Anticipation is killing me...

Library Hunt #1

Welcome to my first ever Library Hunt!

So, I went to the library yesterday to return a huge pile of books and of course I returned home with another one. The pile could have been bigger, but we are allowed to take only up to 7 books.

The only two books I was planning to get are:

"In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex" by Nathaniel Philbrick, which I didn't even know was a book. I've only heard about the movie and I have plans to watch it.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie, which I've heard mixed things about, but I really want to give it a try.

The other books I just got on a whim, because they sounded interesting. I've never heard anything about them, but I hope I'll like them.

"Mandala Road" by Masako Bando - it doesn't have a high rating on Goodreads, but I may be pleasantly surprised.

"The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" by Sherman Alexie - while searching for "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian", I found this book, so I decided to pick it up.

"Of A Boy" by Sonya Hartnett - I know nothing about this book. It sounds like a mystery novel.

"Broken" by Shy Keenan - I really like reading sad books and I have a thing for non-fiction books about child abuse or hard childhood in general. I'm sure I will like this one.

If you've read any of these books, please share you thoughts in the comments! Also, do you like the format of this post? Because I can may be include pictures from my local library while browsing through the books, if that is going to be interesting for you! Any opinions will be very much appreciated.

Book Traveling Thursdays: Re-Read for 2016

The Book Traveling Thursdays meme is created by Danielle at Danielle’s Book Blog and Catia at TheGirlWhoReadTooMuch. Every week you choose a book for your blog post that fits the weekly theme (which you can find in the Goodreads group), you share why you chose that book and finally post picture of the original cover, the covers from your country, your favorite cover, and your least favorite cover.

"Because some books stay with us forever!! Choose a book you want to re-read in 2016."
I haven't re-read any of my books last year, but this year I have some books, that I really have to re-read. I am going to choose "The Left Hand of God" by Paul Hoffman since I really want to finish the series this year and I love re-reading the books. This is one of my favorite YA Fantasy/Dystopia series, so if you haven't read it yet, give it a try.

Original Cover:

I really, really like the original cover. It's what drawn me into this book.

Bulgarian Cover:

Almost the same as the original.

Favorite Covers:

                   1) UK                                        2) Italian

I absolutely adore the UK cover. Especially the frame with the snakes and the swords. As for the Italian cover - doesn't it look a little bit like Assassin's Creed? I love it!

Least Favorite Cover:

The only edition I do not like is this Chinese edition. I don't hate it, but it is really my least favorite.

Have you read this book? What do you think about it?
If you have a Book Traveling Thursdays blog post, share it in the comments. I would love to check it out :)

Top 5 Wednesday: Disappointing Eye Candy

Top 5 Wednesdays was created by gingerreadsLainey and there is a Goodreads group where you can find a list of participants as well as Top 5 Wednesday topics.

Today it's all about those gorgeous covers that lured us into reading a certain book and then slapped us across the face with its awfulness.

"Fallen" (Fallen #1) by Lauren Kate

The cover is breathtaking, but the book is a complete disaster. I did not like it at all.

"Looking for Alaska" by John Green

I really like the cover, but the book was not my favorite. After reading "The Fault in Our Stars" every other book by John Green seems to fall flat for me...

"Divergent" (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

The movie was bad, but the book is worse. Such a shame, since the cover is beautiful.

"The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

I'm expecting some really negative comments, but it's true - I did not like this book. I really tried but it was not something spectacular. But the cover is gorgeous.

"Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception" (Books of Faerie #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

This book is definitely better than "Shiver", but I was not blown away. But the cover is lovely.

These are my disappointing eye candies. Share your Top 5 Wednesday in the comments :)

Top Ten Tuesday: Unread Books for 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.

Today is a freebie and I decided to go for my top ten books I'm looking forward to read in 2016, which were published before 2016 or late 2015. I have a ton of those.

1. "P.S. I Still Love You" by Jenny Han - I really want to read this book, but I think I won't like the ending, so I'm postponing it as much as possible...

2. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak - No excuse here. I seriously don't know what's wrong with me.

3. "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr - I'm sure I will love this one.

4. "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams - This book is humongous and I'm scared to pick it up, but I really want to read it this year.

5. "Rogues" - Another huge book, but I will love it.

6. "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August" by Claire North - I've heard some really good things about this book and I would love to give it a try.

7. "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell - I'm a bad person...

8. "Let It Snow" by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle - It's not a high priority book, but I really want to give it a chance.

9. "Birdsong" by Sebastian Faulks - I really want to watch the movie...hopefully this year.

10. "1Q84" by Haruki Murakami - I love Murakami, but this book is so huge...that's the only reason it's still on my TBR pile.

These are just some of my unread books, which I would like to read in 2016! I would love to find out if you have some of those, so share in the comments! A link to your TTT will be also appreciated :)

Music Monday: When I'm Down

Music Monday is created by Lauren at Always Me. Every week you choose one or two songs to share, video of the songs and your thoughts on the songs (or any other thoughts you have). More for the rules and how to participate you can find here.

We all have those days when we don't feel quite alright. I had one of those weeks last week. I was feeling sad and what helps me cry my sadness away is music. Not happy and cheesy this time. I'm going for songs that I can sing my heart out with.

Broken Iris - Where Butterflies Never Die is one of the songs in my dark and depressing song list. The lyrics are meaningful and music is just perfect.

Broken Iris - Where Butterflies Never Die 

A Skylit Drive - The past, the love, the memory is another of my go to sad songs. It's quite depressing song for everybody. 3 minutes of heartbreak.

A Skylit Drive - The past, the love, the memory

And just a little bonus, since I skipped last week's post.

Trading Yesterday - For you only

If you've done Music Monday this week, share it with me!!!

Book VS. Movie: Blindness

Welcome to my very first book to movie adaptation comparison!

Instead of going for some really popular book or movie, I've decided to start off with oldie, but goodie. The book I've chosen for today is "Blindness" by Jose Saramago.

The book is a really, really good old scince-fiction/dystopia novel, which reminded me a little bit of "The Day of the Triffids" by John Wyndham (which I really love). Let's start with the synopsis of the book:

"A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" that spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and assaulting women. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides her charges - among them a boy with no mother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears - through the barren streets, and their procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundings are harrowing. As Blindness reclaims the age-old story of a plague, it evokes the vivid and trembling horrors of the twentieth century, leaving readers with a powerful vision of the human spirit that's bound both by weakness and exhilarating strength." - Goodreads

If it does not sound intriguing to you, believe me - it is! The book was really interesting and captivating - I finished it for a day. It was a little bit strange to get used to the writing style and I don't know if it's just my edition of the book or not, but there was no direct speech...I mean, there were dialogs, but they were not separated from the other parts of the text...I probably don't make any sense here, so moving on...

The story was easy to follow, very believable and really well-written. There was not much of a character development, but there was a lot going on in the book, so that didn't bother me at all. Everything was fast-paced, at the same time thought-provoking and really philosophical.

In the end I gave this book a 4 star rating on Goodreads, which is really surprising, since I did not have high expectations about this novel.

Now, about the movie. It came out in 2008, so it's relatively new. It stars two really talanted actors - Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, and I expected a lot from them. Sadly, the movie fell absolutely flat for me. Everything felt really rushed and none of the feelings I got from reading the book were there. I guess the actors did the best they could with the plot they were given, but it was not enough.

Nothing else can be said about this movie. Don't bother to watch it. It doesn't worth 2 hours of your free time.

DEFINITE WINNER!

If you've read the book or watched the movie, don't hesitate to leave a comment with your thoughts! Any suggestions for future book to movie adaptation comparisons are also appreciated!

Stay tuned for my next Book VS. Movie blog post, which will be up next week, where I will compare "Let the Right One In" by John Ajvide Lindqvist with its two movie adaptations!

The Seven Deadly Sins Tag

Hello lovely bookworms! It's Friday and as promised in my Blogging Schedule I'm coming here with a tag!

I was tagged by Erin @ ReadingWithWrin for The Seven Deadly Sins Tag.

Greed - What is your most inexpensive book? What is your most expensive book?

My most expensive book has to be "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" - the illustrated edition. I just could not resist it - it's so beautiful!!!

As for my most inexpensive book - I really can't say which one it is...

Wrath - What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Cassandra Clare. I kept on reading the books in The Mortal Instruments series, hoping that every book will be better than the previous. I am going to read The Infernal Devices series in a distant future, but my expectations are definitely not high.

Gluttony - What book have you devoured over and over again with no shame?

"Last Chance Saloon" by Marian Keyes is definitely my guilty pleasure. I have such fun time reading it. My Goodreads says I've read it 7 times already, but I really want to reread it again in the near future.

Sloth - What book have you neglected reading due to laziness?

"The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adam. I really think I will like this book, but it's humongous, so I'm a little bit scared to start it...May be this year...May be not...

Pride - What book do you talk about most in order to sound like an intellectual reader?

I don't tend to talk about books for the sake of sounding really smart and well-read. I just talk about books, when I have something to say about them. It doesn't matter if I hate or love a certain book, sometimes I just need to pour out my feelings and thoughts about it.

Lust - What attributes do you find attractive in male characters?

I like my male characters to be a little bit broken. I don't like perfect people in books, because they don't exist in real life. I would also love my male characters to be loyal and protective (but not in the obsessive way).

Envy - What book would you most like to receive as a gift?

All of them!!! I love receiving books. Even if it's something I would not normally pick up myself, I appreciate every unread book that is given to me. If you want something specific, you can check out my TTT: Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year.

There you have it! That was The Seven Deadly Sins Tag! Thank you for tagging me, Erin! It was really fun!

I don't know who's done this tag already, but I tag:
Geraldine @ Corralling Books
Amy @ PowisAmy
Giovanna @ Book Coma

Book Review: "The Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas" by Alison Weir

☆☆
Genre: History
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: Jan 12, 2016 by Ballantine Books

"Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox. Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a Queen, her father an Earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin and grandmother of monarchs.

Beautiful and tempestuous, she created scandal not just once but twice by falling in love with unsuitable men. Fortunately the marriage arranged for her turned into a love match." - Goodreads

I don't even know where to start with my thoughts on this book. I really enjoy reading about the Tudors and the Plantagenets, but honestly this book was too much for me.

Let's start with the things I did not like.

• Too many dates and people - I was having a really hard time following the story since there were just too many things for me to remember and new people were introduced on almost every single page of the book. I felt like drowning in all this information, which sometimes I did not feel was necessary.
• All the presents and values - I really like reading what people used to have in the past. All these amazing gowns and jewelry and magnificent manors. What I don't like is receiving this information in the form of a list. And all of the money that were always tossed around - I did not need that information.
• Poems - I appreciate them, because they are supposed to give some kind of an insight on Margaret's character, but I was having a really hard time understanding them. Ancient English - not my thing.

Now, you may be wondering, what the hell I liked...

• I really liked that there was a lot of information about the events and the political intrigues. Yes, they were there to compensate for a lack of detailed info about Margaret herself, but I don't really mind, because they were interesting for me.
• I also appreciate all of the research that was done by the author for the creation of this book. Not only did she manage to portray some really interesting facts, but also came up with her own conclusions and speculations about the character of Margaret, as well as of other high-ranking figures.

Overall, I don't think this book was really for me, but I'll be sure to check out some of the author's historical fiction works. With all of the knowledge she has, I expect them to be something great.

Book Review: "The Beastly Arms" by Patrick Jennings

☆☆☆☆☆
Genre: Middle Grade
Source: Library
Publication Date: Jan 21, 2016 by Faber and Faber Ltd

"An accessible middle-grade novel from popular author Patrick Jennings now in paperback. 11-year-old Nickel moves with his mother into a mysterious apartment building called The Beastly Arms.

11-year-old Nickel and his mother need to find a new apartment. When their search takes them to an unfamiliar part of the city, Nickel is drawn to a strange building at the end of an alley - a building called the Beastly Arms.

Even though the rent in dirt cheap and the apartment is beautiful, Nickel's mom thinks the Beastly Arms is creepy. So does his best friend, Inez. Even his pet kangaroo rat, Miriam, seems worried. But Nickel, an avid photographer who has a gift for seeing what others don't, senses that the Beastly Arms houses a secret that only he can unearth..." - Goodreads

First off, I found this book in my local library while searching for other works by Brian Selznick. Apparently he is the illustrator for "The Beastly Arms" and I loved all of the illustrations in the book, as rare as they were.

I can't help but feel a similarity between Patrick Jennings' and Brian Selznick's writing styles. Their works have this melodic, fairy-tale way of portraying their stories, which I really love.

Nothing can be said about the story really, because I feel it's better diving into the book without knowing anything about it. All I can say is that this book was one happy story about photography and animals and being a decent human being.

There was not much going on, but as short as this book was, it really gave some insight and depth to the characters, as well as some really interesting topics to think about.

This is a children's book, but I think it's perfectly good for adults too. If you have a chance to read it - do it and you won't be disappointed.

...
...
...

At least I wasn't.

Book Review: "But You Did Not Come Back" by Marceline Loridan-Ivens

☆☆☆
Genre: Non Fiction
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: Jan 21, 2016 by Faber and Faber Ltd

"A runaway bestseller in France, But You Did Not Come Back is the deeply moving memoir of a survivor of the Holocaust.

'I was quite a cheerful person, you know, in spite of what happened to us.'

In 1944, at the age of fifteen, Marceline Loridan-Ivens was arrested in occupied France, along with her father. They were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. When they arrived, they were forcibly separated. Though he managed to smuggle a last note to her via an electrician, she never spoke to him again.

But You Did Not Come Back is Marceline's letter to the father she would never know as an adult, to the man whose death has enveloped her life. With poignant honesty, she tells him of the events that have continued to haunt her, of the collapse of their family, and of her efforts to find a place in a changing world.

This is a breathtaking memoir by an extraordinary woman, and an intimate and deeply moving message from a daughter to her father." - Goodreads

I've read many novels about the Holocaust and honestly I expected something a little bit more heartbreaking, considering that this is a non-fiction coming from an author, who had survived from all the hardship in the concentration camps.

It was a well written novella, but I can't help but feel that something was missing for me to feel compassion and sadness while reading this book. I don't know if the reason was that the author just didn't want to remember all of the things she's been through, but I felt that the feelings were not there. It's as if the person writing the novella, was not the one who had to suffer.

I don't blame the author for wanting to forget the way she felt, when she was in Birkenau. I really don't. Because the sufferings she describes are not something anyone should have gone through. It's not a part of the history that anyone should feel proud of...

I appreciate the book for what it is, but if the author had let her emotions flow free and spread her story into more lengthy book, it would have been way better.

Book Review: "All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

☆☆☆
Genre: Contemporary
Source: Bought

"The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning!

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven." - Goodreads

I am so sorry guys. I really wanted to like this book and I was so excited when I finally started reading it...but in the end I must say that the hype just ruined the book for me. It really did. I had such high expectations and half-way into the book I was already wondering "What's with all this hype?"...

There was not much going on in this book, honestly. Not much of a story, a minimal character development if there was any, really...the only good thing I can say about this book is that it was really well written and easy to read...and that's it.

If I have to describe the book in one word, it would be "angry", because I was angry with the book, I was angry and disappointed with the characters and their decisions, which seemed to lack any kind of reasoning behind them...

I did not hate the book, it was just meh...Suicide is a heavy subject and I was not left indifferent to the ending, but it was not enough for me to say "Oh my God, this is the best book ever!!! So many feels!!!".

Not much of a review here, but this is all I have to say about this book. I'm happy for all the people who liked it and I'm sad that I'm not one of them, but please don't bash on me about that...

Blogging Schedule 2016

New year, new schedule...or at least I hope I will follow this one.

Since the beginning of the year I was wondering what I can do in order to make my blog better. And since writing is not my forte I decided that the least I can do is to blog regularly and have some exciting new features. I will keep the old ones, don't you worry...

As usual I will join all the other bloggers for

• Musing Mondays
• Music Monday
• Top Ten Tuesday
• Top 5 Wednesday
• Book Traveling Thursdays

Keep in mind that I will skip some of the memes if I have nothing to offer on a certain topic.

As for the rest of my blogging schedule, I will do tags on a regular basis on Fridays and will post reviews, whenever I feel like it.

Now, for my new features...

• Library Hunt - as some of you may know, I really like going to the library and getting too much books from there. In this feature I will share with you my library finds, whenever I take a huge amount of books from there.
• Book Vs. Movie - in this feature I will share my thoughts on books and their movie or TV series or whatever adaptations. This feature will be up on Saturdays if I have something to share.
• Discussions - this is not going to be a regular feature, but I will try my best.

So, these are my plans as far as my blogging schedule goes.

Do you have any comments? Are you excited for any of my new features? Please, leave your feedback in the comments...

Music Monday: Armin & Faydee

Music Monday is created by Lauren at Always Me. Every week you choose one or two songs to share, video of the songs and your thoughts on the songs (or any other thoughts you have). More for the rules and how to participate you can find here.

Now, Armin and Faydee may not have anything in common, but I like their songs and they make me feel happy.

Armin van Buuren feat. Fiora - Waiting For The Night is my favorite. I love it, when I hear it I sing my lungs out! I can listen to it on repeat all day long. The song is part of the soundtrack for the movie Verliefd op Ibiza, which I really like and watched three times already.

Armin van Buuren feat. Fiora - Waiting For The Night 

Faydee - Sun Don't Shine is rather new. It is a really summery song and good for dancing (not that I dance or anything).

Faydee - Sun Don't Shine

If you've done Music Monday this week, share it with me :)

Bout of Books Wrap Up

Total page count: 1300

Books read:
"The King's Curse" (The Cousins' War #6) by Philippa Gregory
"The Beastly Arms" by Patrick Jennings
"Brother Grimm" by Craig Russell

I declare this read-a-thon a success. I did not finish all of the books I was planning to, but I'm satisfied by my page count. All of the books I've read were really interesting and easy to read.

I will be posting a review for "The Beastly Arms" soon, so stay tuned for that...

Bout of Books Day #6

Pages read today: 161

Total page count: 1097

Books read today:
"Brother Grimm" by Craig Russell

This book is going well so far. I was hoping to read "All the Bright Places" for this read-a-thon as well, but alas my first book was a monster so I won't be able to get to it.

For those of you who wait for my thoughts on "All the Bright Places", my review will be up as soon as I finish the book - hopefully next week.

Now, back to reading.

Bout of Books Day #5

Pages read today: 175

Total page count: 936

Books read today:
"The Beastly Arms" by Patrick Jennings
"Brother Grimm" by Craig Russell

I have a feeling that I've read "Brother Grimm" before...a really strong feeling...but my Goodreads tells me I haven't...

Challenge: The Comfy Reading Spot hosted by Once Upon a Chapter

My comfy reading spot is my bed. I sit on it, with my back on the pillow with a blanket covering my legs. I would much rather have a comfy armchair, but alas...

Dreaming about something like this...

Thank you Stephanie for hosting this challenge!!!

Bout of Books Day #4

Pages read today: 234

Total page count: 761

Books read today:
"The King's Curse" (The Cousins' War #6) by Philippa Gregory
"The Beastly Arms" by Patrick Jennings

It's going well so far!

Challenge: Scavenger Hunt hosted by The Book Monsters

1. Book Shelves

2. A book you’re planning to read/currently reading for Bout of Books

3. A Book and a Beverage

4. Blue Books

5. Cozy Reading Spot

Book Traveling Thursdays: Book That Makes Me Feel Cozy

The Book Traveling Thursdays meme is created by Danielle at Danielle’s Book Blog and Catia at TheGirlWhoReadTooMuch. Every week you choose a book for your blog post that fits the weekly theme (which you can find in the Goodreads group), you share why you chose that book and finally post picture of the original cover, the covers from your country, your favorite cover, and your least favorite cover.

"Yesterday was Cuddle Up Day!! Choose a book that makes you feel warm and cozy."
I love to cuddle up in a blanket and read some books. And there are a lot of books, that make me feel warm and cozy and happy. Today I'm going to choose "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott.

Original Cover:

I like these old books. They are simple, but they look pretty good.

Bulgarian Covers:

The first one is my favorite Bulgarian cover. I adore it. The rest of the Bulgarian covers don't appeal to me.

Favorite Covers:

        1) Japanese                2) Russian                3) Thai                    4) US                           5) US

They are all perfect. The color scheme, the art, the font...I love them!

Least Favorite Cover:

              1) Bengali                                        2) Arabic

If I have to describe these covers with one word, it will be awful. I really don't like them.

If you have a Book Traveling Thursdays blog post, share it in the comments. I would love to check it out :)

Bout of Books Day #3

Pages read today: 183

Total page count: 527

Books read today: "The King's Curse" (The Cousins' War #6) by Philippa Gregory

I'm not failing! I'm just taking it slow :D

Challenge: Villain Mash Up hosted by Bingeing on Books

                                                           Petyr Baelish VS. Mayor Prentiss

Man, I would love to see them in a verbal battle. I have a feeling that Petyr Baelish will win this one really easy, since he seems to be the wittier one. It will be fun though, since both of them are slimy and have the power to manipulate people.

Thank you Cynthia for hosting this challenge!

Bout of Books Day #2

Pages read today: 152

Total page count: 344

Books read today: "The King's Curse" (The Cousins' War #6) by Philippa Gregory

Well, did I fail today :D I don't even know what happened...I had more time for reading and I felt that I read a lot...but I didn't...

Oh, well! Today is another day!

Challenge: The Rainbow Challenge

Cover Challenge:

No, I did not forgot the violet cover. I just couldn't find any cover with somethin violet on it..or even at least close to that color...

Author Challenge:

R - Rosnay, Tatiana de

O - Olivares, Javier

Y - Young, Wm. Paul

G - Gregory, Philippa

B - Brett, Peter V.

I - Isaacson, Walter

V - Verdon, John

Thank you Rebecca for hosting these challenges!

Now, back to reading my book!

Top Ten Tuesday: 2016 Bookish Resolutions

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.

I've already posted my bookish resolutions in details in my 2016 Reading Challenges and Blogging Goals post, but I can still add a little bit more, right! This week's topic is "Top Ten Resolutions We Have For 2016 (can be bookish, personal resolutions, "I resolve to finally read these 10 books, series I resolve to finish in 2016, etc.)", so let's get it started.

1. Buy less books and read more books from my TBR shelves

Becaue they look like this:

I haven't read any of these books, none...not even one...it's bad...

2. Complete my reading challenges
This year I'm participating in a lot of reading challenges. Here they are:

• Goodreads Challenge - well, of course. My goal is 100 books.
• 2016's Ultimate Reading Challenge
• I Dare You Book Challenge - wish me luck on this one...
• Finishing the Series Challenge - I'm hoping on finishing 7 or more series this year.
• 2016 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
• The Shelf Love Challenge - I'm hoping on reading 31-40 books from my TBR shelves.

3. Take less books from the library

Because I tend to take a lot of books from my library, which results in neglecting my own TBR shelves...

4. Spend some time on my coloring books

Because they are fun and I got the "Game of Thrones" coloring book for Christmas and I want to get into it.

5. Participate in more read-a-thons

Because they are motivating.

6. Write more book reviews

Although I suck at it, I like giving my opinion about the books I've read.

7. Be more interactive with other bloggers

I want to share my love for reading with other people and all of the bloggers sound like really nice people and I really want to make some friends around the blogging world!

8. Figuring out my own posting schedule

Because I like being organized and I noticed that that's not the case with my blogging. So, expect some blogging schedule soon.

9. Buddy reads/Read alongs

I really want to do some of those. If anyone is up for it, leave a comment! I would really, really love it!

10. DO NOT NEGLECT my reading for watching anime, playing games, etc.

They are fun, but I don't want to be behind on my reading because of them.

These are just some goals, which I would like to achieve! Share a link to your TTT in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out :)