Hello and happy Friday! I hope that you are all having an amazing Valentines day so far! Today I’m going to be participating in Let’s Talk Bookish, a weekly discussion post created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books. This week’s topic is: What makes an engaging blog post?
Hello, and happy Wednesday! Today was the semi-final of OBOB, which is a reading competition that I’m participating in, and I won the battle so tomorrow I will be in the final which is very exciting, but also stressful because I’m the spokesperson and I will have to speak in front of everyone who shows up. (That’s 6th, 7th and 8th graders plus teachers and so yeah, it’s a lot.) Today was also my last day of algebra finals, which I’m glad to be done with!
Anyways… Right now, it’s time for my weekly reading update, WWW Wednesday! WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On a World of Words, and how it works is each week I answer three questions:
I am still currently reading Crooked Kindom, although I have made a lot of progress. I am rereading the Novice, by Taran Matharu, and The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani.
I recently reread The Only Road, by Alexandra Diaz, House Arrest, by K. A. Holt, and Hattie Ever After, by Kirby Larson. I listened to Hattie Ever After, and the person who reads it is really good.
If you want to see all the books I’ve read so far this year, check out my Goodreads, where I (mostly) keep up with all the books I read.
Next, I think I’ll read Black Radishes, by Susan Lynn Meyer, reread It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel, by Firoozeh Dumas, and The Teacher’s Funeral, by Richard Peck! I’m keeping my weekly TBR the exact same because I didn’t actually get to any of the books above!
What are you currently reading? What do you plan to read next? Have you read any of the books in this post? Chat with me in the comments below!
Happy Reading!
I can’t believe that it’s already February! I meant to write this post a while ago, (Like nine days ago) but as you might already know, I’m not very good at planning posts in advanced! Anyways, here’s how my month went:
I can’t believe that it’s already February! I meant to write this post a while ago, (Like nine days ago) but I haven’t had that much time recently. Anyways, here’s how my month went:
You can read my review here.
I for the first time actually organize my bookshelf by genre, and I’m really proud of myself for doing that, because before I
I did a lot of stuff.
So even though my entire month was completely planned out very well, and I didn’t accomplish all of my goals, I’m happy with what I got done.
I’m not going to completely plan out and set a lot of goals for February, and I’m not going to write out a TBR (to be read), but I do want to finish reading all of the books that were on my winter TBR.
So… the books that I have yet to read are these:
That’s only five books, and I’ll most likely read more, but the other books I read will be for OBOB. (a reading competition I’m doing that’s through my school)
For my posting goals, I want to write:
That adds up to thirteen posts, and plus this one is fourteen, and thats a good amount for me.
I also want to get some writing done, and work a little more on the story I’ve been working on.
And that’s it for my January wrap up and goals for February! I hope you are all having a great 2020 so far!
What are your February goals? How was your January? How is 2020 going for you so far? Chat with me in the comments below!
Happy reading!
Hello and happy Friday! Today I’m going to be participating in Let’s Talk Bookish, a weekly discussion post created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books. This week’s topic is How many POVs (point of views) is too many? (suggested by Heran @ Be Frisky)
I don’t really have a preference. I love books with multiple POVs; I think it’s a really cool way to show more about the characters, and I also love books with just one narrator, or from the 3rd person perspective! I love reading books from all points of view, but I do think that books with multiple POVs are really cool.
It really depends. There are some books where there I really think there should be more. For example, in Six of Crows, in my opinion, Wylan should have his own point of view! He is such a crucial character, and should really be added to the book. (He does have his own point of view in Crooked Kingdom, so that’s great).
I haven’t ever read a book were I wished there were less POVs. Thats probably because once you’ve read a book with multiple POVs, it’s hard to imagine an entire section of that book gone, or at least very different.
There are also some books where the multiple points of views are done perfectly. For example, in Every Soul a Star, by Wendy Mass, Ally, Bree and Jack rotate through the chapters, narrating their own parts. In The Candymakers, also by Wendy Mass, the way the different POVs are told is kind of different, but really cool. The first big chunk of the book is narrated by one person, then the next chunk is told be someone else, however the story doesn’t continue; it loops back to the start, so in the end you’ve gotten the same story four times told by different main characters. It seems confusing, but it actually works really well and is a really interesting way to read.
So now that I’ve talked a little about my opinion on multiple POVs in books, here’s my answer to the main question:
There is no such thing as too many POVs, at least in my opinion. Of course, if an author were to write a book with 50, or 30 or 20 POVs, that would be very overwhelming, however, I’ve never encountered a book with too many POVs.
I’ve read amazing books told from 3 POVs, 4, 5, and even a few more. Now that I think about it, I’ve read quite a few good books with multiple POVs!
So, how many POVs are too many, you ask. And I answer: there is no limit. Just don’t make a 5000 page book with 500 main characters who have their own POVs. That would only give them each ten pages, and that’s barely enough to explain their name, hair color, and favorite Disney movie. So, any number of POVs in a book is good, as long as each character with their own POV has enough room in the book and has a part in the story that makes sense, and is more or less essential!
How many POVs do you think is too many? What’s your favorite Disney movie? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Chat with me in the comments below!
Happy reading!
Hello, and happy Wednesday. Right now, it’s time for my weekly reading update, WWW Wednesday! WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On a World of Words, and how it works is each week I answer three questions:
I am currently rereading Falling Over Sideways, by Jordan Sonnenblick and Hattie Ever After, by Kirby Larson. I am also reading Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo, which I really love so far!
I recently read The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi, which I loved! It is such a good book, and I can’t wait until the sequel comes out! I also read Haveli, by Suzanne Fisher Staples. You can read my review here. I also reread becoming Naomi León, by Pam Muñoz Ryan. I read a few more, but I don’t remember at the moment exactly which ones. If you want to see all the books I’ve read so far this year, check out my Goodreads.
Next, I think I’ll read Black Radishes, by Susan Lynn Meyer, reread It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel, by Firoozeh Dumas, and The Teacher’s Funeral, by Richard Peck!
What are you currently reading? What do you plan to read next? Have you read any of the books in this post? Chat with me in the comments below!
Happy Reading!
Hello, and happy Tuesday! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl, and how it works is each week there is a topic and you make a list of your top 5, 10 or whatever number of books that fit that topic. This week’s topic is books on my TBR (to be read) that I predict will be 5 star reads! I’m going to keep this pretty quick, and only do a few books though, so let’s get right to it!
I just finished the Gilded Wolves and it is AMAZING! I have no idea how I’m going to wait until September 22 for this book to come out! I absolutely loved the Gilded Wolves; the writing, the plot, the characters, even the cover is enough to get anyone interested! Anyways, I loved Roshani Chokshi’s style of writing, and I cannot wait to read more of her books, and I loved the history blended with the magic in the Gilded Wolves, so as the Silvered Serpents is in the same universe, I can’t wait!
I’m actually holding off on reading this until next year, because we read it in school, but I’m really excited to read this classic!
My great aunt recently gave me a copy of this, and I just really want to read it and I think I’ll really enjoy it!
Anyways, I’m going to wrap this up with only four books. It’s been freezing where I live, (it was 28 degrees this morning) and I really hope that it snows, because even though it only actually snow every few years in where I live, it always so fun when it does! So I really really hope snows!
What are some books that you predict will be five star reads? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Does it snow where you live? Do you enjoy the snow? Chat with me in the comments below!
Happy reading!
Happy Friday, everybody! I’m very excited for this week’s Let’s Talk Bookish, which is about required reading. Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly discussion post hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books, where each week there is a topic or question, and the participants write about their opinions on the topic. I’m very excited for this weeks topic, so here we go!
Required Reading: A punishment or a blessing in disguise?
It really depends. Required reading can be a way to discover new books, and discussing them with other people who’ve read the same book can be pretty fun. However, when the book is boring, or you have to analyze it in a certain way, or you have to write an essay about it, it starts to get less fun.
I just recently read a book in school; Shabanu, by Suzanne Fisher Staples, and I really enjoyed the book. However, it wasn’t fun to make lists of the not so challenging vocabulary, and to write paragraphs of my fairly nonexistent personal connections to the book. Now, I’m going to have to write and essay on the book, and while I love writing reviews, essays comparing and contrasting two characters and stuff like that isn’t the most fun way to write about a book.
How do you feel about required reading?
I know that for some people, they would never read if they didn’t have to for school, but I do wish that we had much more choice in the books we read. Usually, the entire class reads the same book, and with the last book I read in school, there were four books to choose from, but the teacher actually chose which book each student read, and I only got to fill out a form, so a lot of people didn’t even get their first choice.
I’d actually read two of the four books, so that was cool, but our discussions about the book weren’t actually very engaging, and most people in my group didn’t really want to discuss; they just wanted to read the rest of the book. So, overall, I guess I have very mixed feelings about required reading.
Do you think it is unfair, outdated, and boring?
I do think that required reading can be unfair, as a lot of the time the books that teachers choose aren’t very fun or entertaining, and not even educational. It is definitely not outdated, however, I just think that the systems of how required reading is chosen and decided on and all that could be much improved on.
For whether or not it is boring really depends on the book (how interesting it is, how well it is written…) and mostly, how the teacher is having the students discuss the book, and what the students have to do surrounding the book.
Do you think it helps us become better readers?
It can. Again, it really really depends. If its a good book, with interesting content, good writing and more new/more challenging vocabulary and a well thought out plot and characters, it can.
If it’s a meh book with meh educational stuff and meh content and meh writing and meh vocabulary and meh plot and meh characters, then well, the books going to be pretty meh. And a meh book is definitely one hundred percent not going to help us become better readers.
Is it a good way of getting students to read old classics?
Yes. Definitely. Especially literary fiction with difficult wording, and confusing plots. And Shakespeare, although I’m only in seventh grade and haven’t gotten to that yet. But there are many great books that would be read quite a bit less if they weren’t consistently assigned in schools.
Is it a good way of getting students to enjoy old classics? No. While for some people, (like me!) reading classics like To Kill a Mockingbird (which all of the eighth graders at my school read) or Pride and Prejudice (which I assume is coming sometime in high school) would be really fun! However, there are many kids who will grumble about having to read books like A Wrinkle in Time (that was in 5th grade, and then we had a field trip to see the movie which was not good).
What do you think about required reading! Is it a punishment? Or a blessing in disguise? Chat with me in the comments below!
Happy reading!
Hello! I can’t believe that it’s already the end of January! Now that most of my tests are over, and school is a little less crazy, today I decided to write a review of Six of Crows. I just finished reading it, and really enjoyed it. I also decided to try a different format for my review, and it took me less time, so I hope that it works for me better and that I’ll continue to use it! Anyways, without further ado, here’s my thoughts and opinions on Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo!
Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publication date: September 29, 2015
Pages: 465
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Goodreads synopsis:
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. .
A convict with a thirst for revenge
A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager
A runaway with a privileged past
A spy known as the Wraith
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes
Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
My thoughts:
I have seen and heard so many amazing things about this book, and I’ve been wanting to read it for a really long time. And I agree that it is a very good book; the plot, the characters, everything is just thought out really well.
There were, however, quite a few things that I didn’t understand, and that I didn’t get until much later in the story. For example, I didn’t understand what the Grisha were, and that whole concept until I was a few hundred pages in! There are still a few things that I’m not quite sure about surrounding the whole GrishaVerse, but that is my only criticism of the book.
The writing was incredible. The images in my head that I was able to conjure up while reading were so vivid and clear! That is a very good thing, however the Kaz’s ruthlessness was a little to vivid for me, and I could have done with a little less violence.
Characters:
The characters were fantastic. All of them; Kaz, Matthias, Nina, Inej, Jesper and Wylan were so unique and such thought out personalities and backgrounds. I really loved how at the beginning, you knew nothing about any of the characters, but then as the story went on, you got to know more and more about them and their histories.
Inej really fascinated me. She’s surrounded by a mysterious past that slowly reveals bits of itself as the book progresses. Her history with Tante Heleen resurfaces in a marvelous way, and I love that part, and how its woven into the plot.
Conclusion:
Overall, I enjoyed this book. This is the first book I’ve read by Leigh Bardugo, and I’m looking forwards to reading lots more. I really enjoyed the style of her writing, and the magical universe that she’s created is really cool.
I’m rating this book 4 stars because although I really enjoyed the writing, characters and plot, there were a few parts that never really got explained or cleared up.
I’m glad I finally got to reading this book, and I’m going to go to the library as soon as I can to get the sequel, which I’m very much looking forwards to reading.
Have you read Six of Crows? What do you think of Leigh Bardugo’s writing? Chat with me in the comments below!
Happy reading!
Hello there! Today was an insane day at school; I had a social studies test on the independence of India and the creation of Pakistan in my French immersion class, a language arts quiz on the book that we just read, and my chapter five math test. However, that’s all over, and right now I’m going to try something new; a mini review. I hope that having a smaller expectation for my review is going to make it easier to write them, and I really wanted to write at least one review in January, so without further ado, Haveli, by Suzanne Fisher Staples!
Goodreads synopsis:
The world of Newbery Honor book “Shabanu” is vividly re-created in this novel of a young Pakistani woman’s heartbreaking struggle against the tyranny of custom and ancient law. Shabanu, now a mother at 18, faces daily challenges to her position in her husband’s household, even as she plans for her young daughter’s education and uncertain future. Then, during a visit to the “haveli, ” their home in the city of Lahore, Shabanu falls in love with Omar, in spite of traditions that forbid their union.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was good, but there were some flaws.
I read Shabanu for school, and kind of enjoyed it, but I really wanted to see what would happen next, so I read the sequel, Haveli.
It was pretty good. There was a lot of sad stuff (actually, barely any of the content was happy), and only some of the issues that were apparent in Shabanu were resolved in Haveli. I was a little disappointed actually. The plot was good, but the writing was not fantastic.
I really liked how the author built Shabanu’s character, and that was really interesting. However, Shabanu was the only character featured that way, and there are actually quite a few fairly prominent characters in the book.
The series does however really make you aware of child marriages and marriages for convenience. Shabanu, the main character of the book is 18 when the book takes place, and was married to a much much older man when she was 13 as pretty much a peace offering.
So, overall, I enjoyed this sequel, but there were a few flaws. I would recommend reading Shabanu, the book that came before it, and if you like it, reading Haveli. I am definitely going to reading the next book in the trilogy!
Have you read Shabanu or Haveli? What do you think about this review? Chat with me in the comments below!
Happy reading!
I don’t know if this has been a past TTT topic, but it seems like a really fun one to do. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl, and how it works is each week there is a topic and you make a list of your top 5, 10 or whatever number of books that fit that topic. This week’s topic is a book cover freebie, so I’m doing amazing book covers!
1 Wolf Hollow, by Lauren Wolk
2 The War I Finally Won, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.
3 The Gilded Wolves, by Roshani Chokshi
The cover of The War I Finally Won really represents what the book is about, and even though I haven’t read The Gilded Wolves yet, the cover is so beautiful! And with Wolf Hollow, I love how the writing is built into the design of the cover and is part of the tree.
4The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill
5The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon
6Everything, Everything, by Nicola Yoon
7Five Feet Apart, by Rachael Lippincott
Both of Nicola Yoon’s books have such amazing covers that are just really pretty, and the same is with Five Feet Apart. I love on the cover of The Girl Who Drank the Moon how the title is on the moon. It is so pretty!
8 The Wolf Wilder, by Katherine Rundell
9 The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, by Jeanne Birdsall
x Becoming Naomi León, by Pam Muñoz Ryan
The Wolf Wilders is incredible; how the title is built into the trees, and how the light is streaming out of the windows of the cabin. Becoming Naomi León is really interesting as well; how her hair is moving with the wind, the lion next to her with its mouth open. I guess I just love all of the Penderwicks covers; it so simple, yet represents and shows so much of the book!
What are some books that you think have amazing book covers? What makes a book cover amazing for you? Chat with me in the comments below!
Happy reading!
Book Nook Bits 