Title: Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell
Pages: 62
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Short Stories, Novella
Published by: Macmillans Kids UK (February 25, 2016)
Summary
‘Everybody likes everything these days. The whole world is a nerd.’
‘Are you mad because other people like Star Wars? Are you mad because people like me like Star Wars?’
‘Maybe.’If you broke Elena’s heart, Star Wars would spill out. So when she decides to queue outside her local cinema to see the new movie, she’s expecting a celebration with crowds of people who love Han, Luke and Leia just as much as she does. What she’s not expecting is to be last in a line of only three people; to have to pee into a collectible Star Wars soda cup behind a dumpster or to meet that unlikely someone who just might truly understand the way she feels. Kindred Spirits is an engaging short story by Rainbow Rowell, author of the bestselling Eleanor & Park, Fangirl and Carry On, and is part of a handful of selected short reads specially produced for World Book Day.
What I Thought
This was so cute! Kindred Spirits is a short story/novella (I never know when one turns into the other? If you know what constitutes as a novella rather than a short story, please let me know!) was released for World Book Day in the UK, and I won a copy through an Instagram contest. Being that this book is so short, I really wasn’t expecting much. I figured that I would enjoy it, but being that I actually haven’t seen any of the Star Wars movies, I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I really did.
![Hedgeathon[white]](https://nataliehocker.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/hedgeathonwhite.jpg?w=300&h=124)
This summer I participated in Books and Quills’ Hedgeathon Summer Reading Challenge. I had so much fun, and just narrowly finished it (I didn’t think I was going to make it there for a while…I’m not even gonna lie, I finished my last book for this challenge at 11:55 PM on July 31st…*phew*)!
The challenge was to read a book related to at least 8 of these prompts (the ones I read are crossed off, and list which book it was below!):
1. A classic– This needs to be an older book, and one that is generally classified as a classic.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
2. Overly-hyped- You know what I’m talking about. Pick one of those books that no one can seem to stop gushing over and talking about. They aren’t bad books they are just hyped.
3. By an indie author– This could be a self-published book, one written by a less well known author, or even a novel you found on Wattpad, the possibilities are endless.
A Thousand Salt Kisses by Josie Demuth
4. Something you normally wouldn’t read–Try a new genre or format.
The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace
5. Actually a novella– Shorter than a novel and less popular but just as good.
Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
6. Over 400 pages– Finally time to tackle that long book you never pick up.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
7. A movie as well– either book that has a movie based off of it or one that is based off a movie.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
8. A true story– Time to bust out the non-fiction!
9. Recommended by a friend– Or me, or someone one else in the challenge.
Runaway by Dandi Daley Mackall
10. A retelling– These are super popular right now, and I have yet to read one.
Ash by Malinda Lo
11.One you bought only because of the cover– Don’t lie, we all do it at some point.
12. About a road trip- Because we can’t all actually go on one this summer.
Like I said, this was a lot of fun! Thank you so much to Natalie for creating such a fun readathon. This was the first real readathon that I got to participate in with my blog! I ended up reading some really great books that I might not have read yet if it hadn’t been for these challenges. 🙂
I didn’t blog nearly as much as I wanted to last month, but July was my best reading month of 2016 so far, so that’s something!
BOOKS READ
I read eight books this month! Seven were physical, and one was an ebook. That is quite good for me. I’ve been in a terrible reading slump on and off for the most of 2016, and I think it’s safe to say that my reading slump is officially over!(?)(You can’t be too confident, otherwise it might come back! lol)
– Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– All-American Girl by Meg Cabot \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
– Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– Runaway by Dandi Daley Mackall \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– Me Before You by Jojo Moyes \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– Ash by Malinda Lo \\ ⭐️⭐️
– Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOKS REVIEWED
Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
All-American Girl by Meg Cabot \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CLASSIC READ
For the Pretty Books 2016 Classic Challenge, I read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Check out my post about that here!
BOOK HAUL
I only bought one book in July, and that was A Christmas Passage by David Saperstein and George Samerjan. I actually wasn’t planning on buying any books in July, but I saw this at The Dollar Tree, and since it was only $1 and I’m a sucker for anything Christmas, I had to get it. 🙂
That’s it for July! Can you even believe that it is August now? Where has this year gone?! I hope you all had a great July, and will have an even better August. Bye! 🙂
Title: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Pages: 465
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Published by: Henry Holt and Company
Summary
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 are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
What I Thought
The hype for Six of Crows is H-U-G-E! For about the past year, I had heard nothing but absolute rave reviews for this book. Naturally, I became intrigued. While I definitely enjoyed this book a lot, it didn’t exactly fill me with the same level of love that most people seem to have for this book.
Today is Top Ten Tuesday – A weekly bookish list created by The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s topic is:
Top Ten Things Books Have Made Me Want to Learn/Do After Reading Them
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- The Winnie the Horse Gentler series made me want to ride a horse. I loved this series, and I actually learned a lot about horses while reading it. This series made me wish I could own a horse and ride her through the fields.
2-4. Nancy Drew was the first series that made me really fall in love with mysteries. These books have made me want to learn and do a lot of different things. Ever since reading my first Nancy Drew book, I’ve wished I could a) find a hidden passageway, b) learn Morse code, and c) solve mysteries – all while always looking flawless.
5. You all have no idea how much I wish Avonlea was real, and that I was living there. Anne of Green Gables made me want to to time travel back to 1908, and live on a cozy farm like Green Gables.
6-7. Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson is such a fun book! It made me want to go on a more personal adventure, and do something crazy that I would never do. This book also made me really want to eat ice cream. I love ice cream.
8. As someone who dances ballet, but is not a professional dancer, Bunheads really made me want to be in a ballet company.
9. The Christy Miller series really made me wish I lived in California on the beach! The sun, sand, and surfing…ahh! That would be so fun. 🙂
10. While I wouldn’t want to live in a time loop, how cool would it be to have a peculiarity like in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children?
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That’s it for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday! Let me know what about yours in the comments. 🙂
I want to apologize for the lack of posts this month! I have been absolutely terrible keeping up with book reviews, and really, all posts in general. Honestly, I just haven’t had a lot of time on the computer these past couple of weeks, and writing entire posts on my phone is not an enjoyable experience lol. I will try to post more consistently again from here on out!
July’s Classic
Check it out on Goodreads!
Originally Published: 1953
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis: The terrifyingly prophetic novel of a post-literate future.
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.
The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.
Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.
WHEN I Discovered This Classic
I think I first really heard about Fahrenheit 451 in high school, or maybe, middle school. At the time though, I really did not have an interest in reading any kind of classic literature outside of the classroom. A lot of the classics I was required to read for school at that time were, in my opinion, rather dry. It wasn’t until I graduated from high school, and took a gap year, that I really discovered the beauty of classic literature, and that it wasn’t all boring and hard to understand. I’d say that’s about when this book really came on to my radar.
WHY I Chose To Read It
The premise of this book is just so intriguing! Plus, I read Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury last year, and I just fell in love with his writing style.
WHAT Makes It A Classic
Even though this book was written in 1953, the themes and general message of this book is still so relevant in 2016.
WHAT I Thought Of This Classic
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I’m almost certain it is going to be on my list of the best books I read in 2016. I went back and forth between giving it a 4 or 5 star rating on Goodreads. I ended up giving it a 4, but it is really a 4.5.
First of all, Ray Bradbury was truly an incredibly gifted writer. I absolutely love his writing style and his way with words. This is one of those books where I found myself going back and rereading sentences simply because they were so savory and skillfully crafted (I now sound like I’m describing a steak instead of a book! Haha).
The story in itself was so good as well. While, for the most part, our society is not nearly as bad as the society Guy Montag lives in, some of the very same issues in the book are prevalent today. The little shells that everyone wears in their ears really stood out to me. How many of us are constantly check our phones? Not that anything is wrong with smartphones and technology (I am actually super thankful for all of it!), but sometimes we do miss out from fully experiencing something like the people in Fahrenheit 451 because our focus is elsewhere.
Another thing, I think we’ve all felt that desire for something more meaningful, and questioned what we are doing and thinking, just like Guy did. This book was a great reminder to not settle and simply conform to what is told to you. Ultimately, Fahrenheit 451 left me with hope.
WILL It Stay A Classic
This book will definitely stay a classic. As long as people continue to treasure books and knowledge, this book will be around.
WHO I’d Recommend It To
I would recommend Fahrenheit 451 to anyone who loves dystopian novels. Anyone who truly loves books and the written word, in that savory way, would also enjoy this book, I think.
Title: All American- Girl by Meg Cabot
Pages: 398
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Chick-Lit, Humor
Published by: Harper Teen (June 7th, 2002)
Summary
Samantha Madison is an average, cool Washington, D.C., teen: She loves Gwen Stefani (who doesn’t?), can draw like nobody’s business, and enjoys being opposite to her sister’s annoying ultra-social personality. But when she ditches art class one day, she doesn’t expect to be jumping on the back of a wannabe presidential assassin.
Soon the young hero is receiving worldwide acclaim for her bravery, having dinner with her family at the White House, and is even being named teen ambassador to the UN. As if this weren’t enough, she and David, the president’s son, strike up a friendship that everyone wants the dirt on, which starts to give her romantic “frisson” feelings.
Unfortunately, Sam thinks her sister’s boyfriend, Jack, is the true love of her life, and she makes a few wrong turns that could screw up what she’s developing with David. Will she ever stop following what she knows and start following what she sees?
What I Thought
I bought this book forever ago at a library book sale, but I never got around to reading it. In honor of the 4th of July, I finally decided to read it last weekend…it sounded like a somewhat patriotic read(?)! While this book wasn’t the greatest book I’ve read in 2016, it was a lot of fun, and a very light-hearted read.
I’m only doing a top 5 again, AND I’m a day late again, but Monday was the 4th of July, so it feels like a Tuesday today, so I’m going with it…Today is Yesterday was Top Ten Tuesday – A weekly bookish list created by The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s topic is:
Top Ten Five Books that Have Under 2000 Ratings on Goodreads
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Marvelous
Check it out on Goodreads
Marvelous by Travis Thrasher is book 1 in such a clever, mystery series! It is mysterious, fast-paced, and just overall a really good read. I’ve read the first two books, and I cannot wait to read the last two books and see how this series finishes…I just hope it doesn’t break my heart!
The Amanda Project
Check it out on Goodreads
Originally published as Invisible I, The Amanda Project is book 1 in a 4 book mystery series. It’s been a couple years since I read this series, but I remember devouring each book as it was released. What made this series interesting also, was that it tried to connect and interact with the readers, and people could write in short story segments that might be featured in the books. This one was a lot of fun, and even though it was published by HarperTeen, this series had very little publicity, which is a shame!
On Pointe
Check it out on Goodreads
On Pointe by Lorie Ann Grover was one of the best books that I read in 2015. It’s a little bit of an older book – it was released in 2004 – but I just discovered it last year and fell completely in love. It’s written in free verse, and the story is so beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopeful. I have no idea how this book only has 442 ratings on Goodreads!
Clara Claus
Check it out on Goodreads
Self-published by Alexandra Lanc, Clara Claus is such a fun, Christmas book! This story just put me in such the Christmas-y spirit. While I read it, I could definitely see it as one of those fun, Hallmark movies (like Northpole starring Bailee Madison).
Unlovely
Check it out on Goodreads
Another underrated mystery, Unlovely by Celeste Conway was very intriguing. This book does have mixed reviews, but I, personally, enjoyed it. It sort of had this almost…gothic-y feel. It takes place over the summer, but in my mind, when I read this book, it was always rainy and cloudy there (I read this one last year, so I can’t remember if that was the actual setting or not, but that’s how I remember feeling). It was very mysterious, and one of those books where you don’t know what’s going to happen until the end!
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Well, my Top Ten Tuesday somehow turned into a Top Five Wednesday, but I hope you enjoyed nevertheless! See ya next time. 🙂
Title: Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
Pages: 159
Genres: Romance, YA, Mystery, Contemporary, NA
Published by: Hoover Ink (January 7th, 2015)
Summary
Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen.
Complete strangers since this morning.
He’ll do anything to remember. She’ll do anything to forget.
What I Thought
Going into this book, I didn’t know much about it. However, it was free, and everyone on Bookstagram/the blogs I follow are in love with this book, so I thought I would give it a try. I was not disappointed!
June was a fairly quiet reading month. I read 4 books, which isn’t terrible, and I didn’t buy any new books (which is probably for the best! lol). Overall, it was just pretty…average!
BOOKS READ
Like I said, I read four books this month! Two of them were physical, and my other two were ebooks.
– A Thousand Salt Kisses by Josie Demuth \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– The Kill Order by James Dashner \\ ⭐️⭐️
– Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BOOKS REVIEWED
A Thousand Salt Kisses by Josie Demuth \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Death by Design by Carolyn Keene \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Kill Order by James Dashner \\ ⭐️⭐️
CLASSIC READ
I read the original Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley. Check out my post for it here!
That’s about all that happened, book-wise, this June! I hope everyone had a lovely June, and will have an even better July. 🙂
This wrap-up felt short, so here’s a random selfie of me and my books. I took this randomly one day when I was reading outside! xD
the calico books 