It’s that time again to open my Goodreads page and see what books have I shelved and how many have I read this month. Thanks to the BookTube-A-Thon in the first week of August, I managed to read more than on an average month. Even though I was excited about the readathon and all the reading sprints and stuff, I didn’t participate in anything. When I wanted to read there weren’t any reading sprints happening, and when I did catch them I wasn’t in the mood to read for 20 minutes and stop, I wanted to keep on going. So in reality, the reading sprints did nothing for me. Although, I still finished two books I’m very happy about and a couple more in the remaining days of the month.

Wrap-Up

I didn’t read all seven books I was planning to for BTAT, but I enjoyed a lot of what I read especially, Eleanor & Park. After a long break, I read another Rainbow Rowell book, and I couldn’t be happier. The book is so heartbreaking, comforting, moving, and a big page-turner. I really love it, and it’s probably going to be one of my favourite books I read this year. Then, I did a trip to Japan with Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa another marvellous book I won’t forget so soon. The story is deeper than I could ever think it was going to be, it really appeals to the feelings on the bottom of your heart that makes you completely fall in love and at the same time cry like mad. I enjoyed every single page, the atmosphere, the characters, the setting, everything. I just wish I had more, a sequel or just another 100 pages. One thing I’m sure of is thanks to Sweet Bean Paste, I’m even more obsessed with Japan.

While I was reading my TBR for BTAT, the only thing I could think about was reading The 100 by Kass Morgan and The Nightmare by Lars Kepler. I have started both books before the readathon, and I waited until it was over to finish them. And when I got my hands on the books, I flew through them. The first one I finished was The 100. In my opinion, the book doesn’t have much of a plot but was very entertaining and exactly what I wanted to read. While The Nightmare was more intense, complex, and slightly disappointing. If you want to know my thoughts and feels on the book, I have my review on the blog. Short story: I didn’t like the killer.

And to top off this month, I didn’t read 4 books, I read 5! Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel was one of my reading challenges for the readathon that I didn’t finish in that week. And thanks to my friends they made me finish the rest of the book so I could tell them a bedtime story. I actually quite enjoyed telling the story through my own words and memory, and for some weird reason, they actually enjoyed hearing me telling it. So if anyone whats a short-version bedtime story give me a call 😉 Bottom line, Like Water for Chocolate is another read book in my list even though it was too fairy-tail ish for me.

Haul

As I said last month, the book fair was in town, and I didn’t miss the chance to look around. I didn’t know if I was actually going to buy something and turns out I did and one of them was a complete lucky strick. Between a bunch of second hands English books, I found Snow Flower and The Secret Fan by Lisa Lee. It was the last one in a big pile as I saw a glimpse of the cover and had to know which book was. I was not expecting to be it. I came across Lee’s book about two months ago (probably) as a recommended read since I’m getting more interested in Asian literature lately. And a story set in 1900 china about the friendship between two women who can only communicate through fans with a special language that only they could understand away from the male influence, sounds secretive, moving, and possibly a big pool of tears.

What was not in second hand and not in English, but I had to get it anyway was The 100: Day 21 by Kass Morgan, the second book in the series, and Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia. Last year when this book came out, I read the first five chapters (thanks to Epic Reads), and I was hocked. It reminded me of Fangirl as it has a story inside of the story and the main character is the one writing it. And since then, I’ve seen some reviews about it and how the story has much depth to it than what it seems on the surface which made me want to read it even more.

On a surprising turn of events, I went to a second-hand store to get a hold on some PS3 games, and it happens they had loads of books there. Me being me, I couldn’t walk away without first scanning the shelves to see if I was interested in anything. And I got not one but two Agatha Christie‘s books under 3€ each. I couldn’t believe it. For me, it should be a crime to price those books that low. Obviously, I didn’t take my hand off them anymore. I’m only sad that none of the books is from the Miss Marple series considering both are titles from the Poirot series, Hallowe’en Party and The Labours of Hercules. I have no idea what the stories are about, although I’m happy to grow my Agatha Christie collection a bit more.

Caught on my radar

I think the first time I heard about The Lord of the Flies by William Golding was on Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. Maddy kept a “diary” with short book reviews, and that book was one of them. From her comment, she didn’t like it, so I didn’t pay much attention. Although since then, I’ve been seeing the book being referenced more often. Yet, I still kept myself in ignorance. I even saw it at a great price in a book fair, but avoid buying it as I still didn’t know what it was about. This month, while I was scrolling down on Goodreads, it showed up again, and I finally decided to see what’s the story about. Now I’m regretting not buying it when I saw it. DANG IT!! I knew it was something about boys, but I had no idea it was a survival story. Fingers crossed, I can find it at a good price once again.

Up next I discovered Vox by Christina Dalcher, and it instantly reminded me of All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis. The premise is similar where the power of the words is in question. In Vox women are only allowed to speak 100 words a day, as we follow the struggle a woman has to go to protect herself and her daughter for that world. Every story that perpetuates a barrier between men and women or people, in general, gets me very curious mostly because some of those barriers did exist at some point in history or they still exist nowadays. And when reading these types of books usually we get a new perspective on the world around us.

I couldn’t believe when I received a newsletter from Veronica Roth announcing she was going to release a new book. I mean, I knew it was coming at some point, and she had already finished Carve The Mark duology in April, so she had to start writing something else. Yet, it still caught me by surprise. The Chosen One is the title of her new series, but this time the characters are in their late twenties. So far, she has only written YA we know and love, and this book is her venturing into Adult fiction. Even though the characters are older, she promises the book will scream her name on every page. The expected publication is for Spring 2020, so there is a long time ahead of us.

TBR

Every month, my TBR has been completing the one from the previous month, and this time is no different. I still have a few pages on Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs to read and finally finish the series for once and for all, and since I started And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie for the readathon I may as well continue the story. But there is one book I want to start reading before the summer is completely over. Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweet Shop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan is a book I started back in December and only read about half of it. I really enjoyed it but it wasn’t the right time, so I put it down in hope for a better moment to continue. Since the story is set during summer is better I enjoy the last few days to stuff myself in sweets as I wait for the cold days. And I’m also sure I won’t resist to pick up Eliza and Her Monsters. Since I bought it, it has been looking at me with those pitty eyes almost screaming to pick it up and open it. I’m sure I won’t resist the temptation for too long. Either way, what is important is to read and have fun. And I’ll see you next month with another post full of books.