February was one of the strangest and longest months ever – I know the irony. I’m still trying to switch my brain back to DIYing and blogging which it’s surprisingly hard. But thankfully during my break, I didn’t stop reading, so that part of my brain is still intact. I’ve read somewhere that one way to create a reading habit is to read when you’re feeling bored, to make the brain associate reading as something to take you out of the boredom. Although when I’m bored, I don’t want to pick a book because I’m bored! Do you see my problem? Well, this is a really long intro just to say that I’ve only read ONE book this month and wasn’t even good. *facepalm*

As I usually like to do, I’m currently in the middle of three books, but only managed to finish one, After by Anna Todd. If you don’t know already this book has been adapted to a movie and has it’s release this summer (if I’m not mistaken). From the moment I first saw the trailer, I instantaneously wanted to read the book. I knew from the start “how bad” the book was but I wasn’t looking for the next great book, I wanted to have fun, and the book gave me that – and yes, I still want to see the movie despite my disliking of the book.

It might have been just one book that I read this month, but I have so many thoughts about it that it is as if I’ve read three. I don’t know if I’m going to make a review or not at this point. I have 8 pages (size A4) of notes and a trillion tabs on the book – it’s so colourful it looks like Christmas – so I have plenty of material to go around and discuss. Although I don’t know if I want to go back to the revolting feeling the book left on me. I wrote down a review after I finish it, so a piece of my rage is written down, I just don’t know if I want to go through it again. Maybe I just need to let everything settle down a bit more.

Since I don’t know if I’ll ever do the review, I might as well just tell you a piece of my mind about it. I gave it 1 star on Goodreads, and I don’t even know if it deserves that much. If we put aside the clichés, the pretentious words to make this more like a novel and not a Wattpad fan-fiction, and the poor character development, this book had the potential to be a great story. The book starts with the prologue of Tessa telling us that after she met Hardin her whole life as change entirely, so the rest of the story is her remembering the events (or it should be like it). And if we think about what most people that don’t like about this book, the toxic relationship, the two things could be mashed together. By the end of the book, present-day-Tessa could realise how bad that relationship was. This would mean that there wouldn’t be any book series, but what would you prefer a great stand-alone book or a 5 book series based off of how relationships shouldn’t be.

I guess at the end of the day every story doesn’t need to teach anything or be socially or morally correct or teach the youngest what is correct and what’s not. But just the simple fact that this book starts off as fanfic it worries me. Usually, fanfic is a fantasy, a forbidden love, it’s another reality where fictional characters can be real, celebrities can live next door to us, so it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth thinking that not only the author but also the fans fantasise about this kind of relationships somehow.

Haul

Since my brain it’s still not thinking as it should, I completely forgot to do a haul in my previous Wrap-Up. So now I have to haul books from December, January and February. This is going to feel like my birthday again! My TBR is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds, and I’m not reading any. But don’t worry, I just ordered 3 more books that should arrive today to brighten my mood.

Although I’m going to leave those for next month and devote my attention to the ones already on my shelf. Let’s start with classics. The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was a total impulse buy. I believe this is a children’s edition, but the story should be the same – I think. This is a second-hand book, so I can’t be picky about the edition. And why not buy another Dickens!? I still have to read a Christmas Carol, but why not buy another book by him? – why do I do this to myself?

Then I also bought Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. I really enjoyed reading Around the World in 80 Days in my commute to Uni, therefore it’s only logical to read more of his work. And then I spotted three editions, all of them different, of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, I didn’t know this was a classic. I actually don’t know anything about the book or the author but I love this cover so much I couldn’t leave it behind. This was even the more expensive edition of them all. I just hope is worth it.

Another classic author that I’ve never heard of, and it should blow me away is Italo Calvino. If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller is one of his most famous works and should be a hate it or love it book. I’m ready to love it, but I’ll see when I pick it up. The last classic of this haul is the father of science-fiction, Foundation by Isaac Asimov. This is the newest Portuguese edition with a prologue of some guy I don’t know but apparently, he lives for this story, as I was reading his words, I could feel the passion coming from them, and it only reaffirmed my will to read and love this book.

In the second-hand store, I also saw Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and I had to buy it. I’ve heard of the movie and how it’s so relatable for blogger, although I never saw it. This way I can fill myself in with the book and then when the opportunity comes to watch the movie. And if the Dickens’ book was an impulse buy and don’t even know how to qualify this one. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje just reminded me of a part of a Miss Marple story that probably will be nothing like it. I just hope this book comes close to what I want to read – why did I buy it? Just… why?

To finish off my haul nothing like to talk about the most recent releases, since I started with the oldest books, I might just finish with the newest. Sunburn by Laura Lippman was one of my last year’s most anticipated releases, and after months waiting, I got it in a great deal. I quite never understood what the story was about, and since I’ve started reading it, I can now understand why. Even if I try to explain it to someone else, I’m afraid they won’t understand either without spoiling it. So far I’m pleased with my purchase, I just need to finish the book. For some reason, I never order just one book from Book Depository* so to make company to Sunburn, I also bought Friend Request by Laura Marshall. It’s a mystery thriller, do I need to say anything else? Oh! And it has dead people with Facebook profiles. Social media and murder, two of my favourite pass times.

And the book of the books, that was realised also last year and was on everyone’s mouth for months – probably still is – Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Again, I bought it because I got a sweet sweet deal out of it, and after seeing all the Instagram picks of this book, I’m surprised how small the Portuguese edition is. Usually, they are taller and wider than the UK ones, but when you have a big book you can see it on the spine no matter the edition. My copy of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is even bigger than this one! However aesthetics aside, I’m really curious to see what’s the fuss all about.

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