March TBR

This month I’ll try to focus on books that are related to what I’m writing for my assessments as well as including some books I’ve been looking forward to read. Keep in mind half of the books in this list will most likely not be read this month as I will prioritise the ones I’ve mentioned before. I like to have options that can suit my reading mood at the time I’m picking a book.

• Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes
• 1984 by George Orwell
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Children of the Corn by Stephen King
• Seed by Lisa Heathfield
• Unrequited Alice by Sarah Louise Smith
• Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen
• Royally Roma by Teri Wilson
• King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard
• Caraval by Stephanie Garber
• By Your Side by Kasie West
• Frostblood by Elly Blake
• Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas

Happy reading everyone!

February Wrap-Up

This is a very hard month to keep my blog updated and I’m afraid March will be even worse. My university ends on the first week of April and two of my assessments are due that same week. Although I’ve been reading as much as I can, I wish I had had more time to get through my TBR of the month. Anyway, here are the books I managed to read. Some of them have reviews but most don’t as I didn’t have time to typed them up yet.

• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
• Heretics by Steven Nadler & Ben Nadler
• The Castoffs Vol 1 by MK Reed & Brian Smith & Molly Ostertag
• Wonder Woman Vol 1: The Lies (Rebirth) by Greg Rucka & Liam Sharp
• The Backstagers Vol 1 by James Tynion IV
• Ariadnis by Josh Martin
• We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan & Brian Conaghan
• The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles

Favourite Book of the Month: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Fictional Jobs You’d Want to Have

March 1st – Fictional Jobs You’d Want to Have

Any fictional career you’d want to have? Remember, T5W is always open to movies, tv, and video games as well.

1. Pokémon Trainer (Pokémon)

Ever since I was a kid I dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Trainer. Pokémon Go brings out the trainer in me (I am still obsessed with it) and I’m so glad they created the game. I’m gonna catch them all! 😛

2. A Dreg (Six of Crows)

I’d love to be both a Grisha and a Dreg member, like our lovely Nina and Jesper. I mean, how cool is it? Be a sneaky troublemaker and have awesome powers.

3. Superhero (Marvel/DC)

I love superheroes and cool superpowers is something everyone would like to have. I don’t know what power I’d like as there is an infinity of options. Teleporting would be awesome, I could travel anywhere.

4. Assassin/Queen (Three Dark Crowns)

I’ve always dreamt of being a Princess (blame Disney) and assassins are really cool, so why not be both? The Queens in Three Dark Crowns have powers and have to murder one another to became The One True Queen. Count me in!

5. Supervisor (Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Harry Potter)

By not specifying what kind I can say I’d like to be a supervisor at Half-Blood Camp and Hogwarts. I love both and I’d give anything to become part of either worlds.

 

Honorable mentions:

Witch (Lots of books), Shadowhunter (Shadowhunter Chronicles), DigiDestined (Digimon), Antari (A Darker Shade of Magic), Night Circus Member (Night Circus), Time-traveler (Passenger) and Young Elite (The Young Elites).

Books to Get You Out of a Reading Slump

February 22nd: Books to Get You Out of a Reading Slump

Winter is a hard season for a lot of people and many of us are slumpy. Let’s talk about some books that are great for getting you out of a slump!

1. Lola and The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Last year I was in a major reading slump and this precious book got me out of it! I need cute stories to get me back reading apparently.

2. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Baz and Simon are one of my favourite ships and their cuteness is off the scale. It’s only normal that this one would get me out of a slump within a few pages!

3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Since this is my favourite Fantasy YA, I believe this would be the non-contemporary/quirky book that would manage to get me back reading.

4. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Much like Lola, Lara Jean would definitely get me back hooked to book pages. The story is so fun and crazy, it would be a pleasure to re-read it.

5. The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare

My favourite trilogy of ought to be part of this list. Although I rarely get into reading slumps, I’m sure Jem, Will and Tessa would get me back reading in a heartbeat.

 

Graphic Novel Reviews

In the last two weeks, I’ve read five graphic novels so I decided to join their reviews in one post. Four of these were kindly given to me by the publishers through Netgalley. I own the last one.

Title: The Backstagers Vol 1

Author(s): James Tynion IV

Publisher: BOOM! Studios

Release date: 25/07/2017

Read on: 11/02/2017

Rating: ★★★★ 4.2/5

I read a small preview of what I think will be a very quirky and entertaining story. It’s not your ordinary high school drama club story. Sure, there are auditions and the popular kids who get all the main roles in plays and boss around the misfits. But these misfits are happy to be away from the spotlight and stay in the shadows. Right in the first volume we see these strange creatures that look like rats but seem to strangely be embraced by most of the group.

This is a story about high school kids, but you can expect to see a strange supernatural side to it too.

Title: Wonder Woman Vol 1: The Lies (Rebirth)

Author(s): Greg Rucka & Liam Sharp

Publisher: DC Comics

Release date: 28/02/2017

Read on: 10/02/2017

Rating: ★★★★ 4/5

This was the first time I’ve read a DC comic and although Wonder Woman is not my favourite DC hero/heroine, I was curious about her popularity and to know more about the character before the movie came out.

For those who have no clue who Wonder Woman is, this is a great place to start. There is a lot of Wonder Woman comics before this one, but I think a newbie can grasp the gist of it and is able to enjoy the story. I’m definitely continuing the series, Wonder Woman is an interesting character with an intriguing past. Definitely recommend.

Title: The Castoffs Vol 1

Author(s): MK Reed & Brian Smith & Molly Ostertag

Publisher: Lion Book Distributors

Release date: 12/04/2017

Read on: 10/02/2017

Rating: ★★★★ 4.3/5

The Castoffs reminded me a lot of Rat Queens, which I really like. The three protagonists are students at a academy for Mages (kind of like the X-Men academy) who belong to different groups and don’t get along before they’re put together for a mission outside. People have been losing memory after an odd woman is sighted in town. The group is sent to deliver memory potions but when they reach the town there is no one left but an injured man. Something is off with the man, and although not everyone in the group agrees, they follow him after curing him with a healing potion.

This was definitely my favourite graphic novel from Netgalley so far. It was fun and exciting. I’d highly recommend it to people who love fantasy and graphic novels.

Title: Heretics!

Author(s): Steven Nadler & Ben Nadler

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Release date: 20/06/2017

Read on: 10/02/2017

Rating: ★★★ 3/5

Herectics! is a very educational graphic novel about the seventeenth-century important thinkers like Descartes, Pascal, Voltaire and Newton. From philosophy to science, this book teaches you about the history of those areas and their development at that time in a fun and interesting way.

Although this is only a fun graphic novel to me now, I would have appreciated it a lot back when I was studying philosophy in high school. I’d definitely give it to my sister who is struggling with philosophy herself at the moment in high school.

Title: The Complete Persepolis

Author(s): Marjane Satrapi

Publisher: Pantheon

Release date: 30/10/2007

Read on: 03/02/2017

Rating: ★★★★★ 4.8/5

Definitely one of my favourite graphic novels, Persepolis is a memoir of the author about her days as a child and teenager, her struggles in a foreign country away from her family and how her freedom fighter family and their ideologies shaped her to become the adult she is at the end of the book.

This is an eye opener. Although I love reading about different cultures, I hadn’t read much about Iran before. Marjane’s art made it easier to read about such strong and brutal subjects like murder, political instability, racism, drugs and despair. I’m glad I finally read it and I highly recommend everyone else read it too.

Favourite Non-Written Novels

February 15th: Favourite Non-Written Novels

This was a hard topic to name, but this is about all books that are not ‘written’ novels! So graphic novels, comics, manga, audiobooks, etc. Shed some light on books in other forms.

1. Dynasty Warriors (Musou Games)

I’ve been playing these games since I was a child. I know the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a book but I feel that the games brought it to life for me (keep in mind I haven’t read the book yet, it’s huge). Not sure if this one counts but I’ll keep it here because when I started playing I didn’t know it was originally a book.

2. Ms. Marvel by Willow G. Wilson & Adrian Alphona

For years I had been trying to get into comics but it seemed that every character I was interested in already had so many comics and alternate storylines that I gave up. That is until I hear about the new Ms. Marvel. I was afraid I wouldn’t understand but it was so easy to dive into. I got hooked and excited. Reading about Kamala made me want to write my own superhero story.

3. Monstress by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda

This graphic novel tells a dark tale, which interested me. The art is breathtaking and the story quite intriguing. Although it might be slightly confusing at first, it’s definitely one of my favourite graphic novels out there.

4. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

I’ve read this one recently and it made such an impact on me. I didn’t know much about Iranian culture and history or about Islam, as I’ve grown up, and lived, most of my life in a country with a small Muslim population. I’ve only met a Muslim person for the first time last year and, although I hadn’t had any contact with Islam before, I learnt about it in school and I’ve always been a very curious person so I knew some things about the religion. Anyway, back to the book, Persepolis is a memoir, the first I’ve read, and for someone like me who is interested in other cultures, it was a great way to learn about a rich country, its history and its people.

5. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

I seem to always include Nimona everywhere but I can’t help it. This story got me interested in reading more graphic novels. It’s quirky and fun and it’s fantasy, so it had to be a favourite of mine.

Book Trends You’re Tired Of

February 8th: Book Trends You’re Tired Of

What are some things you are tired of seeing that are trends in publishing? Maybe something that pops up on a lot of covers these days, or the popularity of certain tropes in a particular genre? Let it out!

1. Romantic relationships curing mental illnesses

One of the reasons why I avoid YA contemporaries which explore mental illnesses is this. my family has a history of developing depression and anxiety, I’ve seen it first hand, so I hate it being used as something portrayed as being easily fixed by a romantic relationship.

2. Creepy lovers

It was not acceptable in Twilight, it still isn’t now. Waking up to a guy watching you sleep is still creepy af! Please don’t romanticise it. I like problematic ships, as long as it’s clear it’s problematic and you don’t try to sell it as a healthy relationship.

3. You’re different/special

Do you know how many characters in YA are “different” or “special”? I feel like nowadays everyone wants to feel like a special snowflake and it’s getting annoying. When a female character (they’re the ones who are often called so) is told they are special/different it makes me want to throw the book at the wall.

4. Insta-love

I can overlook it but it still bothers me and I’d rather authors gave the characters time to get to know each other before they fall madly in love. I understand instant physical attraction, but don’t tell me that Jonas glanced at Olivia for the first time and fell in love right there, it’s not believable.

5. The Chosen One

Now, I’ll still read the book. I understand that it usually refers to a prophecy and those often require someone to be chosen to save something, but it puts me off a little bit at the beginning.