April 2014 Reading Wrap Up (1).

In April I read a total of 3 books. This isn't many, but I've been in a reading slump that has lasted for months. This was due to life stuff where nothing I did seemed to make me happy. So I've started and not finished a few books this year, but I'm happy to report that April saw a successful comeback. 

1. Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu
2. Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I enjoyed every single one of these books so much. Cinder and Champion received 5 start ratings from me on Goodreads, and Fangirl, a 4 star. I did a review on Champion, or rather a series recommendation, which you can check out here. I wrote about how it's my favourite dystopian series/trilogy and how much I just loved Lu's realistic characters! I'm thinking of also doing a review on Fangirl, so be sure to keep your eye out for that. As for Cinder, I've got Scarlet and Cress on their way to me so I might wait until I've read those before I do a review.

Some of your may have noticed that I've given up on Youtube. I wasn't enjoying making videos on there anymore, and I find blogging is less time consuming, so all bookish related things from me will now be on here. I hope to build this into a diverse and interesting book blog, so if you have any recommendations or requests for posts, be sure to let me know in the comments.

What did you read in April? How many books did you manage to read? Let me know.

Happy reading, book friends!

Bout of Books 10 Read-a-Thon.

Last year I participated in the read-a-thon, Bout of Books 8.0. It was loads of fun and I got a lot more read in a week than I normally would. I discovered some new favourite books, like Unwind by Neal Shusterman and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and read old favourites, such as Harry Potter. It was my first read-a-thon, but I definitely don't want it to be my last.

When I saw that Bout of Books 10 was coming up, I knew I had to participate. I think it's going to be a good week, I have a pretty easy work schedule that week, so I'm pretty excited for how much reading I'm going to be getting done. I've just come out of a reading slump (finally) and this is going to help me to catch up on a lot of books I've been wanting to read.

If you think you'd be interested in this read-a-thon, it runs from Monday 12 May until Sunday 18th May in your timezone. You can hear about it more, and sign up, over at the Bout of Books blog.

How Much Time Will I Spend Reading?
Well, I work full time which means I work 5x 9 hour days a week. That week I have shifts like 11am-8pm and 12pm-9pm which means I can wake up and read before I need to get ready for work, and I can also stay up late reading. Which is perfect because first thing in the morning and in bed at night are my favourite times to read.

What are my Goals?

1. Read at least 3 novels and 1 graphic novel.
2. Start a 4th novel (and possibly finish it).
3. Participate in at least 3 challenges.

Here is the pile of books I'll most likely be selecting from...
I would love to finish all of these, and maybe I could if I didn't have work. But these books will most likely be the pile of books I choose from throughout the week. However, this is most definetly subject to change, depending on my mood and what I feel like reading at the time.

From the bottom up...

1. Frankenstein by Gris Grimly (graphic novel adapted from Mary Shelley's original text)
2. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
3. Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan
4. Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
5. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
6. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
7. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
8. Death Note (#1) by Tsugami Ohba & Takeshi Obata

I mentioned in my goals that I want to read at least one graphic novel. Above is Gris Grimly's Frankenstein, which is a graphic novel adapted from the original text by Mary Shelley. I got it out from the library, and I think it has the most beautiful cover.

If you want to follow my updates during the read-a-thon, you can follow me on Goodreads where I'll be updating how far I'm through books, or follow me on Twitter where I'll probably be tweeting all of the feels. Also, be sure to subscribe to/follow me here at The Bookish Society, as I'll be updating at the end of the read-a-thon how well I did. I also have a lot of book reviews, and other bookish things planned for this blog.

Let me know below if you'll be joining me in Bout of Books 10!

Book Recommendation | The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu.

I recently finished the last book in the Legend trilogy, Champion, by Marie Lu. I wanted to review it, but I thought I'd talk about the series in general and why I think it stands out above other young adult dystopian novels.

The series is set in what was once the United States of America, a place called the Republic who are constantly at war with their neighbours, the Colonies. It follows the lives of June, a wealthy 15 year old prodigy training for the Republic's military, as well as Day, a boy from the slums who is a legend amoung the poor for the havoc he causes to the Republic military, and the #1 most wanted person in the country. The story sets off when June's brother, Metias, is killed and Day becomes the prime suspect. From there on, the lives of the Prodigy and the Legend are intertwined as they both uncover secrets about their country, and each other.

I enjoyed this series more than The Hunger Games. I thought it was a much more enthralling and compelling dystopian. The two main characters, June and Day, both live in the same country, but in very different worlds. But the shocking events that happen around them, change these characters a lot and think having the duel perspective between June and Day really helps the reader see the extent of their transformations. Honestly, I loved these characters so much. They both had done some unfavorable things but they are two of the most loyal characters I've read. 

As the series goes on, more shocking events happen. What was so refreshing though, was how realistic and genuine these events seemed. I could actually believe the story unfolding, and didn't once think, "but would that really happen?" like I have with other young adult novels. I was pleased with Lu's writing and how she allowed events to unfold, right until the very end. I may not have been happy with what happened to some of the characters, but I'm a pretty big believer in author's intent so I was content with beginning, middle and conclusion of the series.

For those who like a bit'f romance, there's a little in there. Again, very realistic, natural and none of that insta-love bullcrap that some YA novels have. Also, there's plenty of kick-ass action!

So, I'd recommend this series if you like dystopian with plenty of action, well thought-out events and realistic, awesome young characters.

Book Haul | Sequels, Manga and a Bargain Book.

I hadn't bought many books up until recently, because of this intense reading slump. You'll be pleased to hear I'm getting out of it though, thanks to getting my life is order a little bit, getting back on Youtube and creating this book blog. So, here are my recent purchases in the way of books.

• Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredoom by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata
• Death Note, Vol 2: Confluence by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata
• Death Note, Vol 3: Hard Run by Tsugami Ohba & Takeshi Obata
• Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's #2) by Ransom Riggs
• Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu
• Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield

All of these books were purchased with my own money from The Book Depository, except for Amelia Anne, which I picked up for 50 cents at Whitcoulls, which is a New Zealand chain book/stationery/gift store.



I'm very happy to finally have the last book in the Legend trilogy. I've started reading Champion, and so far it's just as exciting and intense as the first two books.



Manga is a new thing for me. I've decided to get into it more because I've watched a bit of Anime lately and it's got me interested in reading Japanese books. So, I hope to build up my collection, which I'll be sure to update you on.
I have a Youtube video accompanying this post. You can watch that here.