AYearAThon wrap up + Bout of Books 10.0 TBR

I should probably decide on one way to write AYearAThon...
So, The readathon ended yesterday, and I did not get as much reading done as I had hoped. I still read a lot more than I normally would have!
It went pretty well on Monday and Tuesday, but then school started to get to me, and on Friday I went to a friend's house and didn't get any reading done at all.
I read 2 and a half out of the three books I had planned to read.
This means that i finished "By the Shores of Silver Lake" and "Farmer Boy" and got halfways through "The Long Winter". All by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

My total Page count for the week was: 907 pages, which I think is quite alright.

I am planning to participate in the Bout of Books 10.0 in the next week. My goal is to finish up the series. To do so I must read a little more than 160 pages a day, I think. With an extended weekend coming up that should definitely be possible. 
My TBR for Bout of Books:
- "The Long Winter"
- "Little Town on the Prairie"
- "These Happy Golden Years"
- "The First Four Years"
- "On the Way Home"


It seems like a lot a lot, but we will see how it goes.

Looking forward to reading my butt off before exams start in 2 weeks.

-Jamie

A-year-a-thon - Finish it

We have some read-a-thons coming up in the next 2 weeks and I am very excited to be participating first of in the a-year-athon for May which runs from May 5 to May 11. The theme for May is finishing or catching up on series which suits me perfectly. 6 or 7 years ago I started reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's 10-book-series - the first one being: "The little House in the big Woods".
I read the first three that summer, so very many years ago, but for some reason I never got around to reading the rest of them.
The books are fairly short (about 300 pages) and the font is rather large and there are some illustrations throughout the books. They should be fairly quick reads.

(I think there is something odd going on with the order of this series since Goodreads does not match up with the numbers of my danish editions. For example Goodreads says that "Farmer Boy"is book 3, but in my collection it is book 5. I don't really understand what is going on. I'll just be reading them in the order that is on my books - I have to assume that the publishing people know what they are doing? - It is all very strange - from what I can gather the only difference is if "Farmer Boy is number 3 or number 5, but oh well, it can't go all wrong)

Since I am finishing up on school and have quite a bit of school work to do I have decided to set my goal to 190(ish) pages a day - essentially this is the next four books in the series:

- "By the Shores of Silver Lake"
- "Farmer Boy"
- "The Long Winter"
- "Little Town on the Prairie"






If I should read all of these before the end of the read-a-thon (which I doubt is possible) I will just continue on with the series. I hope to love it as I did when I started it, but we will see. 

Have fun if you are also participating in the read-a-thon. That is what it is all about!

- Jamie

Top Five Wedensday - Book Quotes

I don't really have time for this especially since this topic is sooo hard. But I had so much fun with it last week that I wanted to do it again, but with hardly any explanation, just to share some brilliant words.
Soooo favorite Book Quotes - let's go:

5. “For one last time, Mariam does as she is told.”
From: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
I just finished this book on Monday, and this is just so damn beautiful.
4.   I cannot decide between these two from A Song of Ica and Fire. This first one is from my favorite chapter of a Clash of Kings, spoken by my favorite character of the series Jaime: 
"Tyrion says that people often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it’s served up" - 
The other one is from a Game of Thrones spoken by Bran and Ned:
“Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?”
“That is the only time a man can be brave.”

3. “So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.” 
From: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Because I have seldom identified with a charcter in such a way as I identify with Charlie. 
 
2. “Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.” From: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowel. What an amazing quote.

1. "It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."
From Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K.Rowling. Of course we couldn't have a list of quotes without some Harry Potter :)



- Jamie



 

Top Five Wednesday - Genres

I love making lists. I love Books. So, it's about time for me to jump on the T5W band wagon.
T5W was starter by gingerreadslainey on youtube. It just looks like so much fun and I wanted to do it to.
I alway have a very hard time, when talking about genres. I'm always in doubt about which genre this book or that book belongs to, so I will be looking it up on goodreads. Here is the list that I compiled.


 1. Historical fiction
I was thinking. My favorite genre is probably adult fiction, but that just seems really really broad and when I got thinking about it most of the adult fiction that I love and adore is in fact historical fiction, of curse much YA is also historical firction.
I just love a good story set a long time ago.
Whether it be in midevil times such as Ken Follet's pillars of the earth which I absolutely adore, or it be war books such as Atonement by Ian McEwan, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Some other favorites of mine are:
- The Kite Runner
- The Help
- Eleanor and Park (not sure if this is concidered historical fiction but the 80's is history)

2. Fantasy
My one childhood love. I love love love fantasy. I love how it allows to escape into different world - worlds that are so much cooler and so much more scary than our own. What introduced me to this genre was of curse Harry Potter which is the best thing in the world ever.
A more recent love of mine is of curse A Game of Thrones. I am currently in the middle of A Storm of Swords - hoping to catch up to the show before too long.
A lot of amazing fantasy is children's literature which is my 3rd genre on this list so there will be more down below.

3. Children's
I find that children's literature is very lovely. I like their simplicity and how they still hold so much inside. I really enjoy it. Some favorites of mine:
- The secret Garden
- The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
- The graveyardbook (which I recently reviewed on my Tumblr
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- Bridge to Terabithia


 

4. Classics(?)
 I have a hard time saying that classics is one of my favorite genres since there are obviously a million different types of classics. I can narrow it down a little and say that I very much enjoy "Modern Classics" (published in the 1900's) or at least the good ones. George Orwell is such a hero! I love 1984 - it is probably my favorite classic of all time. I love reading words written by long ago people. People who where revolutionary for their time. The Secret Garden, again is one of the best book I've read this year. Loved it. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The color Purple and Anne of Green Gables are aslo brilliant.
It is not the genre in which I have read the most books, but I really want to read more, because what I have read I have really enjoyed.

5. YA Contemporary
YA Contemporary can be really really bad, but when it is good it is sooo good. It is a great way to relax and they are more often than not super quick reads which I as a slow reader appreciate. I have come to love some stories like Eleanor and Park and The Perks of Being a Wallflower not only for being lovely coming of age stories, but also for giving a picture of the period they are set in. I adore Rainbow Rowell and John Green (especially TFIOS and looking for Alaska)





This was awesome! It allowed me to make lists within a list! It makes me so happy. The list-making.  Have a lovely day and read well.

- Jamie

Coraline by Neil Gaiman - Book Thoughts

Coraline is a quirky, adventurous and all in all a very enjoyable young heroine. She has recently moved in to an apartment in a big house with her very absent minded parents. Here she discovers a door which leads her to a parallel world where her other mother is waiting for her. With buttons for eyes.

Even though this book is written for a younger audience than my self, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was entertaining, thrilling and scary in the way that makes it tingle down you spine.
Coraline's adventures are absolutely worth reading about. I enjoyed the variety of odd characters, and the vary sassy, talking cat.
The messages in the book and some of the great philosophical "quotes" (I don't know if you call them quotes. What I mean is great combinations of words which form philosophical sentences). were also right up my alley. Coraline defining what bravery is, outsmarting the other mother. Oh my, I really did like this book.
I picked it up a few years back and didn't get very far into it. Sometimes you just have to give it another go I guess.

The movie adaption is so so so so so good, it's one of my faves and I can definitely recommend both the book and the move.


I gave Coraline a 4 out of 5 star rating on goodreads.
(Coraline's goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17061.Coraline)

May I also comment on how brilliant this danish cover is.

- Jamie

Atonement by Ian McEwan - Book Thoughts

I fell in love with the movie a couple of years ago and had to pick up the book. I am very happy that I did. Atonement takes place mostly in England right before and during world war II. It is divided into three parts. The first (which was also my favorite) takes place in a huge house in the country on the hottest day of 1934. 13-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia and the maid's son Robbie in an odd situation by the fountain. Her imagination gets the better of her and later that evening it will change everything for all of them. Briony must atone for her actions that evening for the rest of her life.

I have so much to say that I can't get it together. I can't make the words work. So, let's talk about the writing, which was absolutely amazeballs. It is so well-written, every sentence is beautiful and the descriptions are so vivid that you feel like you are there your self. McEwan's writing is admirable all the way through.
I find many of the characters very interesting, especially Briony, who you generally dislike but you can't help but love her a little as well. She is very realistic and even though you kind of do, you can't really get your self to blame her for what she did.
I love how this book touches so many great topics. It's obviously about atonement and guilt. It is also a splendid love story, and a story of war and death. However it is also about oppressed feelings and the inability to speak of them and to speak to each other.
Atonement was a very interested read, not a quick one though and at some parts in the middle I felt like it was going a little too slowly which is odd since the first 200 pages all takes place in just one day.
I gave Atonement five out of five stars, it is one of the best books I have read this year, and the movie is also one of my favorites of all time. I recommend it to any one who appreciates amazing writing and an amazing story.

- Jamie

-- Check out the goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6867.Atonement

Top 5 Stand Alone Books

1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett a wonderful book about 1960's Jackson Mississippi. 2 black maids and one white woman who decides to write a book about what it is really like to be a maid in 1960's southern states. I would recommend this to someone who enjoys historical fiction and some strong female characters. It is on a more serious note, but also a very enjoyable read.







2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak which I read very recently and had to include. I loved this book so much. You fall in love with every single character in this book. It is about a girl named Liesel in Nazi Germany. She is taken to live with her foster parents and on the way there she steals her first book. Also a great historical novel but more YA-ish.

3. Looking for Alaska by John Green. I was unsure if I wanted to put looking for Alaska or the fault in our stars here. They are both great contemporary young adult book, but i feel like Looking for Alaska doesn't get enough love. I recommend both, but looking for Alaska is very enjoyable and relatable. It is about a boy name Miles who goes off to a boarding school and learn about life and love. John Green is an amazing writer he is able to put in words what the rest of us cannot. It also has some of my favorite quotes.




4. The boy In The Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis. A danish crime novel about a boy in a suitcase. This book had me up all night. The main character is a nurse who get's involved in solving a crime when she by coincidence find a suitcase with a little boy inside of it. This book is very thrilling and intriguing.

5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. A very nice young adult book, that takes up some very serious problems. This book has it all. It funny, and sad, and everything in between. I feel like any teenager will be able to relate so some parts of Perks. It is about charlie's first year of high school, the friends he meets and about falling in love. Even though this book is also sad it makes you feel good, and you should definitely check it out.







I tried to include a variety of different kinds of books to this list.

-Jamie