HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's 2016!

Well hello people of 2016!!

I can't believe it. 2015 has gone by so quickly it feels like yesterday that I was celebrating New Years 2015 with my family.

So many life changing things have happened in 2015. I "survived" my first year of high school at a whole new unfamiliar place, made some new friends, got my tonsils removed, went overseas for the first time (that was amazing), watched The Breakfast Club for the first time (that changed my life drastically)and overall had a great time.

Some not so great things happened to me as well this year, but I do not want to dwell on that.

I have learned and experienced lots of new things this year, and I feel so lucky to be able to do things with my family and friends; also having opportunities to try new things (snails taste... Okay I guess) and push myself.

Sure, I am a little sad that another year has gone by so quickly. I am sure 2016 will as well.  But, it's a chance to start over and new.

I just wanted to say thankyou to whoever has read this blog. I love being able to share my thoughts about a passion of mine. THANKS!

Let's see what the new year brings!

Zobo!

Books I got for Xmas 2015

Hello!

I hope you all had a great Christmas. Before we know it, it will be 2016 :-0!!!

I don't want to sound like I am bragging. Please do not get the wrong message that I am showing off.

Okay, here we go:

1. Girl Online by Zoe Sugg. I have read this book previously at school and I liked how sweet it was. I am a fan of Zoella as well, so I am glad i have this book.

2. Soon by Morris Gleitzman. I love the Once series by this author, and I discovered this one, the latest in the series, at the library. I quite liked it; it was different to the other books because it focuses on after the war. I learnt a lot of things.

3. Ruby Redfort- Pick Your Poison by Lauren Child. The second last in the Ruby Redfort series. It looks great!

4. Findng Audrey by Sophie Kinsella. I finished this book today (and I only got it yesterday) and I LOVED. IT. It was comical and relatable.

5. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey. The second book of The 5th Wave. I am hoping this book is as good as the first one.

That is just the contemporary/sci-fi/romance/historical fiction/mystery/drama.

 These are just some of the covers. Aren't they cool?!

Next is all of the cool classics I got, published my Scholastic. The covers I kind of made to look like YA book covers, and they are just the coolest.

6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

7. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

9. Frankenstein by Marry Shelley

10. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

11. The Raven and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

12. White Fang by Jack London

13. Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Those are all the books that I got this Christmas.

Zobo!

Christmas Day!!

Yay!

It's one o'clock in the morning and I can't sleep.

But it is CHRISTMAS!!!!

Very excited for today.

Just wanted to say have a happy Christmas and I will post maybe on Boxing Day.

Zobo!

Nearly Christmas!!! + 'Tis the Season Book Tag

Hey there!

I can't believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow (well for me it is,if you live somewhere else it may be different.) OH MY GAH!

Onto the book tag. This tag I think originated on BookTube, but I'm not sure who created it so credit to the person who created this tag. Anyway, the real point is to have fun with this tag. So, I hope you like this tag and I invite anyone reading this to do it!

Also, I have to explain- where I live, at Christmas time, we are in the Summer season not Winter, so when it is supposed to say 'Winter', I'll probably change it to 'Holiday' or 'Summer'. So, if you see those words, know that it was originally the word Winter.

Questions!

*Do you have a favourite holiday read?
I guess I don't really have a favourite book to read over the Christmas holidays, since I don't re-read books very often, I read a wide range of books. But around the festive time of the holidays, I like to read something generally a)short so I can read all of the books I get for Xmas and b) something light hearted. One example of a book like this is Hating Alison Ashley. It's a funny, quick read.

*Find a book with blue on the cover:
The book I am going to choose is The Icicle Illuminarium because not only is the cover blue, it has a fitting name for a Wintry Christmas.

*Find a book you'd use as a star on the Christmas Tree:
This is really hard because I honestly do not have a bad book sitting on my bookshelf, so that can make it hard to make books stand out. I will have four answers to this question- Divergent, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, The Ask and the Answer and To Kill a Mockingbird. All books that I have loved but honestly I would rotate all of my books to be a star :)

*Pick one fictional place that would be perfect for a Summer/Christmas Holiday vacation:
Hmmm. Hogwarts. That would be magical. Also, Pemberly, in Pride and Prejudice, because it's all fancy.

*Pick one fictional character you'd take with you on this vacation:

I'm kinda gonna cheat and say some multiple people- The Famous Five. I mean, come on, how fun would that be hanging out with all of them and Timmy the dog.

*Name one book on your wishlist this year:

A book on my list this year is The Outsiders by S.E Hinton. I want to read this book partly because it is kind of hailed as a 'modern classic' (or am I just crazy) but I also want to read it because I want to watch the 1983 film adaption. I love my 80s movies.

*Favourite Holiday drink, treat and movie:

My favourite holiday drink... I don't really have one. Since it isn't cold at Christmas time in my country, I don't have a warm drink, but I'm gonna say hot chocolate anyway, because it is the bomb. My favourite treat is basically any sweet biscuits, jelly slice or pecan pie. Now I'm hungry.
My favourite movies include Elf, The Polar Express, Home Alone and A Christmas Carol (the animated one and the Muppets one).

And that's a wrap! Get it? Like wrapping presents? No? Ok.

Zobo!

Christmas Song Book Tag!

This tag is a tag that mostly only BookTubers would do. I watched Jessethereader (a BookTuber) do it and it looked liked fun so I thought I might just do it on this blog. I wasn't actually tagged to do this, but I'm doing it anyway, so YOU CAN'T STOP ME!

*Warning- may contain non-obvious spoilers.*

Questions:
1. "You're a Mean One Mr.Grinch"
Name a villainous character you couldn't help but love:

For this song I don't really have a definite answer, but I'm going to have to say Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series. Most people absolutely abhor Snape, but I just think he's really funny. He doesn't mean to be funny, it's just the way he talks and does things is kind of peculiar. And in the end, he isn't actually that bad. Another one for this song would be Draco Malfoy. I don't know. I guess his meanness gives me a reason to hate him, and for some reason I like to hate him.

2."All I Want for Christmas is You"
Which book do you most hope to see under your Christmas Tree?:

I have so many books on my Christmas list this year, but in all honesty, the most anticipated one I was so excited for ever since I finished reading Hollow City, and that is The Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs. I am so excited to read this book. It looks awesome!

3."Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer"
Name a character who overcomes major obstacles and learns to believe in themselves:

The first person who comes to mind when I think of this question is Katniss Everdeen. Although she doesn't change much confidence and kindness wise, she does overcome heaps of major obstacles and has dealt with so many things. But then I think of someone like Liesel from The Book Thief and how she had learnt so much and seen so much horror during that period of her life in Germany.

4."Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
a)Which character do you think would go on the top of the naughty list?
b)Which character do you think would go on the top of the nice list?

a)-Without a doubt one of the most horrible characters I have come across is Dorothy from Dorothy Must Die. In this book, Dorothy isn't the innocent, sweet girl we all know- she's a mean, power-hungry trickster turned evil from her time spent in Oz. This girl will be at the top of the naughty list.
b)- The top of the nice list for this year goes to..... Tyson from the Percy Jackson series (specifically Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse and The Battle of the Labyrinth. I haven't read The Last Olympian yet). Tyson is such a nice cyclops and is just an optimistic character at the best of times. He makes stuff for Percy and helps his friends out of trouble and goes with Grover in search for Pan so he wouldn't be alone and he is just a good character. Congratulations Tyson!

5."Frosty the Snowman"
Which book just melts your heart?:

Every time I am going to say this and it is The Fault In Our Stars. Every time I will read this book I will cry. Every time I will love it. It pretty much melts my heart.

6."Feliz Navidad"
Choose a book that takes place in a country other than your own:

I am going to choose The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It is set in England/Narnia. It's safe to say that no, I don't live in Narnia. And yes, I kind of wish I did.

7."It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
Which holiday themed book do you use to spread the Christmas joy?:

I don't really use a book to 'spread the joy' but I am going to go with a picture book and say The Polar Express. This book and movie has always reminded me of Christmas and I watch the movie every year and I will read the book (if I can find it).

8."Sleigh Ride"
Which fictional character would you choose to spend the holidays with (doesn't have to be a love interest):
I would choose Elizabeth Bennet. She is a lively character and I guess we would be doing a lot of things like picnics and going to the beach and reading together. Also, she could bring along Mr Darcy too so that would be a bonus. :)

9,"Baby it's Cold Outside"
Which book that you didn't like would you sacrifice to a fire to warm yourself up in the cold?:
I think, for those of you who have read my blog previously, that this is obvious- The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George. You can head to my review to see what I most passionately thought about it.

10."Do You Hear What I Hear?"
Which book do you think everyone should read?:

There are so many choices but at the moment I would recommend Hiding Edith by Kathy Kacer. Love this book. I have read it so many times and whenever I have run out of anything to read, this is my go to book. You can find a review for Hiding Edith on this blog.

Lastly, I made up this one myself:

11."Last Christmas"
A book you received last Christmas that you loved to bits:
I received quite a few books last Christmas, but one that stands out to me is Catching Fire in the Hunger Games box set I received. This is my FAVOURITE Hunger Games book.

Thank you for reading this long post. I tag everyone!

Zobo!

5 Days + Blogmas #5

Hey. I am sorry about missing out of Blogmas # 11,10,9,8,7 and 6. Just so busy.

Here is Blogmas quote #5-

'The town was paper, but the memories were not.'- Paper Towns.

This quote is from the book Paper Towns by John Green. A great book.

Zobo!

12 Days + Blogmas #12

Hiiiiiii!

I can't believe Christmas is just 12 days away! I am so excited! It has come around so quickly, I still feel like it is about a month or two away. Oh my goodness.

#12 (the numbers are getting lower!!) 

*Sorry, I'm doing this on my iPad, and whenever I try to make the text bold, italics or a larger font it just freaks out and doesn't write anything, so I'm just doing it normally today*

'Everybody deserves something good in their life... at least once.'- Once

This quote is from the book Once by Morris Gleitzman. This is a great little series about WWII.

Zobo!

PS- I've just realised. I can sing the song!

One the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me.... *carries on singing until I tell myself to shut up*

13 Days+ Blogmas #13

Hello.

#13-

 'Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.'- The Fault In Our Stars.

This quote is from TFIOS, written by John Green. Need I say more?

Zobo!

Kindle Collection.

Greetings!

Today I thought I would share with you the books that I have on my Kindle Paperwhite! These books I do not have in physical form, although in the future I may get them if they are in a series. 

Let's begin!

Classics:

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen (actually do have this in book form)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- L.Frank Baum

As you can tell I don't have many classics. That's not because I don't like classics, I just don't have a lot of time to read them because some of them can be long and painful :)

Other books:
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief- Rick Riordan
Invisible- Cecily Anne Paterson
The Door That Led to Where- Sally Gardner
Island of Fog-Keith Robinson
Throne of Glass- Sarah J.Maas
Wonder- R.J Palacio

So I don't have a lot of books on my Kindle at the moment. I usually just download books if I am travelling or free books that interest me.

Zobo!

14 days + Blogmas #15 & #14

Hey there!

Finally my tonsils are G.O.N.E!

So this is the quote that was due yesterday but I was at the hospital:

#15-

'Her heart threw itself backward and clung to the bars of her ribcage.'- Throne of Glass.

This quote is from the book The Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. This quote may not be a memorable and inspirational one from the book, but I had highlighted it on my Kindle because I really loved the imagery and description.

Today's quote:

#14-

'And this is the way it's always been for me, for the little universe of us. But this year there seems to be a shift in the cosmos. The galaxy is changing. Planets are falling out of alignment.'- Wonder.

This really interesting quote is from the book Wonder by R.J Palacio. This quote is spoken by the main character Auggie. I could read this book over and over again because it is just such a good book (and I have read it over and over again!)


My throat hurts and goodbye,

Zobo!

Tonsils

Hello.

It's me.

I was wondering if after all these years you like to meet..... KIDDING.

Tomorrow I am getting my tonsils removed so that will be a very interesting experience.

So depending whether or not I  have time, I may be writing tomorrow's blogmas quote on Friday's one, just because I probably won't have my laptop with me at the hospital and I will be be asleep.

So yay. That's going to happen.

I'm thinking of taking Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth with me because it is fun and funny to read and also pretty entertaining.

ZOBO FROM THE OTHER SIIIIIIIIIIIDE!

16 Days + Blogmas #16

Hey.

Blogmas #16-

' "Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!"'- Mockingjay.

This quote is from the last book in the fabulous Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. It is written by Suzanne Collins. This quote is spoken by Katniss Everdeen.


Zobo!

17 Days + Blogmas #17

Yay! Christmas is getting closer... and we haven't done any shopping :P.

#17-

' "Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. "Maia, already! 911! Help!" ' - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

This quote is from the first book in the Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan. This series is so funny!!! It is spoken Grover.

Zobo!

Th Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Hi!

Today I will be discussing the book The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness. This is the second book in the Chaos Walking trilogy. I have discussed the first book on this blog- The Knife of Never Letting Go- so be sure to check that out before you read this and then come back. However, there aren't any spoilers in this discussion so feel free to hang around if you want to.

Okay, let's roll.

This book follows Todd and Viola's mission to conquer Mayor Prentiss and set the world right once again- free of Noise and fear and conflict. Todd and Viola are separated a number of times throughout this book, and, while trying to find each other again have to beat the Mayor and resist being tricked by his polite façade and games. This book is so intense and is a fantastic second book to the series.

This book had a little bit of a slower start. It does start off really suspenseful- Todd is being interrogated in a room by Mayor Prentiss, but I just feel like first part of this book could have been condensed a bit and included more action. It does set the scope for the plot and the rest of the book really well though  and builds a great image of New Prentisstown and its inhabitants. There is a lot of mystery built up in this part but at the same time a lot of talking that I think could have been improved with more action.

Other than that, the rest of the book is brilliant.

Patrick Ness has used some really clever writing techniques in this book. He actually made me feel what the characters were feeling. When the characters were tired, I was tired; when the characters were confused and not sure about something, I was confused and not sure. It is such a great tool. I felt a great deal of empathy for the characters in bad situations.

Mayor Prentiss and a new introduced character Mistress Coyle are mysterious and, while reading, much like Viola and Todd, I was not sure about whether I could trust them or whether they were actually good or evil. I really loved this feature of the book.

Around the last 11 chapters of the book is where stuff goes down. It is so action packed, suspenseful, gripping and powerful that I could not stop reading. Some shocking stuff happens in this part of the book.

I really love Patrick Ness's writing style. It is very unique and I enjoy reading it.

Lastly, this book is very different from the first. The Knife of Never Letting Go was really
about Viola and Todd running from the evil clutches of Mayor Prentiss and Aaron the quite messed up priest and finding a new and safe town to live in. The first book was fantastic.

The Ask and The Answer was just a totally different story- loads of new characters, twists, situations and the plot was really thorough.

Overall, as you can probably tell, The Ask and the Answer is an awesome book, and I would highly recommend it to any teen or adult looking for a shocking thrill.

Zobo!

18 Days+ Blogmas #18

Hello all!

#18-

'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' -To Kill a Mockingbird.

This quote is from the book To Kill a Mockingbird (one of my favourite 'modern classics'), written by Harper Lee. The quote is spoken by Atticus Finch.

Zobo!

19 Days + Blogmas #19

 Hello!

Wow. 19 days.

I also got a new cat yesterday. Her name is Chips.

#19-

' I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything but a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.'- Pride and Prejudice.

This quote is from the book Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen. It is said by the character Miss Caroline Bingley.

Zobo!

20 Days + Blogmas #20

Hello there!

#20-

' The only thing worse than a boy who hates you:a boy that loves you'- The Book Thief 

This quote is from the book The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak. It is said, spoken or told by Death, the narrator of the whole book. By the way, I love that it is narrated by Death. It is a very interesting choice for a narrator and suits the story perfectly.

Zobo!

21 Days + Blogmas #21

Hi! I just finished a really amazing book, The Ask and The Answer, by Patrick Ness. It is the second book in the Chaos Walking trilogy.

#21-

'We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing in them becomes too high.' - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

This quotes is from the book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, written by Ransom Riggs. The quote is spoken by Jacob Portman.  


Zobo!

22 days until CHRISTMAS!! + Blogmas

I can't believe it is only 22 days until Christmas.

What.

So, in honour of this, everyday from now on I will be posting some of my favourite book quotes that will hopefully relate to some of you and inspire you to read. I will call it my 2015 'Blogmas'.

I have a lot of books on my Christmas list, let me tell you that.

I actually meant to start this on Dec 1, but I was just so busy at the time that I didn't get around to it until now.

Quote #22-

'Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up.' - Divergent

This quotes is from Divergent, written by Veronica Roth. The quote is spoken by Four.

Zobo!