A Kind of Book Haul and a Kind of TBR

Hello, my loves.

I wanted to share with you a mix of a book haul and a summer must-read pile for me. I recently bought these books as they are the summer reading requirements for a class I am taking this school year. They are all books I would not gravitate towards, but regardless I am excited to read them and experience new genres. Plus, I love how all of the spines and covers all have the same colors on them. I love how the red, black, and white looks together. Here's the list:

Book Haul (March 20, 2016)

Oh snap! Guess who bought books again? This girl!!! These two books are books I have been anticipating to read for the longest time.

I Have a Problem: Reading Slumps (How To Stop Them and Tips)

As an avid reader, I have a huge problem... They are called reading slumps. I am sure you all know the feeling: the attempts at reading that backfires, the feeling of hopelessness when you can't read. I have recently been in the biggest reading slump of my life, partly because I just read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Luckily, I am here to save you from this difficult endeavor... :) Here are my tips to avoid / stop reading slumps:

1) DO NOT Force it
If you do not feel like reading, don't do it. You will not enjoy the book you are reading and it will only make reading harder for you. Only read when you want to. If you are not feeling it at all (like I was), do not force a book on yourself. Taking a break is totally fine, no matter how wrong it feels.

Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

I know that some of my opinions will be controversial and I encourage you to disagree with me, but please accept my opinions. Just because I didn't enjoy something, does not mean that you won't.

1) A Popular Book or Series You Didn't Like

     All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

This book has the lowest rating I have ever given a book. I gave it one out of five stars. It deals with a very serious topic (suicide), but handles it in a terrible way. No adults tried to help these suicidal children out and that was the thing that bothered me the most. The friendship between the two main characters felt so forced. They felt so fake and unrealistic and the ending was so predictable.

Quick-Review of "Passenger" by Alexandra Bracken

Enh. I gave this book a 2 out of 5 stars. I'm so disappointed because I thought I would love this book so much. It sounded like the perfect book for me and has gotten great reviews. The beginning was good but I skim-read the last pages. I know this is an unpopular opinion. Just because I didn't enjoy it does not mean that you will not. Here is my list of pros and cons:
Spoilers!

A Cool Website I Have Been Obsessed With

I learned about the website Incredibox from my teacher at school. It is a website where you can put together different beats, melodies, vocals, etc. and create your own music. It is so addicting and fun. There are four different versions and they are all unique and equally as exciting. I suggest you check it out if you enjoy music or music-making like I do. Some of the tunes you create will GET IN YOUR HEAD... It's such a great thing to have when you are bored. The link is below:

http://www.incredibox.com

Review of Nothing But Thieves Album

As many of you may know, Nothing But Thieves is one of my all time favorite bands. I fell in love with them when I heard one of their EPs. On February 5th, their debut album dropped and of course I had to buy it. And my goodness is it amazing.
Every one of their songs has a different feel to them. The band is an alternative rock band that has a Muse feeling to them, so I you enjoy their music, I would suggest you listen to Nothing But Thieves. Their songs are SO FANTASTIC. I have not found one that I dislike. This is the album that you will listen on loop and never get sick of it.
Here are my favorite tracks from the album:
1) Excuse Me
2) Wake Up Call
3) Six Billion
4) Neon Brother
5) Painkiller
6) Just listen to every song. I can't choose one.
7) Here is a recommendation of a song not on the album: Last Orders  It's so good.

I hope you enjoy their music as much as I do. Tell me who your favorite bands / musicians are.

Liza

Book Haul! (2/14/16)

I went book shopping today. I bought some books that have had incredible reviews. I am so so so excited to read them all even though I barely know what they are about, but I like going into books rather blindly anyway. They are all so pretty looking too.

The first book I bought was Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. All I know about this is that it

Fictional M.A.S.H.

Everyone knows M.A.S.H. It's a game where you "predict your future." There are several categories and you write down a list that corresponds. Then, you draw lines and count them. This will be the number you count to to cross off things from the list. Here was what mine looked like:

BEFORE: These were all of my options.

I chose both things I would like in my life and things I would not be fond of (Hey, Blackcliff Academy).

Review of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by J.K. Rowling

The first half of this review will not have any spoilers, so anyone who has not read the book or any of the Harry Potter books can read the first half. I will not do a synopsis since I am sure everyone knows what this series is about...

Let me start off by saying that this book was a 5 out of 5 for me... I have currently been eating this series up. I am so glad that I finally came around to reading this series and constantly judge myself for not reading it sooner. I can honestly say that it is my new favorite book series. If you have not read the books yet, I highly suggest you should. Even adults will love this middle grade series. So far my favorite books have been Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
The world that J.K. Rowling has created is flawless and, for lack of better terms, magical. Whenever I read one of the Harry Potter books, I constantly wonder how a single person came up with a world so intricate, well-connected, and diverse. The reader really feels for the characters and has deep connections with them.
This is all I will say in the non-spoilery section... If you have not read this series, please do yourself a huge favor and just read the first book. You will be hooked.

Spoiler Section