2014/12/31

Book Haul: December

Can you believe it? The year is at an end! I don't know why it catches me off guard every year, but here we are.

December has been a variety of things; lovely, cold, stressful, happy and tiring. I'm ready for January with its calmer nature, especially when it comes to work.

However, enough of that! Here are the books I got in December, most of whom were Christmas gifts.















I hope you've had a great and cheerful month, and I will see you next year!
ALL LINKS ARE AFFILIATE
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2014/12/30

Top 10: Books of 2014 Part II (1-5)

The year is coming to an end, and it's time to tell you my top 10 books of 2014. This is the second part, and these are my absolute favourites of this year from 5 - 1.


An urban fantasy with the main character Karou, who lives two lives: one as an art student in Prague, and another as the errand girl for a monster in another world. Her job is collecting teeth.

I really loved this book. The writing is great and it felt very different from other "typical" fantasy. Have yet to read the next ones, but will get to it veeeery soon.


I think this book is better if you go in blind, so I will reveal very little. It's a love story set in several different time periods, and in the end they all tie together.

What I can tell you is that this is very different and very fascinating. The writing is beautiful and it's just... amazing.


Historical fiction set during World War II. The story is from two points of view: one of a blind French girl, and one of an orphan Nazi youth. 

This one just hit me right in the heartstrings. I absolutely loved the characters, and it was just such a beautiful story (This also won the Goodreads Choice Award 2014 for Historical Fiction, if you're still not convinced).


Finally got around to this classic, and I absolutely loved it. My favourite classic I've ever read by far. If you're unaware, this is the story of Jane Eyre, a plain girl who starts working as a governess in a mysterious house with an even more mysterious employer; the dark and strange Mr. Rochester.

The characters are rich, the writing is beautiful, and it's not actually that difficult to read. Loved it!


A paranormal story set in the 1920's in New York. Evie O'Neill is living with her uncle who is called in to help solve a murder. 

I realize I've gone on and on about this book, but it's the best book I read all year. I absolutely loved the writing. It's mysterious, scary, charming... The characters are amazing, the setting is amazing, the story is amazing, everything is just amazing. One of my all time favourite books!
So, there you go! Those are my top favourite books of the year. What's your favourite book of the year?


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2014/12/29

Top 10: Books of 2014 Part I (6-10)

The first part of my favourite books of 2014. These are my favourites from 10 - 6!


In the northern mountains of the Seven Realms, in Fellsmarch, the princess heir, Raisa, is nearly sixteen and can soon marry - but though she has many suitors, she has no plans to marry anytime soon. In the same city, reformed thief Han Alister tries to make an honest living for him and his family. But when he meets three wizards in the forest, it's the beginning of a very interesting journey.

This is just such an enjoyable fantasy book, and I cannot wait to carry on with this series!


Cormoran Strike is called in to investigate the disappearance of Owen Quine, an eccentric author, who has just finished a poisonous manuscript that feature almost everyone he knows. If it was published, it would ruin a lot of peoples lives...

I just really enjoy these books about Strike. I find the setting of London to feel very vibrant, like I'm really there. I wholly enjoy the characters and the mystery... I just enjoyed this SO MUCH!



In the suburb of Detroit, the five Lisbon sisters are mysterious, eccentric, exciting... and the boys in the neighbourhood watch the obsessively as they all commit suicide during the span of a single year.

When I first finished this book, I gave it a 4 stars... but this story grew on me after I read it and I still think about it now. I can't quite pinpoint what it is about this story, but it's beautifully written and I would definitely recommend it.


Cath is a Simon Snow fan, and writes fanfiction online. She's good at it too, having thousands of readers. But when she starts college, adjusting proves to be a definite challenge.

I think everyone in the modern world can relate to a character in this book, and that's definitely my favourite part of this book. It's realistic, funny and touching.


Bill Masen wakes up in the hospital after eye surgery to find the whole world has gone blind. This throws society into chaos, and the triffids - huge, venomous, walking plants - have the upper hand.

I absolutely loved this book. The story is exciting and brings up some very important issues about biological experimentation and human nature.

5 - 1 will be up tomorrow, so stay tuned for my absolute favourites!

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2014/12/28

Top 5: Honuorable Mentions of 2014

I'm working on the top 10 list of my favourite books of 2014, and realized I had to make a little list with books that deserve a mention, but that didn't quite make it to my top ten.

I'll just quickly say what it's about and why I loved it!


A beautifully written story set in Iceland in 1829. This tells the story of Agnes and the last execution in Iceland. It's best part is its vivid scenery.


A dystopian story following Beatrice Prior where society is split into five factions, each dedicated to a particular virtue. Very exciting book.


A young adult, science fiction story about Amy, who joins her parents as frozen cargo on a space journey that will take 300 years. But when she wakes up, she realizes she's been unfrozen 50 years too soon.


A graphic novel containing five haunting tales. The artwork of this is beautiful!


This is a fantasy young adult novel about a boy called Nobody, who was adopted by ghosts when he was very little, after his entire family was horribly murdered.
So many good books!
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2014/12/27

2014

2014 is almost over, and I thought I would share how my reading has been this year, and share some thoughts about what I read.

As you may know, I started this blog this year, and the response has been amazing. Thank you so much for stopping by, once or several times!

I will be making a Top 10 of 2014 in the next couple of days where I'll go into what books I loved this year and why, but I still wanted to do a little summary first.
How many books I read:
I had set a goal on Goodreads to read 50 books this year, but I surpassed that sometime in August. The 50th book I read was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Overall, I read 80 books.


Books per month:
January: 5
February: 3
March: 4
April: 4
May: 6
June: 5
July: 11
August: 7
September: 7
October: 11
November: 11
December: 5

The Books I Read:








Longest book: 
Midnattsrosen by Lucinda Riley (594 pages)

Shortest book: 
The Night Before Christmas by Nikolai Gobol (80 pages)

Funniest book: 
Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops by Jen Campbell

A classic I finally got to: 
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

This years guilty pleasure: 
The Selection by Kiera Cass

Toughest to get through: 
Inferno by Dante Alighieri

A book I avoided like the plague: 
Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A book I was sceptical about but happily surprised: 
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

A book ruined by hype: 
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

A book I didn't get to but wished I had: 
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Tune in again tomorrow for my top books of the year!




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