My 2015 Reading Goals

I know it's a little bit late in the year to be writing about my reading goals, but I thought if I was keeping a track of my reading on this blog, it would be nice to have an online version of the notes I currently have scribbled down on a piece of paper.


MAIN GOALS:

1. Read at least 50 books this year
2. Read something every day, even if it's just a couple of pages.
3. Complete the PopSugar reading challenge 

AUTHOR GOALS: 

1. Read something by Margaret Atwood 
2. Read something by Haruki Murakami
3. Read something by Cassandra Clare 
4. Read something by Patrick Ness
5. Read at least 3 books by John Green
6. Read something by Colleen Hoover

OTHER GOALS

1. Finally read the Divergent Trilogy
2. Read at least 2 classics
3. Read at least 10 Dystopian / Fantasy novels
4. Read at least 5 poetry collections
5. Read a play

I may actually update this list because I'm sure there are others that I don't have written down, but for now, those are my goals for 2015.

Feel free to poke me if I look like I'm not making enough headway with any of these goals!

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March 2015 TBR

This is my TBR pile for March.

Five books seems very little in comparison to other people, but as I'm only aiming for 50 books this year, technically this is actually over what I need to have read by the end of the month. I should be reading just under one book a week. But after having such a good February I decided that I wanted to challenge myself a bit in March.

I'm also seriously considering increasing my Goodreads yearly goal from 50 books to 75, but I'm not sure if it's too early in the year to be that optimistic? Especially considering it's been a long time since I've read more a couple of new books (plus my annual Harry Potter re-read) in a year.

I've read 14 books so far this year, meaning that if I continue at this pace I could potentially hit 84 books by the end of the year. But I'm still a little bit nervous about taking the plunge and changing my Goodreads target... I would be pretty gutted if I ended up not reaching my goal because I pushed myself too far.

Any thoughts / opinions would be really appreciated!

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February 2015 Wrap-Up

TOTAL BOOKS READ: 10

FULL LENGTH NOVELS: 6

NOVELLAS: 4

FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: Cress by Marissa Meyer 

LEAST FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: Paper Towns by John Green

MY MONTH IN READING: 

This was a really good month for me, mainly because I got completely enthralled by The Lunar Chronicles and so sped through most of them in no time at all. 

This was also a shock because other than Harry Potter I've never really enjoyed fantasy / science fiction books so it was a massive turn around; and as you'll see in my February book haul post, it's really inspired me to branch out with what I'm reading. 

I also read my first book by Lisa Gardner and it was so so good. I had almost forgotten how much I adore Crime books. Again you'll see in my haul that's really influenced the type of books I've purchased this month. 

The only disappointment was Paper Towns. I have heard so much about it and The Fault In Our Stars is one of my favourite books of all time. But for me Paper Towns just seemed... dull. It actually completely stopped my flow in January and I only eventually finished it at the beginning of February. 

I'm not going to go too much into anything because I will be writing full reviews for all of these books in due course, but for now you can check out my Goodreads profile to see what star rating I gave each of them. 

WHAT I'VE LEARNT THIS MONTH: I enjoy fantasy / science fiction books. 

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Review: The Lunar Chronicles [Pre-Winter]

The first books I bought because of BookTube. They are the sort of books I would never in a million years pick up, yet now, somehow, I am in love. 

Can Winter please come out already? 

[This review is SPOILER FREE!] 

The Lunar Chronicles is a series of young novels with elements of fantasy and science fiction. Each book is a new take on an old fairy tale, including Cinderella (Cress), Little Red Riding Hood (Scarlett) and Rapunzel (Cress). The fourth book in the series, Winter, will be based around the fairy tale of Snow White and will be coming out in November this year. Fairest is a prequel to the other books (although I'd recommend reading it after Cress) and tells the story of the evil queen Levana from a young child up until roughly the start of Cinder.

When I first started Cinder I thought I was far too old to be reading this series. Then I fell completely in love with the series and my heart just melted. I am not someone that would typically pick up a fantasy novel, but these came so highly recommended on BookTube that I couldn't resist. They are now my second favourite book series of all time.

The world building is perfect. You get just enough information at every point to be able to really picture what's going on. I would love for this universe to be used again in further books by Marissa Meyer.

I don't want to say too much about the later books because I don't want to give away any spoilers. But here's a little bit about each of the main characters...

Cinder: Still my favourite person from this series. I feel like the character development has been spot on with Cinder. She has the biggest journey to go through and I feel like it's being done at the perfect pace. It doesn't feel rushed or dragged out. I just adore her and she is totally someone that I'd want to be friends with if she was real.

Scarlett: I know a lot of people that love Scarlett the most, but for me she takes a very definite second place. She's still an amazing character and her relationship with Wolf makes me smile a lot, but there was something about her that I didn't find as likeable as Cinder. Still an incredible book though.

Cress: This was my favourite book, but Cress was my least favourite character. It sells her as not being a damsel in distress, but I personally found her a little bit whiny. Like come on girl pull yourself together. She seems very immature compared to Cinder and Scarlett despite being similar age wise. Perhaps because she has been locked away and hasn't had that human interaction? Either way although I liked her it wasn't anywhere near as much as Cinder or Scarlett.

Queen Levana (Fairest): I can't say much without giving any of the plot away so I'm going to keep this brief. She's definitely one of my favourite baddies of all time. I always thought she was an interesting character but after Fairest I just fell completely in love with her - although I don't think that was the intention? Oops. How do I always end up liking the bad guys?

Of course they are based (although very loosely) on the fairy tales, so each character does still have to have their knight in shining armour. I love the relationship between Cinder and Kai so so much. It's a tiny bit predictable but still ridiculously cute. I like Scarlett and Wolf but I felt like he slips out of character at points in Cress which for me takes away from it a little bit. I love the man that ends up with Cress, but their relationship just doesn't do it for me. I don't find it that believable and I feel like it feeds into her weakness in comparison to the Cinder and Scarlett. She's very obsessed with falling in love and it's a bit needy. Cinder and Scarlett do just fine on their own. Their relationships enhance their lives, but aren't the centre of it.

My only criticism is that I'd like to see a little bit more of a development in the relationships between Cinder, Scarlett and Cress. There's a fair bit of romance but not a whole lot of friendship which is disappointing.

Finally once a character is introduced they remain in the books throughout the series.

Also you should definitely read all books in order. There is a storyline that flows between the books and otherwise you'll get confused / ruin them.

I would highly recommend Fairest, but even though it's a prequel I would suggest you read it after Cress to avoid spoilers.

Overall this series is incredible. I'd definitely definitely recommend picking it up!

10/10

Please note: They are based on Fairy Tales, but they are NOT young child friendly.
Cinder is the only book I'd say would be okay for a child under 11/12.
Scarlett and Cress I'd say would be okay for a child over the age of 12, but it's something definitely to be done on an individual basis.
However Fairest has quite a few sex references and some violence even I found disturbing, so please don't think you're giving your six year old a safe fairytale. It is definitely not appropriate for young children.

World: 10/10

Mystery/Suspense: 9/10 (I have to take a point off because I did guess a few plot twists before they happened.)

Comedy: 8/10

Relationships: 7/10

Cover: 7/10

Overall Other Rating Score: 41/50

Then I would highly recommend Legend by Marie Lu. It has a similar plot in a few ways (minus the fairytale element). There's a sort of love story, a lot of suspense and plot twists, and some hunting down of information/people. 

You should also check on Wattpad for Marissa Meyer's short stories, all based in the same universe. Glitches is my personal favourite and contains some extra backstory for the character of Cinder. 

... flower it would be a rose. Beautiful, but sometimes painful. 

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February Book Haul

Shatter Me by Tahereh Maft: I've been seeing this all over BookTube for such a long time I can't believe I actually own this now. Very excited to read it. I hope I enjoy it as much as everyone else has. 

To All The Boys I've Loved Before: This looks really interesting and the cover is gorgeous. 

The Knife Of Never Letting Go: THIS IS SO BIG. I'd only ever seen the front of it, I didn't realise you could use it as a door stop. I want to get to this soon though the premise of the book is really cool. 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas: This isn't the sort of book I'd usually go for but I see it on the bookshelf of pretty much every BookTuber on YouTube so I thought I'd give it a go. 

Legend by Marie Lu: Another book spotted behind all my favourite BookTubers. I really love the sound of the plot on this one and it's pretty short so a quick read. 

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey: Is it a thriller? Is it horror? Who knows but it looks interesting so I'm gonna give it a go. 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: It was less than £3 on Amazon. Who can say no to that? Not me.

The Unbecomming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin: Too many BookTubers recommend this for me not to read it. Not entirely sure what it's even about but the cover's pretty. 

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare: This has got to be the most talked about book on BookTube. It's also another book that I could use as a doorstep. How  did you guys get through what, 6 books plus the prequels?!?! I really really want to read this in March though so fingers crossed!


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Those are all the books I bought in February. If you have any suggestions or recommendations for March let me know in the comments below or via twitter.

Love xo

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Review: 100 Poem Challenge by Jen Campbell

The first review I've chosen to post is for this lovely little poetry pamphlet. This might seem like a strange place to start, going for a poetry pamphlet rather than a novel, but there is a reason behind it. This specific poetry collection is written by the lovely Jen Campbell. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jen in person, and I was even lucky enough to be at the book launch of Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops in 2012. 

And after after stumbling upon her YouTube channel a few days ago, I pulled this 100 poem collection off my bookshelf for a re-read. (Which also means I've read the first poetry collection towards my 2015 goal yay!)

I wanted this to be the first review I post because Jen has been one of the biggest influences on me in terms of reading. Her passion for books is contagious, and I wouldn't be the reader I am today without her.

So thank you Jen.

Way back in November 2011, Jen wrote 100 poems in 48 hours to raise money for EEC International.

I'm going to insert an extract from the introduction, as I'm sure Jen's explanation of the charity will be far better than mine would be.

"EEC International fund research centres looking into gene p63, and degenerative eye conditions associated EEC Syndrome [Ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia clefting syndrome], a rare form of ectodermal dysplasia, which Jen has.

It is likely that most people who have EEC Syndrome will lose their sight. It is already happening to many people."

A total of £4250 was raised so Jen's weekend was a massive success, and this short poetry collection was created. Each poem was inspired by tag words given to Jen via Twitter.

Although this little pamphlet was limited edition, you can still read all of the poems at: http://100poemweekend.blogspot.co.uk

I know I'm probably biased but I absolutely adore both the collection as a whole, and every one of the individual poems. 

However if I had to pick a few favourites then they would be:

• #14 [Dawn] - This is tiny but perfect. 
• #18 [Abscond] - My absolute favourite. It still makes me giggle even after so many re-reads.
• #34 [Awkward] - How can you feel so much towards characters in a poem with six lines?
• #36 [Werewolf] - I actually laughed out load when I read this one. 
• #65 [Christmas] - This is the most relatable poem about Christmas ever written. 
• #76 [Peruse] - A biography written by the ex girlfriends of the guy you're dating? I'm going to be needing one of those.

There are so many more that I love, but if you're looking for somewhere to start then those are the six poems I'd recommend. 

Jen's writing style is so unique that even though each poem is totally different, due to the huge range of prompts used, they all fit together beautifully. She really puts her individual stamp on each and every poem, and this was, once again, a pleasure to read.

Oh and on a final note I adore the cover illustrations. They were designed by Greg Mcleod who also illustrated Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops. 

Overall mark: 10/10

I would highly recommend anything written by Jen, but if you'd like to explore more of her poetry then you can find information about her collection 'The Hungry Ghost Festival' here and purchase a copy here. 

Jen's books can also be found here. 

beverage it would be a hot mug of tea. Warm and enticing on even the coldest winter day. (And also Jen loves tea!)

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Disclaimer: This review is 100% honest. I would never recommend any novel / play / poetry collection that I didn't genuinely enjoy. This post is has not been requested by the author and is not sponsored in any way. I just genuinely love this collection and think more people should know about it so they can enjoy it too.

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A short introduction...

I really dislike having to write introductions and I'm not very good at it. That being said it seemed strange to just appear in the blogosphere without so much as a hello. 

So this is just a short note to let you know that this is indeed a book blog, as I'm sure you've gathered by now. It's going to have a huge range of both the traditional posts you'd expect, as well as a few that you probably wouldn't. And if any of this interests you then you can follow this blog on Bloglovin' for updates whenever I post. 

If you'd like to say hi to me, I can be found on twitter or any of the other social networks listed in the sidebar to your right. 

In the meantime feel free to have a poke around and see what you can find. 

Chelsey xo

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