Monthly Recap November & December '17

 
A lot has happened in the last two months of 2017. I can say I had a wonderful 2017 with lots of beautiful moments and memories. I feel blessed with the people around me and I look forward to all the things 2018 has to offer. One of the things I want to let go of is the wishing instead of doing. It is time to get rid of lazy excuses and just go for it.

I want to wish you all a Happy New Year! And now on to the high lights of November and December.

November.
*I went to De Lama's. This is a group of comedians that quit 9 years ago and it was one of the first things that Jasper and I had in common, so it was fantastic to get the chance to see them live!
*Nine years together.
*We visited a lot of wedding locations. We ended up with two possible locations and eventually we booked one location for July 28th and I couldn't be happier about it!
*I went on vacation with my parents, Jasper, sister and brother in law. We went to Germany for a week and two days were spend in Europa Park, by far our favorite entertainment park.

December.
*Secret Santa sleep-over at Debby's place. We also went to an escape room (and managed to get out!)
*Christmas party at work.
*We found our wedding photographer! The first one we met and we had an immediate click, so we can't wait to work with her.
*Cheese fondue with Jasper on Christmas Eve.
*First Christmas day at my mother in law, second Christmas day at my parent's house where we exchanged gifts.
*'Third' Christmas day we went out for dinner.
*I got a new mobile phone! I choose the Samsung Galaxy S7 and I'm really happy with it. The camera is impressive.
*I finished our Save the Date wedding cards. We are sending them out already, because July 28th is right in the middle of summer vacation.
*Finished setting up my 2018 bullet journal. It was so much fun to transfer all my spreads and I always love to start in a new, clean notebook. I will write a post about it.
*Finished my Goodreads reading challenge! I started out with 100 books at the beginning, but quickly changed it to 70 – and so far I have read 71 books with a few days left. I hope to read 4 more.
   

November:
I received a review copy from A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen.
I also got my Fairyloot box – Ladies that Slay - and it was stuffed!

♡Flick the Wick: Brightest Witch candle (Hermione)
♡Bookish Tea: Blue's Brew.
♡Aunjuli Art: Slay Book Sleeve.
♡Advanced reading copy of Furyborn by Claire Legrand.
♡Literary Emporium: Fire is Catching Badge.
♡Reverie & Ink: Fight Darkness Sticker.
♡Exclusive edition of The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli.

December:
Jessica Day George – Princess of Glass, to complete my trilogy, from my father and mother.
The Fairyloot Box from December – Oh So Regal:
♡Full size Funko. Six different options.
♡Virtuous & Fair zip pouch - Miss Phi.
♡Prince Candle - A Court of Candles. Four options. I am so thrilled I got Prince Adam!
♡Powerful notebook - Stella's Bookish Art.
♡Books Rule keychain - Fiction Tea Designs.
♡Everless by Sara Holland. Releases January 2018.
November:
1. Ellen Katherine White – Hearstone. Okay retelling of Pride & Prejudice. 3/5.
2. Robert Louis Stevenson – Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (audio). 3/5.
3. Laini Taylor – Strange the Dreamer. FANTASTIC. 5+/5.
4. Holly Bourne – Manifesto on How to be an Interesting Person. Hated it. 2/5.
5. Marie Lu – Warcross. Liked it. Worth the hype? Not really. 4/5.

December: 1. Lauren DeStefano – The Glass Spare. Okay book. 3/5.
2. Cynthia Hand – The Afterlife of Holly Chase. Fun around the holiday. 3.5/5.
3. Leigh Bardugo – The Language of Thorns. Her writing-style is made for these fairytale like stories. 5+/5.
4. Naomi Novik – His Majesty's Dragon. Let down after loving Uprooted. 3/5.
5. Sarah Prineas - Winterling. 3.5/5.

I finished the second season of Shooter and while I liked it, the story was a little too much spread out to create a whole season.
Started my rewatch of Game of Thrones, because I made my father watch it (FINALLY) Watching season 3 right now.
I saw the pilot of American Gods and it was just as awful and strange as the book, so big nope for me.

Victor Frankenstein: liked this a lot.
Dirty Grandpa: funny, but nothing too special.
Salazar's Revenge: happy with the ending of their love story, but they should stop.
Sherlock Holmes 1 + 2 rewatch. Still awesome.
Face Off: my father was watching it, so I sticked around. It's weird.
Office Party: pretty funny.
Warm Bodies: HATEEEEE.
The Night  before: okay.
Sapphir Blau: he got rid of the pony tail.
A Christmas Prince: so cheesy, I loved it, haha.
Deck the Halls: one of the worst Christmas movies.
Goosebumps: not too bad!
Flushed Away: rewatch. I love this movie. Those snails are hilarious.

What are some of your favorite moments from these months?

Annual End of the Year Survey | 2018 edition.

This fantastic survey is hosted by Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner. I was part of the 2014 and 2015 edition, so I thought it was time to join again this year. I know  I haven't been the best blogger, but I'm still trying to find a good balance that works for me.  February 2018 will mark my 6th year of blogging and I hope to keep it up no matter how busy I get.

My year of 2017 was filled with amazing events. My boyfriend asked me to marry him, I got my permanent contract, I had my first flight and a I had a lot of quality time with my family and friends. I can only hope 2018 will be just as amazing and blessed, with happiness, health and time with my loved ones.

I will post my November/December wrap at the start of January, so keep an eye out for that if you are interested. I'm also in the progress of writing some bullet journal posts about setting up a new bullet journal and I can't wait to show you some of my new spreads!

Enoug rambling, without further ado, my 2017 in books:


Number Of Books You Read: 
70, but I still have some free days left where I hope to finish 5 more books.

Number of Re-Reads:
6 and I have no plans to have any more re-reads this year.

Genre You Read The Most From:
Fantasy, with 42.9%, followed by fairytales with 18.6%. No one is surprised.
 



1. Best Book You Read In 2017? The years before I had to cheat and break it down in many genres to include all my favorite books. It was easier this year, which is actually sad, because it means I didn't read many mind blowing books.
Laini Taylor – Strange the Dreamer was definitely my favorite book this year. Samantha Shannon – The Song Rising was also really good and I LOVED the conclusion from A Conjuring of Light by V.E Schwab –> one of the best fantasy series for sure.
Meagan Spooner – Hunted is now one of my favorite retellings of Beauty and the Beast.
The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo is, hands down, the best anthology with short stories I have ever read.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Renee Ahdieh – The Flame in the Mist was disappointing. I thought I was going to love it as much as I love The Wrath and the Dawn, but it didn't impress me.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read? 
The Shadow of What was Lost by James Islington. This was a random buy at the bookstore, because I liked the cover, and I really enjoyed it!

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)? Like I said, I wasn't really active on my blog, so I didn't push any books. I did recommend Hunted a few times and I hope people will read it and love is as much as I do.

5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?
Starter: Strange the Dreamer – Laini Taylor.
Sequel: The Song Rising – Samantha Shannon.
Ender: A Conjuring of Light – V.E Schwab!

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017? Meagan Spooner with Hunted. Most of the books I read were from authors I already know.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone? I don't read many thrillers, but I really liked Mindy McGinnis – This Darkness Mine.


8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Sarah J. Maas – Tower of Dawn. Despite all the negativity surrounding the author and all the flaws in this series, I couldn't stop reading Tower of Dawn. It had the same feeling of Throne of Glass to me and I loved it (CHAOL IS EVERYTHING)

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year? Strange the Dreamer in anticipation of the sequel.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

11. Most memorable character of 2017?
Holland by V.E Schwab. His story broke me.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?
The Language of Thorns, because Leigh's writing is made for fairytale like stories.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?
I don't read many books that will fit this category, but I learned a couple of things from Queer There and Everywhere by Sarah Prager.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read?
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima, because this book has a lot of elements I look for in fantasy.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?
There are many quotes/passages that I loved this year, so I will just pick one as a highlight:
“Anoshe was a word for strangers in the street, and lovers between meetings, for parents and children, friends and family. It softened the blow of leaving. Eased the strain of parting. A careful nod to the certainty of today, the mystery of tomorrow. When a friend left, with little chance of seeing home, they said anoshe. When a loved one was dying, they said anoshe. When corpses were burned, bodies given back to the earth and souls to the stream, those left grieving said anoshe.
Anoshe brought solace. And hope. And the strength to let go.”- A Conjuring of Light by V.E Schwab

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?
The Boy – 6 pages.
A Court of Wings and Ruin – 699.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most
Neil Gaiman – American Gods, because IT IS SO WEIRD AND HORRIBLE. I am amazed by all the reviews.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
All the ships on A Conjuring of Light. My precious characters. 

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Wires and Nerves, because I love Iko's friendship with all the other Lunar Chronicles characters.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously Yeah, Strange the Dreamer. I am a big fan of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, so I'm not surprised.

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
No pressure, but for the book club we read Attachments and that's not a book I would have picked up by myself.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?
No new crushes, as far as I can think of.. A lot of characters I adore, but no crushes.

23. Best 2017 debut you read?
As far as I can tell I didn't pick up any debuts published in 2017.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
I have to pick Strange the Dreamer, again. The whole concept with the Gods was fabulous.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Tales of the Peculiar was fun! I liked all the strange stories he came up with.


26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?
No crying over here.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
That is definitely The Shadow of What Was Lost.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
That honour is also for Strange the Dreamer. THAT ENDING.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?
This edition from Beauty and the Beast, with interactive elements. It gave a new dimension to the story.

    
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)? I went to the Dutch version of Yalfest and I was invited by Ditmar for the HarperCollins Book Bonanza.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year? Finding a new hobby, haha. A lot of my time is now divided between reading/blogging and bulletjournaling.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? I got a subscription for Fairyloot and it has been the best! Every box is a new present and I love all the little trinkets we get every time.

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
Yes and No. I started this year with 100 books on Goodreads and quickly set it on 70 – which I completed.
I also participated in the Popsugar challenge. This was meant as something low key and I have 34/52 books so far.



1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018? I vow that I will finally get started in Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?
SO MANY BOOKS. I have an entire spread sheet dedicated to all the books I am curious about (will make a post about this) One of the first I can think of is The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.


3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating? Again, hard question, but one I can think of right away is The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert.


4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018? I can't wait to read The Traitor Prince.


5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2018?
I want to be able to post around 5 posts every month.

6. A 2018 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable): If I was on top of my review copies I might have been able to answer this question, but I am behind.. so no recommendations this time.

Review | Cat Winters – Odd & True.

Title: Odd & True. 

Author: Cat Winters.
Pages: 358.
Publication: September 12th 2017 by Amulet Books. I received a review copy from the publisher. Thanks!

Trudchen grew up hearing Odette’s stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician’s curse. But now that Tru’s older, she’s starting to wonder if her older sister’s tales were just comforting lies, especially because there’s nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.
In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it’s Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters’ search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all

RATING:

I've been a fan of Cat Winters even since I read her first book, In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Her other works, including The Cure for Dreaming, The Steep and Thorny way, The Uninvited and Yesternight are all excellent books and now she has added Odd & True to that growing list.

Her prose is beautiful and never fails to deliver. Od & True did not let me down. It is a heart-warming story about two sisters who come together to hunt monsters in America. A disclaimer though: if you are looking for many monsters and bloodshed, this is not the story for you. The whole story is based around the two sisters and the question what kind of monsters they are exactly hunting and whether they excist.

True is the POV that tells about the present. She is crippled by childhood polio, but she is definitely not someone defined by it. Her life at her aunt's house is rather boring and it made her voice less compelling than Od. She has no defined personality to make her stand out against Od, who tells about the past. I loved seeing their family history and how it builds up to their current situation. Od believes in monsters and fairytales, which makes her the 'crazy sister'. True doesn't know whether her sister is telling the truth or if she is being delusional, but she ends up traveling around with Od to find their mother.

There is a subtle, creepy atmosphere in this book. I didn't think her world-building was as good as her other work (those made me feel like I was walking around in history, it is less compelling here), but I loved the plot and pacing. I also love books that center around families and Od/True's relationship was fantastic. We need to have more of these dynamics in YA.

Reading Challenge | Readers Crossing.

The camp will begin run between  Sunday 10/December to Sunday 31/December and is hosted by Aentee from Read at Midnight. (Text is taken from her website as well)

CUTE – First Across: To finish this path, you’ll be reading graphic novels, contemporary fiction, and sweet romance.
SPORTY – First Down: For this path, you’ll be reading about action heroes and adventurers, along with books created by a team of authors.
COOL – Five Down: Everyone who wants to read all the buzzed about books, award winners, and celebrity memoirs or fiction – follow this path.
NATURAL – Five Across: Get in touch with nature with  books set in the wilderness, filled with animals, or your favourite classics, with this particular path.

The blue squares are extra challenges, a combination of reading and performing game-related activities such as getting a shot of your campers reading!

As you can see on my card, I will attempt to read all the books from the Sporty path and I will also try to read several books from the blue squares. Every book you finish will give you +2 EXP (or +3 EXP if you read an #ownvoice book) and you can gain up to 5 EXP from social media.

Sporty:
Graphic Novel/Manga:
Superhero:
Main adventure plot:
Written by 2+ authors:
Set in the wilderniss:

Extra:
Seasonally inspired:
Insect on the cover:
Fruit in the title:
Free space:
Read a book in 24 hours:
Read a book picked by a friend from your TBR:
Set at seas/beach:
Comment on a post:
Shelfie:

Monthly Recap October '17 | Wedding and Reading.

I guess you have noticed based on the fact I hardly posted anything, but my life is really busy at the moment. We are currently looking for the right wedding location and it is taking up a lot of my time – more than I anticipated! We visited two locations in October (and both of them are not in the running anymore) and we went to five more. We are now looking at the + and – points of two locations to figure out which one will be the best fit (but of course I had to see another one that looks interesting..) It is time to make a decision, because 2018 is coming closer.

Another wedding thing I did was attending my first bridal event. There were different stands, like rings, music, photography and wedding planners – and there was a show with wedding dresses. I really enjoyed myself together with my mom, grandmother and sister. Afterwards we went out for dinner and I can't wait to go to some more events if I find the time.

In between everything around my wedding, I also had a busy time at work. I had quite some evenings shifts and two new shifts in the weekend. One where I had to work on the blood cultures and one station with all the most important hospital departments. That shift is nerve-wrecking, because you need to bring the phone with you , because you can be called back until 22:00 by the Microbiologist.
I met Christina (A Reader of Fictions) together with my two book club friends, which was nice.

I had a sleep-over for the 24-hour read-a-thon by Dewey. Another couple came over, so my boyfriend had a game-a-thon with his friend and I read around 12 hours with my friend. I managed to finish 4 books and I could use a good reading sprint, since I was behind on my Goodreads challenge.
I'm trying to hold back when it comes to book buying, but I still got a few pre-orders in the mail.

The first one is Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray, a highly anticipated book. I also got Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson and Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust.
The last two books I received were in the Fairyloot Box. An exclusive cover editon from Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo and Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao. Both books were high on my wish list, so I'm happy to add them to my collection.



1. Kasie West – Love Life and the List. Not as charming as her other books, but I still enjoyed it.
2. Hilary Mantel – Wolf Hall. Audio book that took ages, but interesting story.
3. Jodi Meadows – Before She Ignites. I didn't love it as much as The Orphan Queen, but I do want to read the sequel.
4. Deborah Schaumberg – The Tombs. Not too bad, but a bit on the slow side.
5. Leigh Bardugo – Wonder Woman. Awesome.
6. Cat Winters – Odd & True. Fantastic! What I expect from Winters by this point.
7. Jenni James – Jack and the Beanstalk. A re-read without knowing it.
8. Jenni James – Snow White. Okay.
9. Bobby Crosby – Dreamless. Online comic. I didn't fall in love with it.

TV Shows: We watched two seasons of Shooter and it's not too bad. Some characters are too stupid, just to move the plot, but I like the overall story.
Movies:  
Frankenstein (the one with Daniel Radcliff) and I liked it!
New music:
I love Disney and I love piano music, so I love this collection of different piano Disney songs.

Dewey 24 Hour Read-A-Thon master post.

This is my master sign-up post where I will update my progress as we go along. I can't remember how many times I have participated in the Dewey read-a-thon, but my guess is somewhere around 5-6 times. It has always been a blast, so I'm stoked about this new edition!

There is something really special about dedicating an entire day to reading. No matter how many hobbies I add to my daily life, reading has a special place. I don't always meet my monthly goals (most of the time I try to aim for 10 books each month, but I 'failed' hard this year) and there are weeks where I hardly touch a book, but it's always fantastic to return to my happy place. Just sitting on the couch, snuggled under the blanket, with a wonderful adventure in my hands.

My goal is to read at least 3 books, but most of all I just want to have fun. We have two friends coming over, my girl friend who loves to read too and her boyfriend who will game with my boyfriend. We also have a movie waiting for us (Pride and Prejudice & Zombies, I'm curious) and lots of snacks, so I'm ready.

I have a few possible books lined up:

The first two books I'm planning to finish though are my ebook from Elle Katherine White - Hearstone (34 pages in/352) and Leigh Bardugo - Wonder Woman (200 pages in/369).

Other places where you can find me updating my progress are:
Instagram: Mel_1704.
Twitter: @DailyProphecy
Goodreads: Mel - Daily Prophecy.

Let the read-a-thon begin! (In about 1.5 hours my time. We start at 14:00 EST here)

Reading tracker:
Total hours read: around 12.

Books read:
-Leigh Bardugo - Wonder Woman.
-Cat Winters - Odd & True.
-Jenni James - Jack and the Beanstalk.
-Jenni James - Snow White.

Pages read:
929.

Hour 0.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
The Netherlands.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Cat Winters - Odd & True, because for the past two years I've always read a book written by her (and I have loved them)

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
We have the new Peanut & Hazelnut M&M's.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I LOVE Disney. I am a bullet journalist. I hate lady bugs.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
Last time, with my book club, we ended up watching movies instead of reading. This time I'm with someone else and we both want to try to read as much as possible.

10 books in 10 years.
2007 - J.K Rowling - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
2008 - Kristin Cashore - Graceling.
2009 - Juliet Marillier - Heart's Blood.
2010 - Jessica Day George - Princess of Glass.
2011 - Heather Dixon - Entwined.
2012 - Robin LaFevers - Grave Mercy.
2013 - Marissa Meyer - Scarlet.
2014 - Rosamund Hodge - Cruel Beauty.
2015 - Victoria Schwab - A Darker Shade of Magic.
2016 - Leigh Bardugo - Crooked Kingdom.
2017 - Meagan Spooner - Hunted.