Book series – Excited to read!

In an effort to have more control over all the book series I have started to read, need to finish or want to start on, I decided to make a few categories I can arrange them into and make myself busy with planning on how to fit them in my future reading plans!

First category are the book series I am excited to read.

I love reading books with lots of sequels. When I find a story and characters I love, I want to have more books to read trough and enjoy. For this reason I will sometimes decide to buy more than one book from a completely new book series before I even started to read the first book! And this is also why the books I already own and have on my physical bookshelves are being promoted into priority category for the purpose of making any future reading plans.

Few years back I have made a decision to always prioritize the books I own and it has actually worked out wonderfully. When I look around the books on my shelves I am happy to report that the ratio of unread and read books is not as alarming as it might be.

Here are the books I am excited to read as a continuation of the book series I already enjoy and have on my shelves. They are not sorted in any particular order and these are all book series that I rated highly enjoyable to read because I like the characters, writing style of the author or the ideas they represent. Some of them are on my shelves longer and some are recent purchases. all of them are part of my ever present reading goal – to read trough all the books I own!

Vorkosigan Saga by Lois MacMaster Bujold

I was not always fond of science fiction because space is a confusing place and in theory I found it hard to relate and get into the cold outer space setting. Vorkosigan saga is one of those book series that completely changed how I view space opera genre and science fiction in general. The characters are relatable and “down to earth”. Even though my primary goal when I was buying the series was buying them for my BF to read and not me – I have learned to love and appreciate these books. The editions I have are translations in Croatian from a publisher that no longer exists which makes them a bit of a rarity. These books are highly underrated and they deal with ideas and topics relevant in any day and age – traditions, science versus belief, questions about gender, characters with disabilities, dealing with expectations of others, and so many more unexpected moral and personal questions you will be thinking about once you start reading trough satisfying number of books in the series.

My progress of the series is slow paced. I am somewhere half trough the series and I am excited follow more space adventures of the characters author has created about forty years ago!

Hell Bent (Alex Stern #2) by Leigh Bardugo

One of the most recent additions to my book shelves since Hell Bent has only been published earlier this year. Leigh Bardugo has become an author whose books are automatically on my TBR and wish list. I have great respect for who ever is making the decisions to make her books well designed physically and beautiful too. I always choose to get her books in hard cover editions whenever possible. This particular series is dark academia theme and I have found the horror and mystery elements quite appealing. Again, this is an example of a book series that has helped me include genres I don’t normally read – mainly horror genre.

My progress with the series is: need to read the second book and then slowly and not so patiently wait for the next book after that to come out – probably why I’m not in a hurry to get to it…

Elves

Only exception on the lists of book series I own is a graphic novel I am reading in digital form. This is a part of an ongoing series that is currently on volume 30. This series is collaboration of many authors and artists. Most are originally European and mainly French descent but some of the collaborators expand out of those limits as well. This graphic novel came as a recommendation from a friend and I was impressed with depth of the story and beautiful coloring. Story is long and expanding many continents in a fantasy world filled with magical creatures and many different races. The volumes are short – around fifty pages each but are

My progress with the series: I am on volume nine out of current thirty available. I come back to this graphic novel series every time I need a good and fast read I know I am going to enjoy for a reading challenge!

Alpha (Strays #6) by Rachel Vincent

I love urban fantasy book series with interesting female protagonists. This is an older shifter book series with cats, they had me at cats! I love this series so much that I made my peace with not all the books being same size and format – otherwise this is a horrifying concept for me! One of the books I even bought used and a bit scraped up since I could not find it in any better condition – also not a comforting thought for me. This book series has been a lot of firsts for me in this regard even though it is a genre and theme I usually go for.

My progress with the series is almost done since I have only the last book of the series to read! I think i am saving it for some reading challenge that requires me to finish a book series or something…

Aurora’s End (The Aurora Cycle, #3) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

My motivation when I got the first two books was to give author a try – I’m still very picky when space theme is present. It was supposed to prepare me to read another book by Jay Kristoff and it was not a planned buy when I got the first two books. I ended up reading both books in the same month and then immediately had to order the third one. That is how much I liked the characters and their dynamics! Also I really like the covers and how the characters are portrayed on them. The extra content in these soft cover edition has been impressive and it made me wonder if I can afford to get the hard cover editions. That is how much the extra content has been important to me. I would love seeing this book series turned into animated series or a TV series but I don’t hold my breath for that to happen at all…

My progress into the series: need to read the last book and I am postponing it because this is only a trilogy and I don’t want it to end so soon…

Staked (The Iron Druid Chronicles #8) by Kevin Hearne

This is one of the older book series I got into so many years ago. Trough the years my interest has lessened. But then I read next book of the series after a long pause ( years long pause!) and was surprised at how easy I got into the story and how the characters were still captivating. It was one of the book series I started collecting in hopes of reading it along with my BF. He ended up reading more than I did and now I’m not sure if he is going to finish it at all after such a long break.

My progress with the series is close to finishing – three books left! Good thing is the author has finished writing and aside from the books I already have, there are also few short stories I can read.

The Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles, #3) by Anne Rice

Vampire theme was always a fascination of mine and I still have a tendency to collect vampire themed books – be it short story collections or book series. Anne Rice has always been a staple of vampire genre and I always had a feeling I needed to read these. This nagging feeling I needed to read something had made me collect Anne Rice books but held me back from actually reading any of them. At one point I had more than ten books written by Anne Rice and have not read one single of them. After a shaky and bumpy start with the first book of the famous Vampire Chronicles I got to read the second one and finally gotten thrilled with it. I am slightly unhappy with all the different covers for the mass market paperback editions I own but the hard truth is I can’t find all the books in a more uniformed editions because there has been so many different editions over the years. I would love to own these in a prettier collector editions – something more like Folio society editions.

My progress with the series is slower than any other book series I own so many books of – I need to start reading the third book in the series and the small mass market paperback editions with chubby 500+ pages are not that inviting not easy to fit in any reading challenge…

Hellboy #2 by Mike Mignola

Graphic novel collection that started as a yearly present I picked out on a Zagreb Book Fair Interliber for my BF. These editions are hard cover and in Croatian. They each have more than one volume inside them and it makes it harder to follow on GR once I start reading them. I plan to collect the rest but have been unable to afford them last few years.

My progress with the series – I have accidentally read the first and the last graphic novel of the series and not I need to get and start reading the second omnibus edition ( right one in the picture)

Batman: Nightwalker (Dc Icons #2) by Marie Lu

Once I had an idea to collect all the books from the DC Icons series because the list of authors connected into this project was impressive. Each book is written by one of the popular YA authors and I liked the opportunity to try reading some new popular author for the first time without being sucked into another YA book series that everyone else is into. Hard cover books were a present from my BF and now I am struggling to find the resto of the DC Icons editions in hard cover which is proving to be near impossible…

My progress with the series: not in any hurry to read the second book since the prospect of finding the next book is going to be a nightmare…

In conclusion

Book series I am excited to continue reading from my own book shelf ( with one notable exception) is not that long but I can not call it short either. I expect that with starting some new book series and finishing out the last books from the series on this list – the number of the books that are part of a series and I am excited to continue will change, evolve and, most likely, grow. I am perfectly fine with that thought and I am happily looking forward to exciting books I can enjoy reading in the future!

Reindeer Readathon 2022

This was my third year participating in the Reindeer Readathon. I like how it’s organized and and while I don’t keep up with all activities – reading sprints, giveaways and events by the team leaders I still try my best to do my part. For those who are not familiar with this readathon HERE is a link for my original post explaining how everything works. Not much has changed in that regard, Readathon still lasts trough the whole month of December and there are four teams for people to be a part of. Readers are all put into teams randomly so that each team has a nice spread of all types of readers and participants. Team laeders or hosts are different each year.

This year I was put into Team Stocking and my team host was Kristin from Kristin Kraves Books and you can check out her YouTube videos HERE to find some interesting bookish content and show her some appreciation.

Each year there are some great prompts and some extra ways to get your team more points trough reading. Here are the prompts this time.

Since my reading this past year has been sporadic at best I got all my choices but did not try to get the extras at all. All nine books I’ve chosen were from my own bookshelf and I had fun trying to fit them into the prompts. I did not manage to read trough all nine books for the challenge but did in the end read six books and finished the seventh one just past the deadline on January the first. In order to be fair towards the other teams I did not submit my score for that one.

Here are the possible bonuses

And here are the books I fitted to the prompts:

Dasher – 15 Pts

Finish A Series Or Pick Up A Book That You Started And Put Down. If Neither Of These Are Options, A Short Story/Novella.

Finish A Series: House of Many Ways (Howl’s Moving Castle, #3) by Diana Wynne Jones ★★★

Dancer – 10 Pts

A Book With A Cursive/Flowy/Elegant Font On The Cover.

Cursive On The Cover: Holidays Are Hell By Kim Harrison Et. All. – DID NOT READ

Prancer – 20 Pts

A Book With Your Favorite Season On The Cover Or The Book Cover Has Colors From Your Favorite Season On It.

Cover Has Colors Of Favorite Season: Daughter Of The Deep By Rick Riordan ★★★★

Vixen 15 Pts

A Book You Want To Read But Think It Might Be Overhyped.

Might Be Overhyped: The Love Hypothesis By Ali Hazelwood ★★★★★

Comet – 25pts

A Book With An Astronomical Word In The Title (Sun, Moon, Star, Sky Etc.)

Astronomical Word In The Title: Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2) By Amie Kaufman And Jay Kristoff ★★★★

Cupid – 15 Pts

A Book With A Favorite Trope In It.

Favorite Trope: Shift (Shifters #5) By Rachel Vincent ★★★★ – FINISHED A DAY LATE

Donner – 20 Pts

A Book That You Want To Read But Are Not A Fan Of The Cover.

Not A Fan Of The Cover: Sword Of Destiny (The Witcher #0.7) By Andrzej Sapkowski ★★★★

Blitzen – 20 Pts

Use A Random Number Generator To Find A Number Between 0 And 9 And Find A Book That Ends In That Page Number.

Random Number Generator – 0: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) By Amie Kaufman And Jay Kristoff ★★★★★

Rudolph – 15 Pts

Start A New Series.

New Series: Desperate Measures (Wicked Villains #1) By Katee Robert DID NOT READ

Thoughts on the reading challenge

I liked participating in Reindeer Readathon. It helped me get back on my feet in reading more and assisted in ending the year on a high note. Thank you Erik from Breakeven Books!

You can show support for his content HERE

I did not read all I wanted and planned but I don’t see it as complete fail. If I want to read more I will need to take care of myself better and concentrate on the positive things in life. This type of attitude will help me to create more bookish content and plan better for the future challenges.

Challenge yourself but give yourself the love and support you deserve 🙂

So many books – December 2022

Books I’ve read in December 2022

Donjodravska obala by Drago Hedl ★★★

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan ★★★★

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo ★★★★

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood ★★★★★

Sword of Destiny (The Witcher #0.7) by Andrzej Sapkowski ★★★★

House of Many Ways (Howl’s Moving Castle, #3) by Diana Wynne Jones ★★★

Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff ★★★★★

Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle, #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff ★★★★

Shift (Shifters, #5) by Rachel Vincent ★★★★

1. How many books have you read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

2022 in general has been a rough year for me. I have been reading sporadically at best and the December was the month with most books read for me – a total of 9 books. I am happy with the amount but did not really reach my goal for December (more on that at the question number 4)

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in December? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

There were two books that helped keep my spirits up and get my reading modjo back. First was The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. While there were often some cringey moments while I was reading the comic situations did help with my mood and I have enjoyed reading it quite a bit too. Second five star book for me in December was Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I got the first two books totally unplanned on a book fair Interliber in Zagreb in October 2022. I was a bit worried about the space theme and it was actually a test to see if I would like Jay Kristoff’s writing style. It turns out as just what I needed: variety of lovable characters, enough drama between them to launch into space and enough action to keep me reading the second book right after it!

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

The two books I enjoyed reading the least in December were (AGAIN) my book club pick for December – Donjodravska obala by Drago Hedl and House of Many Ways (Howl’s Moving Castle, #3) by Diana Wynne Jones. The first one was a bit of a downer with a historical theme and more than one character that were victims to a time and politics of the world they lived in. The hardest part about reading it was the setting of the story is just a few houses down from the place I live in now and the book had some historically accurate portrayals that hit too close to home for me. Not a bad book or story just not something I would read for pleasure. The second book should have been a total opposite of that since its is a teen book with magical setting and the last book in the Howl’s Moving Castle trilogy. For some reason the main character was not really endearing to me and not even Howl and Sophie could not help with my impression of the book. It just felt too childish at times while some parts of the book seemed culturaly foreign to me – like if I grew up in Great Britain I would have a better understanding of the motivation of the characters and some parts of the book. I just could not bridge that gap…

Again, three star does not make these bad books at all just the ones I liked reading the least in December!

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

I challenged myself for a total of 9 books for the Reindeer Readathon in December and since 2 of the books I’ve read were actually not part of the Reindeer Readathon Challenge 2022. I did not read all the books I’ve wanted to read in December. 2 have been totally left out and the third one was only finished on the first day of January – but I’m still counting it here for a more positive outcome on my reading experience.

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

There were quite a bit updates on the books series for me in December! Starting a new book series and reading trough two thirds of it right away with The Aurora Cycle by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I even ordered the third book right after I finished reading the second one. Shifters #5 by Rachel Vincent has come down to only one book in the series left to finish the whole series which is a bittersweet experience. The book reminded me how much I enjoy my urban fantasy book series with lots of action and good female protagonist! I have finished the Howl’s Moving Castle trilogy by Diana Wynne Jones and while it was not a bad book series I will hold off on acquiring new books by the same author since I could not get into the setting anymore. And the last book series update was for The Witcher #0.7 by Andrzej Sapkowski. This book series I am progressing on a one book a year slow pace since it is a part of a Buddy readathon with a friend – more on that in the next update post (there will be several to note on the books I’ve read in 2022 and the reading challenges in general because while I have not been making posts for a whole year I have been reading and participating in creative bookish things through the year)

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

My two five star reads in December I have been very skeptical about before starting to read them. The Aurora Cycle by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff I started on as a part of getting the feel to read The Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff which is a really big book I got a while ago and I really wanted to like it. I am much more confident about liking it and hope to get into it this year!

In that regard my recommendation is to give an author a try by learning more about the writing style and more than one book they have out there, if unsure, explore further.

Second read was a book I actually thought I would not like since it had a printed on sticker to label it as The TikTok Sensation. That kind of promo did not really sit well with me but I liked the them and I was in need of a feel good book with a nice ending. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood gave me more than I expected in that. So again my recommendation is that you sometimes need to give authors and stories a chance in spite the marketing that is attached to them.

Final thoughts on December 2022 reading

My reading December 2022 has helped me end the year on a high note and while I still have some regrets and some books I would have loved to squeeze in, I think I did well. Most of the books I read in December 2022 I rated very high and enjoyed reading more than I expected it to. As a whole this month gave me the push I needed to continue with posting about books and bookish things, my reading experiences and sharing the things I enjoy trough this platform.

I am making plans for more updates and sharing of books I’ve read in 2022 and I feel good about reading again which makes December 2022 a good month!

Bookopoly Chance Cards Season 2.

Just over a year ago I made my first Bookopoly TBR board and decided to make Bookopoly reading challenge a buddy reading project with a booklover friend Vivone. You can check out that first Bookopoly post HERE. Since then we had many changes to our boards to make them fit more to our reading habits and preferences.

One of the requirements for the Bookopoly board was a set of 16 Chance Cards with book titles for a random draw each time we end our movement on a Chance Card tile. Eight Chance Cards have titles of eight books I am looking forward to read and other eight Chance Cards have titles of books I am less excited about but still want to read. I decided to use this opportunity and use books that I already own and choose the titles from my own bookshelves. This resulted in first 15 out of 16 titles to be books I already own and is something I am very happy about.

Here are the first 16 book titles I put on Chance Cards:

The Chosen Half-Elf (Elfes #4) by Éric Corbeyran, Jean-Paul Bordier (Illustrator) ★★★★

The Scent of Shadows (Signs of the Zodiac #1) by Vicki Pettersson ★★★★

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux ★★

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon ★★★★

Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos ★★★

Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★★

Pride (Shifters #3) by Rachel Vincent ★★★★★

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu ★★★

Naked City by Ellen Datlow (Editor) ★★★★

Elminster: The Making of a Mage (Forgotten Realms: Elminster #1) by Ed Greenwood  ★★★★

Master of Chains (Forgotten Realms: The Fighters #1) by Jess Lebow ★★★

The Hedge Knight: The Tales of Dunk and Egg by George R.R. Martin  ★★★★

Time Weaver (Drakon #5) by Shana Abe ★★★

Antologija suvremene japanske novele by Kazuo Tanaka (Editor) ★★★★

Real World by Natsuo Kirino ★★★

The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles #2) by Anne Rice

On this picture The Chosen Half-Elf (Elfes #4) by Éric Corbeyran, Jean-Paul Bordier is missing because it was a digital edition.

Some books I put on Chance Cards I ended up reading for some other reading challenges and the amount of times I landed on the Chance Card tile was surprisingly high. This resulted in me needing a new set of 16 titles for Chance Cards! This time I decided to use all the titles from my own bookshelves and it is a big part of the reason why I have not updated my TBR Jar Draw project. The purpose of my TBR Jar Draw project was to read the books from my own shelves and I have been doing that surprisingly well in the last few years.

At the moment I am reading the last book from the first set – The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles #2) by Anne Rice and have already drawn a new Chance Card from the second batch and have added the Bajki robotów by Stanisław Lem to my reading for October ( I am not sure if I’m going to make it by the end of the month since life interrupts a lot of my reading sessions lately).

Here are the 16 new book titles for Chance Cards:

Bajki robotów by Stanisław Lem

Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming (Millennial Contest #1) by Roger Zelazny, Robert Sheckley

Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1) by Leigh Bardugo

A Wind in the Door (Time Quintet #2) by Madeleine L’Engle

Necroscope (Necroscope #1) by Brian Lumley

The Poison Diaries (The Poison Diaries #1) by Maryrose Wood

The Great Book of Amber (The Chronicles of Amber #1-10 ) by Roger Zelazny

Concertina: The Life And Loves Of A Dominatrix by Susan Winemaker

Shattered (The Iron Druid Chronicles #7) by Kevin Hearne

Loki: Where Mischief Lies (Marvel Press Novels) by Mackenzi Lee

Wait Till Your Vampire Gets Home (Broken Heart #4) by Michele Bardsley

Love In Vein: Tales of Vampire Erotica by Poppy Z. Brite

Wolf Brother (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #1) by Michelle Paver

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 2 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) by Nancy Holder

Neuromancer (Sprawl #1) by William Gibson

On this picture Neuromancer (Sprawl #1) by William Gibson is missing since I loaned the book to a friend.

First sixteen books for Chance Cards have amounted to 5081 pages and are mostly around 300 pages long each. The longest book from the first batch is 539 pages long and the shortest is only 55. From all the book titles I had on my Chance Cards only one book was rated with two stars and I did not particularly liked it. In contrast 9 out of 16 books I loved and rated four or five stars. I am happy to report that this made me read trough some books that I had on my shelf for years and I even liked them more than I expected to. I had a clear vision of the books I was looking forward to read and this might be why I read some of them even before I pulled their Chance Card out for Bookopoly. This might happen again with the new batch and I refuse to save or hold the titles just because I will pull their Chance Card eventually. When I pull a title I have already read I just draw the next one until I run out of Chance Cards.

Both piles have one title missing from the list.

The second batch of sixteen books I have chosen have a bit more pages total – 6501. The average book is around 350 long and the biggest difference is with the book with the most pages. The longest book in the second batch has 1258 pages and the shortest has 166. I realize that I might have to give myself more time to finish my Bookopoly reading in the future, since my schedule is more busy than it was last few years. Right now I am quite busy with reading for work and some of my books have taken the back seat until I ease into things I have on my plate right now. The amount of books in English language ratio and books in Croatian language remains the same and I still have a lot of variety in genres. Some of the books on my lists are older and not so well known but I always have some popular and bestseller titles I have yet to read.

What do you think about my lists and book choices? Have you read any and what did you think about them?

Leave a comment and let me know!

Reindeer Readathon 2020 – Reading experience and thoughts

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One of the most fun and engaging reading challenges I participated in 2020. was Reindeer Readathon in December. There were five teams and there were interesting ways to participate trough live reading videos and discussions. My team was called Candy Cane! For all those interested in more detail here is the link for the main announcement HERE. In the end my team finished in the golden middle out of all five teams and some prizes were dealt to the luckiest participants!

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Here are the books I read for this reading challenge and how I liked them:

DASHER – 15 PTS – A book with one word title

Pride (Shifters #3) by Rachel Vincent ★★★★★

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There were so many options for one word title books on my shelves I was surprised by so many different choices to choose from. I loved the excuse to continue reading this cute urban fantasy book series. The main character is very much young adult material but the rest of the content is more for the adult audience. I like the tone and the pace of the book and how the fantasy elements were set into the world described. This was one of the first books I read in December and made for a great start of the months.

DANCER – 10 PTS – A companion novel or a sequel (as in a dancing partner)

Prey (Shifters #4) by Rachel Vincent ★★★★★

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I could not resist the option to continue this book series right away. I have great appreciation for the flawed main character. So far, I am very pleased with how the plot progresses in a series as a whole. This book series is evolving into quite a guilty pleasure and a joy to read.

PRANCER – 15 PTS – A book with a map in it

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1) by Gregory Maguire ★★★

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This was one of the books I read last in the month. I did not find many options for a book with a map on my bookshelves that I have not read already or recently. I was mesmerized with all the green on the cover and pages. I was in a hurry and the pacing of the narrative was good enough. What I did not like were some rather crude descriptions that were contrasted with religious symbols. The book at times felt flat and not that enjoyable to read. With all that being said I am still curious about the musical version of it and how much of the book base material managed to fit into it?

VIXEN – 25/20 PTS – A book with a fox on the cover. (Alternatively, a strong female lead)

Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton ★★★★

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I had to push this book in my reading schedule regardless of the many other books I had already on my TBR for December. I could not find a book that fit the fox prompt on my bookshelves so I chose to go with strong female lead instead. This book is a part of my second reading trough the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book series. It is one of my favorite bookish haunts and favorite reading material. There are plenty of books to enjoy, lots of characters to love and hate and more than a few plot points to dwell on. This particular book seems to be the tipping point for many other readers and I did enjoy being reminded of how some characters were introduced and how they evolved in this book as well!

COMET – 30 PTS – A book you find intimidating

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu  ★★★

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I found this book intimidating because of its writing style and a rather long introduction I could not get much past the first time I tried reading this book. I have a strong appreciation for books written in times removed from this we live in and books that describe cultures different than those I am closely familiar with. I was shook by some parts of this book for the explicit content that was only hinted at. I had trouble with all those things that are generally morally dubious I kept reading about. I am not a squeamish reader but this book caught off guard. I really cant pint point the things that made me react this way without revealing and spoiling too much of the plot.

CUPID – 10 PTS – Read a genre that you love

Naked City by Ellen Datlow (Editor) ★★★★

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My favorite genre is urban fantasy and choosing a short story collection for this prompt was a pleasure! It is only after I started reading this book that I have realized that I have three books I choose to read for different challenge prompts that are 500+ pages long. Getting only 10 points for a book that is this long seemed a bit unfair but I chose no to dwell on it. In the end this book turned out to be one of the few book I made a review on last year. You can check it out HERE.

DONNER – 15 PTS – A book with something hidden inside (under the dust jacket, chapter heads, art etc.)

Saga (Collected Editions) #7-9 by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples ★★★★★

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Hidden content for this one were many interesting interviews and art pages after the story. This ended up being the best book I read in December. I was mind blown by the story plot twists and curves. The art of this graphic novel seemed much more clear and straight forward than ever before!

BLITZEN – 20 PTS – A book with some sort of struggle (internal struggle, war, battle etc)

The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo #3) by Rick Riordan ★★★★

Each book of this book series describes a battle and overcoming of the obstacles the main characters face. When I first started on this book series I struggled with the main narrator since I was used to reading point of views of many different characters that came before in the other book series connected with this one. This change of pace slowed me down quite a bit until I could get used to the new narrator.

RUDOLPH – 20 PTS – A book where the main character doesn’t seem to fit in (outsider, misfit)

The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo #4) by Rick Riordan ★★★★

In continuation of the previous book I decided to expand on the reading about a character that most definitely stands out – a fallen god Apollo punished into puny mortal form. I find most of Rick Riordan books informative and full of interesting historical and cultural references I never managed to pick up in school. The narrator started to seem much more endearing in this book and I enjoyed reading it! While I am divided on most covers between US and UK editions of these books I must admit that this UK edition cover looks cool in a very satisfying manner!

After reading all of the above nine books for the mentioned prompts I turned to the possibility of earning more points for my team Candy Cane. I had three books over 500 pages long to choose from and I decided to use Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1) by Gregory Maguire as my entrance for 15 extra points. I did not think I would manage to get the extra book for Sleighing it but in the end I did it!

Sleighing it! – 50 PTS – A redo of: RUDOLPH A book where the main character doesn’t seem to fit in (outsider, misfit)

The Color of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett ★★★

I choose to read this book for another reading challenge in December and when I started it I realized it could have been used for a RUDOLPH prompt. Since it was the last book I read in December and all other books I had for Reindeer Readathon have been finished I was very happy to add it for this last prompt worth 50 points! There are two main characters and both seemed to be out of place wherever they go. So this seemed very fitting indeed!

These are all the books I read for Reindeer Readathon 2020. Participating in the reading challenge was an interesting experience. I would have loved to be able to engage with other readers from my team but since most people that participated were not in my time zone I ended up watching recordings of live videos and exchanging messages in group chat on Instagram. I was happy with my team leader Amanda and how she handled things for our team. She was one of the most active team members during the reading challenge. You can give her some love on her YouTube channel HERE.

December Book Wrap Up 2020

Monthly reading review – December 2020

This December I have read:

Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle #1) by Diana Wynne Jones ★★★★

Pride (Shifters #3) by Rachel Vincent ★★★★★

Prey (Shifters #4) by Rachel Vincent ★★★★★

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1) by Gregory Maguire ★★★

Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton ★★★★

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu ★★★

Naked City by Ellen Datlow (Editor) ★★★★

Saga (Collected Editions) #7-9 by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples ★★★★★

The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo #3) by Rick Riordan ★★★★

The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo #4) by Rick Riordan ★★★★

The Tower of Nero (The Trials of Apollo #5) by Rick Riordan ★★★★★

The Color of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett ★★★

Taken by The Hunger (Blood Thirst Affair #1) by Harnet Spade ★

1. How many books have you read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

This December I made myself very busy by reading 13 books total! In order to get all my reading plans done I was off by a few books I ran out of time to read and even with all that I think I did better than I expected! I am pleased with all the books I have read in December and how many of them from my own shelves!

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in December? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

There were quite the few books I enjoyed this month and the one I liked best was Saga (Collected Editions) #7-9 by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples. There were some moments in this epic space graphic novel that shook me and as a whole I think it was the most memorable book I read this month. I kept being amazed at the artwork in the book and at times it just sang the song of the times we are currently in!

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

I had a lot of luck with the Kindle freebies and new stories and authors I tried out so far. This December after quite some time I ended up finding and reading a book that just felt bad and was the least enjoyable book this month: Taken by The Hunger (Blood Thirst Affair #1) by Harnet Spade. It takes a lot for me to rate a book with only one star and nothing about this one could crank it higher no matter how I looked at it. The narrative was chaotic and most of it was angst ridden and sex crazed female main character jumping from one male character to the next without actually having any real sex at all. From any point of view I tried to look at it this story failed to deliver.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

I was very aware that my reading plans by the end of the year left too many books for December. I ended up prioritizing for the two reading challenges and reading less books for the third one. I think I did good managing and finished two out of three reading challenges!

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

I did good on continuing some series and even finishing some! I finished with The Trials of Apollo book series by Rick Riordan and brought an end to more than a few book series from the Percy Jackson universe. I am happy about it and feel ready for the Disney+ TV series next year. I also read all the Saga volumes that are available to me and happily wait for new ones! Four of the books I have read this month were first in a series and from them I plan to continue only one: Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle #1) by Diana Wynne Jones. Shifters series by Rachel Vincent was amazing and I plan to finish the last two books of the series in the first few months of next year. I even managed to squeeze in one book of second reading of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book series!

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

There are some books I enjoy as a guilty pleasure and would not recommend them to everyone but I could not recommend Saga graphic novel series enough! The story is amazing and at times endearing and heart breaking. The artwork and design is thought provoking and cuts straight to the things we might overlook otherwise. It sometimes comes out as gritty and harsh on the eyes as well as the heart but it does so well showing what life can be and how we need to cherish it and smile while we still have teeth!

Final thoughts on December 2020 reading

I had a lot of books I set myself to read this December. Sadly I knew that my plans had very little chance to be fully realized. I am happy with the amount of books I managed to read in December. There were some books I choose to let go in favor of finishing some others. I managed to finish two reading challenges out of three and I will post details on those in a day or two. I was not very active in making post since I tried to use as much as possible time for reading. I had run trough some books and had to work for it to finish them. I did make one review this December for:

Naked City by Ellen Datlow (Editor) ★★★★

You can read it HERE.

After quite some time I have accumulated a good number of books I am in progress of reading:

Elminster: The Making of a Mage (Forgotten Realms: Elminster #1) by Ed Greenwood

Draconomicon: The Book of Dragons by Andy Collins, Skip Williams, James Wyatt

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

MOR – Plodovi osvete by Josip Kralik

I will have to slow down from adding new book challenges until I cull the books I am in progress of reading at the moment! I have plans for some other overviews for reading challenges I have done trough the year and finally making some updates to the parts of the site I have been neglecting. I hope my plans become reality soon!

Reindeer Readathon 2020

After realizing that being idle will not help me get close to achieving my personal reading goals by the end of the year I have decided to keep myself busy by participating in some fun and exciting reading challenges in December. Enter Reindeer Readathon 2020! I have found it by accident and I really loved the idea and the merry prompts. You can find the official announcement HERE. The main creator of this readathon is Erik from Breakeven Books and you can go and show some love for his YouTube channel HERE. Together with four other wonderful people he is hosting this readathon and leading the team Mistletoe. This is the second year of this readathon and this year there are five official teams. Team Snowflake leader is Hilary and you can check her channel HERE. Team Nutcracker leader is Donna and you can check her channel HERE. Team Stocking leader is Savy and you can check her channel HERE. And last, but not least, my designated team is Candy Cane and the leader of my team is Amanda and you can check her channel HERE.

There is a satisfying number of prompts and each have a certain number of points. Since this is a reading challenge with teams competing the goal is to read as many prompts to get the most points for your team.

Here are my book choices for the prompts:

DASHER – 15 PTS

A book with one word title

Pride (Shifters #3) by Rachel Vincent

DANCER – 10 PTS

A companion novel or a sequel (as in a dancing partner)

Prey (Shifters #4) by Rachel Vincent

PRANCER – 15 PTS

A book with a map in it

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1) by Gregory Maguire

VIXEN – 25/20 PTS

A book with a fox on the cover. (Alternatively, a strong female lead)

Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton

COMET – 30 PTS

A book you find intimidating

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

CUPID – 10 PTS

Read a genre that you love

Naked City by Ellen Datlow (Editor)

DONNER – 15 PTS

A book with something hidden inside (under the dust jacket, chapter heads, art etc.)

Saga (Collected Editions) #7-9 by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

BLITZEN – 20 PTS

A book with some sort of struggle (internal struggle, war, battle etc)

The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo #3) by Rick Riordan

RUDOLPH – 20 PTS

A book where the main character doesn’t seem to fit in (outsider, misfit)

The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo #4) by Rick Riordan

I like the possible bonus and the additional rules and I plan to use Christmas Star as Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1) by Gregory Maguire for those 15 PTS since it is over 500 pages long. I don’t think I will be able do get those 50 PTS for Sleighing it to read additional book for any prompt after being done with all of those above. But in case I make it I have few options left from my personal reading challenge list. Wish me and my team luck!

Go team Candy Cane!

Book haul 1/2020 – Pretty new books!

It’s barely February and I’ve already got myself a nice pile of new books. And these books are so pretty as well! The first book that arrived in 2020 was actually a late arrival from December 2019 – King of Scars (Nikolai Duology, #1) by Leigh Bardugo. I’ve already read it and loved it and it has caused me withdrawal pain from the long period of waiting on the next book that is Grisha related from Leigh Bardugo!

I used to buy mass market paperbacks only because they were cheaper and because I can fit more of them on the bookshelf. Even now I got a bookshelf that can fit exactly two rows of paperbacks on a single shelf and I love it!

Lately I’ve been indulging in buying some hardcover editions. I am simply swooned at how beautiful they are! I blame Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black! I was enamored into their books to wait on my usual mass market paperback editions! Holly Black’s Queen of Nothing had a six months (!) wait time for the paperback edition to come out!

I find Leigh Bardugo’s books especially beautiful! Just look at the Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) I got recently! If some other book series were as well designed I might have been forced to get more hardcovers!

There is a problem I’m facing as a lover of some older urban fantasy book series is becoming an issue here. Some of them are out of print – Shift (Shifters, #5) by Rachel Vincent is sold out at my usual book buying places. This has left me with buying books three and six in the series while they are still available. Also they are different format sizes which sucks for the shelf placement.

The last book that arrived just the other day was a pre-ordered mass market paperback of one of my favorite urban fantasy book series: Storm Cursed (Mercy Thompson, #11) by Patricia Briggs. The waiting time between the books for Mercy Thompson is almost a year for me now. The only thing that’s keeping me still when I see the new hardcover book in the series has come out; is a look at my shelf and all other books in mass market paperback editions I already own. I’m actually pleased at how nicely they fit there and the thought of getting just one new book in a different format leads to frustration of having them all in beautiful hardcover editions. The hobby of having some of my favorite urban fantasy book series complete in hardcover is not only really expensive but for some book series an extraordinary feat of good luck as well. As I’ve mentioned before, many of the books from the series are sold out and finding a hardcover edition in good shape is extra problematic for a book lover based in EU.

It is a long standing fantasy that one day I will own my favorite book series in hardcover editions so I can reread them anytime I want without having to be very careful not to crease the spine of the book. It is a bookish peeve I guess but I get upset when my paperback editions get hurt and the spine of the book suffers damage.

In conclusion to this one month book haul in my defense I can say that I’ve read more books in January than I’ve bought! I’ve read seven books and bought six. From the new books I got I already read two and plan to read others soon as well!

Here is the list of the books I got:

Storm Cursed (Mercy Thompson, #11) by Patricia Briggs

Pride (Shifters, #3) by Rachel Vincent

Alpha (Shifters, #6) by Rachel Vincent

Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) by Leigh Bardugo

King of Scars (Nikolai Duology, #1) by Leigh Bardugo

The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3) by Holly Black

 

November Book Wrap Up 2019

This November was quite eventful for me. In a month and a half I visited several European countries and capitals. End of October is reserved for a trip to Essen Spiel board game fair in north Germany. After that there was the Interliber book fair in Zagreb which I also attended. I made one other trip to Zagreb to pass my professional state exam that lasted for two days. The circumstances were not exactly perfect since there is an ongoing strike by the teachers and educators in the country that lasts for over a month now. I like to joke that the education system of the whole country had to collapse for me to pass my exam.. I also went on a one day trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital city of Sarajevo. My month was filled with travel and studying and lots of little panic attacks as well. To top it all off I enrolled on a course for a 3D designer the day after I passed my professional exam. First day I got home with an armful of seven new studying manuals that made my arms hurt just from carrying them.  All this being said, we can now move onto my usual Monthly reading review 🙂

Monthly reading review – November 2019

This November I have read:

Rogue (Shifters #2) by Rachel Vincent ★★★★★

1. How many books you’ve read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

I read one book and a bunch of stuff I had to study to pass my professional state exam. My book club even excused me from reading obligations for the month! While I’m happy with passing my exam I hope I will get to read more books in December!

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in November? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

While I’ve rad only one book it has left a very good impression on me. I like how the main character has a will ad courage to fight for herself and choices she thinks a right for her.

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

The big pause I had to put on my reading in November was kinda hard on me. I had trouble concentrating and would usually bring a book with me everywhere I went. The book would mostly stay unread and worked as a safety object at my side.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

I specifically made plans on the books I will be reading by the end of the year. You can check out my reading plan HERE It will be hard to compensate for a whole lost month of reading but I’m starting on it already!

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

I’ve read a second book in a series and have a third one on standby. There are few other book series I can’t wait to get to as well!

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

November recommendation is for taking the time and setting one’s own pace at reading no matter what else is happening in your life!

October Book Wrap Up 2019

Monthly reading review – October 2019

This October I have read:

Buick Rivera by Miljenko Jergović ★

The Royal Companion (The Companion, #1) by Tanya Bird ★★★

The Emerald Talisman (Talisman #1)  by Brenda Pandos ★★★

Black Butler Vol. 1 (Black Butler, #1) by Yana Toboso ★★★★

Stray (Shifters #1) by Rachel Vincent  ★★★★

Suddenly by Candace Camp ★★★

Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★★★

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Graphic Novels #1)
by Rick Riordan, Robert Venditti ★★★

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Graphic Novels #2)
by Robert Venditti, Rick Riordan ★★★★

1. How many books you’ve read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

Due to the trip I recently made I lost a whole week of reading time so I’m a little grumpy to have gone back to single digits by reading 9 books in October.

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in October? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

I’m very much into the Grishaverse with Shadow and Bone book by Leigh Bardugo. I’m slowly savoring the characters and the story. I’m hoping to have enough time to rad the whole trilogy soon!

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

The only book I was really not happy about this October was a book club assignment – Buick Rivera by Miljenko Jergović. The plot was completely lost on me and the characters did not help. The book actually started really good but somewhere along the way all sense of the plot was gone.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

I made a list of fifteen books I wish to read by the end of the year and so far I’ve rad three books and started on another two from the list which is cool. You can check out my list HERE. Also I made progress with my TBR Jar Draw reading challenge by reading two picks in one month! You can check both in my posts HERE and HERE.

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

This October I’ve actually started a few new book series! From all the first books of the series I’ve started I will be continuing almost all of them. The two exceptions are Kindle editions that I am not ready to invest in to buy the sequels so I can read them further: The Royal Companion (The Companion, #1) by Tanya Bird and The Emerald Talisman (Talisman #1)  by Brenda Pandos. I guess I was not that impressed with them to really want to spend money to continue reading them.

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

Aside from being lost in Grishaverse trilogy I am quite enjoying going back to Rick Riordan’s world of half bloods and Percy Jackson series by reading the graphic novel editions. At first I was not that thrilled with the artwork but the story is still amazing. Sadly I have only first three graphic novels and I don’t know when will I get the other two

Book Reviews in October:

Suddenly by Candace Camp ★★★ – CLICK HERE FOR MY REVIEW

Stray (Shifters #1) by Rachel Vincent  ★★★★ – CLICK HERE FOR MY REVIEW

Currently reading:

Rogue (Shifters #2) by Rachel Vincent

The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Graphic Novels #3) by Robert Venditti, Rick Riordan