Sequel-a-thon.

Hi booklovers

Even though I'm not a readathon person, I found one I wanted to take part in because it sounds like a low-pressure one: the sequel-a-thon.

This readathon is hosted by Leighanne from Leighanne's Lit (amongst others, but I saw her announcement). You can check out her announcement video here.

This readathon takes place from the 21st 'till the 31st of March.

There are only three prompts, so it's doable :-)

Here's my TBR:

1) Read the sequel you've been putting of the longest: Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell. I read the first one 'Traitor's Blade' back in August and I still haven't read the second one.

2) Continue with a series that you started last year: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi or Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb.

3) Finish a series: Again: either Ship of Destiny or Ignite Me. I know this isn't technically the end of a series, but since this was originally going to be a trilogy I'm counting it as the last book.

There is a bonus prompt, which is to give your TBR a fun name. So, I decided to go with: 'I really want to get these off my TBR so I can start a new series'-TBR.

To be honest, I'm probably only going to concentrate on prompts 2 and 3 and read Ignite Me (you can use the same book for different prompts, yay!). I'm not a fast reader if I can't alternate between reading the physical book and listening to the audiobook, so it might take me a bit longer to finish Ignite Me. I would be happy to just finish this one book, because I might read 'Restore Me' for the OWLs readathon. (I know, I know, I just said that I consider Ignite Me to be the conclusion, but let's just roll with it, shall we?!)

Hopefully I can finish my current read 'Dreams of Gods and Monsters' before Thursday so I can start the readathon then.

Do you marathon books in a series or do you just read one and then take ages to pick up the next book in the series?

Let me know in the comments!

Bye for now

Annelies

Anticipated releases Jan. - March 2019.

Hi booklovers

Even though I'm going to be focusing on reading my backlist books this year, there are still some new releases I'm really looking forward to.

Let's take a look at the first three months of the year.



January

*8th: In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

I actually pre-ordered the audiobook.

*17th: Tangled Like Us - Krista and Becca Ritchie

These kinds of covers aren't my favourite ones, that's why I only read NA on my e-reader :-)

*29th: King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

I can't wait to be back in the Grisha Universe.

February
*5th: Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers

I really loved the His Fair Assassin trilogy and I'm very excited for this spin-off duology. And look at that stunning cover.

*18th: The Risk by Elle Kennedy

March
*5th: Wild Country by Anne Bishop

I didn't enjoy the first book in the spin-off series of The Others as much as I did the original series, but I still enjoyed it enough to want to continue with it.

*5th: Shadow Me by Tahereh Mafi

Even though I still need to read Restore Me (I'm rereading the first three books) I'm very curious about this novella from Kenji's POV. (I just hope it's not a disappointment like ACOFAS was.)


*Peace and Turmoil by Elliot Brooks

I received an e-arc from the author in exchange for an honest review and I'm very much looking forward to reading this. You can check out her channel here.

Are any of these books on your anticipated releases lists as well or are there other books you are excited about? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies





Favourite books of 2018.

Hi booklovers

It's the second day of the new year, so let's talk about the best books I've read in 2018.

But first, some statistics:

I'm not going to put these in any specific order, I'm just going to list them. I've divided them according to genre.

Favourite fantasy books

*The Well of Ascension - The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

*Strange the Dreamer - Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
 

*Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
 

*The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
 

*Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell

*Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

*Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Favourite dystopian and sci-fi

*Scythe - Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

*Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

*Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

*Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Favourite New Adult contemporary

*Off-Campus series and The Chase (Briar U #1) by Elle Kennedy

*The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen
 

*Damaged Like Us by Krista & Becca Ritchie

I had a great reading year: I wanted to read 60 books and managed to read 64. This year, I'm lowering my goal to 30 books, so I don't feel pressured to read. I'm probably going to read more, but I mainly want to focus on those bigger fantasy books on my TBR, so those will take me longer to get through.

How was your reading year?

Bye for now

Annelies

Beat the Backlist - reading challenge.

Hi booklovers

I've been trying for a couple of years now to lower my TBR and I may have found the perfect challenge to help me with that: the Beat the Backlist Challenge. This challenge is created and hosted by Novelknight.

The aim of this challenge is to read books that were published before 2019. You can find the blogpost about this challenge here. 

The #OfWonderland bookclub on Goodreads is partnering with this challenge and the aim is to read 100 backlist books in total. 

I still have 160+ books on my TBR, so technically, all of these could count for this challenge. Alas, I'm not able to read 160 books in one year, so I'm going to make a selection of books that are 'highest' on my TBR. Fingers crossed that putting these books on this list doesn't have its usual effect on me: loosing interest in the books.

Without further ado, here's my very tentative list I want to choose from (I know from experience that if I pledge to read 15 backlist books and only put 15 on the list, I'm going to fail. So 'giving myself options' is the way to go for me!):

*The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie

*The Hazelwood - Melissa Albert

*The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

*Three Dark Crowns - Kendare Blake

*The Painted Man - Peter V. Brett

*The Furies of Calderon - Jim Butcher

*The Red Knight - Miles Cameron

*Priestess of the White - Trudi Canavan

*Spellwright - Blake Charlton

*The Last Namsara - Kristen Ciccarelli

*Spellslinger - Sebastien de Castell

*Knight's Shadow - Sebastien de Castell

*Even the Darkest Star - Heather Fawcett

*Malice - John Gwynne

*The Mad Ship - Robin Hobb

*King of Thorns - Mark Lawrence

*Clariel - Garth Nix

*The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett

*The Alloy of Law - Brandon Sanderson

*Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson

*The Way of Kings (pt 1) - Brandon Sanderson

*The Crown Tower - Michael J. Sullivan

*The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks

Putting together this list has made me realise that some of these books have been on my TBR for several years now. I think it's high time I read them!

Any suggestions about which of these I should read sooner rather than later?

Will you be taking part in the challenge? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Tome Topple Readathon - round 7.

Hi booklovers

I know I keep saying that readathons aren't for me, but after taking part in the TBR-readathon earlier this year I discovered the ideal way for me personally to compile a readathon TBR.

Normally, when I put a book on a TBR I lose interest in it, but I find that when I give myself options, it works out better for me.

I know this is last-minute, but I was planning on reading some big books after the anti-bullying readathon ends, so I might as well take part in the 'Tome Topple' readathon (November 16 - November 29). This readathon is hosted by Sam from thoughtsontomes.

The idea is that you read books that are over 500 pages, i.e. a tome. 

There are 5 challenges, but I won't do them all.

1) Read more than one tome.

2) Read a graphic novel that is over 500 pages (can be a bind-up).

3) Read a tome that is part of a series.

4) Buddy-read a tome.

5) Read an adult novel.

The books I will be choosing from are:

*Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

*Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

*The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

*The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett

*The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

*The Red Knight by Miles Cameron

*The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

*Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell

*King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (if the copy I'm getting has 500+ pages)

Except for the first two, all these books are part of a series and all books are adult novels. So that is two challenges covered.

I'm almost 100% sure that I'll pick up Elantris first. Seeing as I will be alternating between the physical book and the audiobook I'm hoping to read two books. And giving myself options leaves more room for success. 

Are you taking part in this readathon? Any suggestions on which book I should definitely try to read?

Bye for now

Annelies

 

Anti-Bullying Readathon 2018.

Hi booklovers

On Monday the annual #antibullyingreadathon starts and I'll be participating. If I'm not mistaken it's the fifth year in a row that I'm participating.

You can find all the information on the FB page for the readathon. 

As a high school teacher I know how important it is to raise awareness about bullying.

Since I don't do strict TBR's anymore, I'm going to give myself some options.

These are the ones I'm going to choose from:

Try not to breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard

Sell Out by Tammy L. Gray

Bully by Penelope Douglas

Asking for it by Louise O'Neill

Stealing Liberty by Jennifer Froelich

Augie & Me by R.J. Palacio

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Are you participating in this readathon? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Book hauls revisited - July 2016 - 2017.

Hi booklovers

It's been a while since I did a post like this, but today I'm taking a look at my book hauls from July 2016 and 2017.

July 2016

*Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

*The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

*The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

 *The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

*Everneath - Everbound by Brodi Ashton

*The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

*The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

*A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

 

July 2017

*Goldenhand by Garth Nix

*Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

*The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

*The Witch's Kiss by Katharine & Elizabeth Corr

*The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles

*Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

*Frostblood by Elly Blake

*Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

From the books I bought in 2016 I've read all except Everneath, Everbound and The Name of the Wind.

Unfortunately, I haven't read any of the books I bought in 2017 *hangs head in shame*

Have you read any of these? Are there any I should move more to the top of my TBR?

Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies