March wrap-up & April TBR

For once, I felt like posting a quick update on what I read/am reading and on what I plan on reading for the month to come.

I'm not a TBR kind of person: I never stick to them, and I feel like they don't help me at all, they rather tend to make me nervous. I'm more of a mood reader.

However, for the month of April, I have a few books that I really want to get to.

But first of all, here is a (very quick) summary of what I read in March:

• The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson (4/5)
• Great Expectations, Charles Dickens (3/5)
• Trois Enfants du Siècle, Cyril Massarotto (4/5)
• Half A King, Joe Abercrombie (3/5)

As you can see, I read a very small number of books, and none of them really blew me away. I was really disappointed with Half A King, which I really expected to love. I still think I will read the next book some day, but I really thought it would be better than that.

I am planning on posting more reviews, but they take quite a long time to write and, most of the time, I cannot seem to find the words to describe what I thought about a book. If I end up posting reviews about any of these books, I'll update this article with the links to said reviews :) 

Now, let's talk about April, shall we?

The main reason why I have books planned for the month of April is because there are a few things happening.

First of all, I'm "hosting" a Narnia Readalong. More details will be coming very soon, but for now, just know that I really want to read the whole series in the weeks/months to come and that, apparently, a few people are interested in joining me :) If you are, too, feel free to take a look at the Goodreads topic. 

Then, a French blogger & YouTuber (Justine of Fairy Neverland) is hosting a month-long event that she called April & the Apocalypse - #Aprocalypse for short. Basically, all you have to do is read books related to the apocalypse, whether they take place before, during or after the end of the world. It can be linked to a virus, zombies, aliens, a nuclear catastrophe... Basically anything that would lead the world to end (or seriously change). I thought it was a fantastic idea so I decided to join her on this journey. 

I have quite a few books, but I know I won't have time to read them all, so I think I'll just choose a few between all of them - all the more so as I have other books to read quickly, either because of uni or because I really want to finish them.

So here is the list of books for Aprocalypse that I will pick some from:

• The Passage, Justin Cronin
• Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel
• World War Z, Max Brooks
• Monsters of Men, Patrick Ness
• The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham

I also have to finish Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe really quickly because I have an oral presentation on it coming very soon and I want to finish Juste une Ombre by Karine Giébel because I've started it (I'm actually more than halfway through) and it's fantastic.

Finally, I want to read The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro because one of my absolute favourite teachers will be hosting a conference at my uni in 2 weeks WITH KAZUO ISHIGURO ! I've heard the most fantastic things about this author and though I haven't read any of his novels yet, I have read quite a few interviews/articles about him and he seems fascinating. 

Here's to an ambitious yet promising reading month ;) 

What are you reading next month? 

Top 5 Wednesday - Favourite Jokester Characters

(If you still don't know what Top 5 Wednesday is, check the Goodreads group out !)

Hi guys ! Here we go again with another Top 5 Wednesday !

This week's theme is favourite jokester characters, and here is my list.

Number 5 is Grover from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series ! Whenever Percy is freaking out about something, usually for nothing, I think that Grover is kind of a comic relief. He is the one who comes up with the craziest ideas which end up saving all of them, and I like the way he makes fun of himself (which, I'll give you that, is easy when you have goat legs and hooves). 

Number 4 on my list will probably be Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I don't know if he can be considered as a jokester as such, but the situation he is in is so crazy and unbelievable in itself that Arthur plays the perfect part of the naive yet distrustful (yes, both at the same time) character. I just love him. 

Number 3 is Ryan Dean from Winger. He is the typical funny, self-conscious, clumsy, awkward teenager, but it just works so well ! The jokes he plays on Chas are wonderful: a bit immature, really, but that's the whole point. 

Number 2 is Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing. Here is a little point about me: I love every Shakespearian character. I think they are all so complex and unique, and they always fit perfectly well in whatever situation they are in. Benedick is wonderful (and can we talk about Kenneth Branagh please?). While Beatrice is a strong feminine character, I think she tends to be a little too serious and self-confident, when Benedick never fails to surprise both the other characters and the audience. And: Keneth Branagh. That in itself could explain why I love him so much. 

For number 1, you'll probably think I cheated, but I swear I didn't. I chose Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. I know he isn't a jokester as such, he doesn't play tricks on anyone, but I believe the way he sees the world & adresses people is enough for me to consider him the biggest jokester there is. He acts so weird, and yet everything makes sense; he sees the world both as the hugest joke ever and as a very serious matter. And all this phony thing... Yeah, Holden is the best. 

I voluntarily left out the Weasley Twins because I felt like they were a bit too easy. Of course they're funny, of course their jokes are wonderful, but I didn't feel like including them in here. 

Top 5 Wednesday - Worst Series Enders

After realizing my mistake (see previous article), I decided that I would post another Top 5 Wednesday, this time on the right theme haha. 

So, here are the 2 worst last books in series according to me; not 5, because to be honest I haven't finished a whole lot of series in my life, and some of them were actually pretty good.

To me, both of these are equally as bad, so I can't choose one over the other.

Are you ready?

I'm pretty sure nobody will be surprised, 90% of the people who have posted something about this topic probably have at least one of these on their lists.

Breaking Dawn & Allegiant 

Here you go. Of the few series I have completed, these two endings were the absolute worst. Breaking Dawn was, in my eyes, totally ridiculous & inappropriate in many ways, and Allegiant was not that bad of a book as such, but it was really too rushed and, most of the time, I felt that what happened was unmotivated. And the ending... I have no problem with you-know-what-happening-to-you-know-who as such once again, I just felt that the way it was done & written was laughable (when, in fact, it could have been taken more seriously had it been written in a different way).

To sum up, to me, both of these books were total letdowns. 

I could have added Mockingjay but NO LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT MOCKINGJAY OK IT HURTS TOO MUCH

__

See you soon, hopefully, with something else than a Top 5 Wednseday haha. Working on more diversified content at the moment, it should be made into a real thing soon(ish). 

Top 5 Wednesday - Bookish habits

EDIT: JUST REALIZED I WAS ONE WEEK LATE. WHAT. Sorry. 

Hi everyone ! We finally meet again, for yet another Top 5 Wednesday. I didn’t post any last week, not because I lacked time, but because I lacked inspiration. Last week’s theme was “books that made you think” and I possibly couldn’t make a list. I mean, books that made me think, really? Every single book I have ever read in my entire life has made me think. Even if they were bad, inconsistent books, they still made me think, either about the general topic they dealt with or about the way it was written – and writing in general.

Anyway, let’s get into today’s theme: bookish habits.

This is a really interesting topic.

I need to have my books organized on my shelves. Even if it doesn’t look beautiful, as long as it’s organized by author, size, and order within a series, it’s fine, I feel safe.

I always have between 2 and 5 books on my bedside table, even if I gave up on some of them – it’s just comforting, you know what I mean?

I am perfectly OK with writing on the pages, bending and breaking the spines of the books I read for school, or my classics in general, but I hate it when my other books have the slightest stain on them. The fact is: I love classics! And I usually love the books I’m required to read for school as well. So there is no visible logic…

I constantly check the number of pages left in the book/chapter, as well as the page I’m on. Whether the book is really good or horribly bad, it doesn’t matter: I do it anyway. Please tell me I’m not the only one…

 I cannot leave home without a book in my bag. Or two. Even if I know for sure that I won’t have time to read while I’m out. This one is a perfectly normal one, right?

I honestly thought that I had weirder bookish habits than those but apparently, I don’t. YAY for not-so-weird people!

How weird of a reader are you?

Top 5 Wednesday - Books you'd save in a fire

Another top 5 Wednesday?
Yep, and this one is posted... On a Wednesday !

This week's theme is books you'd save in a fire. And I think it is honestly the hardest question I've ever been asked, but I'll try to answer it anyway.

The Complete works of Shakespeare

Yeaaah, I know, that's cheating. But it's still one book, so it counts, right? Just because I'm not sure I could find it again as cheap as I bought it.









The complete tales & poems of Edgar Poe

This one I'd save because I found it in a wonderful bookstore in Berlin when I was not expecting to find it at all and it means a lot.






Un homme accidentel, by Philippe Besson

This book I'd save because:
- it's the first book by this author that I've ever read and he then became one of my favourite
- it is signed
- it was signed on the day I first met him, which was also the day when I met an author for the first time ever







My French copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I will always remember the day I bought it, and how I spent every minute I had that day in & between classes reading as much of it as I could.






That's only 4, because I think they are the 4 more meaningful, otherwise I'd have to save all of my books :)
Let's just hope that it never happens !

Top 5 Wednesday - Best character development

Here is last week's Top 5 Wednesday. Once again, I didn't manage to post it in time, but I figured I'd still do it :)

The theme was best character arcs/development, and here are the names I could think of.

5 & 4? Todd Hewitt & Viola Eade (Chaos Walking)

Yeah, I know, it may look like I'm cheating, but I couldn't make a difference between them. I haven't read the last book yet, so my opinion may change when I have, but I really like how, in the course of the first two books, Todd & Viola grew up, became more reasonable and self-conscious. They both make mistakes, but they are aware of it and try to fix them when they can. 

3. Paige Mahoney (The Bone Season)

Once again, I haven't read The Mime Order yet (I just can't imagine having to wait for another 2 years before reading the next book so I try to keep it unread for a while haha), but even through The Bone Season, I could see how Paige evolved. She became more confident about her choices and actions and stopped being paranoid and a bit too self-centred. I like the path she took and therefore cannot wait to meet with her again !

2. Aristotle (Aristotle and Dante discover the Secrets of the Universe)

I don't really know what to say about Ari, except that I love him. I just feel extremely proud of him - does that make sense? 

1. Ron Weasley (Harry Potter)

Ronald... He is probably the best example of a good character development that could ever be. From the first book, I could feel that he had a lot of potential. Why did I chose him over Harry or Hermione? Because I think that he is the one that evolved the most. To be honest, I'm not the hugest fan of Harry, I think he is a perfect character, and I've never really perfect characters. As for Hermione, although she may be one of my favourite characters of all time, I think she was quite the same in the first books as in the last one, although she has grown and gone through a lot. Ron, to me, is the one that really stands out: at first, everything he did, he did it without really meaning it, almost by accident; but then, as he grew up, I could feel that he meant the changes he went through, he really tried his best to become who he finally became. 

Bit of a journey for little gingerhead, right? 

Top 5 Wednesday - Friend groups you want to be a part of

I didn't have time to write this article last week, so I thought I would still do it, even if it comes a week late.
Last week's theme for Top 5 Wednesday was top 5 friend groups you'd like to be a part of.

Here is my list:

5. Fred & George Weasley & Lee Jordan (Harry Potter)

I think they would be very funny to hang out with, but maybe a bit dangerous, that's why they are only 5th on the list.

4. Percy, Annabeth & Grover (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

They live fantastic things and, come on: they are the children of Greek Gods. Seriously. Need I say more?

3. Harry, Ron & Hermione (Harry Potter)

Who would NOT like to hang with them for a bit? They form a fantastic group, live great things... But in the long run, I think it would be too much for me to handle: too many deaths.

2. Seth, Regine & Tomasz (More Than This)

(Insert your own ideas of Seth, Regine & Tomasz here)

Despite the circumstances of their encounter, Seth & Regine are, to me, the most powerful friends I've ever met (or read about, rather). Regine tells Seth things that I would like my friends to tell me if I were in the same situation and, fore that reason, I think she is worth knowing and becoming friends with.

1. Charlie, Sam & Patrick (Perks of being a Wallflower)

Even if they live less "fantastic" things than the other groups on my list, I think they are the best friends I would love to have. They are simple, honest, loyal, and it's all I'm looking for in friends.

Who are the fictional characters that you would like to become friends with? :)