Make Me Read It Readathon

I am so sorry for not posting anything in months, I was super busy with school stuff.
But I'm back! Hello!
I wanted to tell you guys about this readathon called the Make Me Read It Readathon hosted by Ely @ Tea and Titles and Val @ The Innocent Smiley.
The rules are as followed:

"Look at the books you own, either physical, e-book or ones you’ve borrowed from the library and pick out a few you really want to read, or feel like you should read. It’s up to you how many you pick, personally I’d pick a few more than you expect to be able to read in a week. Example: if you think you’ll only read two, pick out five books or if you think you can read seven, pick out ten.

Make a list of these books on your blog, or make a video, or a Goodreads shelf or post a picture on Instagram—whatever is easiest for you. Then get friends, other bloggers/booktubers etc. to vote on which books you HAVE to read.

When the read-a-thon comes along, you read the books in the order of most votes. For example, if one book gets 10 votes—you read that first, then the one that got 7 and so on. If there’s a tie, then it’s your preference. The goal is to read as many as possible."

The readathon lasts from the 9th to 16th of July. 

I'm going to be trying to do this readathon, but it is also during Camp NaNoWriMo so I'm unsure if I'll be able to read as many books as I would like to. I put a poll on Goodreads and right now The Raven King is winning. 

So if you guys are going to participate I would love it if you would comment a link to your polls so that I could vote on them. :) 

Until next time, 

Allison Snowden

Top 10 books I read in 2015

*Please remember that this is my opinion and this is a top 10 of books I read last year and that does not mean that these books came out last year.*

Count down of my top 10

10. The Beginning of Never

9. Looking for Alaska

8. Across the Universe

7. The Book of Speculation  My Review

6. The Serpent's Shadow

5. Anna and the French Kiss

4. Red Queen

3. A Game of Thrones

2. The Night Circus

1. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, The Sword of Summer 

There's my Top 10 of 2015

I actually only read 50 something books so there wasn't that much to choose from but I loved all of these books for different reasons, but Magnus Chase won my heart overall because of how funny, beautiful written and action packed it was. 

What were your top 10?

Are there any books on this list you'd want me to write a review for?

Thanks for reading, 

Allison :D 

2016 BOOK GOALS

I have a few book reading goals in mind for 2016 so I thought I should share them.
For my Goodreads year goal I want to read 65 books this year. I include manga in this so it shouldn't take too long to get to my goal.

My second book reading goal is to complete the new Book Riot Read Harder challenge.
There's 24 book prompts, and they are all very different from the books that I normally read.
Here's the list for this year ↓

• Read a horror book
• Read a nonfiction book about science
• Read a collection of essays
• Read a book out loud to somebody else
• Read a middle grade novel
• Read a biography (not a memoir or autobiography)
• Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel
• Read a book originally published in the year you were born
• Listen to an audiobook that has won an Audie award.
• Read a book over 500 pages
• Read a book under 100 pages
• Read a book by or about someone who identifies with being transgender
• Read a book that is set in the Middle East
• Read a book that is by someone from Southeast Asia
• Read a book of historical fiction that is set before 1900 
• Read the first book of a series by a person of color
• Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years
• Read a book that was adapted into a movie. Then watch the movie. –Debate which is better
• Read a nonfiction book about feminism or with feminist themes
• Read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction) 
• Read a book about politics in your country or another (fiction or nonfiction)
• Read a food memoir
• Read a play
• Read a book with a main character that has a mental illness 

Here's a link to the official check list> http://bookriot.com/2015/12/15/2016-book-riot-read-harder-challenge/

So yeah this is going to be a very hard challenge for me, if you have any recommendations for books that I can use for this list tell me in the comments. :D

My last book goal for this year is to read more poetry, because it's something I love but I barely read any poetry last year. 

What are your book goals? Do you have any goals that are not book goals? (I want to drink more water this year but coffee/tea is always calling my name) Tell me in the comments what your goals are for this year. 

Bye, 

Allison :) 

NaNoWriMo 2015 Experience

NaNoWriMo had ended and I have fallen into despair. I miss the rush of trying to get to 50,000 words in a month, but I did it! I won NaNoWriMo!!! This year was the first year I did NaNoWriMo and I hope to do it in future years. :D

I'm so proud of this accomplishment. 

Here's a snip of the first day:

The whole month my life consisted of two things,

By the 9th day I had hit a slump the excitement of NaNoWriMo had slowed down and I couldn't write much everyday. I was a pantser, I had no outline, no idea what to write next and I wasn't feeling my story anymore. 

But I told myself that enough was enough. I wrote a horrible outline (see a part of it below) but it actually ended up helping me move on with my story,  see the big picture of how I wanted the story to go. There was still some things I ended up writing about that wasn't in my outline like a death of a major character, but I just went with it and kept writing. 

By the last day I still had more than three thousand more words to write but I did it, I sat down and poured out thousands of words and won. It's one of the greatest feelings in the world.

So tell me your thoughts on NaNoWriMo~

Bye!

Allison~

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern~ (Book review)

Magic, Power, Love.

That is what The Night Circus is all about.

Let me just tell you that this story is not an easy read. There is 10+ points of views from different characters, including chapters where it's your point of view in the circus. This book is full of descriptions, A LOT of them.

So if you like beautiful descriptions then this book is for you.

To be honest this is one of the most fantastic descriptive books I have ever had the pleasure in reading. The way the words flow is breathtaking, and so perfect.

The story itself is about Celia and Marco who are two young magicians chosen to battle each other in a competition of magic. I italicized battle because they don't exactly battle in the normal sense. They both create magical tents in The Night Circus and try to out do each other.

''More than a carnival,'' Chandresh says.

''More than a circus, really, like no circus anyone has ever seen. Not a single large tent but a multitude of tents, each with a particular exhibition.

 No elephants or clowns. No, something more refined than that. Nothing commonplace.

This will be different, this will be an utterly unique experience, a feast for the senses."

The story is pretty complex since there's so much time skipping and multiple perspectives, it can get confusing to read at times. This isn't a book you could read really quickly and understand everything that happens, that being said it is worth reading because of how complex and of how enchanting the world in this book is.

I would tell you more about the plot but I don't want to spoil anything for you.

Story: 4.7/5

Writing: 5/5

Characters: 4.5/5

Overall: 5/5

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Thanks for reading,

Allison

~Liebster Award~

I was nominated by Erika from her "Books, Stars, Writing And Everything in Between" blog and Emily from "Don't Judge, Read" for "The Liebster award". Thank you, Erika and Emily for making me one of your nominees

Now you're probably wondering what is the Liebster award?

Well it's an award for blogs that aren't well known to become more known in the book community.

Rules:

Link back to the person that nominated you.

Give 11 random facts about yourself.

Answer 11 questions from your nominator.

Nominate 11 new and obscure bloggers.

Come up with 11 questions for them to answer.

Inform your nominees.

My Questions (from Erika)

1. What book is physically the nearest to you right now? Paper Towns by John Green

2. Would you rather get free books for a year, or a free empty library, to be stocked with your own books, to your liking? free empty library!

3. First book you remember reading and loving during childhood? May Bird and The Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson.

4. Reading outside or inside? Both, mostly inside though.

5. Do you set deadlines for when you want to finish a book? For certain books yes if an author wants me to read it and write a review for it yes but most of the time I don't. 

6. Last social event you attended? A party at a teen center I go to.

7. Favorite reading snack, if any? Cheez-its!!!

8. Have any pets/want any pets? I want a cat or two. :3

9. Hardcover, softcover, or ebook? All of the above. But in order: Softcover, Hardcover, Ebook. 

10. Of the four elements (water, earth, fire, air), which one is your favorite? Both Fire and Water. I can never choose between the two. 

11. What's a book you think everyone should read at least once in their life? A Separate Peace by John Knowles. 

My Questions (from Emily)

1. Why did you start blogging? I wanted to express my passion for reading and anime so I decided to make a blog. 

2. Who or What inspired you to start reading? My Aunt Kathy who would always buy me books, and even got me into the Harry Potter series. 

3. Do you have a special talent? I can sing really well, I even go to an arts school for vocal music. 

4. Who's was your childhood hero? Jean Grey from the X-Men, or Demi Lovato. (Don't judge haha)

5. What books have you re-read? The Harry Potter series, May Bird series, Perks of being a Wallflower and loads more. 

6. Do you get excited when one of your friends starts reading your favourite book or series? Do you have to hold yourself back from revealing spoilers? Yes I love when people read my favourite books or series and yep I always have to hold myself back from revealing spoilers especially when my little sister reads some of my childhood favourites. 

7. What's your favourite all time comfort food? Ice Cream <3 

8. Do you like to eat or drink (wine, tea, coffee) when reading? Yes, mostly Tea, Coffee, Cheez-its and pretzels

9. Are you a raining day reader? Yep, I love sitting by the window while reading a book and dramatically looking outside when something sad happens in the book. Though I do read when it sunny out too. 

10. Do you use your favourite books quote is real life? Yes, I will forever quote books. 

11. Have you ever given up reading a book because your favourite character died? No I like to stick it out through the end of a book even if my heart is crushed into a million pieces. 

My Questions for the people I've tagged
1. If you have a favorite book what is it?
2. Favorite childhood book?
3. Do you dog-ear books? 
4. Favorite reading snack?
5. How many books do you own?
6. Do you have a favorite author?
7. Is there any author you can't stand? 
8. What book are you reading right now?
9. Do you like using audio-books?
10. Is there any books you could/would not finish? 
11. What's your least favorite genre? 

Tagged blogs:

Paranormal Books
Literary-ly Obsessed
Karleigh Reads  

The Travelogue of a Book Addict 

(I couldn't find any new and obscure blogs because I've only been blogging for like 2 months. So I just did the blogs I follow that didn't tag me.) 

(If you done the tag already just ignore me.) 

Bye,
Allison~ :3 

May Book Haul

Won in Goodreads Giveaways:
Uriel by Angie Anomalous
Reset by William R. Jones

Bought:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Willful Impropriety by a bunch of writers that you can see if you click the link
Strindberg's Star by Jan Wallentin
Death's Apprentice by K.W Jeter and Gareth Jefferson Jones
Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel (link takes you to the first book in the series)
The Shattering by Karen Healey
The Girl in the Blue Beret by Bobbie Ann Mason
I'm Not Gonna Lie: and Other Lies You Tell When You Turn 50 by George Lopez (this should be an interesting read)




I wasn't able to take pictures of them, and that's why this is so late, because I was trying to find time to take the photos but when I did have time, the tablet I needed to use was no where to be found. Sorry though. Tell me your thoughts on any of these books.

Bye,
Allison :3

✺~Another Sunset~✺ (Book review)

This was the second book I received in a Goodreads giveaway last month.
Another Sunset is written by Jason Zandri.

Okay I honestly don't know where to start with this review because it broke my heart and made me mad, sad, angry, frustrated and happy at the same time. Not a lot of books affect me like that. The reason that this book affected me so much can be summed up in about two words "David" and "Sunsets".

For anyone who hasn't read the book, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about.The book is about this amazing guy named David who hops around from town to town and helps people in extraordinary ways, like helping them get money for school, raising money for a small towns' library, and even helps people mentally in many ways. He changes peoples lives because he puts everyone else first. To the point where I think that's his greatest strength and biggest flaw.

The story starts when David comes into town and meets Maria and her daughter Caroline. He befriends them with his very helpful and kind ways and finds out that Caroline - a very ambitious little girl- wants to get internet in the library in her town to help the students and the rest of the town do things they couldn't do easily without it. He decides to help Caroline complete what she's set out to do and help Maria and the rest of the towns people while he's at it.
The book was kind of slow for me at first but once I started to know more about the characters I loved it.

This book is heart warming, sweet, and an all around a fantastic book that makes me feel everything at once. David teaches the characters and us that there's beauty in everything we just have to look.
One thing that really stuck with me was how David would watch the sunset everyday, he would just sit and watch the beauty, and I think that's something no one really does anymore. I think everyone should read this book because there's something in it for everyone to get out of this book.

Story: 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

Bye,
Allison

Summer Books You Should Check Out!

These are a few books I'm going to check out this summer. I hope you guys pick up one of these and read it during the summer too. If you do or if you have read any of them please tell me how you felt about them!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Synopsis: Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Synopsis: Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime.

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han

Synopsis: Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they've each had a taste.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han 

Synopsis: They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her, these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

We Were Liars by E.Lockhart

Synopsis: A beautiful and distinguished family.

 A private island.

A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.

A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.

A revolution. An accident. A secret.

Lies upon lies.

True love.

The truth.

Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

Synopsis: A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Synopsis: Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost.

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.

Shug by Jenny Han

Synopsis: Annemarie Wilcox, or Shug as her family calls her, is beginning to think there's nothing worse than being twelve. She's too tall, too freckled, and way too flat-chested. Shug is sure that there's not one good or amazing thing about her. And now she has to start junior high, where the friends she counts most dear aren't acting so dear anymore -- especially Mark, the boy she's known her whole life through. Life is growing up all around her, and all Shug wants is for things to be like they used to be. How is a person supposed to prepare for what happens tomorrow when there's just no figuring out today?

Paper Towns by John Green

Synopsis: Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows.

I can't wait to crack open a couple of these books! Tell me what books you've been saving until summer to read or just what books you think you're going to read this summer in the comments.

Updates to look out for!

• Another Sunset by Jason Zandri- Book review (5/27/15)
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern- Book review
• Cute High Earth Defense Club Love! - Anime review
• May Book Haul
• Liebster Award

Bye,

Allison :3

NEW 'THE INFERNAL DEVICES' COVER REVEAL

Okay, well I love the old ones but these are pretty awesome and beautiful too.

I WANT THEM NOW. okay. I'm fine. Just fangirling to death. 

They don't come out until September :c but that's alright, that gives me time to save money for them. 

Bye,

Allison c: