Wrap-up & Favorites || February

February is over, and I had a pretty good month. I’m slowly getting back into reading, and I think I’ve found my love for it again. I’ve had exams in February, and a small winter break to get me ready for school once again. I’ve read some great books, and I don’t think there has been any that I disliked. Because I’m still trying to get back from a reading slump, I’m consciously choosing books that I’m pretty certain that I’ll like. Hopefully I’m going to venture out of my comfort zone a little bit in the coming months. We’ll see.

What I've Read

I read 6 books in the month of February. Two of them were graphic novels, and the rest were novels. I got myself caught up with a series (if you don’t count short stories), and I’ve started some new ones. Overall I’ve enjoyed the books that I’ve read, and I feel like I’ve been able to take my time with them, and not just rush through them (I’ve been known to do that). I have reviews coming up of some of these books, most of them actually, so I wont talk more about them here. 

• Something Like Lightning by Jay Bell ★★★★★
• Something Like Thunder by Jay Bell ★★★★
• The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell ★★★
• Nimona by Noelle Stevenson ★★★★
• Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton ★★★★
• Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson ★★★★

Books Acquired

Because I passed my English exam, I decided that it was okay to treat myself to some books. Real, actual, physical books. I didn’t spend that much money on books in February, even though I did get a good amount of books anyway.

Physical books:

Cam Girl by Leah Raeder

Black Iris by Leah Raeder

Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler

eBooks:

All The Birds In The Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul

Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa

Something Like Hearts by Jay Bell

Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

What I've Watched

February was the month of Prison Break. I started re-watching it at the beginning of February as a way to escape from my exams, and I continued even after the exam was over. I’ve watched most of the series before, except for season 4, which is what I’m watching now, so I’m excited to finally get to finish the series properly. I also went to the cinema with my brother in February. We had a gift certificate, and decided to use that to watch Deadpool. I really loved that movie, and I’m definitely interested in watching it again when it comes out on DVD. Lastly I re-watched Clue about 4 times in February. It’s one of my all time favorite movies, and when times got though, it's my 'comfort movie'.

Things I've Listened to

In February I really jumped on the Hamilton bandwagon. The music from that show is absolutely fantastic, and it’s something new, which I really like. I have my favorites that I listen to more than others, but as a whole, it’s pretty darn amazing. I’ve also really gotten into Kendrick Lamar lately. I’ve had a song or two of his on one of my playlist before, but I’ve never really taken the time to really listen to him. I’m slowly getting through more and more of his songs, and it's brilliant. Lastly, I’ve had one song on repeat for the past days, and that is Halsey’s cover of Love Yourself. I love her voice, and what it brings to the song, and I think I like it a little better than the original.

Favorite Moments

February was made up of a lot of great moments (as well as some pretty shit ones, but this is a positive post, so we aren't talking about those). In the beginning of the month I had my written English exam, and honestly, it was absolute hell. Six hours of constant writing, well, it was more like six hours of constant panicking. A week after my written, I had the oral part of the exam, and I passed, with a pretty decent grade even. It was such a relief to finish English, and it means that I'm technically an English teacher now.

In the middle of the all the exam prep, i decided that I needed a change, and I cleaned my room. It doesn’t sound like that much, but for me it was a pretty big deal. I decided that I needed to get rid of a lot of crap, and damn did it feel liberating. With cleaning my room came cleaning out my book shelve, and in that process I got rid of a lot of books Well technically, they’re still just sitting on my floor, but I’m not going to keep them much longer.

This last moment is incredibly silly, but at the same time, it has made me ridiculously happy. That is the fact the Shane McMahon, Shane-O-Mac, has returned to WWE, and he is going to wrestle The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. I know, it’s silly, but I’m counting it as a favorite moment, because it made me smile so big. 

How was your February? Did you read any great books?

2015 Favorites | Books & More

2015 is over, and 2016 is here. To be honest, most of 2015 was kind of a shit year for me, and I'm for the most part relieved that it's over. Hopefully 2016 will be much much better. I have neglected this blog a lot in 2015, and I'm sad that I did. I want to continue blogging, but I just haven't been able to get myself to write anything even remotely coherent. This is also why, most of my latest posts have been 'Top Ten Tuesday' posts. I do plan, and hope, to blog a lot more, and more consistently in 2016. Well, here's to hoping!

Anyway, this post is all about those things in 2015 that were amazing and all kinds of awesome. I really wanted to share all the things I've loved this past year, and that's how this post came to be. Not that it's revolutionary or anything. Most people have posts like this around this time. There isn't really any rhyme or reason to these lists other than their overall category. 

Favorite Books of 2015

2015 was not the best reading year for me. I read a lot in the first quarter of the year, but then it all went down hill for me. I read a lot of 'meh' books in 2015, and I wasn't really invested in what I was reading, no matter what it was. However, I did manage to read some really fantastic books, and some of them I'm definitely thinking of re-reading in 2016. These books aren't in any order what so ever.

Something Like Autumn by Jay Bell

This is the third book in the Something Like series by Jay Bell, and I think that this may be my favorite book of the series so far. I knew, going into this book, that it would break my heart, and oh boy, did it do that. I loved getting backstory on Jace, and it made me love the character even more. I'm so in love with this series, and I can't wait to continue it in 2016.

Carry The Ocean by Heidi Cullinan

Honestly, I think that this was probably my favorite book of the year. This book deals with a lot of different topics including depression, sexuality, and autism spectrum disorder. It's such a beautiful book, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to re-read it in 2016.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

This is one of the last books I read in 2015, and it was amazing. I don't venture out of my contemporary comfort zone a lot, but with this book, I'm glad I did. I loved the main characters, adored the world, and I was intrigued by the plot. I'm so excited to read the next book when it comes out.

Fawn by Nash Summers

This short story, I decided to read on a whim. Actually I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to read it when I first saw it, but I'm happy that I did. The writing was beautiful, and it made me cry in several places. It's a beautiful story, and I might re-read it this year.

Take Them By Storm by Marie Landry

This book made me smile. There were so many things I loved about this book, and I actually have a review up of this, so if you want to know more about my thoughts, you can check that out here.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I have a review up of this one too – I’m on a roll here. I went into this book with very high expectations, and this book completely exceeded those expectations. I read this one in a day – which I’m still surprised that I actually managed, but I just couldn’t put the book down. This was a beautiful story, and even though it could be a little slow at time, I still loved it.

Love Lessons series by Heidi Cullinan

Okay, so this is not one book, but a whole series. Again we have something written by Heidi Cullinan on the list. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about this series when I started it. However, it grew on me, and just got better and better. The characters were fantastic, and the writing really drew me in. This series has a diverse cast, including a trans character, very briefly a bisexual character, and an array of representation from the G side of LGBTQ. I would highly recommend this series. My review of the first book in the series can be found here.


Honorable mentions: Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz, Anything Could Happen by Will Walton, Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg, and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.

Favorite Movies of 2015

I feel like I didn't watched a lot of movies in 2015. Most of my time has been spend on catching up with various TV series, so I’ve kind of neglegted watching movies. And when I finally sat down to watch a movie, I reached out for an old favorite, instead of watching something new. However, I did manage to watch some new releases. My favorite one has to be Star Wars The Force Awakens. Actually I’ve watched it twice, at this point. This year was also the year where I went to the movies with my younger brother a lot. Three of those movies has made it to my favorite list - Fast and Furious 7, Big Hero 6, and Straight Outta Compton, and there were all pretty darn awesome in their own ways. I would highly recommend all four of them.

Favorite TV Shows of 2015

Now, I watch a lot of TV. Probably a little too much, but it takes my mind of off things. I have three series that are pretty much my all time favorites, and two new shows that I absolutely adore. But let's start with the three oldies. Criminal Minds, Castle, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit are some of my all time favorite shows, and this year I watched maybe a little too much of them. I usually have one of these three shows running in the background when I’m writing, or really, doing anything. As of new shows, this year I’ve absolutely loved Jessica Jones, and Daredevil. Both shows are incredible, and I can’t wait for the second season of Daredevil.

Favorite Music of 2015

I have listened to a lot of music this year, and I have definitely expanded my horizon. According to Spotify my two most listened to artists in 2015 were Beyonce, and Nicki Minaj, and if you know me, that is not really a surprise. I absolutely adore both of these ladies, and I'm sure I'm going to keep listening to then far into 2016. Next are two artists that I haven't listened to much before, but I'm very happy that I've started to listen to them. Those two artists are Angel Haze, and Drake. Drake is all my brothers fault. Seriously, he listens to a lot of Drake, like a lot, and now I do too. As for Angel Haze, I've known about them for a while, but have just never listened to any of their music, but holy hell, I'm glad I did, because it's pretty darn amazing.

Favorite Moments of 2015

Even though there were a lot of bummer moments in 2015, there were some really amazing moments that I fondly look back on. One of those is when I went to London back in July. I went with my mother, younger brother, and cousin. It was such a lovely trip, and it made me want to travel so much more. Another moment was when I, in June, passed my Danish Exam, and I can now technically call myself a Danish teacher. I'm still not done with my teacher's education, but it's two years, out of four down, and it removed a big weight off of my shoulders. The last is not really one moment, but a series of moments with my two favorite people in the world. I spend a lot of time with my cousin Charlie, and my best friend Marie, and I'm so grateful for all that time. Basically those times are some of my very favorite moments from 2015. 


So these were my favorite things of 2015. Sometime in the next couple of days I will post a '2016 reading and blogging resolutions' post. Hopefully. Anyway, I hope you had a great 2015, and that you entered 2016 in an awesome way.

Wrap-up & favorites (+ I'm back!) || September 2015

*taps the mic* is this thing on?

So, I’ve been missing in action for about two months or so (probably more). Honestly it wasn’t something I planned to do, but life went in that direction, and so here we are. It turned out that I needed to take the summer, and more, off – mostly to actually think about whether I wanted to continue this blog. In the end I decided that I do want to continue. I can’t promise that I will post regularly or anything, but I will try to get at least one post out a week – hopefully more.

So what have I been doing since you last heard from me? The answer is not that much. Okay, I have done some things. I spend 5 days in London with my family, and I had such a great time. I want to go back there some day and explore even more. Basically I want to see more than just the outside of Wembley Stadium. I mean, it’s a beautiful stadium, but it gets old pretty quick. But besides that, I haven't really been doing that much, other than relaxing a whole lot. School has started again in the beginning of September, and I'm currently not technically in school, but out teaching, which is tough, but I'm loving it.

I haven’t really read anything all that much while I’ve been away from the blog either. I wouldn’t call it a reading slump exactly, but yeah, it pretty much was a reading slump. Most of the time I wasn’t in the mood to read anything, and when I finally was in the mood, I ended up reading a shit ton of Teen Wolf fan fiction. Oh well, at least I was reading.

But without further ado, here are my September wrap-up and favorites. (I'm not posting a wrap-up + favorites for October, because honestly, I haven't really done/read anything)

|| BOOKS READ ||

I read 2 books, 1 graphic novel, and 4 short stories/novellas in September. It may not seem like all that much, but I think it was a pretty decent reading month. I have reviews for some of these coming up sometime in the near future.

Lonely Hearts by Heidi Cullinan ★★★★

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow, Jen Wang ★★★

Wonderboy by Angel T Kirkegaard ★★★

Fawn by Nash Summers ★★★★★

Waiting For Clark by Annabeth Albert ★

The Best Man by Olley White ★

Tonight by Karen Stivali ★

|| BOOKS ACQUIRED ||

I bought way too many books in the month of September (I know, I'm sorry), but they are all ebooks, so I don’t feel that bad about it. It didn’t put too big of a dent in my budget. I want to try and spend less money on books, because quite frankly, I have too many right now that I need to read, and I can't really make room for book buying in my budget anymore. So, September is hopefully going to be the last month in a while where I buy a shit ton of book. Nevertheless, here are the 16 books, yikes, that I bought in September.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Him by Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen

Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Crossroads by Riley Hart

Your Voice Is All I Hear – Leah Scheier

Good Omens – Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

Sabriel – Garth Nix

Magonia – Maria Dahvana Headley

Everything, Everything – Nicola Yoon

Charm & Strange – Stephanie Kuehn

Sex & Violence – Carrie Mesrobian

Two Boys Kissing – David Levithan

Ketchup Clouds – Annabel Pitcher

Nick and Charlie – Alice Oseman

Afterworlds – Scott Westerfeld

|| MOVIE & TV FAVORITES ||

Most of September was spend with re-watching Castle, and Queer As Folk. I haven’t watched season four of Castle in a very long time, so it was lovely to revisit the series again - same thing with Queer As Folk (just.. the entire series). I also went to the cinema with my younger brother to watch Straight Outta Compton. I really enjoyed the movie, but I think it got even better because I watched it with my brother. He does know a little more about the music than I do. I do have a couple of problems with the movie, but overall, I really enjoyed it.

|| MUSIC FAVORITES ||

As a result of watching Straight Outta Compton, I spend the rest of the month listening to a shit ton of Ice Cube and N.W.A. I put it on when I’m on my way to school, and it wakes me up pretty great. Besides that, the past months or so, I’ve finally started listening to Halsey, and I absolutely love her music. It has taken over my playlists, and I’m not mad about it at all.

|| LIFE FAVORITES ||

September was a whirlwind of a month. I started school again, and within the first two weeks felt the stress and the pressure. Luckily there were things in September that made some of that stress go away for a little while. One Saturday in September I went out with my cousin, and we danced the whole night. It's been such a long time since I've done that, and we had such a fun time. Another thing is the fact, that I finally decided that, yes, I do want to continue blogging. And though it may not be consistent for the first month or two, I really want to stick with it this time around.

Wrap-up & favorites || May 2015

May is over, and June is here. I haven't blogged as much as I wanted to in May, and I don't think I'll be blogging all that much in June either. I've just been so busy with school, and I still have one exam left before I can start my summer vacation. However I will write posts whenever I can get the time. At least I intend to. I also participated in the LGBT Read-a-thon in May. Well, I say participated, but in reality I only read about 23% of one book, and that was that. Mostly I just participated in spirit.

|| BOOKS READ ||

I didn't read much in the month of May. I've been doing a shit-ton of assignments for school, so most of my reading has been related to that. The books I did read though were good, and I pretty much enjoyed all of them. In May I finished the Y: The Last Man series, and I have so many mixed feelings about that whole series. 

One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn & M.J. O'Shea (★★★)
I've wanted to read this book for such a long time, and I'm glad I finally did. It was a good book, and I will try to have a review of it up it soon.

Trouble & the Wallflower by Kade Boehme (★★★)
Again a book that I've wanted to read for forever. It was not what I thought it was going to be, but I enjoyed the journey nonetheless. The characters were for the most part very likable, and it was just a sweet read.

Imaginary by Jamie Sullivan (★★★★)
This was everything I wanted. It was short and made me tear up so much. The ending felt a little rushed, and I would have loved it to be a longer story. But all in all, this was really good.

Y: The Last Man, Motherland by Brian K Vaughn (★★★)
I have a love-hate relationship with this series. There were parts of this that I completely loved, and then there are the parts that piss me off. This was honestly one of the better parts of the series, and it got me really excited to read the last part.

Y: The Last Man, Whys and Wherefores by Brian K Vaughn
This is the last part of the Y: The Last Man series, and I’m so glad it’s over. It’s been a roller coaster, but the ending was just bad. There was such a big build, and it fell completely flat. The ending felt rushed and like a cop out. I'm so mad at this, and I honestly don't know how to even rate it.

Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan (★★★★★)
The best book I read this month. It was such a beautiful read, and I would definitely recommend this. However, I don’t think it’s for everyone. It is very fact heavy, and it can be incredibly slow paced at times. But that was just part of the experience for me, and it added so much more to the book. It deals with a lot of heavy topics, but they are handled beautifully in my opinion.

|| LIFE FAVORITES ||
This month has been stressful for me. I've had so many assignments to hand in, and it has really taken a toll on me. However, May also had some really nice moments. At the end of the month I went to one of my friend's 24th birthday party. It was such a fun night, and really what I needed after all the school stress. We started at her place, and then we went out to dance. I haven't danced that much in a long time. 
Also, it's finally official - I'm going to London at the end of July. We've talked about it for so long, and after I handed in my last assignment, we went online and booked everything. I'm so excited to finally see London. I'm going with my mom, brother, and my cousin. It's a place that I've wanted to visit for a long time, and I'm glad I finally get the opportunity. 

|| MOVIE & TV FAVORITES ||
May was the month that brought us Eurovision. Granted, I don't think it was the best show ever; it lacked some more drama and over-the-top-ness that Eurovision usually have. I watched the show with my cousin, and that made it all a bit better - basically we ate out weight in pancakes, and yelled at the TV all night. It was fun.

Did you read any good books in May? How was your month?

Wrap-up & Favorites || While I've Been Away

I'm back! *cue party music, bring in the confetti canons, and break out the champagne*. I took some of weeks off from blogging, and it was just what I needed. Honestly, the break went on for a little longer than I had planned, but all of a sudden I had so many things to do, so I decided to extend my break a little bit. However, I am here now and ready to start blogging again. So I thought a wrap-up post would be one of the better ways to get back into the blogging game, because it pretty much sums up everything that has been going on for the past two months. So without further ado, here is my wrap-up and favorites for the time I've been away.

|| BOOKS READ ||
In March I ran in to a bit of a reading slump. Not a big one, but most of the time I just wasn't in the mood to read anything, and I kind of forced myself to do so a couple of times. But I did manage to read a good amount of books anyway. In March I read 6 books, and I did the same in April. I do have some reviews of some of these books coming up in the next few weeks.

March:

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (★)

How We Deal With Gravity by Ginger Scott (★★★★)

Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson (★★★ (3.5))

Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley (★★★★)

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (★★★)

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz (★★★★)

April:

Y: The Last Man, Vol 7: Paper Dolls by Brian K. Vaughan (★★★)

Y: The Last Man, Vol 8: Kimono Dragons by Brian K. Vaughan (★★★)

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan (★★★)
The Blinding Light by Renae Kaye (★★)
Noticed Me Yet? by Anyta Sunday (★★★)
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (★★★★)

|| BOOKS ACQUIRED ||
So in the months of March and April I ended up getting a lot of books, I got 23 books, not including the four that I've already done a book haul on. That's a lot of books, and only one of them is a physical book - the rest are eBooks. I won't show all of the books that I've bought (unless you want to see them - then maybe I'll do a post or a video, or something), but I do want to share a couple, that I'm most excited to read. Some of them I have already read, but they are still exciting to me.

Physical books:

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

eBooks:

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Annabel by Kathleen Winter

The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil

Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O'Shea

Trouble & the Wallflower by Kade Boehme

|| LIFE FAVORITES ||

A lot of great things happened while I was away - Mostly in April though. First of all, I decided to take a break from blogging. I just wasn't feeling like writing anything, and I didn't want to force myself to do so. The break was really nice, and definitely needed, although it ended up being a longer break than I had anticipated. Nevertheless, I am here again, and ready to take on the world.. Blogging world at least.

I also went to some pretty great parties in April. The first was my cousin's 18th birthday party. It was such a fun night, and I may have gotten a tiny bit drunk. Just a tiny bit. At one point we went outside, while it was almost pitch dark, to play Kubb. I know, it sounded great to drunk ears, but it may not have been the best idea ever. Especially since as people may have gotten a little hurt, because it was dark and we were drunk. Nevertheless it was an amazing night, even though I ended up going home a little early, because I was pretty dead on my feet.

(My cousin and I at her 18th birthday party.. We may have been a little drunk)

The other party I went to was with two of my best friends from high school. Once a year the school throws a party where old students are more than welcome, so we went to that. I had a blast, and I don't think I've danced that much in a long time. It was so amazing seeing my old friends again, especially since we don't all hang out that much, so spending time with them is always a welcomed thing.

|| MOVIE & TV FAVORITES ||

In April I went to the movies twice, and both of those movies are on my favorites list. The first movie I saw was Fast & Furious 7. I went with my younger brother, and I'm so glad I went and saw it. I've only watched two other Fast & Furious movies before, but it wasn't that difficult to follow what was happening. It's definitely a movie I'd want to watch again. The other movie I watched on the big screen was of course Avengers: Age of Ultron. I was so excited to watch this one, and it didn't disappoint. There were things in the movie that I didn't like, but I honestly still think that I liked this one better than the first Avengers movie. I mean, this one has Scarlett Witch in it, you can't really beat that - well, you probably could, but I'm still ecstatic to have her in the movie.

Last but definitely not least we have, maybe the ultimate favorite, Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania this year was good, really good. I mean, there will always be things at 'Mania that people, including me, don't like, but overall it was a pretty cool show this year. 

|| MUSIC FAVORITES ||

The first of my music favorites ties in with the whole Wretlemania thing, and that is the song Suplex City Bitch by PFV. If you've seen Wrestlemania, you probably would have heard Brock Lesnar utter these words, and lo and behold, someone made a song out of it. It's kind of a ridiculous song, but I absolutely love it, and it's been my jam ever since I heard it the first time. Another music favorite of mine is, again, something wrestling related. It's Bray Wyatt's 'theme song' Live in Fear by Mark Crozer. It's a creepy song, but it makes me feel pretty darn awesome when I listen to it at six in the morning on my way to school. My last music favorite is kind of random, but it's 70’s music. Somehow I ended up listening to a playlist on Spotify filled with 70's music, and it was honestly the best thing I've heard in a long time. 

|| OTHER FAVORITES ||

One of my absolute favorite things I got while being on a break is my new planner. I'm now the proud owner of an A5 size 6 ring planner. It's from Paperchase, and it's been my savior ever since I got it. I've been so overwhelmed lately with school, and so many other things that I needed to keep track of, and this planner has been so much help. I can have everything I need in one place, which is just amazing. So now I have all my appointments, my blog related things, all my bookish lists, and my finance things in one place. Honestly, I just feel damn organized with this new planner.

Last but not least, is not really a favorite but more of a thought. I've thought about start making videos as well as blogging. Not all the time, but just maybe one here and there. There have been time where I've wanted to post something, but haven't been able to get the words out on, and I think sometimes it would just be easier to talk instead of type. However, I'm kind of terrified to actually turn on a camera and get in front of it. We'll see if I decide to do something about it.

So yeah, sorry for the long post, but I felt like I needed to come back with something. I have a lot of ideas for posts, and about 4 drafts lying around at the moment. I'm glad to be back!