Wishlist Wednesday

As I find myself in the middle of University applications and big decisions, I am feeling the need to branch out  a bit - and which better place to start to at least feel a bit more adult than trying New Adult? Now, my pick this week is Easy by Tamara Webber - not only because it's New Adult, but also because it sounds like an amazing novel that everyone has already read, and loved.

Rescued by a stranger.

Haunted by a secret

Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl's struggle to regain the trust she's lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy

(My) Mustreads in Summer

First of all there are the ones I must read because of their amazing authors...

Sequels, sequels...that need to be read - and soon!

New Series to start:

The Maybes (thick books I'll probably shy away from - again!)

My very first attempt at poetry. The Bookspine Kind, that is.

Q: Activity: Spine Poetry. Create a line of poetry with your book spines (take a picture). Not feeling creative? Tell us about your favorite poem.

So, I've never done one of these before. I always shied away from all the effort. But as soon as I really got started I could not stop choosing books and adding more lines...I guess I went a little overboard with it....

(Also, excuse the picture. There simply was NO place with right lighting in my entire room!)

  

And the poem to go with it!

How I live now ?

Just listen.

Just one day is made of 

Fragments.

A Perfect

Flawless

Beautiful

Chaos.

And I am an airhead

A runaway.

The sky is everywhere 

And I find myself

Between here and forever.

Chick Lit is like Reality TV...almost!

A few weeks ago, I read that article (you know the one everyone read and commented on but me, 'cause I'm too busy sleeping all day) by Maureen Johnsson where she talks a lot about an author's gender and book covers and the way they're designed for boys and girls specifically and I think she also talks about sexism.

That was not, however, what I wanted to write about.

I picked up a few sentences she wrote about beach reads and novels that are underrated because they go as "beach reads" or chicklit.

And I wanted to utter my honest opinion about that.

Beach reads are usually considered light and funny realistic fiction reads that you can devour whenever you are, well, on the beach. Or a similar setting like the pool or the hammock in your garden.

That is why I don't agree that beach reads/chicklit are an underestimated genre that suffers from prejudice.

I mean, most men probably would not pick up a book with a pink cover that has lipstick and highheels on it. I get that. And there might also be women who consider themselves too educated to read such a book.

Please don't hit me for the following, but I actually think those people have a point. Beach reads are, in fact, usually targetted towards women more than men. They are, as I said, light and fluffy because we - the readers - want them to be.

Of course they are brilliant. It's not easy to be funny, to make people forget their worries and laugh out loud instead. It's probably even harder than making readers cry. However, we all have to admit sooner or later, that beach reads or chicklit very seldomly win the huge literary prizes, their authors - though admired by the fans - often don't get a lot of recognition from the rest of the world.

I personally think that's okay, too. It's just like TV. Shows like Grey's Anatomy or Pretty Little Liars have a huge fanbase, they are watched regularly and win awards at events like Teen Choice. Then, we have documentaries or movies based on historical facts and those are the ones that win the experts' prizes. Same with movies. Highschool Musical 3 was awesome (oh, come on, it was awesome in my head!...), but it won't ever win an Academy Award like Les Misérables did.

In the end, I think it does not matter how society seems to describe the books we read, we shouldn't get annoyed because someone finds chicklit shallow. In most cases, it just is. Still, that doesn't mean, it's bad to read it. It doesn't mean we shoud read nothing but autobiographies anymore.

It might mean, though, that we should hand the person underestimating our taste in books one of Meg Cabot's or Sophie Kinsella's works and let them see for themselves... :)

Top Ten Tuesday - the Rebel Version!

Top Ten Books to Read if everyone seems to be going to the beach....without you...

We don't go on vacations. I mean, we did go on a few road trips when I was a kid and my mom went camping with me once, but usually the money was needed elsewhere,so we stayed at home. Which has its perks, too. Everyone in my family was generously providing me with books that I devoured, I learned to speak and write in English more fluently and had a lot of time to be creative.

It can be annoying if you're the only one of your friends who's at home all summer -while they are on the beach. So here's my list of books to read in case you don't go to the beach!

1/2) The Harry Potter or Mortal Instruments Series

If it's your first time or your 13th reread doesn't matter. These epic series can be read over and over again, forward and backward, as well as in every language you could ever imagine ( in case you choose HP, at least) 

3) The Gossip Girl Series

If I didn't had so many other books to read, I'd totally make it my goal to spend the summer finishing the series. I always feel like whenever you start one of these books, you can't stop reading...

4) Looking for Alaska by John Green

If you haven't read it, now would be the perfect time since it's a book that really made me think. If you've read it once but - like me - still feel like you'd need a reread to get the story entirely, a long, hot and maybe sometimes boring summer is the perfect time to do so!

5) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

This is an adult book - and one I was really impressed with. Not a beach read at all, this book does need some concentration and will probably make you cry. It's worth it, though.

6) The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling 

This one is very, very sad, as well. It makes you think, no doubt about that! So if you feel like making your mind up about society - related topics, this one is for you!

7) Miles to Go by Miley Cyrus

Hey, stop! Before you declare me crazy, let me explain! It's true, I was/am a fan. But that's not why I recommend this book. I'm very aware it could be she doesn't even know what's written in there. The message that shines through the whole autobiography is a great one, though, and something everyone should remember once the summer is over and school starts (for those of you who, of course, still have to go).

8) Dear Bully (anthology)

Because everyone should read this book and summer usually gives you the time you might need to read all these stories.

9) Geek Girl by Holly Smale

If you find yourself bored or depressed on an otherwise beautiful summer day you might want to consider this book. It will have you on the floor laughing within the first two minutes.

10) Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

These books will totally transfer you to a place so much cooler and more exciting than the beach!!!

Review: The Rules by Stacey Kade

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

Hardcover, 416 pages

Published April 23rd 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

A Long Story Short:

The Rules is a must for everyone interested in YA - or good books in general. I completely underestimated it in the beginning, but it grew on me the second I started reading it.

The characters are sympathetic and three-dimensional, the narrating voices come with a good portion of wit and sarcasm and the plot keeps you on edge the whole entire time.

A definite three Smarties for this one!

Review for You:

The Rules was one of those books I try to stay away from. The kind that I get at my rare trips to Netgalley (usually in a state of absolute boredom) to entertain myself. The kind that sounds good but that I know I'll never actually be eager to start reading it. And then, of course, Netgalley lets me read it. And I am...torn. Because if you request a novel and get it (and maybe someone else therefore doesn't get it) you better go and read (and enjoy?) that treat.

So, eventually, I did. And I didn't just read it, oh no. I flew through it, devoured every page, found myself trying to catch my breath laughing and on the edge of drowning in tears.

Seriously, this was one of the best books I've read all year. 

First of all, this was conspiracy at its best. I love books where the whole plot and world is a mystery to you as a reader. Where page after page dark (family/business/governmental) secrets and intrigues are revealed and where at the end you have a completely new image of the world you thought you knew.

That's how I felt about everything going on in The Rules.

One of the perks of conspiracy in books is that people, obviously, aren't always what they seem to be and that made for not one but several serious turns in the story that I did not see coming at ALL, I promise you!

Something else I absolutely didn't expect in this book was humour and yet, it was there. 

I guarantee you, you won't be able to stop smirking once you get to know Ariane and her way of thinking/speaking. What she thinks about us humans - especially the teenage version - is just plain hilarious and made me think about myself and my (sometimes....) very shallow thoughts :) 

Ariane is only one of the alternating narrators, though, and this is what I had a little problem with. The two voices telling the story, Ariane and Zane, in my opinion where way too similar. I don't think I could have always told immediately who was telling the story if it weren't for the names in front of every chapter.

As I said, though, that didn't bother me too much and the story was still absolutely funny and unique.

I'd say The Rules overall is a lot easier to read than Dan Well's Partials but it comes with the same kinds of plot twists and suspense. Other similar books would be Tempest and especially Vortex by Julie Cross.

I can only recommend this book to everyone even if you might not be interested in aliens/Sci-Fi or conspiracy theories. The Rules should definitely be on your TBR pile :)

Oh, the Places You'll Go...

There are days when Pinterest and Tumblr are killing me. Seriously, it's like looking at Pictures of friends you don't talk to anymore. I get all teary and nostalgic and miss going somewhere SO freaking much.

I think as we get older most of us (and especially the Internet Junkies among us) just crave to see places, meet People, grow wings and fly far, far away. 

I, for example, crave to see Japan. And Asia in general. China, Tokyo, Russia. I want to see India and Sweden and Finland and Great Britain, of course. I want to visit African countries and surf in Australia. Most of all I want to go to the US at some point in my life, but most of you guys know that already, so I thought I'd put it at the end.

My point is, travelling the world is one of my biggest goals in life. 

You know, all that "hippie" talk about being wild and free? I like that. 

After all, we only have one life and even if it's going to be a long one, I still think we should make the best out of every day we get.

I mean, you've got to pay rent and food somehow, I'm aware of that. 

However, this week's Top Ten Tuesday (travel was the topic, in case you missed it) really reminded me of all the travelling I've yet to do.

It doesn't even matter where I'd go. I see a picture of say...Thailand, and I decide that I'd really like to go there someday.

Now, I know that at age eighteen I'm still very young and most people my age don't get to travel much before they got a proper education and the job to pay for it, but - at the same time I think that eighteen is a much better age to start seeing the world than say...30 would be. 

I guess it comes along with turning into an adult that you think the world will open up for you  like a magical door on the day of your birthday while actually, it's always you who has the key.

So, where do you want to go really badly right now? And - even more interesting - where do you come from? The Internet is SO awesome for getting to know people from all over the world and I'd like to know more about you :) So tell me in the comments, please!

Greetings,

the Booksmartie