A Day in Bookland

Two weeks. The countryside. And a very ambitious to be read pile. However, I tend to read a lot at my grandma’s village. It is super quiet there and if hay fever allows me – I really hope by this time now all the pollen has decreased a lot – I’ll be reading outside, surrounded by trees. It is also the perfect place to take a lot of pictures and although I won’t have the greatest internet connection I’ll try to post some on Instagram whenever I can. There are also going to be a lot of festivities and almost all the family is coming and I cannot wait to see them. Last year we had a blast and we intend to make this year even better.

We aren't even halfway through August and I did say I was on a book buying ban but my birthday last month sent that out of the window. I got a few vouchers and so here are the books I got for myself besides the ones I was gifted with. In a month time I'll be in London because my parents got me and my sisters tickets for the Harry Potter Studios and althought it will be a quick visit I think I'll manage to visit some bookshops - Persephone Books is a priority - so let's test once again my will power as to not buy anymore books until that trip happens. Anyways, here are the books I got:

The world went crazy when a new Harry Potter adventure was announced, myself included. When I learnt it was gonna be a play, I felt a little bit disappointed because not everybody could afford to go to London to watch it but still felt some hope when they said the script was gonna be released because at least I would be able to read the story, right? Now that I’ve read it, I wish I hadn’t. Harsh, I know, but I’m insanely disappointed in this new adventure. Why? It makes no sense. I wanted to write a review without spoiling but it seems impossible when there are so many issues to talk about and not revealing certain aspects of the plot would be impossible. So, there will be spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned. This discussion might be all over the place: I have so much to talk about but I don’t want this to be very long, which will probably be. Apologies in advance for both the length and my being all over the place.

Today I had already written a discussion for The Cursed Child but I might leave it for next week so I can chew my thoughts some more. However, I posted an Instagram picture explaining as a whole and very simply put my issues with the script without spoiling a soul if you’re interested. And so we are here again with a Weekend Reads.

The Sunlight Pilgrims  by Jenni Fagan { Goodreads } Published by William Heinemann in 2016 Hardback edition; 352 pages { BookDepository } It’s 2020 and the world is on the brink of apocalypse. The temperature of the Earth is starting to plummet rather quickly, everything is freezing over and basically the whole planet is becoming a white surface. In this icy atmosphere The Sunlight Pilgrims is set, specifically in a caravan park in Scotland where we follow the lives of Constance and her daughter Stella and the new-comer Dylan. Little did they know that their lives will eventually intertwine throughout the course of the story. Oh, and keep in mind it’s the year 2020, four years from now which might seem random but it was a bit more terrifying than that because it is not a very distant future; it is just around the corner.

July is always a special month for me. It’s true I’m not much fond of summer but July is my birthday month so I can’t help but love him. This July I turned 25 and since then I’m trying not to panic a little bit – I think it is inevitable though. I enjoyed time with friends and family and I stayed most weekends in my grandma’s village. It’s a very peaceful place and I got a lot of reading done because sadly I couldn’t enjoy much time outdoors since hay fever there was (and still is) horrible and everything was covered in pollen, like a blanket of snow. Oh and I also went to the movies and watched Me Before You and Finding Dory. The former was nice and I enjoyed it as I enjoyed the book, but I’m well aware of its problems; Finding Dory was perfect.

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A Song for Summer  by Eva Ibbotson { Goodreads } Published by Pan Macmillian in 2015 Paperback edition; 432 pages { BookDepository } Ellen is a London girl brought up by her aunts who are suffragettes. However, she is not interested in any of that. She studies in a school where they learn to cook, clean, etc and then decides to move to boarding school in Austria since she’s been fascinated by the country thanks to a cook she’s known all her life. She finds a paradise in there, taking care of the children. But there she meets a gardener, Malek, and something arises between the two. However, their idyllic world is being threatened by Hitler’s advance.

The Harry Potter tag was created by the people at Bookidote and I got tagged by Ruz & Veronika over at The Regal Critiques . Thank you girls! I can't really say no to anything Harry Potter related.

This weekend the 24in48 hours readathon takes place. The rule is simple: reading for 24 hours in a span of 48 hours.

Welcome to the Final Empire , a world ruled by a Dark Lord named Lord Ruler. He’s been in power for hundreds of years, spreading terror among the population especially the Skaa people, who are slaved and work for the nobility – supported by the Lord Ruler. There have been many revolt attempts but all of them failed. However, people still have hope and there is a new rebellion on its way run by one of the most wanted criminals in the Empire, an allomancer called Kelsier. Allomancy is the ability to burn metals within you; and each metal gives the allomancer a certain type of power – for example, burning pewter will give the person physical strength. There are ten different metals to burn. Most Allomancers can only burn one type of metal and they are known as Mistings. However, there are some mistings that can burn all metals and they are known as Mistborn. Kelsier is a Mistborn and he intends to overthrow the Lord Ruler and free the Skaa. Along the way he encounters an unlikely a...

Fairytales for Wilde Girls  by Allyse Near { Goodreads } Published by Random House Australia in 2013 Paperback edition; 432 pages { BookDepository } Isola Wilde is not your typical teenager. She is a human Child of Nimue and is able to see magical creatures: ghosts, faeries, unicorns… all of them living in the woods near her house in Avalon. Since she was very little she has had 6 protectors, her brother-princes as she calls them; 5 of them are ghosts: Alejandro, a Victorian dandy; Ruslana, a Fury and a ferocious warrior; Rosekin, a faerie; Christobelle, a mermaid; Grandpa Furlong, and elderly ghost; and finally James, the only one of her protectors who is human. All of them take care of her and keep her company. Nobody else can see the ghosts, not even James even though he’s a brother-prince, and every time she mentions them, there is always the same answer: “you are too old for imaginary friends!” However, these magical creatures might be the only chance Isola ha...

Behold the gorgeous Faber Nature Poets collection that Faber & Faber published last May. The collection consists on 6 poetry books by John Keats, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Edward Thomas and Thomas Hardy.

July, the 7 th month of the year is already here so what better time to tell you about my favourite books of 2016 so far. All of them were special in their own way and they are listed taking into account the date read. Without further ado here are my favourites so far:

In June I read a few books which were incredibly disappointing and since I don’t have enough to say about them to write a full review I thought this post to be a good idea to tell you what went wrong with these stories in a simple yet ‘straight to the point’ way.

June was stressful to say the least. I had my finals but I can finally say they went well. Got my results yesterday and I'm very happy indeed; during the first two weeks I didn’t do much reading but I bought a few books to keep me happy. Now, however, I’m in a book buying ban. My TBR is completely out of control and I need to balance things a little bit. Yet, July is my birthday month and I guess I will get a few of them. I don’t mind it though and I know I will buy one or two here and there when I feel like it until the end of the year. The gist of it all is to read more and buy less. Sorry, I digress… and this is a wrap-up.

The Madwoman Upstairs  by Catherine Lowell { Goodreads } Published by Quercus Publishing in 2016 Paperback edition; 416 pages { BookDepository } The Madwoman Upstairs follows Samantha Whipple, the last descendant of the famous Brontë family. Her father is dead and the public believes she has inherited some important pieces of the Brontë’s literary estate, which is not true as long as she’s concerned since she has never seen said estate. When she starts attending Oxford College however, everything changes. She stars receiving books that belonged to her father and the whole situations turns into a scavenger hunt to unfold her family legacy.

Outlander  by Diana Gabaldon { Goodreads } Published by Delta in 1998 Paperback edition; 627 pages { BookDepository } 1945. Claire Randall is in Scotland, enjoying a second honeymoon with her husband Frank Randall after the Second World War, when she touches some standing stones and finds herself in 18 th century Scotland. She doesn’t understand what happened to her or why for that matter but she knows she has to survive in a very tumultuous period.

The weekend is upon us and this is what I’m planning on reading. I started yesterday both The Wilds and The Vegetarian . The former is a tad bizarre but since they are short stories it doesn’t bother me too much and I can always stop reading and jump into another one. The Vegetarian , however, it’s proving to be as amazing as everybody else is claiming and I hope it continues to be so until the very end. I think I might include “Weekend Reads” as a regular post on my blog because it shows you my reading week by week in addition to my monthly wrap ups. Also, I like doing them. They are short and sweet. I hope you enjoy them :) What are you planning on reading this weekend?

Reasons She Goes to the Woods  by Deborah Kay Davies { Goodreads } Published by Oneworld Publications in 2015 Paperback edition; 256 pages { BookDepository } Let me introduce you to Pearl, not your loveable, sweet type of girl. She’s vicious and mean. She has a very dark personality – I felt quite distressed at times – but she’s not the only one with issues, believe me.

Ragnarok  by A. S. Byatt { Goodreads } Published by Canongate Books in 2012 Paperback edition; 179 pages { BookDepository } You go into a bookshop and pick up a book that catches your attention. You know next to nothing about it, you pick it up and read the blurb and you decide to buy it because it seems interesting enough. This is probably my favourite way of buying books but sometimes the result is not what you were expecting. Ragnarok is one of those sad cases.

This weekend I'm planning on finishing El día de año nuevo y otros cuentos maravillosos  - a short story collection by Vladímir Odóievski that so far it's simply okay nothing really special- and reading a chunk of Outlander . I'm halfway through the latter and so far, it's a very enjoyable read; I started watching the TV show last year when it premiered but stopped after some episodes because I wanted to read the book. I'm finally caught up with what I saw and from now on I don't know what's going to happen which makes me wanna read even more. What are your plans for the weekend?

The Improbability of Love  by Hannah Rothschild { Goodreads } Published by Bloomsbury in 2016 Paperback edition; 479 pages { BookDepository } The Improbability of Love follows a bunch of different characters all involved in different ways with the art-world scene in London when a very famous painting –which gives name to the novel – is found by Annie, the main protagonist we could say, in a thrift shop. Don’t be fooled by the cover which screams chick-lit through and through; the novel deals with so much more.

Hello?? It’s me…. And after 4 months I’m back. I hope. You guys know I’ve never been known for my constancy. I feel like I owe you all an explanation for my halt at the beginning of February. The main reason for it was University. This semester has been quite hectic and I had to choose between my hobby and my degree. The latter won, of course. However, University is not the only reason why I stopped blogging and it would be a big fat lie to say otherwise. Long story short, I wasn’t motivated enough. Scratch that. I wasn’t motivated at all. I started this blog as a hobby and when 2016 started, it was as if it was no longer that. I was getting no fun out of it and so what was the point?

Lost in Translation  by Ella Frances Sanders { Goodreads } Published by Square Peg in 2015 Hardcover edition; 112 pages { BookDepository } I’ve always admired translators and even though sometimes a translation isn’t necessarily the greatest, the truth is that when done well, we can pretty much say that a translator behaves like an author in some way. Translating isn’t about going line by line, word by word from one language to another because there are many words or expressions from a language that don’t exist in the language you’re translating a book into. A here is when the tricky part of their job begins.

Long time, no see. January was spent among textbooks and notes. Revision took over my life and I had no time for anything else. I’ve done three exams but I still have two more to do and 10 days before being completely free but I’m gonna try and be more present on the blog; not only on mine but in everyone else’s as well. I miss it.

The Sword of Summer  by Rick Riordan { Goodreads } Published by Disney-Hyperion Books in 2015 Hardcover edition; 499 pages { BookDepository } Magnus Chase has been living on the streets since his mother died some years back. Now, his uncle is looking for him and Magnus is resolved not to be found since her mother advised him not to trust him; his uncle is dangerous but things tend to not go us planned sometimes. He learns then that he’s the son of a Norse god and after he is set to live so many great adventures.

December has been long gone and I’m aware this wrap-up comes to you a bit late but besides the Christmas madness, I’m also being giving all my time to catching up with Uni work. I haven’t even been reading that much. In fact, I haven’t really opened a book in the last two weeks. Anyways, the most noteworthy thing that happened during December was Star Wars. One of my sisters and I did a marathon for the previous six films (I had previously seen the 3 prequels) but we both wanted to see this new film and we thought doing a marathon would be a nice idea and oh boy, did we enjoy it! And the new film is epicness personified. We went to the movie theater with a friend of mine and all of us had a terrific time. When the movie ended, we were like: “nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, we want more and more and more”. Waiting for Episode VIII is gonna be torture for sure! Have you guys seen the movie?