#TBRTakedown 2.0

Hey guys,

I feel like I haven't blogged in ages. Anyway, I thought I would write this to tell you guys that I am participating in the #TBRTakedown 2.0 which is starting tomorrow (Saturday) and it will be running for a week. So we end on the 31st of July. You can watch the official announcement video here:

I am so excited to be taking part in it and I'm even more excited that my whole bookclub is doing it as well. It's going to be so fun and the challenges for this are so much more doable. So before it begins, I thought I would share my TBR list for the challenge.

1. First Book in a series: Cinder

Sandee has hyped this book so much and I've heard and seen it everywhere so I really can't wait to get to it.

2. Sequel Book in a series: Heir Of Fire

I have read the first two books in the Throne Of Glass series and this is the second last book. The last book is coming out later this year. So I want to get this book read before that.

3. Out of your comfort zone : In Real Life: My Journey In A Pixilated World

I love Youtubers. That's no surprise. Joey isn't my favorite Youtuber and I don't really watch him but I watch Zoe Sugg obsessively and she read this while on holiday a few weeks ago and she loved it. At first I thought she was just promoting it because Joey is her friend but I've also seen a lot of good, objective reviews online so I'll give it a go.

4. On your shelf over a year (or the longest): Winger

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you would know that I've been trying to read this book every single month since last October. It's been on every one of my readathon lists and I'm determined to finally get to it.

5. Most recently hauled book: Elizabeth Is Missing

This is a bit of a cheat because it was not in my last haul but it was pretty recent so I guess it's okay.

Well that's all my books for the week long readathon. I'm so excited for it and I've been finishing up books in preparation for it. Realistically I think I will only be able to read 3 books max but one can hope. Are you joining the readathon? What are the books on your list? Tell me in the comments!

Girl Online By Zoe Sugg

Penny has a secret.

Under the alias Girl Online, she blogs about school dramas, boys, her mad, whirlwind family - and the panic attacks she's suffered from lately. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets the gorgeous, guitar-strumming Noah. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog. But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever. -Goodreads

-

First of all, I would like to say that I am a HUGE Zoella fan. That said, I'm going to be as honest as I possibly can in this review. So don't click off just yet.

So this book is all about Penny. An introverted photographer with a gay best friend and a problem with anxiety. One day, she follows her parents to New York for a wedding that her parents are planning and she bumps into a boy named Noah. Noah and Penny quickly fall in love but then, there are so many things going against them and they have to manoeuvre around them. Then, Penny discovers that Noah has been keeping a pretty huge secret and things start to fall apart. 

Now I enjoyed this book. I felt like it was a real throwback in the right direction. I've missed reading books where families are perfect and when you know there will be that big happy ending even though there's lots of chaos. In a lot of ways, people will find this book to be pretentious and a bit too optimistic. But here's the thing. This book was written for a younger audience.

I think it's ridiculous that people come to this book expecting a Stephen King novel and then walking away disappointed and angry that it wasn't. I mean, when Girl Online was first announced, I knew that  I was going to read it but I also knew that I couldn't expect to be reading a book that would be anything like the books I usually read. Just look that that book cover! 

That said, I think the themes that Zoe discusses in this novel are so important and very mature. The main character in the book gets panic attacks. As a person who suffers with anxiety and who has experienced panic attacks, I think this book really spoke to me. I felt understood and I was so happy that Zoe wrote this into her book because it really brings attention to this mental health problem that usually goes unnoticed by most. Considering her fan base, just think of how many people now have something to base what they are feeling on. Just think of how many people have learnt something new and who are better for it.

I know this is a book review and I feel bad for doing this but I feel its really important to address the controversy around this book because there is just too much of it. So shortly after the release of the book, people started suspecting that the book was ghost written because the acknowledgements page mentioned a known YA writer, Siobhan Curtis. That week, the publishers also mentioned officially that Zoe had help with writing the book. But the scope of that help was not discussed. So as you can imagine, the Internet blew up and poor Zoe was forced to stop doing 'Vlogmas' and take a break off the Internet. And following that, Alfie Deyes decided to take a few days off Youtube as well though that was probably just to protect her and not exactly what he wanted considering how much he whined about being excited to get back to vlogging.

Zoe said on Twitter that she did get help but that everyone needs help when they try something new. And that is what I believe. I believe that Siobhan came alongside Zoe to help her here and there. Maybe she had more help then what is normally given to authors but that would only be because this is her first novel and she is not a professional writer. I hate that people are starting rumours and controversy about her book simply because she is a Youtuber. Everyone is bashing her over the head simply because they are annoyed that she got that book deal when there are other authors out there who have been trying for years to break into the industry. Zoe has always wanted to be a writer. She even wrote a book when she was a kid. Zoe was not stealing a spot away from anyone. She was simply testing the waters with a hobby. After all, if she hadn't tested the waters with her blog and her youtube channel, she would never be where she is today. She is 24. Are you telling me that she is no longer allowed to try new things and use the fame that she made for herself to give her a leg up in the world just because she's already established herself in the beauty industry? Haters are just ridiculous. 

I'm sorry for ending my review on an angry note but I feel very strongly about people who try to tear others down simply because they will never be as successful as them. I really would recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy and cosy read. It's really good and sweet.

I posted this photo on Instagram and Alfie Deyes liked it!

-

My Rating: 5/5

Which Band or Musician Is Most Important To Me?

So today's topics aren't the best. One of them asked me to write about my last 3 crushes. If you know anything about me, I don't crush on people. Simply because I don't believe that I will ever be good enough for someone. Or that someone would ever take notice of me and see me as anything more then just the weird, quiet girl. There. I said it. I'm working hard to get people to notice my blog but today I am glad I only have a few readers because of that one sentence.

Anyway, I'm off on a tangent again (have you noticed how much of a clique this is becoming). So. I'm not really cool enough to have a favourite band but I do have a favourite musician.

My favourite musician and singer is Troye Sivan. The very first time I heard of Troye was when his song for The Fault In Our Stars came out. I heard it, liked it and because all the proceeds were going to a cancer charity, I bought the song. By that time, the song was blowing up and John Green was talking about Troye and taking him around places and I couldn't understand why. I thought that Troye was just some random kid who wrote a song. I was baffled as to how a nobody could shoot to fame like that.

However, I did not know that Troye was by then a pretty darn established singer and Youtuber. He already had about a million subscribers on his channel and he'd performed on stage a number of times. This year, I got really into Youtube. I started following a whole lot of Youtubers, I got into the randoms, I followed the ships and watched videos as they were being released. I just find it so amazing that these people started from zero and worked their way up 1 subscriber at a time. I am currently completely up to date on everything in the Youtuber community and it's a lot of fun.

So I found Troye and I realised that the reason why his song went viral was because he was already an established Youtuber. So I started following him. I watched his old videos and kept up with his current ones. And then, he posted this one day.

I was tearing up at the end of the video. I was just so proud that Troye had been working on his first proper EP and that it was going to be released in August.

I was so excited. I was counting down the days and everything. And then, Happy Little Pill, the first single off his EP was dropped secretly on Tumblr. I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again. I went nuts. I was so proud and excited for him. 

When the full EP dropped, the world went wild because it was terribly, horribly AMAZING.

And then, Youtube exploded with support for Troye. Suddenly all any Youtuber could talk about was Troye Sivan and his EP.  All any Youtuber could Instagram and tweet about was pictures of their signed TRXYE albums and their TRXYE jumpers. Some of which were the coveted white and blue ones. 

Troye Sivan is my favourite musician because he earned his fame. He didn't earn his fame by getting signed to some fancy record place. He didn't earn his fame by being discovered somewhere. He earned his fame by sitting in his room and making videos. He earned his fan base by first making them laugh. He earned every bit of his success. He didn't shoot to fame. He had to earn each of his subscribers through sheer hard work. He is so humble as can be seen in his reaction video to 1 million subscribers.

He made his fame. He made himself who is his today. No fancy place did that. He did that. Only him.

I'm so proud of you Troye. You deserve to sit back now and ride on your fame for a bit. I can't wait to see what you do next.