Semester Break TBR List

Hey hey hey! I'm so excited! Today is technically the start of my semester break! I say technically because we have this white space week that is intended to be this week where we don't have classes but we still have submissions and things. We are supposed to be pursuing our interests in this week but I have a pretty huge essay due this coming Friday which basically means that I will be working all week on that. Immediately after our white space week though is our two week long semester break. So I am on holiday till the 21st of June.

I'm really excited for that and I have packed in my driving lessons. I'm serious. I booked 15 lessons and some are back to back. I just don't want to have to deal with driving while I'm dealing with the second half of semester which is always ten times crazier then the first half.

But I will be having a lot more time to myself and I really want to slay my TBR list. Oh! I forgot to tell you guys that the Rainbow readathon ended at midnight today. Basically we had a week to read seven books that each had one of the colours of the rainbow on it's cover. This was my list for the readathon.

Red: Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Orange: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Yellow: Something Real by Heather  Demitrios
Green: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Blue: Winger by Andrew Smith
Indigo: '89 Walls by Katie Pierson
Violet: Off The Page by Jodi Picoult

I ended up finishing 4 books (one wasn't in my list oops) in the week which was not ideal but considering that it was also hell week (submissions week), I think I did quite well. I usually can manage 2 books a week so I'm quite pleased with myself.

But back to my semester break TBR list!

1) Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot

This is the 11th book in the Princess Diaries series and it is one of the most anticipated books of 2015. I personally have never read The Princess Diaries (I know I know!) but I requested this novel and Edelweiss approved my request yesterday. So I'm hoping to finish this one before it releases on June 2nd.

2) Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

This one has been on my TBR for the longest time and it is currently the only Jodi Picoult book that I have yet to read. So I'm reading it this month because The Freshly Picked Book Club is doing this for their monthly read.  I was the one who actually suggested it haha. So I'm very excited about that.

3) Never Never #2 by Colleen Hoover

To be perfectly honest, I didn't enjoy the first book in this series. But because I read the first one and also because this is a short read, I've decided to just go for it. But quite frankly, I barely remember the first book and I haven't heard that many great reviews about it.

4) Winger by Andrew Smith

Another one that has been on my list forever. I had a few friends who read it and loved it so I wanted to give it a go.

5) Feng Shui & Charlotte Nightingale by Pam Ferderbar

Pam emailed me last month with this book and I'm quite excited to read it. It will probably be one of my earlier reads because it releases on June 21st and I'm part of the blog tour and cover reveal.

6) 89' Walls by Katie Pierson

This has been on my Netgalley shelf for quite a while so I'm hoping to get to it finally. It's also leftover from the Rainbow Readathon.

7) A Court Thorn Of Roses by Sara J Maas

I am actually already 22% into this book and I'm loving it but I put it down last week so that I could have a fresh start when we did the Rainbow Readathon. So this will most likely be one of the first books I finish this month.

8) Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

I have heard an equal number of good and bad reviews for this one and in particular, the Rainbow Club isn't enjoying this one. But I want to see it for myself so I'm going to try it.

9) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

It's a bit ambitious of me to aim for 9 books in 3 weeks but it's the holidays and I want to challenge myself. I've been pushing this book every single month this year but I've never got to it. So I want to finally read it.

I'm really excited to have some time to myself. It's so important to slow down and to actually enjoy life. I never have that luxury during semester. And I feel like I'm writing a reflection. Okay I'll stop. What are your TBR books for June?

Do You Read? What Are Your Favourite Books?

YES! Yes I do read. I love to read in fact. My whole life, reading has been my favourite hobby. I think it started all the way from when I was very young. My dad used to read to me all the time and as I grew up, the love of words, of imagination, of a made up world, just stuck with me.

As a kid, I used to take my picture books and toddler books and I would make up a story using the images on the page. I was a toddler but I would be in my own world.

 A picture of a boy with a football titled 'ball'? It would be a full story of a young boy who lived in a village and played football everyday with his friends and how he went to school and had fun. I had a vivid imagination. I could tell a full, long drawn story using just a rubber and a stapler. So it only makes sense that today I am an amateur writer and I of course, love to read.

I have so many books that I absolutely adore that  I almost don't know if I actually have a favourite. It's strange. When people ask me what my favourite book is, I immediately draw a blank.

So I shall share two of my all-time favourite books with you.

1) The Secret Island by Enid Blyton

This was my absolute favourite book as a child. Of course I haven't read it in an extremely long time. So there are three kids, Mike, Peggy and Nora, who are living with a cruel aunt and uncle because their parents disappeared in a plane crash. They meet a friend living nearby named Jack. One day, the 4 of them decide to run away. So they spend weeks planning and finally they run away together to a secret island that only Jack knows about.

The story then follows the kids as they learn to adapt to living on the island. They start to build a proper home on that island complete with their own little farm. 

This story used to be my favourite because I loved the idea of running away to a beautiful, magical place. After I read this book, I came up with so many different variations to the story in my head. The story just stuck with me like no other. I know it's a kid book but I absolutely adored it.

2) The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is my favourite author and I have read every single one of her books. However, this book, to me, was extra special. So the Storyteller is about a young baker named Sage. She has a grandmother who she loves dearly but who is also very secretive about her past. This is because she was a prisoner of war during the Nazi Regime. Living in the same town is a sweet old man named Josef Weber who befriends Sage.

One day, Josef tells Sage that he used to be an SS officer from the time of the Holocaust. He wants her help to end his life. Horrified, Sage immediately contacts the Department of Justice who sends a dashing attorney down to investigate her claims.

This story has amazing twists so I don't want to spoil it it if you do decide to read this wonderful book. Basically, Josef and Sage's grandmother have a unique connection to each other.

This story was told so beautiful. There were first-person accounts (that were actually true by the way. Jodi weaved together the stories of three actual POWs from that time to come up with Sage's Grandma's story). The first person accounts were just so beautiful and raw and I actually cried reading them. It was so good and you really should read it.

These are my top two favourite books. Of course I have so many more but to write about all of them would take ages. If you want to read one of these books, click the title of book (the bigger font ones). It will take you to the book in the Amazon store where you can buy it or read more reviews. 

See you guys tomorrow!