The Reading Rush 2019 Evaluation

This year's reading rush is finally over! I had a fun, but also stressful week of reading, reading, reading, aaand some more reading. In the end, I actually managed to meet the goal of reading 7 books in one week. How crazy is that?! I'm super proud of myself! Every book I read was matched to a challaénge (of which there were 7 as well). Here's the list:

1. Read a book with purple on the cover
I read "Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse for this challenge! My edition has some purple flower petals on it, and I was in total luck, because that was pretty much the only short book with something purple on it that I had at home. I finished this on the Friday, aka day 5. I wasn't a big fan of it, tbh. It's a philosophical work of 116 pages, and I just felt that it had nothing to offer me at all. Check out my review for more details.

2. Read a book in the same spot the entire time
I changed my pick for this from a memoir about the Holocaust to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, simply because I needed a book that I could go through quicker. This was a tricky one, since I decided to start reading this on the Thursday, when I had work in the evening, so I couldn't bring it with me on the train. I ended up not finishing this book until the day after. I liked the book, but had a bit of a hard time getting into the world and writing. When I got a bit further into the story, though, I started enjoying it more and more. I look forward to continuing the series!

3. Read a book you meant to read last year
For this one, I read "The Copper Gauntlet" by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, and I read it on the Saturday. This is a middle grade fantasy book, and it's the second instalment of the Magisterium series. I bought this back in 2015 shortly after its release, but ended up never reading it until now. Certainly, this was a book that I meant to read not only last year, but for several years before that, too. Overall, I'm enjoying this series. It's quick paced, magical, and has a slightly dark twist to it that I really appreciate. This is also a series that I look forward to continuing reading.

4. Read an author's first book
I ended up choosing to read "Rör mig inte!" (aka "Shatter Me") by Tahereh Mafi for this challenge. This was also the book that I started the week with, and I guess it was a decent one to begin with. I definitely liked the first 100 pages or so of the novel most, and after that I felt that it just didn't go in the right direction and it was lacking good character depth and world building. It was a fast read, but definitely not the best one of the week.

5. Read a book with a non-human main character
I wonder how many people decided to read "Animal Farm" by George Orwell for this challenge. At least I know I'm part of that group. "Animal Farm" was my second read of the week, because that day I went on a several hours long day trip with a friend, so I didn't get a ton of time to read. I managed to finish this one, though! It was pretty good, for what it is. I liked it!

6. Read a book that has five or more words in the title
I also believe a lot of people decided to read "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky for this challenge. I did, too! This was my seventh and final read of the week, and it was also my favourite. This is a book that deserves the hype it's gotten over the years. I really felt for the main character, and there were certain parts of the book that I felt I could truly connect to. All in all, this was a wonderful end to the week <3

7. Read and watch a book to movie adaptation
On the Wednesday, I decided to pick up "The DUFF" by Kody Keplinger. It was an ok read, but not one that will stick with me for very long. The movie wasn't my type of film, so I watched it on almost double speed just to get through it. Of course, the book was better than the movie, but not a super lot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So! That's a wrap up of what I read, so let's rank these bad boys from worst to best!

7) "Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse

It just wasn't very good, was it? :/

6) "The DUFF" by Kody Keplinger

I definitely wanted more than I got from this :(

5) "Rör mig inte!" by Tahereh Mafi

Started out good, but ended up worse :'(

4) "Liftarens guide till galaxen" by Douglas Adams

Charming and fun, but a bit slow to get into :)

3) "The Copper Gauntlet" by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

Thunder and lightning, this was exciting! ;P

2) "Animal Farm" by George Orwell

Thought provoking and well written! :D

1) "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky

Purely fantastic <3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I came up with a few tips and tricks that helped me some this year, so I thought I'd share my strategy!

1. Don't get too ambitious; pick short books, preferably under 300 pages.

2. If you plan on reading 7 books, make sure to create a schedule where you read one book per day. Getting behind schedule even one day can make a huge damaged to your progress, and you only have that one week to complete your goals.

3. Try to keep your TBR varied. I made sure to include a variety of genres this year, such as contemporary, fantasy, classic, philosophy, middle grade, young adult, dystopian, etc. If the majority of your books are young adult contemporaries, you might quickly get bored of that consistency.

4. An hourly schedule might be necessary. I figured out that it was reasonable for me to read about 33 pages in an hour. That way, it would take me about 3 hours to read 100 pages. However, I gave myself 4-hour periods to finish 100 pages at a time. That way, I got to rest in between periods, and I could finish a ca. 200 page book in eight hours, giving me plenty of times to sleep and take breaks.

5. Don't underestimate the power of snack. Keep something sweet or salty by your side, and something to drink (if you're the kind of person who is in need of hydration). But make sure not to get too energised; I noticed that if I had too much coffee at once, I became too restless to focus properly on my reading, which slowed me down. You want to find a nice state between tired and restless.

6. STAY MOTIVATED! You entered the readathon with a clear goal, and you must remember how much you want to achieve it! A good way to keep that motivation is to try you best to really stick to your reading schedule. Like I said, falling behind can be anyone's doom, and feeling like you'll surely fail is (shockingly) not very uplifting.

7. Be mentally prepared. Know before going into the readathon that it will take up a shit ton of your time and energy, and that you won't be able to do much more than read for the entire week (depending on the size of your TBR).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was all for me and my Reading Rush 2019 wrap up and evaluation. See you in the next post! <3 

Book Reviews: Siddharta | The Copper Gauntlet | The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Title: Siddharta

Author: Hermann Hesse
Original title: Siddharta
First published: 1922
Genre: Classic, Philosophy
Series: --
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 116
Finished: 26/07/2019
Summary: Siddhartha, a handsome Brahmin's son, is clever and well loved, yet increasingly dissatisfied with the life that is expected of him. Setting out on a spiritual journey to discover a higher state of being, his quest leads him through the temptations of luxury and wealth, the pleasures of sensual love, and the sinister threat of death-dealing snakes, until, eventually, he comes to a river. There a ferryman guides him towards his destiny, and to the ultimate meaning of existence.

My thoughts: My fifth read for "The Reading Rush" 2019! This one was read for the challenge "read a book with purple on the cover"; a challenge that proved difficult to fulfil! It seems that not many of my slimmer books have something purple on the cover, so I was lucky to discover that "Siddharta" delivered in my time of need ;)
Unfortunately, I didn’t find this book to be anything but boring. It is a work of philosophy, and it was easy to read and understand, but it offered me no new wisdom or view on life. Basically, it’s a repetition of “money can’t buy happiness” and a small bunch of other lifestyle ideals. The characters were boring, and I really didn’t care for Siddhartha going out into the world and finding himself and the right path of life. Overall, this book scores a low rating because it gave me nothing at all, without being inherently bad.

Rating: 2/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: The Copper Gauntlet
Author: Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
Original title: The Copper Gauntlet
First published: 2015
Genre: Middle-grade, Fantasy
Series: Magisterium #2
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardback
Pages: 264
Finished: 27/07/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! Callum Hunt’s summer break isn’t like other kids’. His closest companion is a Chaos-ridden wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And, of course, most kids aren’t heading back to the magical world of the Magisterium in the fall. It’s not easy for Call . . . and it gets even harder after he checks out his basement and discovers that his dad might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc. Call escapes to the Magisterium -- but things only intensify there. The Alkahest -- a copper gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic -- has been stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call and his friends Aaron and Tamara awaken the attention of some very dangerous foes -- and get closer to an even more dangerous truth.

My thoughts: Behold: my sixth read for the 2019 Reading Rush! This was read for the challenge "read a book you meant to read last year".
This series is still a lot like Harry Potter. The similarities are just too many to go unnoticed. However, seeing as I read and loved “Carry On” by Rainbow Rowell, which also shares a glaring amount of similarities with Harry Potter, I guess I cannot fault this series for doing the same. And honestly? It’s a very decent middle grade fantasy series. As far as these first two books go, I’m enjoying them a lot and as the world and story unfolds, I am compelled to read more and more. We follow a worried and cynical protagonist with a character depth that I like, and I’d say almost all the characters are well developed and described so far in the series. I’m also starting to see how much parts of the series are similar to Cassandra Clare’s other works, though I can’t say the same about Holly Black with certainty, since I’ve only ever read one book by her.
All in all, a solid, suspenseful, exciting read!

Rating: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author: Stephen Chbosky
Original title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
First published: 1999
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: Paperback
Pages: 231
Finished: 28/07/2019
Summary: This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

My thoughts: My seventh and final read for the 2019 Reading Rush, thus completing the last two challenges on my list; "read a book with five or more words in the title" (this has 6) and "read seven books" WHICH I HAVE NOW DONE OMG. I am officially the best ever (for a minimum of 2 minutes).
This is a very special book. Did I cry? Yes. I don’t think I will say more than that.

Rating: 4,75/5

Book reviews: Animal Farm | The DUFF | Liftarens guide till galaxen

Title: Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
Original title: Animal Farm
First published: 1945
Genre: Classic, Dystopian
Series: --
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 95
Finished: 23/07/2019
Summary: A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned –a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.

My thoughts: My second read for this year's Reading Rush! "Animal Farm" was read to complete the challenge "read a book with a non-human main character".
Wow! A really good story for its length (95 pages). It manages to fit a surprising amount of character depth, political satire, and storyline into a short tale about animals on a farm. I’d love to reread it sometime at a slower pace, and maybe attempt to write an analysis on it, just to really get into the morals and ideas of the piece. For now, I don’t have a lot more to say.

Rating: 4,25/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend
Author: Kody Keplinger
Original title: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend
First published: 2010
Genre: Contemporary, YA
Series: --
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 277
Finished: 24/07/2019
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.  But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.  Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. And eventually, through this realization, Bianca begins to see how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.

My thoughts: This is the third book I read for this year's Reading Rush! "The DUFF" was read to complete the challenge "read and watch a book to movie adaption".
Also, lo and behold, this is the 222nd book on my "read" list!

This is a book that receives a (to me) low rating not because it is exceedingly bad, but because it was exceedingly not good. I just can’t think of anything that I particularly liked about it. On the bright side, I didn’t struggle with reading it, which means it wasn’t horrible. I’d compare it to unsalted pasta, perhaps a bit overcooked. Sure, I can eat it, and in the right mindset I won’t outright disapprove of it, but I certainly won’t savour it like actual good pasta.
The character did have different personalities, but none of them really stuck with me, and I was hardly rooting for someone. The storyline was basic af; idk how many times I’ve seen this exact plot in a low budget American high school movie. The not-super-girly girl and the school’s hottest and rudest guy fall for each other and everybody’s minds are blown… not. I can honestly see how this novel tries to twist the cliché tale, but the added elements that hope to achieve this just aren’t enough or miss the mark. I have a hard time appreciating the effort, since coming up with something a little more original would have been a lot more admirable. In the end, I’ve had too much good pasta to like “The DUFF”. Sorry.
(Oh, and the movie seems so different from the book? Why did they change so much about the plot? If possible, they made it more like the cliché story than the book already was.)

Rating: 2,75/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Liftarens guide till galaxen
Author: Douglas Adams
Original title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
First published: 1979
Genre: Sci-fi
Series: Liftarens guide till galaxen #1
Publisher: Månpocket
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
Finished: 26/07/2019
Summary: Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox—the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

My thoughts: My fourth read for this year's Reading Rush (AND my fortieth read this year)! This one was read to complete the challenge "read a book in the same spot the entire time". I had some business outside my house the day I read this, so I had to squeeze it into my schedule before and after daily activities. I didn't manage to finish it the day I intended, but luckily I had it finished the day after before noon.

The concept of “random is funny” has seen many failures, but also a few successes. I believe this book is one of those few. At first, I was somewhat put off by the seemingly incoherent plot, but as I continued reading, I found logic and pattern in the madness as the pieces slowly started to come together and become understandable. I was definitely able to appreciate the book’s humour, and I laughed out loud at several points while reading. It would surely seem that in the case of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, random is funny.
My main complaints about the book are that it took me slightly too long to get into it, that I didn’t really find the plot exciting (though it was entertaining still), and that the text was too small for my liking. Other than that, I liked it! I am very likely to continue reading the series (since I have the whole thing in this bind-up edition).

Rating: 3,5/5

Book Reviews: We Were Liars | Call me by your name | Rör mig inte!

Title: We Were Liars
Author: E. Lockhart
Original title: We Were Liars
First published: 2014
Genre: YA, Mystery, Contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 225
Finished: 15/07/2019
Summary: We Were Liars. I will LIE too, as to not spoil your reading. This is a book about a girl, about friendship, about summer. It's a book about money and a wealthy family. It's a book about values and about pretending. It's a book about LIES, those that we tell others and the ones that we tell ourselves. The LIES that are exposed and also, the hidden lies.

My thoughts: “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart became an object of hype and mystery within the YA reading community upon its release ca. four or five years ago. Its biggest selling point is that the reader should have as little knowledge as possible about the plot when diving into the novel, hence I won’t give a summary of the plot itself in this review. I will, however, discuss my thoughts about it.
We follow the protagonist and teenager Cady Sinclair; the eldest grandchild of a filthy rich old man who, amongst other things, has three daughters and a private island, which the family visits each summer. Cady hardly made a good impression on me. Usually, I tend to favour protagonists that have flaws; it makes a character more relatable. However Cady didn’t offer any other characteristics than spoiled, boring, and slow. Not even the mystery of a rich family’s dirty secret could save her from being plain, and neither was she saved by the attempt of a poetic writing style.
Yes, this is my segue to talking about the writing style. At first, I was annoyed by it, because it reminded me of other disappointing novels with failed tries at unique and poetic language. Nevertheless, it wasn’t too bad, and I got used to it in the end, though I sometimes found that the style of writing clashed with the personality of the protagonist. And though I got used to the style, it never got good.
So what made this novel? Well, in the end this book is held up by its selling point, the mystery. It’s the mystery, unravelling, and reveal that made this book worth the read. And these things are executed well by the author; I could tell that the resolution was thoroughly thought out and plotted by Lockhart, and I’m glad to say the ending made an impact on me. However, I need more than the climax of the novel to affect me for it to be considered good. In the end, I’ll remember this as a book with a grand finale, but not, unfortunately, as anything else.

Rating: 3/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Call me by your name
Author: André Aciman
Original title: Call Me By Your Name
First published: 2007
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ+
Series: Call Me By Your Name #1
Publisher: Brombergs
Format: Hardback
Pages: 262
Finished: 21/07/2019
Summary: A sudden and powerful romance blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks' duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. For what the two discover on the Riviera and during a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.

My thoughts: I watched the movie adaptation of this when it came out in 2017 and pretty much loved it. In February of this year (2019), I finally purchased the novel at the annual Swedish book sale. And now, in July of 2019, I’ve read it.
The movie and book are rather different; since the novel is mostly based on Elio’s thoughts, fantasies, and observations of Oliver, the movie became a compilation of the few actual scenes that the book offers, resulting in a slow paced, silent, and atmospheric film. However, we never realise the full extent of Elios feelings for Oliver in the movie, because we miss out on everything that goes on in his head. This is where the novel fills in.

Elio is beyond taken by Oliver; he’s all he can think about, really. Every page has a paragraph dedicated for Elio’s thoughts on the American, though despite everything being about Oliver, I felt that I rarely got to know him. He’s more the object for Elio’s desires and fantasies, rather than a character that we become familiar with. We truly only see him as Elio sees him. This has a charm to it, because while Oliver remains as some sort of centre for the plot, Elio really takes up all the space in the novel. “Call me by your name” is just Elio, who is just about Oliver, if that makes any sense.

I have a hard time finding things to say about this novel. I enjoyed the writing style and the depiction of Elio’s total obsession. It was a nice summer read, and I’m glad I’ve finally read it. Though I think I liked the movie a bit more, I want to say that the two really compliment each other well. I warmly recommend them both.

Rating: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Rör mig inte!
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Original title: Shatter Me
First published: 2011
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Dystopia
Series: Shatter Me #1
Publisher: B. Wahlströms
Format: Hardback
Pages: 302
Finished: 22/07/2019
Summary: Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

My thoughts: First book read for "The Reading Rush" 2019! This one was read for the challenge "read an authors debut novel". I completed it within my schedule, which means I read and finished it within the first day of the week.
I have a few scattered thoughts about this novel that I took notes on with my phone, so this review will be a sort of coherent compilation of those notes.
The best part of the book was the beginning. I felt compelled by the writing style, which I’d heard a lot about from the time when this novel blew up back when it was first released. Yes, the style is worth noting, and yes, I liked it at first, though I felt that what I enjoyed about it (which is mostly the crossed out parts of the text) ebbed out as the story progressed. Hence, what I liked most about the writing style sort of went away the more I read, which was really too bad, though I can understand it was used as a tool to note the character development of the protagonist and improvement of her mental state/health. 
I quickly noticed that Adam, the main love interest of the book, seemed to be built on rather weak and ambiguous descriptions. That’s a nicer way of saying his character lacks depth, and this is a problem basically from the moment he’s introduced and for the rest of the novel. I actually found that this was the case with pretty much every character besides Juliette, but even she wasn’t a striking exception. I’d hoped Adam would grow with time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Nevertheless, it’s very possible that we see a greater change with him in future novels of the trilogy, hopefully along with all the other characters.

Furthermore, speaking of Adam, I found the main romance pretty boring… It started off as sort of intriguing, but their falling for each other went way too quick and didn’t feel motivated enough, despite the author’s attempts.

Another thing that annoyed me were the shallow descriptions. It seems this novel is overflowing with metaphors, yet I rarely got any elaborate or imaginative descriptions on the environments that Juliette finds herself in. Perhaps that’s something that was lost in translation, but I honestly doubt it. The shallowness also affected character descriptions overall; new characters were introduced clumsily, mainly because Juliette was annoyingly quick to judge them as good or bad. Because of that, I as a reader felt that the author was trying to tell me outright to think a certain way about a character, rather than actually showing me the nature of their character with actions and interactions. For example, Juliette is at one point introduced to a new character, and she has legit not known him for more than an hour before she starts making statements like “I could never imagine This Character ever being surprised at anything!”, which I found highly unrealistic and clumsy. Really, this book would have needed an extra 100 pages or so to delve deeper into characters, relationships, and world building in order to truly convince me that this is a decent/good book.

I sound negative, I know. But despite my many remarks, I did enjoy reading this a bit. Maybe not as much as I’d hoped, and the faults of it were a tad too many, but I think I would consider reading at least one of the sequels. The plot was rather fast paced (maybe too fast, actually), and I can see the potential. Overall, it’s not a book that I struggled with completing because of its flaws, but I didn’t really fly through it because I enjoyed it a lot.

Spoiler thoughts (mark white text in order to read it): Adam’s motivation of risking so much for Juliette is very weak! Why would he risk the safety of this younger brother, which should be his main priority since he’s his brother’s only guardian, in order to save Juliette? I didn’t buy that their love was strong or deep enough at that point in the plot for him to be so reckless.

Rating: 3/5

June Wrap Up 2019

Books read in June

1. "PS. Jag gillar dig fortfarande" by Jenny Han
2. "Nu och för alltid, Lara Jean" by Jenny Han
3. "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick

Star of June
Probably "Nu och för alltid, Lara Jean" by Jenny Han, since it finished a trilogy that I really enjoyed. I felt especially that this novel aligned with where I am in my life; I went to prom, graduated, and everything. I could relate to Lara Jean in this novel and felt that she was a companion to me on my journey for a few emotional days.

Biggest disappointment of June
I have to say "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick, but I was very happy with that read, so it only gets this title because I read so few books this month :'(

Surprise of June
None!

Theme of June
Dragons! I failed to read any book that was focused on dragons, HOWEVER (!!!!) there's a picture of a dragon in "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" so I count that as half a win ;P

Series started
None!

Series finished

1. "Till alla killar jag har gillat" ("To All the Boys I've Loved Before") by Jenny Han

Oldest on the shelf
That would be "PS. Jag gillar dig fortfarande" by Jenny Han, which I bought in February.

Overall thoughts

SUCH a slow reading month. I blame it on not being able to get into any new books, though I tried with at least four different ones.

Book Reviews: Gul Utanpå | The Invention of Hugo Cabret | Kirke

Title: Gul utanpå (Yellow on the outside)
Author: Patrik Lundberg
Original title: Gul utanpå
First published: 2013
Genre: Biography
Series: --
Publisher: Rabén & Sjögren
Format: Paperback
Pages: 249
Finished: 27/05/2019
Summary: All his life, Patrik Lundberg has been called "Chinese fucker". He was adopted from South Korea in 1983. He was sent halfway across the globe and landed in the middle of the Swedish idyllic small town Sölvesborg. There, he grew up in an ordinary dysfunctional family and was raised like any other Swedish boy. 24 years later, he travels back to his country of birth. There, he becomes "the awesome guy" -  the westerner that all the girls want. He's spoken to in Korean and is faced with a culture that he's only ever read about. Most of all, he's looking for his biological parents. But will he find them?

My thoughts: I believe this is the first real biography that I’ve ever read. I got a copy of this from a library because I’d turned 18 (a sort of birthday gift), but I’d heard about it before, since I’d been to one of the author’s lectures. My impression of his as a person and the narrative he has in the book are very similar, which I’d say is good for a biography. As is to be expected, the story is very personal/private-ish, so we get pretty close to Lundberg throughout the story. To me, it meant a lot to read a biography centered around adoption to the western world, since I’ve met a decent amount of children who’ve had that fate. “Gul utanpå” gave me a new perspective that I find really valuable and will keep in mind in the future.

Rating: 4/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Author: Brian Selznick
Original title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
First published: 2007
Genre: Historical, Middle Grade
Series: --
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardback
Pages: 525
Finished: 24/06/2019
Summary: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

My thoughts: A peculiar "little" book that I've wished to get my hands on for quite some while now. I was stoked to find it not-so-hidden-away in a secondhand shop and immediately lunged for it (only half metaphorically). "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is half written, half drawn in beautiful full page illustrations which tell parts of the story themselves. To me, it was this special way of storytelling that really made it good for me. I already knew the plot by heart; having seen the film several times before, and having my teacher read it out loud to the class in middle school. I enjoyed it a lot and basically flew through the whole thing.

Rating: 3,75/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Kirke
Author: Madeline Miller
Original title: Circe
First published: 2018
Genre: Fantasy, Historical
Series: --
Publisher: Wahlström & Widstrand
Format: Paperback
Pages: 407
Finished: 12/07/2019
Summary: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

My thoughts: Circe, Circe, Circe… How should I even begin? Well, maybe like this:
“Kirke” (or “Crice” in English) is like a warm cup of Earl Grey tea on a misty winter morning. It is like the first red leaf of autumn, the last snowdrop of spring, and the first mighty thunder of a storm. Eager, persistent, intense. While reading it, I often found the need to take a step back to process what I’d taken in, and each time I returned it was like inhaling the first breath of salty ocean breeze when exiting the car by the beach, over and over again. Following Circe is sometimes bitter, sometimes triumphant, but always refreshing and exciting. Wherever the book wanted to take me, I gladly followed; I soon learnt that it had much more to offer than I’d at first thought. “Kirke” is filled to the brim with, as others have mentioned before me, female power, though also with intrigue, learning, and cultural history (which someone as thirsty for knowledge as me appreciates). I should be mentioned that you don’t need to have any deeper knowledge of Greek mythology when going into this book; just lean back, relax, and enjoy Madeline Miller’s captivating style and ingenious storytelling. So if you’re curious, don’t hesitate! “Kirke” is a book that you’ll surely remember.


(this book was sent for me to review by Bokus, where you can soon find the Swedish translation released!)

Rating: 4,5/5