August Wrap Up 2019

Video in Swedish

Books read in August

1. "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
2. "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
3. "Eliza och hennes monster" ("Eliza and Her Monsters") by Francesca Zappia

Star of August
I reeeaaaly enjoyed "The Golden Compass"! Super good world building and cast of characters!

Biggest disappointment of August
I was so disappointed in "The Subtle Knife"... What a way to completely ruin a good world and interesting characters. Pullman just threw this trilogy into the mud.

Surprise of August
Gotta say "The Golden Compass" again :P

Theme of August
This month's prompt was to read a book with stars on the cover. I had a few novels in my shelves to choose from, and I actually ended up reading several that fit with the theme. In fact, all the three books I read had stars on the cover! The ones on the books from the "His Dark Materials" trilogy are kinda subtle, but I promise they're there. "Eliza and Her Monsters" has a bunch of shimmery stars on it (if one chooses to see them as stars, at least).

Series started

1. "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman


Oldest on the shelf
That would be "Eliza och hennes monster", though I've only had it since January this year.

Overall thoughts
I didn't have a good reading month. I blame it on "The Subtle Knife", honestly. And perhaps also "Hjärta av jazz" by Sara Lövestam, which I've attempted to read but haven't managed to get into yet. I've decided to DNF it, but it took me a good week to reach that point. All in all, I need to shape up!

Covers in the World: The Raven Cycle

English covers 1:

I like the style! I think the font could've been better on all of them, but overall these are nice covers. I would've wished that the second cover was more like the Swedish version, though. With the rest of the covers being more close up, the second one doesn't quite match. Still my favourite book in the series, though.

English covers 2:

They tried to add some "The Outsiders" into the cover, and it just didn't work out at all. Next, please.

English covers 3:

A bit of a colour change from the original, but not for the better. I do, however, much prefer the choice of font on these cover over the ones on the hardbacks. 

English covers 4:

I'd never seen this cover version before, and tbh it looks fan made. There's no publishing company listed for them on Goodreads. It's nice, though. I like them.

German covers:

Cute! But I don't know if they fit the atmosphere of the series. I like the first one best.

Swedish covers:

Gotta include the Swedish versions, of course! I do like the blue background on "Kretsen", but would've wished that they did similar changes on the following covers. I do, however, think Sweden made the best version of the original cover for "Drömtjuvarna". What I really wish is that they would translate the final book as well, but at this point I just don't see that ever happening...

French covers:

Well, these are very boring, and there is nothing else to say about them.

Bulgarian covers:

Someone ate a bird, some stock photo generic white guys, and a pair of eyes, and when they barfed after drinking nine shots of Ugly Font, this is what the result in the toilet bowl looked like.

Russian covers:

LMAO why did they throw a shiny generation Z symbol on there? smh

Serbian covers:

Cool! It's a pity they didn't finish the series.

Book Reviews: Drömtjuvarna | Sovarna | Seraphina

Title: Drömtjuvarna
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Original title: The Dream Thieves
First published: 2013
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: The Raven Cycle #2
Publisher: B. Wahlströms
Format: Hardback
Pages: 376
Finished: 13/09/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…

My thoughts: Read for the September Raven Cycle readalong!
It’s been a minute since I read “Kresten” (the Swedish translation for “The Raven Boys”). In fact, it was six years ago. Honestly, what I remember from that book are vague plot points and generally positive feelings toward it. When the whispers of a Raven Cycle readalong in September this year, I finally saw my chance to gather some motivation and finish the series once and for all. One book for every week, during a four week period. Was I about to re-read the first book? No! I read up on reviews and summaries instead, and when the second week of September came rolling by, I picked up “Drömtjuvarna” (“The Dream Thieves”).

I settled into the characters and plot fairly quickly, despite being out of the universe for approximately half the life of an average raven. The entire cast is permanently gloomy and moody, though all in the proper manner of a Maggie Stiefvater series. I don’t think the lack of happy moments makes the story boring, so it’s really no problem. The atmosphere worked in harmony with Stiefvater’s everyday-beautiful writing style, making me feel super into the world and all that jazz. The plot is well structured and mysterious, but what has me hooked are the characters, without a doubt. What can I say? I’m a sucker for character driven stories and all that sweet character de-vel-op-ment!

Spoiler (highlight the following paragraph to read some very mild spoiler thoughts): My favourite characters from this book were Noah, Gansey, Mr Gray, and Ronan. I’m hoping for more character growth/depth to bless Noah in the upcoming books, because I think he deserves it and might be hiding some nice and juicy personality traits. Gansey is a sweetheart and Mr Gray is a cutiepie as well. Ronan was the absolute king of this book. He had all the time in the spotlight and he used it well! I also have a love for Blue, but I felt that she didn’t get much space in “The Dream Thieves”. She’ll probably be back with more glamour and snarkiness than ever before in the coming books, though! I’m uncertain about Adam; it seems to me that his character revolves around anger, pity, and self-centeredness, which I totally get, but it’s not conveyed in a way that successfully makes me feel any positive feelings towards him. Will that change? Maybe! I can definitely see it doing so!

All in all, this was a very solid second book to the series. I’ll be diving straight into the third book, and then into the fourth one later this month. Have you also participated in the readalong? Let me know! Which was your favourite book and character? Did you even find a favourite quote? I found a bunch, but was too lazy to mark them out, and now I’m suffering from my own past tardiness :’(

Rating: 4,25/5

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Title: Sovarna (The Sleeping)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Original title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue
First published: 2014
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: The Raven Cycle #3
Publisher: B. Wahlströms
Format: Hardback
Pages: 310
Finished: 17/09/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.  The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.

My thoughts: Another book in the series, and another success! I shan’t write too much, because I have rather little to say (as is unfortunately the case with certain books that I enjoy a lot). What I like about this series is mostly the characters. Yes, the plot is interesting, but it’s not what has me “hooked on the books”. No, the characters make this series what it is, in my eyes. With a wide set of perspectives, Maggie Stiefvater allows us readers to get really close to the whole cast. The good, the bad, and everything in between. This is also a key to thorough character development, since we know every character so well and can easily see when they change.

Spoiler alert (highlight the white text to read mild spoilers): “The Dream Thieves” remains as my favourite in the series so far; mostly because I’m partial towards Ronan. He’s probably my favourite character, and he played the bigger role in the second novel in the series. We don’t see his perspective as much in this third one, which I miss, but can understand. Other characters needed time in the spotlight. One of them was Adam, whom I was rather sceptical towards after reading “The Dream Thieves”. I now feel more sympathy for him, which is what I was hoping for. We also see more of Blue in this book, and I’m glad for that, because I enjoy her stubborn and proud personality a lot. Also, Greenmantle is fun! I was sad to see Jesse Dittley go so soon, though :'(

I’m looking forward to moving on to the fourth and final book in the series!

Rating: 4,25/5

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Title: Seraphina

Author: Rachel Hartman
Original title: Seraphina
First published: 2012
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Seraphina #1
Publisher: Corgi
Format: Paperback
Pages: 359
Finished: 19/09/2019
Summary: Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high. Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

My thoughts: Another book this year that I’ll compare to the BBC “Merlin” series, simply because of the setting and fantasy elements. “Serpahina” is a high fantasy, medieval inspired, dragon murder mystery story, which in itself should totally sell the book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy. The story starts off a bit slow, but it gains momentum once you’ve passed the 100 page mark. I wasn’t bothered by this, seeing as it’s common for high fantasy novels to need some extra pages for world building, and the author makes up for it with fun and interesting characters. My favourites were Seraphina, Orma, Kiggs, and Lars (but also the rest of them as well :p). I must say the book earned points by not including a love triangle; I think triangle drama is a worn out trope and it doesn't do much for me.
As the story moved on, I found a pleasant amount of “OH SHIT!” moments embedded in the plot, and at some points I had to stop reading for a bit because I was SHOCKED!!!! I found the world intriguing; I think the idea of dragons mingling with humans was very interesting, and it made way for some yummy high fantasy politics, which were, btw, not too hard to understand and easy to get involved in.

Something fun with this edition is that there’s an additional 50 pages or so after the book ends with author interviews, book club questions, a playlist for the book, a glossary, and a list of characters. Very charming!

Ps. I read this for the theme of September, which is to read a book with a name in the title :) I'm very happy with this theme, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have read this book for a good while.

Rating: 4,5/5

Summer Book Haul, 2019

Video in Swedish

Books bought this summer

1. "Kirke" by Madeline Miller
2. "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë
3. "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
4. "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
5. "The Priory of the Orange Tree" by Samantha Shannon
6. "Shadow Study" by Maria V. Snyder
7. "En man som heter Ove" ("A Man Called Ove") by Fredrik Backman
8. "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
9. "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
10. "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
11. "Doktor Faustus" ("Doctor Faustus") by Thomas Mann
12. "Paper Towns" by John Green

Main source of books
Second hand! But I got "Kirke" from www.bokus.se through a small comeptition, and I bought some others online.

Do I reasonably have space for these new books in my room?
Um... maybe? Starting to get real tight in here. To save the day, I bought a shoe shelf (?) at an auction, and for the moment it's living the life of a book shelf until it finds its right place in this world eventually.

Best find
Probably "The Invention of Hugo Cabret", which I've wanted to have for ages. I remember my teacher reading it to the class when I was about 11 years old, so it brings out some level of nostalgia.

Most expensive book
So far it's "The Priory of the Orange Tree", which cost me a full 133SEK when ordering brand new (a bit expensive for a paperback, honestly). I also bought a box of the His Dark Materials trilogy for about 230SEK, though that cuts it to about 77SEK per book, which isn't pricey.

Best bargain
Definitely "Kirke" by Madeline Miller! I got this for free, and it was amazing!

Most excited to read
Actually most of them, though I have to say "Doktor Faustus", "The Priory of the Orange Tree", and "Shadow Study" are all at the top of the list.

Most likely never to be read
If I really had to choose, it would be "The Amber Spyglass" and unfortunately "Paper Towns" that are at the bottom of the list. With emphasis on "The Amber Spyglass".

Books I (kind of) regret not buying
Nah, I just bought those in September instead ;)

New series

1. "Soulfinders" by Maria V. Snyder
2. "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman

Total amount of books
381+12=393    :o

Overall thoughts

New books! Woop!

Covers in the World: The Reckoners

American covers 1:

The Original! I find it a bit stale, though I suppose it works for the story. I'm not mad at it :P

American covers 2:

Meh. The colours are fierce, but otherwise these covers are shallow.

British covers:

U know ur Maja likes them classic clean Sanderson covers :p I own these. Gorgeous.

Slovak covers:

Nice! Vibrant colours drawing me in, a sci-fi style theme, and matching, too? Yes please.

Italian covers:

A very good example of what a big difference font can do to a cover. I certainly prefer the English font to the Italian one. The text here is misplaced and bold in the wrong way.

Bulgarian covers:

I like the first two, but the third one is boring...

Polish covers:

I'm getting movie poster vibes from these. They're alright!

Danish covers:

First one is cool, but all together they come off as a bit emotionless.

Czech covers:

:( Am I looking at book covers or unicorn barf? ):

Russian covers:

Not bad, Russia! I don't love them, but they're passable! Congrats <3

French covers:

Eh, they don't add anything new. I guess I like them a bit.

Chinese covers:

Not for me, I don't think.

Thai covers:

The style of covers remind me of the ones Razorbill did for the "Across the Universe" trilogy by Beth Revis as an alternative to the starry covers. I don't dislike it.



Dutch covers:
Too stiff! I don't like this!



Indonesian covers:
Clean, stylish, maybe boring? You tell me.



Greek covers:
I love the first cover! The others are ok! Nice!



Portuguese covers:
First cover is <3<3<3<3 great, second one as well, not so sure about the last one...



Hebrew covers:
Hit or miss? Miss, definitely.