Winter + Spring Wrap Up 2019-2020 (December-April)

Wrap up in Swedish

Stay Home Reading Rush vlog & wrap up in Swedish

Books read in December - April

1. "The Priory of the Orange Tree" by Samantha Shannon
2. "The Archived" by Victoria Schwab
3. "The Final Empire" by Brandon Sanderson
4. "The Well of Ascension" by Brandon Sanderson
5. "Going Bovine" by Libba Bray
6. "The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue" by Mackenzi Lee
7. "Shadow Study" by Maria V. Snyder
8. "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
9. "Crown of Midnight" by Sarah J. Maas
10. "Spinning Silver" by Naomi Novik
11. "Our Man in Havana" by Graham Greene
12. "The Crimes of Grindelwald: The Original Screenplay" by J.K. Rowling
13. "Malamander" by Thomas Taylor
14. "The Comedy of Errors" by William Shakespeare
15. "Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead

Audiobooks listened to in December - April

1. "Daisy Jones & The Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" by Ottessa Moshfegh

Stars of December - April
I'd say that out of them all, "The Priory of the Orange Tree", "The Final Empire" and "Spinning Silver" have been the ones I liked most. None of them have gotten full on 5/5 stars, but they were all very close to it.

Biggest disappointments of December - April
I'm sad to say that both "Going Bovine" and "Shadow Study" let me down. Both are by authors I've loved before, but these two just didn't cut it for me. "Going Bovine" was definitely the worst of the two, but my expectations for "Shadow Study" were very high. I was also disappointed by "The Archived" way back in December.

Surprises of December - April
The two biggest surprises for me have been quite different from each other. The first is "My Year of Rest and Relaxation", which was just a roller coaster of a read. It was pretty crazy, and I still can't say if I loved it or disliked it. The other is "Throne of Glass", which certainly didn't live up to the hype, but it was very entertaining.

Theme of December - April
December's theme was to read a book with something blue on the cover, for which I read "The Archived". The themes so far this year have been to read a book with a title that has a "(The/A) __ of __ (and __)" structure, to read a book that your friend picked for you, to read a book that has been hyped, and to read a book with a big or annoying face on the cover. For these themes, I read "The Well of Ascension", "Going Bovine" and "The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue", "Throne of Glass", and "Bloodlines".

Pages read in December - April
Ca 6 430, plus maybe 15 hours of audio books.

Series started

1. "The Archived" by Victoria Schwab
2. "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson
3. "The Montague Siblings" by Mackenzi Lee
4. "Soulfinders" by Maria V. Snyder
5. "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
6. "Malamander" by Thomas Taylor
7. "Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead

Oldest on the shelf
I'm guessing that's "Throne of Glass" and "Crown of Midnight", which I ordered together back in 2013, if I'm not mistaken. I remember it because I bought "Throne of Glass" as soon as the paperback cover came out in hardcover. I've also owned the "Mistborn" series for some years.

Overall thoughts
I got off to a slow start this year, reading only two 400+ page books per month. I picked up the pace in April again and hope to keep going with that for the summer at least. So far this year, I've read 9 big books, which puts me a little bit behind schedule. Wish me luck with catching up... ;)

October Book Haul 2019

Books bought in October

1. "Bridge of Clay" by Marcus Zusak
2. "Wayward Son" by Rainbow Rowell
3. "The Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan
4. "The Kiss of Deception" by Mary E. Pearson
5. "Beautiful Creatures Del 4" ("Beautiful Redemption") by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
6. "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jaqueline Woodson
7. "The Queen of the Tearling" by Erika Johansen
8. "The Fate of the Tearling" by Erika Johansen
9. "Främlingen" ("Outlander") by Diana Gabaldon
10. "Slända i bärnsten" ("Dragonfly in Amber") by Diana Gabaldon
11. "Sjöfararna" ("Voyager") by Diana Gabaldon
12. "Rädda mig inte!" ("Unravel Me") by Tahereh Mafi
13. "Sätt mig i brand!" ("Ignite Me") by Tahereh Mafi
14. "The Red Pyramid" by Rick Riordan
15. "The Serpent's Shadow" by Rick Riordan
16. "The Body Finder" by Kimberly Derting
17. "Desires of the Dead" by Kimberly Derting
18. "Split Feather" by Deborah A. Wolf

Main source of books
We've got some scattered origin stories here, but 1 is from the annual Swedish book fair, one is from Book Depository, 5 are from Erikshjälpen, 1 is from Emmaus, and the final three are from Gekås, Ullared.

Do I reasonably have space for these new books in my room?
I have fought and prevailed! Some re-positioning was needed, though. Holy shit, I bought a lot of books, though.

Best find
Oooo I'm inclined to say "The Queen of the Tearling" along with the last book in the trilogy, just because it was soooo hyped a few years back and I was really tempted to buy it at full price back then, but I never did. Now I'm stoked to own two books in the trilogy!

Most expensive book
"Bridge of Clay" for 150SEK, however it's not second hand, was bought by a friend at the annual book fair (where books are known to be sold for high prices), and it's a signed copy just for me! So, it was definitely worth it ;)

Best bargain
I got both "The Red Pyramid" and "The Serpent's Shadow" for only 5SEK each, which is CRAZY. I've suddenly become a regular visitor in that particular store nowadays... (btw it's Öppna Hjärtan Secondhand in Malmö, they currently have a 50% sale on all their books, which is why I got these so cheap).

Most excited to read
Could it be anything else than "Wayward Son"? I don't think so! Don't get me wrong; I want to read all of these books eventually, but none as much/soon as "Wayward Son"!

Most likely never to be read
That has to be "Split Feather", which I was given for free by Science Fiction Bokhandeln when making another purchase there around Halloween. I'd never heard of it before, and I'm willing to read it eventually, but it might take a long ass while tbh.

Books I (kind of) regret not buying
None that I can think of at the moment :)

New series

1. "The Heroes of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
2. "The Remnant Chronicles" by Mary E. Pearson
3. "The Queen of the Tearling" by Erika Johansen
4. "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon
5. "The Kane Chronicles" by Rick Riordan
6. "The Body Finder" by Kimberly Derting
7. "Daughter of the Midnight Sun" by Deborah A. Wolf

Total amount of books
401+18=419

Overall thoughts
Sooo many books bought this month. I didn't even think I'd reach such a high number! Oh well, I guess it's not the end of the world ;)

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!

April Wrap Up 2019

Wrap Up video in Swedish

Books read in April

1. "Så talade Zarathustra" ("Thus Spoke Zarathustra") by Friedrich Nietzsche
2. "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard
3. "Death Most Definite" by Trent Jamieson
4. "The Magicians of Caprona" by Diana Wynne Jones
5. "Reptilrummet" by Lemony Snicket

Star of April
Gotta give it to "Death Most Definite" by Trent Jamieson; yet another good Australian read for me. It was funny, action packed, and a real page-turner.

Biggest disappointment of April
I'm sorry, but "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard really didn't live up to my standards... Go see my review for a more detailed opinion.

Surprise of April
I mean, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" was a bit of a ride, wasn't it...?  I guess you could call that a surprise lol.

Theme of April
This month featured "a skeleton in the closet" as the theme. I chose to read "Death Most Definite" by Trent Jamieson, seeing as it follows an Australian reaper who works for the family business and transfers souls from this world to the next. It was a fun read and I recommend it!

Series started

1. "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard
2. "Death Workers" by Trent Jamieson

Oldest on the shelf
This month it was probably "The Magicians of Caprona" by Diana Wynne Jones. I'd started reading this book several years ago and didn't finish it until now, which means I've had it for a while. Most likely it's been with me since 2013.

Overall thoughts

Not as bad as March felt! I can feel that I am heading for better reading times (is what I say now, though it might turn out that all goes to hell in May idk). I'm looking forward to the books I'm planning to read next month.

PS: this post was delayed because I had a hard time finding the time (and energy) to film the video :P

March Wrap Up 2019

Full Wrap Up in Swedish

Books read in March

1. "Chanslös" ("Changeless") by Gail Carriger
2. "Crash & Burn" by Abigail Roux
3. "I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You" by Ally Carter
4. "The Near Witch" by Victoria Schwab

Star of March
I can't decide between "The Near Witch" and "Crash & Burn"... I guess they'll share the star spot. There really was no clear favourite for me this month.

Biggest disappointment of March
I feel like all the books I read were disappointments on some level... I'm not mad about it, I just read some books that I had higher expectations for than I maybe should have had. I'd have to say "Chanslös" had me the most disappointed, though.

Surprise of March
None, really. Unless we count books that were surprisingly mediocre. In that case; all of them :P

Theme of March
The theme of this month was "borta bra, men hemma bäst", which means that while being away from home can be nice, home will always be the best. I interpreted this theme by reading two books about characters that went on travels/journeys away from home. Both "Chanslös" by Gail Carriger and "Crash & Burn" by Abigail Roux fit that description.

Series started

1. "Gallagher Girls" by Ally Carter

Series finished

1. "Cut & Run" by Abigail Roux (and Madeleine Urban)

Oldest on the shelf
This time "Chanslös" takes home the prize as oldest book on the shelf, having lived with me for about 1,5 years. I remember that I bought in Gothemburg during the annual Swedish Book Fair in 2017.

Overall thoughts
I didn't get as much reading done as I'd hoped. 5 books would have been ideal, but 4 books isn't disastrous. I probably sound more negative in this wrap up than I actually am; this just wasn't a great reading month, but I'm not super bummed about it.

March Book Haul 2019

Full Book Haul in Swedish

Books bought in 

1. "Red Glove" by Holly Black
2. "The Near Witch" by Victoria Schwab
3. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
4. "Foxfire" by Joyce Carol Oates
5. "Sköldpaddor hela vägen ner" ("Turtles All the Way Down") by John Green

Main source of books
This time it was secondhand. I drained my bank account (and will to spend money) after the book sale. Took it easy this month.

Do I reasonably have space for these new books in my room?
Well, I managed to get them all in there. Looks alright (almost).

Best find
Definitely "The Near Witch" by Victoria, which is in first edition. That edition hasn't been available to buy since at least 2014. I almost cried IN PUBLIC when I found it.

Most expensive book
The book by John Green, which cost me like 40SEK. It's nothing, really; Akademibokhandeln had 50% off the sale prices.

Best bargain
Hmm well considering that the book by John Green was on half the sales price, I'd consider it a great bargain. I doubt I'd be able to find "The Near Witch" in first edition for 30SEK anywhere else, though.

Most excited to read
"The Near Witch" by Victoria Schwab takes this spot. In fact, I read it as soon as I got it.

Most likely never to be read
Probably "Foxfire", but I can't say I bought a book that I'm certain I won't read. It's stupid to buy books I won't read, I know, but I've done the same thing before and ended up really wanting to read those books years later. So, I'd say it's just 'god framförhållning'.

Books I (kind of) regret not buying
I don't know... I've wanted to buy more books by Maria V. Snyder, since I loved the "Poison Study" series. That's not a priority at the moment, however.

New series
No new series! Only "Red Glove" by Holly Black, but that's the second book in the Curse Workers series.

Total amount of books
376+5=381

Overall thoughts

GREAT JOB at not spending lots. Gonna need my money in May.

February Book Haul 2019

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Books bought in February

1. "Elden" ("Fire Study") by Maria V. Snyder
2. "Dödens märken" ("Carve the Mark") by Veronica Roth
3. "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi
4. "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
5. "Call Me By Your Name" by André Aciman
6. "Drakarna" ("Talon") by Julie Kagawa
7. "Rebellerna" ("Rogue") by Julie Kagawa
8. "Soldaterna" ("Soldier") by Julie Kagawa
9. "Legionen" ("Legion") by Julie Kagawa
10. "Till alla killar jag gillat" ("To All the Boys I've Loved Before") by Jenny Han
11. "P.S. Jag gillar dig fortfarande" ("PS. I Still Love You") by Jenny Han
12. "The DUFF" by Kody Keplinger
13. "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
14. "Seraphina" by Rachel Hartman
15. "The Midnight Star" by Marie Lu
16. "Brott och straff" ("Crime and Punishment") by Fjodor Dostojevskij
17. "Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert
18. "Tower of Dawn" by Sarah J. Maas
19. "Wink Poppy Midnight" by April Genevieve Tucholke
20. "Besynnerliga berättelser" ("Tales of the Peculiar") by Ransom Riggs
21. "Eldmärkt" ("An Ember in the Ashes") by Sabaa Tahir
22. "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
23. "Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead
24. "The Golden Lily" by Richelle Mead
25. "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
26. "1984" by George Orwell
27. "Hjärtlös" ("Heartless") by Marissa Meyer
28. "Mary Shelley Horror Stories" by Mary Shelley
29. "Just Dreaming" by Kerstin Gier

Main source of books
This month was all about the annual Swedish book sale! I purchased my books at Akademibokhandeln, Science Fiction Bokhandeln, and Adlibris <3

Do I reasonably have space for these new books in my room?
Always. It's getting tight, though. On the other hand, it was getting tight at 200 books. Now I'm at 350+. My parents and I might be planning a new bookshelf. We'll see.
Update, post book sale: I bought 26 books and had a breakdown while trying to fit them into my shelves. I need new space :'(

Best find
To be honest, it's probably "Elden" by Maria V. Snyder, because it was sold out everywhere aside from the publisher's website. I was so happy to find it there, and now it matches perfectly with the rest of the series on my shelves.

Most expensive book
That would be "Elden", which in itself only cost 68SEK but with shipping kost 108SEK, which goes a bit over the most expensive book I bought on the sale. 108SEK would translate to about 11.50USD.

Best bargain
Probably one of the hardcovers I bought, but there isn't one that stands out to me as a better bargain than the others.

Most excited to read
Probably "Elden" by Maria V. Snyder (which I of course read this month as soon as it arrived). There's a ton of the other books that I'm just waiting to dive into as well, though.

Most likely never to be read
Sadly, it's most likely gonna be "Dumplin'" that sits on the shelves for the longest time. But who knows; I've been lousy at picking up Julie Kagawa's books for years, so that trend might continue.

Books I (kind of) regret not buying
I do regret not buying "The Master and Margarita" and "Lolita". They both cost 100SEK each, though, so it didn't feel justified.

New series

1. "Talon" by Julie Kagawa
2. "Carve the Mark" by Veronica Roth
3. "Legacy of Orïsha" by Tomi Adeyemi
4. "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" by Jenny Han
5. "The Folk of Air" by Holly Black
6. "Seraphina" by Rachel Hartman
7. "Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead
8. "Aska och eld" by Sabaa Tahir
9. "Carve the Mark" by Veronica Roth

Total amount of books
347+11+2+16=376
That is a lot.

Overall thoughts
Came home with 15 books from the first day of book sale and had a minor breakdown over not being able to fit all the books on my shelves, especially when also trying to make it look nice. Anyways, I got them all in place and it looks ok. Nothing more, not a single book more, could fit. Then. I get a text. My order of 10 books has arrived at the post office. Fuck.
Also I'm sorry that the last two videos are grossly out of focus. I don't care enough to retake them.

February Wrap Up 2019

PART 1

PART 2

Books read in February

1. "Spirit Bound" by Richelle Mead
2. "Yttersta offret" ("Last Sacrifice") by Richelle Mead
3. "Elden" ("Fire Study") by Maria V. Snyder
4. "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
5. "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
6. "Mor gifter sig" ("Mother gets married") by Moa Martinson

Star of February
"Elden" by Maria V. Snyder, followed by "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr.

Biggest disappointment of February
I guess if I have to pick one, it'll be "Yttersta offret". Not because it was a bad book, but because this finale of the Vampire Academy series just didn't live up to my expectations. I was equally mildly disappointed by "Matilda", and "Mor gifter sig" wasn't really for me, either.

Surprise of February
None.

Series started

1. "Mia" by Moa Martinson

Series finished

1. "Vampire Academy" by Richelle Mead
2. "Poison Study" by Maria V. Snyder

Oldest on the shelf
This month it was "Yttersta offret" that's been collecting dust for the longest time. I've had it for a maximum of two years, however, so it's far from one of the oldest books I own.

Overall thoughts
It was an ok reading month I guess.

January Book Haul 2019

DEL 1

DEL 2

Books bought in January

1. "Utvald" ("Reached") by Ally Condie
2. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
3. "Skuggan över stenbänken" ("The Shadows Over the Stone Bench") by Maria Gripe
4. "...och de vita skuggrona i skogen" ("...and the White Shadows in the Woods") by Maria Gripe
5. "Rör mig inte!" ("Shatter Me") by Tahereh Mafi
6. "Pojken på bron" ("The Boy on the Bridge") by M.R. Carey
7. "Hemligheternas rike" ("Bitterblue") by Kristin Cashore
8. "Eliza och hennes monster" ("Eliza and Her Monsters") by Francesca Zappia
9. "Shadow Kiss" by Richelle Mead
10. "Spirit Bound" by Richelle Mead
11. "Vampire Academy: A Graphic Novel" by Richelle Mead
12. "Kisses From Hell" by Kristin Cast, Alyson Noël, Kelly Armstrong, Richelle Mead, Francesca Lia Block
13. "Soundless" by Richelle Mead
14. "Högt spel" ("Six of Crows") by Leigh Bardugo
15. "The School for Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani
16. "I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You" by Ally Carter
17. "Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy" by Ally Carter
18. "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
19. "The Power" by Naomi Alderman
20. "All the Birds in the Sky" by Charlie Jane Anders
21. "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockheart

Main source of books
Definitely secondhand. 19/21 of these books were bought from secondhand store in Stockholm, Malmö, and Lund. 1 was ordered from Book Depository and 1 from Bokus.

Do I reasonably have space for these new books in my room?
YES shut up. I made new space by rearranging in my box shelf and my putting book on top of my box shelf. It looks very dashing and I'm very pleased.

Best find
It's hard to say, seeing as I'm very happy I found a lot of these books on secondhand. However, I must say I was most happy to find the books by Maria Gripe, although a bunch of other finds have me equally excited.

Most expensive book
Gotta be "Spirit Bound" by Richelle Mead that cost me about 125SEK, paperback, from Book Depository.

Best bargain
Probably "Soundless" by Richelle Mead (paperback) that I bought for like 26SEK (plus shipping) from Bokus. They must've listed it for the wrong price, because as soon as I'd ordered it they raised the price with 100+SEK.

Most excited to read
Right now, I'm looking forward to the books from the "Gallagher Girls" series by Ally Carter. I never thought I'd actually purchase these books, but luckily I found them on Erikshjälpen! I think they'll be fun and quick reads. I'm also excited for everything I've bought for the "Vampire Academy" series!

Most likely never to be read
Unfortunately I also bought some books that'll most likely collect a good amount of dust before I read them (not literally, I keep my shelves and books pretty spotless, unlike the rest of my room). Two of them are "Utvald" (or "Reached" in its original form) by Ally Condie, and the books by Maria Gripe. "Utvald" is the final book in the "Matched" trilogy and I've read the previous two books a few years ago, but my feelings towards them are mild to say the least. The first book was alright for a dystopian YA novel, but the second book was just dull af. This last book is a bit chunky and I can't say I'll be picking it up anytime soon.
When it comes to Maria Gripe, I'm always excited to find her books secondhand, since I loved both "Agnes Cecilia" and "Tordyveln flyger i skymningen", but I'm not seeing myself reading anything else by her soon. I have a lot of respect for her as an author, but these books will have to wait.

Books I (kind of) regret not buying
I saw "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff in Erikshjälpen and wanted to buy it so I could shit talk it at home, but I ended up prioritising other books. It was only 30SEK and in good condition. I've read it in school and kind of hated it, and I like having books I hate at home. However, it was not meant to be for me and this book. Maybe in another time, or another life, or another dimension. I've also wanted to order "Illusions of Fate" by Kiersten White from Book Depository (the hardback is only like 126SEK) but I'm saving my money for Feburary's book sales.

New series

1. "Skuggserien" by Maria Gripe
2. "Gallagher Girls" by Ally Carter
3. "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
4. "Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi
5. "The School for Good and Evil" by Soman Chainani

Total amount of books
According to my latest calculations, I now have around 347 books on my shelves. When it comes to bind-ups, I've either counted each book included as an individual (for example my bind-up of "The Hunger Games"), while some I've just counted as one (for example "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare").

Overall thoughts
I... might have gone overboard this month...