Fall Movie Favorites

Today I’d like to talk about movies. Aside from reading, watching movies is one of my favorite things to do, and I do it quite often.

I’m not sure why, but I tend to watch even more movies than usual in the fall, particularly the time around Halloween. And the thing is, most of the movies I watch in this season aren’t even Halloween-related. They just have a really nice atmosphere that I think goes well with the spirit of Fall.

So here’s some movies I enjoy watching during the Fall season!

1. Corpse Bride: this one is one of my favorite movies of all time. Something about it completely captivates me, and I cry every time I watch it (which has been many times).

2. Sweeney Todd: this one is the perfect blend of Fall/Halloween/creepy vibes and heartbreak. Not to mention it’s a musical.

3. The Harry Potter movies: Of course you can watch these year round, but I feel like it fits best with the fall and winter months. They’re just so cozy and magical!

4. Gone Girl: if you want something more dark and intense, Gone Girl is a wonderful movie choice. I know it’s a book too, but I must admit I have not read it (I feel like it’s too late now, since I’ve already seen the movie).

5. Good Will Hunting: this movie is a classic and it’s perfect for rainy days 

6. Peter Pan (any version): I have no idea why this movie reminds me of Fall, but it always has. I guess it’s just the right blend of whimsical/fantasy and melonacholy/nostalgia (the reason I say melonacholy is because this movie always makes me cry).

7. Edward Scissorhands: need I say more?

*side note: basically any Tim Burton movie could be included on this list, since they are all so wonderful and atmospheric!

Let me know what movies you enjoy watching during the Fall time! And I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!

Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

I finally have a review for you guys!!

As you may know, this book has taken me around 2 weeks (maybe more??) to read. The reasons for that have little to do with the actual book and more to do with the chaos of my own life.

Because of how long it took me, I unfortunately couldn’t get quite as invested in the book as it deserves. It’s a phenomenal book and I greatly enjoyed it, but it was still a bit of a drag considering how annoyed I was at myself for not getting through it quicker.

That being said, I can’t accurately describe the pacing of this book. I’d say it was pretty moderate, with a few slow bits here and there, but that is completely subjective to my own experience reading it.

But how about the actual content?

A quick summary on what this book is about: It follows four main characters (with four different POV’s) during WWII. But it’s not the typical WWII story–this one is about the lesser-discussed countries such as Lithuania, Poland, and East Prussia (was East Prussia even its own country? I honestly have no idea). Three of the four main characters are refugees who are trying to escape the Red Army during Operation Hannibal (which, if I understood correctly, was a German plan to evacuate German soldiers and civilians from East Prussia and protect them from the Russians). They board the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that, soon after departure, sunk. It’s sinking is the deadliest disaster in maritime history (deadlier than the Titanic, by far). Until reading this book, I had never even heard it mentioned.

If you’re someone who is interested in history, even just a little, you will love this book. It gives you so much perspective on history and all of the things that have gone unmentioned. How can it be that a disaster that killed over 9,000 people is something most of us have never even heard of?

The characters in this book were all brilliantly fleshed out, although I didn’t really care much for the romance we saw (which is odd because I typically love romance).

I sobbed at the end of the book, partly because it was beautiful (props to Sepetys) but also because it really kills me to know this was a real event that killed so many people, people who have been forgotten.

So if you’re in the mood for a VERY interesting and super-approachable bit of history woven with a beautiful story about realistic and developed characters, definitely give this a read.

Rate: 4.5 out of 5 stars 

Music and Books

Hey guys! First of all I’d like to apologize for being M.I.A. for over a week. My excuse is the same as always–school. I’ve been slowly (painfully slowly) reading Salt to the Sea, but I’m still only a little over halfway through it. I’m really truly sorry for the small amount of reviews I’ve had this Fall (especially in October–I’ve only read 2 books so far! Yikes!). I hope to read more in November but I can’t make any promises.

What I’d like to discuss today is music, particularly music that reminds you of books. I’m a big fan of 8tracks, which is an app/website/not-sure-what-to-call-it where you can make and listen to different playlists (side-note: I primarily use Spotify, but 8tracks is better for book playlists, which means it’s better for what I’m about to mention).

One of my favorite things to do once I finish a good book (or even while I’m still reading it) is to search the book’s title on 8tracks and find a bunch of different playlists made by other who have read and loved that book. It’s really fun to see what songs people associate with what books!

I’d like to know if any of you have a certain song that you associate with a book–any book. For me, I feel like Glory and Gore by Lorde really fits with the Six of Crows duology (I’m not the biggest fan of Lorde or that song either, I just think it goes super well with the tone of the books). 

Let me know your bookish songs!! 

Reading Update

Hey guys! So I thought I’d give you an update on what I’ve been up to reading wise these past few days!

As you probably know, I finished Crooked Kingdom recently. Given how in love with it was, I felt a bit of a book-mourning-period coming on. I thought the best solution for that would be to jump right into the next book, but I found it hard to get into anything else. I believe I made it 40ish pages into Heir of Fire, the third book in the Throne of Glass series, before deciding to quit.

The next book I’m considering starting is Salt to the Sea, a historical fiction novel that’s been on my TBR for awhile now. Hopefully this one will pull me back into reading!

I do hope to read Heir of Fire (and the rest of the Throne of Glass series) sometime in the near future but we’ll have to see. Given my feelings about the first two (I found them incredibly mediocre) I think I’ll have to really push myself to get into the others.

Since October is almost half over and I’ve only read two books, I’d better get going!

Let me know what book you guys are currently reading!

Crooked Kingdom Gush (with spoilers)

Ok so as the title says, this Gush WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. If you have not read Crooked Kingdom, I have a non-spoiler review that I will link right here.

SPOILERS! LAST CHANCE TO RUN IF YOU HAVEN’T  READ IT!!

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Crooked Kingdom (by Leigh Bardugo)

We all know how much I was anticipating this book. Did it live up to my impossibly high expectations?

OF COURSE IT DID!

It surpassed them, in fact.

I went into this book a little worried. We all know about “second book slump” (although I think that’s mainly for a series, and this is a duology). I was a bit afraid that this book wouldn’t be as good as the first one. But honestly, I think this one was better.

If you don’t know much about the Six of Crows duology, it’s essentially about a group of thieves/criminals who do a bunch of bad ass swindling of people who have wronged them. The characters all kind of walk the line between hero and anti-hero (some leaning more towards anti-hero than other–looking at you Kaz) and it’s honestly everything I could ever want.

Since I have so many feelings to discuss after reading Crooked Kingdom, I’m going to be making a spoil-filled gush pretty soon to let that all out. I don’t want to say much more in this review, but if you haven’t read Six of Crows yet please PLEASE do. You will not regret it–I haven’t heard a single bad review about the duology EVER (that’s not to say there isn’t any, I just haven’t come across one yet).

The plot in this book was even more mind blowing and beautifully crafted than the first one, but the thing that will remain my favorite aspect of these books is the characters. We get so much background on them that I feel as though they are all my friends and that I’ve known them my whole life.

Again, please go read Six of Crows if you haven’t yet. If you have read it but have yet to pick Crooked Kingdom for whatever reason, make it a priority. This is not a sequel that deserves to be put off–it must be devoured ASAP!!

*Also: I think this book might even take the position of my #1 favorite for all of 2016 so far!

Rate: 5 out of 5 stars (obviously)

The Raven King (by Maggie Stiefvater)

I’ve finally gotten around to reading (and finishing) the fourth and last book in The Raven Cycle series.

Thoughts? I LOVED IT!

On thing I really appreciate about Maggie’s writing is how well she fleshes out characters. She excels at showing us who all these people are through little things (gestures, nervous ticks, diction) in a way that isn’t just telling us. There isn’t really any way for me to explain this better, but I’m sure that if you’ve read this series you know what I mean. 

Honestly, I love everything about her writing. There were times throughout this series where I felt the plot was progressing a bit too slowly, but IT WORKS for this story somehow. Her writing is just so whimsical and unique and it’s able to feel both dressed up and flowery while remaining blunt and concise. 

I think my favorite part about her writing though is when she repeats lines. This seems like a minor thing to love, but it just adds some much for me. Again, I’m at a loss for explaining exactly what I mean, but if you’ve read it and feel the same way, please let me know. 

But onto the actual story. I can’t say much because this is the fourth book in a series, and I don’t want to risk spoiling anyone who hasn’t read the first three. All I’ll say is that the balance between plot and characters is exceptionally well done, and I never got tired of either.
For those who are familiar with the series, I’m sure you know there’s a lot of hype surrounding the ending of this series and how it would go down (I’m referring to a certain character’s fate). I won’t say anything about that here, but I might do a spoil-filled gush on this book later on where I plan on talking about my feelings on that.

Was this my favorite book in the series? I’m not sure, since I’ve forgotten exactly how I felt about the others. But it was definitely a wonderful conclusion to an amazing series and it will stick with me for awhile. 

Rate: 4.75 out of 5 stars

September Wrap Up

September was a crazy month for me as I’m sure it was for all students. I still managed to read 6 books, though, which I’m pretty proud of considering what little free time I had.

Let’s get into it!

1. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock: I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars
2. An Ember in the Ashes: I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars
3. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: I gave this book 4.25 out of 5 stars
4. Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters: I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars
5. Between Shades of Gray: I gave this book 4.75 out of 5 stars
6. And I Darken: I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars

My favorites were Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and Between Shades of Gray, although I clearly enjoyed them all (they all got 4 or more stars! Damn!).

As you might know, I am currently reading The Raven King, book four in The Raven Cycle. I have about 20 pgs left, so a review should be up on that very soon (although it might take longer than usual since I’ll have to find time to squeeze it in). I plan on jumping right into Crooked Kingdom once that’s done!

Let me know what books you read in September!

Fall Reading Recommendations

So it’s October. And, given how much I love October (and November–they are my two favorite months), I decided to make a list of some of the books that remind me of Fall.

It seems to me that Fall is everyone’s favorite time to read. It makes sense–gloomy weather and all that. The books I see most on people’s Fall Recs are usually either fantasy, creepy/thriller/horror, or just some form of whimsical. Being that I love all these genres (is whimsical a genre? Probably not.) my list will probably be pretty similar to a lot of other ones you may have seen.

So if you are looking for something with a fall vibe to it, look no further.

1. The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater- I’m actually in the middle of reading the last book in this series, which is what inspired this post. I won’t give a synopsis of it since a) we all know what it’s about and b) if you don’t I doubt my explanation would be in any way helpful. But the reason it made this list is the magical/whimsical tone of it. It also has a bit of an eerie feel that just screams Fall.

2. In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware- I read this book last fall and found it to fit perfectly with the season. It’s a thriller/mystery novel that follows a writer as she spends the weekend at her old best friend’s bridal shower in a cabin in the woods. Since it’s a mystery I obviously won’t say anything else, but just know that it will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

3. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein- this one is mainly on this list because it’s my favorite book of all time and I never miss an oppurunity to recommend it. But it honestly does fit well with Fall, especially since it takes place in Seattle (where I live) and as everyone knows, Seattle=rain and rain=Fall (also, “Rain” is part of the title). It’s also the kind of book that makes you want to snuggle up inside with a blanket and hot coco while crying your eyes out.

4. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah- if you’re the type of person that likes reading historical fiction in the fall (as I know many people do) then I’d definitely read this one. Not only is it my absolute favorite WWII novel, it also gives you the same feeling as The Art of Racing in the Rain (i.e. the snuggle up inside and cry feeling). Not to mention it takes place in France, which for some reason has always reminded me of Fall (I have no idea why).

5. The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare- we all know this series. If you don’t, go check out anyone’s Booktube/book blog. The reason it’s on here is because a)it’s historical fiction and b)it has the perfect balance of fantastical elements and romance. Also, the first time I read the trilogy (and fell in love with it) was in the Fall, so I always tend to associate it with Fall.

So there you have! Let me know what books you love to read in Fall and if you have any recommendations for me this season!