October Reads

Can we just take a moment to appreciate this picture that I took at midnight with an incredible lighting? Okay, I may have photoshopped it just a little bit but it turned out great! I have found a new spot for my blog photos, guys. Artificial lighting all the way.

I figured I should start reading again after taking a break for a few months since June. My reading slump is something that I'm still struggling with so what better way to beat it by doing a monthly reads series on my blog. This way, at least I have a conscience to start picking up a book and read! #doitfortheblog

• Delirium by Lauren Oliver. A dystopian novel about a government who forces the people to take the cure of love that will make them happy and safe forever. They are brainwashed with a belief that love is a disease and they all should be cured from it. 
• City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. The third novel in the Shadowhunter series that I love but I'm taking my own sweet time reading it and I don't wanna finish all books in like a month (which I can, by the way). Plus, the second book in The Dark Artifices series is only coming out next year so why the rush.
• Adaptation by Malinda Lo. A flock of birds hurl themselves into airplanes and causing them to crash is linked to a global conspiracy by the government that is kept secret from everyone.
• Poison Princess by Kresley Cole. A novel about a girl who experiences extreme hallucinations and after an apocalyptic event destroys her hometown, her hallucinations are actually visions of the future so she turns to her bad-boy-but-cute classmate to protect her.

These are all the books that I'm going to be reading this month. I actually have read the first 20-50 pages of each of the books before but for some reason I couldn't finish them, I don't know why. I'm going to spend a week on each book and fingers crossed I'll be able to finish reading all of them in the month of October.

So what's in your to-be-read list?

Book Series Wish List

Hello my lovelies. We are still on the topic of books this week and today I want to show you my top 5 book series that I'm dying to get my hands on all thanks to Goodreads and BookTubers who are raving about these series. Be sure to check these series out if you haven't already and if you have any series that you are loving right now, feel free to comment down below. All of the series I mentioned are young adult/dystopian theme because they are amazing and honestly I grew out of the romance-themed books.

HARRY POTTER SERIES BY J.K. ROWLING

Orphan Harry learns he is a wizard on 11th birthday when Hagrid escorts him to magic-teaching Hogwarts School. As a baby, his mother's love protected him and vanquished villain Voldemort, leaving child famous as "The Boy who Lived". With friends Hermione and Ron, he has to win over the returned "One Who Must Not Be Named". Not all his friends survive massive war.

I know I'm a few decades too late to hop into this whole bandwagon of Potterheads and wizards and stuff but I loved the movies so much and it's weird how I have never tried to read the book series but I have made it my mission to get the other six books (I have the 6th book) and start reading them and basically hating myself for being a Muggle.

THRONE OF GLASS SERIES BY SARAH J. MAAS

Throne of Glass follows Celaena Sardothien, an 18-year-old assassin in the kingdom of Adarlan. Upon being imprisoned by the king, she accepts an offer to compete with other assassins and thieves in a glass castle for a chance to serve as the kingdom's champion and be free after four years. This leads her to form unexpected bonds with Chaol, the captain of the guard, and Dorian, the crown prince of Adarlan. In time, Celaena is drawn into a conspiracy and a series of battles, leading to discoveries surrounding both the kingdom and herself.

Some say that this book series is a retelling of Cinderella and upon watching many BookTubers raving about this book, I am pretty much itching to start reading it. There are already 5 books in this series with the 6th book coming out next year, if I'm not mistaken.

A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES SERIES BY SARAH J. MAAS

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin— one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Also a series by Sarah J. Maas, this book trilogy (with the 3rd book coming out next year) is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a twist of faeries and magic and who doesn't love magic and fairytale in a book? I might as well bathe in my young adult books and absorb all the magic as much as I can.

THE LUNAR CHRONICLES SERIES BY MARISSA MEYER

Once upon a time, in the future... The Lunar Chronicles are futuristic retellings of classic fairy tales. In CINDER, a teenage cyborg (half human, half machine) must deal with a wicked stepmother, start a rebellion against the evil Queen Levana, and decide how she feels about a handsome prince. As the series continues, Cinder forges alliances with Scarlet, a spaceship pilot who is determined to solve the mystery of a missing loved one — with the help of a magnetic street fighter named Wolf; Cress, a computer hacker who is imprisoned by Queen Levana; and Winter, a princess who's in love with a commoner, and who discovers that Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress may hold the key to saving her kingdom — and the world.

Another retellings of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White with a futuristic twist. I have been eyeing this series for 2 to 3 years now but I have never gotten around to buying it, not even the first book because they were not in my top priority as I was so hooked on A Song of Ice and Fire and The Mortal Instruments series. 

THE SELECTION SERIES BY KIERA CASS

It follows the journey of America Singer for the first three novels of this series. She is a young girl who was selected to enter a competition called The Selection (referred to as The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, minus the bloodsport) which is supposed to help the heir to the throne find their partner for life. In America's case, she is chosen to be one of the thirty-five girls to compete for Prince Maxon's heart, and to be the next princess of a future country called Illéa. However, this means leaving her family and secret boyfriend Aspen behind. She is stuck between two worlds and realizes that life as one of the competitors is not what she expected.

Honestly if I ended up not liking these books I wouldn't even mind because look at the book covers they are gorgeous! I have a thing for kingdoms and kings and queens and princes and princesses and thrones and anything related to it which is one of the reasons why I'm so intrigued to start reading this series.

I am currently trying to get out of my longest reading slump ever which is close to two years now and honestly I feel bad for my books because I have been abandoning them for so long. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post and if you have any book suggestions, please leave them down below.

My Intimidating TBR Book Tag

Hello my lovelies. I recently binge watched Sasha of ABookUtopia on YouTube and one of the videos that I watched was her intimidating TBR tag where she answers questions and picks a book from her TBR list. The creator of this tag, Lindsey Ray I believe, stated that if you have more than 60 books in your TBR read (I have 70++!), you are welcomed to do this tag. But honestly no matter how many books you have you can do it if you want to.

1. WHAT BOOK HAVE YOU BEEN UNABLE TO FINISH?

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #2)

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice & Fire #1)

I made a blog post about it back in April so be sure to check it out. I started reading both books in 2014 and I am just struggling to finish both of them, to be honest. I love both series, don't take my struggle to finish them is because that they're not good. It's not them, it's me...

WHAT BOOK HAVE YOU YET TO READ BECAUSE...

2. ...YOU JUST HAVEN'T HAD THE TIME?

Hush, Hush saga by Becca Fitzpatrick

I have read the first book and it was so good. Patch is one of my favourite fictional characters out of all the books/tv series I have read/watched. But after reading the first book back in 2013, I had so much on my plate with my studies and all I never got around to reading the second book so I will have to reread the first book before I can read the second.

3. ...IT'S A SEQUEL?

Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #2)

I was so pumped to read this book but then the third (and also the last in this trilogy) book was released and I bought it and I found out online that Tris died and I just didn't want to read it. Thank god they didn't kill off Tris in the movie, though.

4. ...IT'S BRAND NEW?

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #6)

My boyfriend got it for me a few days ago and of course before I can drown myself in it I will have to finish the other 4 books in the series (refer ques. 1)

5. ...YOU READ A BOOK BY THE SAME AUTHOR AND DIDN'T ENJOY IT?

None so far.

6. ...YOU'RE JUST NOT IN THE MOOD FOR IT?

Caster Chronicles series by Kami Garcia

I don't know why but ever since I got the series, I have never been interested to pick it up and read the first book. I didn't like the movie all that much so I guess that kind of threw me off from reading it.

7. ...IT'S HUMONGOUS?

Sing You Home and Between The Lines by Jodi Picoult

Both of them are in no way thick but they are huge. I have them in hard cover and honestly I got them because they are in hard cover from Big Bad Wolf sale. If you've ever been to BBW sale, you'd know that mostly people aim for the hard covers because they're really expensive and you can get them there for a super cheap price.

8. ...BECAUSE IT WAS A COVER BUY THAT TURNED OUT TO HAVE POOR REVIEWS?

Honestly, most of the romance books in my collection but if I have to pick, it would be the L.A. Candy series by Lauren Conrad. Great cover, not so great reviews. I am the type of person who read reviews before reading a book and if I see one bad review, that's it I'm not reading it which also explains why I have a lot of books in my TBR.

9. WHAT IS THE MOST INTIMIDATING BOOK IN YOUR TBR PILE?

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin

THESE. BOOKS. ARE. JUST. STARING AT ME. I CAN IMAGINE THEM SAYING "ERIN WHY HAVEN'T YOU READ US ALREADY?" TO ME EVERYTIME I PASS BY MY BOOKSHELF. THEY'RE JUST THERE.......

But don't worry I will read them I love the Game of Thrones so much!

Bookshelf Tour 2016

Assalamualaikum and hi everyone!

Ramadhan is coming in a few days and it is a must for every household to clean their houses because during Ramadhan, we have no time and energy to do the cleaning. Today was our cleaning day. My bookshelf has always been situated in the hallway between kitchen and living room but my mom said that it's getting kind of messy in the kitchen and we should bring the bookshelf upstairs so we can have a reading corner in the family hall.

I thought it would be perfect to do a bookshelf tour since I haven't done any on this blog. The books I'm going to show you are my English novels. For the record, I wrapped them with a clear plastic wrapper, I put my name, phone number, and the date I bought the book on each and every single of my book just in case someone borrows my book so I have my phone number there please return them to me okay they're my babies. But naaah. I rarely lend my books to anyone. I take care of my books like a baby. No dog-eared pages. Their corners are still sharp as a knife.

Set 1

I have A Song of Ice & Fire (Game of Thrones) series, If I Stay/Where She Went duo, John Green box set, two fixi novels, I Heart series, Little Black Dress books, and and a bunch of other stand alone books.

Set 2

Mostly young adult/dystopian series. I have Twilight Saga series, other vampire series (I forgot), Delirium series, Harry Potter series, The Vampire Diaries series, Infernal Devices series, The Arcana Chronicles series, Mortal Instruments series.

Set 3

Mostly romance/stand-alone books. I have Gossip Girl series, Shopaholic series, Pretty Little Liars series, and a bunch of Sophie Kinsella's books and Rachel Gibson's. These two authors are awesome! 

Set 4

Left side is hardcover books and on the right is young adult/dystopian series. I have The Maze Runner series, Fallen series, Hush, Hush series, The Caster Chronicles series, and Divergent series.

The pictures below show how I store them in the bookshelf. I don't really have a proper organization for my books but I do separate them into two categories: romance and young adult/dystopian. I also separate hardcovers from paperback, and box sets into their own compartment.

And this is the final look! The top two rows are my books, and the bottom ones are (left) my mom's (Malay novels that I do read), (middle) my sister's, and (right) some of my dad's + cookbooks + pregnancy book + mom's novels that don't fit.

I hope you enjoy my bookshelf tour! If you have any questions about any books at all, feel free to leave a comment down below.

Books I'm Struggling to Finish

Assalamualaikum and hi everyone!

Why is it that I always choose night time to take out my camera and take pictures for my posts? Newsflash: no natural light equals to having to use my yellow bedroom light as lighting source and it ain't nice, I tell ya. #thestruggleisreal

Talking about struggling! Everyone has their own struggles that they're going through including trying to finish a book (how is finishing a book a struggle?). I was a fast reader back when I was still in school and my record is finishing a 500+ pages of book in less than 6 hours. I was 11 years old and the book was Sehangat Asmara by Aisya Sofea. If you haven't read it, you really should because it's awesome. 

But now when I'm older, trying to finish a book is like trying to forget someone you love (cewah Erin!) because it is so hard. I just can't give my full attention and concentration to the book I'm reading. I would either take a break every chapter or I just won't read at all. It is bad because I love reading but the passion is just not there anymore. I am so sad, to say the least.

• If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I'm not interested in this book. Don't know why I bought it. But I will try to finish it and if I changed my mind about this book, I would most probably do a review of it. The whole thing with ghost/spirit stuff is just not my cup of tea.
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. I lovelovelove this book series! However, it is just too damn thick for my liking and the fact that I have watched the tv series (which mean I already knew what happened) does not help at all. However, I would still read it for the sake of Robb Stark. #winteriscoming #dontfightmeonthis
• City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. I love the book series! TV series? Meh, not so much. I don't like the leading actress, though. She sucks as Clary Fray. I cannot wait for book three when Jace and Clary found out that they are not siblings. Right now it's incest.
• Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella. Sophie Kinsella is one of my favourites author but I was not feeling it with this book. I love Can You Keep A Secret?, but Wedding Night is not as engaging as the former. The way the book is written does not scream Sophie Kinsella. It doesn't feel like she wrote it.

Are you struggling to finish a book like I do?