Dewey's 24 Hour ReadAThon - Wrap Up!!

It's done!! The past 24 hours (32, by the time this goes live) have been completely hectic, and I'm now very, very tired. I will be uploading a video where I talk in more detail about my readathon experience, but in the meantime, you can all read a quick review about the books I read here. Also, if you want to find out more about any of these books, click the book title to visit their Goodreads pages (I know, I'm a technology whiz).

MAUS - The Complete Volumes by Art Spiegelelman
I'm not going to talk about these separately because I read them right after each other, with only a few hours sleep in between. This was my first experience with a graphic novel, and it was a good one. The story was told in a way that really suited the content, and I was really engaged in the narrative. I'm so glad that I read this story, and it's sticking in my mind still, which is always a good sign! I would really recommend this graphic novel to everyone, because it deals with really important historical content and themes.


Slaugherhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
I picked this book up for the weekend because it was really short (only 175 pages) so I knew I would easily be able to get through it in the 24 hours. It did take me a lot longer than I thought it would, because the content of this book is somewhat strange... But I loved this story and it contained so many amazing quotes that I couldn't help but highlight. It's hard to tell you what genre this book is in, and I can only describe it as a mixture between dystopian, science fiction and historical fiction, as well as a reflective piece about a character's life... If that sounds like your kind of book, then for sure read this.


Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
I only read 51 pages of this before the 10pm cut off, but I really love it so far. The world is so interesting and I'm very invested in the story at the moment. I'll be sure to post a full non-spoiler review on my blog when I finish it, and if I have anything somewhat interesting (and spoilerly) to say about it then I might post a video as well.

Make sure you all let me know how your readathon went if you participated. As always, happy reading!!

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A Subjective Guide to Genre - Choosing Your Next Book

**A note on my notes: This post is of my opinion only, and I'm not an expect.**

Choosing your next book is hard. 

We've all been there - when you have so many books that you haven't read, but you have no idea how to choose which one to read next. When this happens to me, I tend to choose a genre that I'm in the mood for and pick a book from it. These are the genres that I usually feel in the mood to read.

Contemporary
If you're searching for a light, easy read, then the contemporary genre is where you need to look. Often featuring cute romances and beautiful friendships, good books from this genre can easily make you laugh and cry within a few pages. If you're in a reading slump, then contemporary is usually a good genre to dive into because they're often short, stand-alone books that you can get through quickly. Some of my favourite contemporary author's are Rainbow Rowell, Nicholas Sparks, and I'd also 100% recommend Wonder by R.J. Palacio and The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick.

Fantasy
Fantasy books are often a commitment because they usually come in a huge series. Fantasy is split into two sections (that I read, anyway): urban fantasy and epic fantasy. If you're new to the fantasy genre or if you don't really feel like learning a whole new world, stick to urban fantasy (which is set in the world as we know it, but with fantastical elements, while epic fantasy is in an entirely different world). Some fantasy series that I love are the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, the Obernewtyn chronicles by Isobelle Carmody and the Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. If you're looking for some fantasy stand-alones, then I would recommend Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta or Stardust by Neil Gaiman.

Dystopian 
This is one of my favourite genres, and I think that it always is the most enjoyable when you hate the world. If you're feeling depressed about something that's happening in the world that you can't change it, or if you're reflecting on how shit people are or how nothing is fair, then you need a dystopian book. These books often come in trilogies, although there are several classic dystopian stand-alones that I really enjoyed. Of this genre, I would recommend The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth and any dystopian I mention in the classics section.

Science Fiction
I love science fiction a lot, but it's not a genre that I read that often. I often find that sci-fi is a good cross between fantasy and dystopian, so if you're feeling like one of those genres but can't quick pick something, try looking in the science fiction genre. Some of my favourites include Ender's Game and Pathfinder, both by Orson Scott-Card, as well as The Host by Stephanie Meyer. 

Classics
It's not often that I'm in the mood for a classic, but when I'm feeling really smart (or that I need to be more well-read), I usually quite enjoy them. Most classics are a challenge, so don't pick them up when you're looking for something to read quickly. For me, classic dystopians are my favourite, and I'd recommend reading Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm by George Orwell, as well as A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Other classics that I've enjoyed have been Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (although don't expect to get through this quickly), To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Historical Fiction
I don't read much of this genre either, but the books that I have read from it have been really good. Books from this genre often tug at your heart strings, so if you want an emotional book, something from this genre will give you that (especially some World War II fiction). My favourite historical fiction books are The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

Hopefully, the next time you're stuck trying to choose your next book, you can come back to this list and make an informed decision. Happy reading!

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BookTubeAThon Reads - Quick Reviews!

**A note on my notes: these reviews are spoiler free.**

BookTubeAThon is finally over, which is both a relief and a little sad. If you're interested in how I did, you can read my wrap up post here. Because I did read a lot more than I usually would during the week, I've decided to do one post that does a brief review of all the books I finished rather than full, individual reviews.

Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carol
I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. If you know anything about Alice in Wonderland then you'll know that the story isn't supposed to make sense and is complete nonsense most of the time. While this means that the story ultimately lacks plot (intentionally, though), it is still a fun read. This book was quite short and had some really interesting illustrations which made it perfect for BookTubeAThon. I would recommend that you read this book regardless of who you are - it's a classic that can be read across several sittings or all at once, depending on how you feel.

Unwind - Neil Shusterman
I flew through this book because the plot was so intriguing. I thought the entire concept and idea of the story was really interesting and unique, which really added to the books appeal. I thin k the characters were pretty well developed; however, the book really lacked in terms of word building. There was hardly any background information about the wars that are constantly referenced in the book, and the concept of Unwinding - like how it first came about and the original reactions - weren't explained in much depth. Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I just really wish there was more world building.

The Romeo and Juliet Code - Phoebe Stone
This book was definitely not what I expected. I went into this book knowing nothing about it, and from the picture on the cover I assumed it was a cutesy romance, which it wasn't at all. I did like this book, but it took me longer to read because I didn't really care that much for the story. It's narrated by an eleven year old girl, so I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I was a few years younger than what I am. The plot was kind of slow paced as well, so there wasn't really anything that made me want to constantly keep reading.

Pathfinder - Orson Scott Card
I loved this book! I thought the overall concept and ideas were super cool, which I why I picked up the book in the first place. Not only that, but these ideas and concepts were explained really well. However, this book is science fiction, and there were some sciency bits that flew right over my head, but I was able to understand the general gist of things, which is enough to follow the story. I think the characters were developed nicely and the plot is a good pace. I would definitely recommend this book to any science fiction reader.

Those are my quick reviews for the four books I finished during the week of the BookTubeAThon. Let me know what you thought about any of the books I read! Happy Reading!

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Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - Review

**A note on my notes: This review is spoiler free.**

"Life is the most spectacular show on earth." 

I saw the movie adaptation when it first came out, and I loved it. The movie is actually what inspired to me pick up the book, which I did shortly after. It's been sitting on my shelf, gathering dust, ever since. I finally got around to reading it last week, and my love for the story was renewed.

The novel follows an about-to-graduate college student in the time of the Great Depression. Suddenly, Jacob finds himself all alone in the world and is forced to start afresh with absolutely nothing. Seeking a new beginning, he hops aboard a train speeding past him, which unknown to him at the time, happened to house a travelling show. Jacob soon earns a place in the circus, and the novel follows his adventure.

The Good
As I said earlier, I really enjoyed this book. I thought the character development was incredible and the plot was extremely interesting. The author committed over four months of research for this novel, and I think that effort really shows in the writing - it's easy to believe that the fictional tale is actually truth because of how realistic the situation is described to be.
The story is told from the perspective of Jacob both as an old man in a nursing home as he reflects and remembers his life in the circus. I think this way of telling the story worked perfectly and I found myself often connecting more to the story when the elderly Jacob was talking about being an old man.
I loved the ending. I thought it was beautiful, wonderful and all things good.

The Bad
I found the beginning of the novel was pretty slow. Not a lot of relevant plot points occur until just before halfway, as the beginning contains a lot of character and world building, which as a historical fiction novel, I understand is important. However, this slowness didn't really bother me because I had seen the movie and knew what was going to happen and what I had to look forward to.
There were a few scenes that I think actually translated the meaning better in the film than in the book, which is rare. Because of this, I knew how touching certain scenes and situations were as I had seen the movie prior to reading, but if you haven't then you might not be as touched. That's not to say that the book is unemotional or anything like that, because it's still a very emotional tale, I just found the movie sometimes expressed that emotion more poetically/beautifully.

The Recommendation
If you haven't seen the movie, I would definitely recommend watching it soon after finishing the book, because the story really is touching and the movie sometimes portrayed the emotional messages a bit better/clearer. If you're interested in the inner workings of historical travelling shows, I would recommend that you read Water for Elephants. If you have someone who is toward the end of their life cycle, like a grandparent or someone of similar old age, I would 100% recommend that you read this book, because it was really eye-opening for me in that regard.

Overall, I loved this book and while I won't be reading it again any time soon, the story and its message will stay with me for a very long time.

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You can find out more about Water for Elephants here. 

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak - Review

**A note on my notes: If you have not read the book, then you will be spoiled by reading this review. If you disagree with my opinion about the book, that's okay. We can all think differently.**

This book was absolutely beautiful; I don't think I have ever been so emotionally invested in a story before. The writing was beautiful. The character's were beautifully developed. The relationships were beautiful. Everything was beautiful. I loved it.

Now, I did go into the book having already seen the movie which I 100% enjoyed, so that could potentially have impacted my opinion: I didn't come into the book knowing nothing about the storyline and was already invested in the characters. Because of this, I didn't have any trouble getting into the story, but I can see how for someone who knows nothing about it could have trouble getting started. Big books are always daunting to pick up for the first time, and it does take a few pages to really understand what's going on and how it's relevant to the story. Nonetheless, I really loved this book.

If you haven't read it, the novel follows a young German girl called Liesel who is living during World War II. She was adopted into a new family and the plot basically follows her and the people she develops relationships with while they struggle to survive.

The novel was narrated by Death, which I thought was really interesting. I've never read a book that was narrated by a concept rather than a character (well, really, Death is a character, but you know what I mean) and I thought that it fit the tone of the novel perfectly. Being able to sympathise with Death just affirmed for me how talented Marcus Zusak is in his writing. Scattered throughout the novel were these sections that were kind of separate from the overall tale and were more of Death's thoughts and beliefs about certain things. I thought these were incorporated into the story really well and were extremely interesting to read as they were from a perspective I haven't really considered before.

The characters were really well developed and fleshed out. Liesel was an excellent protagonist and I really loved how her desire for reading and knowledge was an important part of her life. I think she was written beautifully and that her reactions to events such as Mama, Papa and Rudy's deaths was perfect. I think Rudy overall was a great best friend to Liesel and I thought their relationship was adorable! I found their interactions and the way they were somewhat mean to each other was very believable. Mama and Papa's relationship was also hilarious. Rosa's attitudes and personality really bought some humour to a world that was otherwise dark and dangerous, and it made her soft spots even more touching, especially when she told Liesel that Max had awoken and when she sat with her husbands accordion. I think the way the family bonded with Max was touching, but also believable - there was a certain fear shared between them that made the story much more realistic and really drew me into the story.

My heart shattered with the ending, even though I'd already seen the movie and the death's are mentioned several times throughout the book. I felt so so so sorry for Liesel; she had really lost everything then. Her old family, her new one, her best friend, her home, her books and even Max was gone.While I wish that things worked out differently for her, I think that having those characters die was important to capture the essence of World War II and the fact that nobody was safe, not even kind German families.

Overall, this book has really touched me and will stay with me for a really long time. I would recommended it to everyone. While it is touching, it is also sad and if you're an emotional person like I am, you will probably cry several times. Nevertheless, The Book Thief is an example of beautiful writing and storytelling and will be on my favourites shelf for a very long time.

I would also like to thank Little Book Owl for raving about this book so many times, for otherwise I would never have been interested in it! You can check her blog out here: http://www.littlebookowl.com/ and her YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/LittleBookOwl