Part of the beauty of reading is to see an author put into words, an experience or emotion you've felt but couldn't quite articulate yourself. Todays post celebrates the power of a sentence, the comfort in words and the beauty of language: 15 of my favorite book-quotes from recent years. "Things didn’t go as planned, but I’m not dead, so that’s a win" - Andy Weir, The Martian "To stay in the gloaming is to hold off the night. But if the night never comes, then neither can the day." - Kirsty Logan, The Gloaming "I don’t miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as the greater things were crumbling apart. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things, people or moments that hurt, but I took joy in things that made me happy." - Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane "Don’t think you haven’t lived long enough to have a story to tell." - Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls "When I was a child, sadness was the island – rocky, yes, but small and containable and easy to leave. Now sadness was the sea. So I went in. I knew the water was cold, but to me it felt warm. No-that’s not right. I felt like nothing." - Kirsty Logan, The Gloaming. "I was okay just a moment ago. I will learn how to be okay again." - Nina LaCour, We are Okay. "Happiness can be found in even the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light." - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter "We have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape." - Charles Dickens, Great Expectations "We are all divided by grief, and somehow united by the same thing." - Brigid Kemmerer, Letters to the Lost "On the outside, grief was expressed in judders, faltering and unsure, but inside it is felt as constant as breathing." - Kirsty Logan, The Gracekeepers "I want her to know that this world is made of sugar. It can crumble apart so quickly, but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it." - Sarah Kay, Point B "Why had he assumed time was some sort of infinite resource? Now the hourglass had burst and all he’d always assumed was just a bunch of sand, turned out to be a million tiny diamonds." - Tommy Wallach, We all Looked up "When a loved one is sick, the days are long but the years are short." - Lindsay Eager, The Hour of Bees "I take a deep breath and listen to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am." - Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar " I’ ll go to my grave with the memories of bravery in my bones." - Caitlyn Siehl, What we buried

Genre: Short-story collection Published: Arthur A. Levine Books, September 2018 My rating: 5/5 stars Beautiful in so many ways... Tales from the Inner City is a short story collection by author and illustration Shaun Tan, who has combined his talents in both these fields to create a book that is as stunning on the inside as it is on the outside. Shaun Tan is known for his (for the lack of a better word) “experimental” work, and this signature style can be found in this collection as well. His stories are surrealist, without falling in the trap of being “ quirky for the sake of it”. On the surface, each one appears to focus on a different animal featured in it. At the same time, each story is a portrayal of a very human experience or emotion, that many of us will be able to relate to. Some of my favorite stories were: “cat”, “dog”, “moonfish”, “tiger”, “bees” and especially “Owl”, which really got under my skin based on my own personal experiences with childhood illness. The beauty of all these stories is in the way the pictures and words combine to form a unique and more intense, reading experience. Well written as they are, the stories by themselves would have probably gotten a 3.5 star rating on average for me. The illustrations are stunning, but would have been a 4 star on their own. It’s the synergy of both of them combined that makes this collection a full and well deserved five-star that I would love to revisit again in the future. Find this book on Goodreads

Genre: Fiction/Science-fiction Published: October 2014 My Rating: 5/5 stars “The world changes too fast. You take your eyes off something that has always been there, and the next minute it’s just a memory.” The Book of Strange New Things is one of those rare books that completely blew me away from start to finish, and almost instantly made it onto my favorite list. The story follows our protagonist Peter, a minister who has been send on a mission to preach his faith to an alien colony, lightyears away from earth. Saying that that is all this book is about, would not do it justice though. There is so much more depth to it than meets the eye. This is a novel about distance (both physical miles, but more importantly emotional distance between people), about love and loss, about being away from home, about hope and the lies we tell ourselves sometimes to keep that hope alive…. It’s about tolerance and acceptance of differences, and the way our beliefs can unite some, but just as well can drive others apart. I have to say I was a little nervous going into this book, especially with regards to that last point. Books on religion are such a hit-or-miss for me that I often just avoid them altogether. The moment a book starts to feel one-sided or “preachy” to me either way (pro-religion or anti-religion), is often the moment I lose interest in it, and my biggest fear was that this book would do just that. Michel Faber completely avoided this cliché however, to the point where I honestly don’t know where he himself stands on the matter. For the novel at hand, I don’t think he could have handled the subject any better. Religion is used more as a metaphor for other things, as opposed to an end-goal in itself, and both the good sides as well as the bad ones are brought to light in this novel. The same could be said for the characters. Take our protagonist Peter for example: he is a devoted man in any sense of the word: devoted to his beliefs, devoted to his job and above all devoted to his wife. As the story progresses however, it’s that same devotion to all he does that will become his downfall. For the majority of this book I wasn’t sure whether I liked Peter or not. Many of his actions seem admirable, yet it’s those same actions that make me think of him as a selfish ass at times, especially with regards to the way he treats his wife Bea. This relationship between Peter and his wife Bea, who has to stay behind on earth while her husband goes on his mission, is the backbone of the novel. Despite the fact that their only way of interacting is through an e-mail like format, the reader gets an intimate look into the dynamic between the two, and the way it’s affected by the time and distance they spend apart. It’s touching, it’s heartbreaking and it rings very true for anyone who has experienced of drifting apart from someone and being unable to close that distance, no matter how hard you try. The fact that I’m reviewing a Sci-fi novel and only now get to the aliens says enough about the type of book this is. This is not an action-sci-fi, nor are the aliens the primary focus in my opinion. They do however bring some very interesting scenes and some incredible food for thought to the table. Faber does a great job of imagining a society that is free of some of the cognitive and social constructs that are in place on earth, for better or for worse. This again ends up ringing home that sense of “distance” between them and Peter, that runs through this entire book. In the end, The Book of Strange New Things was an incredible read: smart, emotional and memorable. I will for sure pick up more of Michel Fabers books in the future.

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Published: Alfred A. Knopf, October 2017 My Rating: 2.5/5 stars La Belle Sauvage unfortunately started 2019 off on a bit of a disappointing note for me. Anyone who knows me, know that I adore His Dark Materials. It’s one of those rare series that doesn’t only have a deep root of nostalgia, reaching back to some of my favorite childhood memories, but also held up to multiple rereads as an adult. There is so much magic and depth in it for readers of all ages. You can imagine my anticipation when Philip Pullman, after a 17 year hiatus, decided to return to my favorite universe and release a prequel (or in his own words “equel”) to it. Although there were some aspects of this novel I enjoyed, La Belle Sauvage unfortunately brought me little of the magic and none of the depth of the original trilogy. Starting off on a positive note, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love spending more time in this world. Not only for the sake of nostalgia, but also because it remains one of the best “built” worlds in childrens literature, in my opinion. The best thing about it might be the “magic system”, although I’m not even sure if that’s the best term for the Daemon-thing. The idea of having anybody’s soul/character/emotional state visible in the form of a spirit animal is not only fascinating, but gives the reader a subtle glance into the characters state of mind, without the author having to spell it out for you. In His Dark Materials, one of the most interesting things to me was the difference between Child-Daemons and Adult-Daemons, which beautifully represent the changes that come with growing up. In La Belle Sauvage, Pullmann adds “Baby-Daemons” to this variation, which are not only adorable, but beautifully represent the mind of an infant here as well. However, this is about where the relation to His Dark Materials, and with it my love for this book ends. One of His Dark Materials biggest strengths is its depth of character, story and world. Apart from the Baby-Daemon-thing La Belle Sauvage does little to add to this, and even regresses in some aspects. His Dark Materials has a quite philosophical and smart tone to go along with its “adventure story”, which makes it a great read for both children, as well as adults. La Belle Sauvage feels like “just an adventure story”, and not even one for all ages. It seems to be unsure about its target audience, lacking the depth of an adult/YA fantasy, but including too many explicitly dark scenes to qualify as a middlegrade. You could argue His Dark Materials was even darker in tone, but it was a more psychological and political darkness, rather than relying on violence and explicit descriptions as is the case here. I’m usually hesitant when an author comes out with a spin-off series to previous successful work. It can be great if the author can to add to the story and/or world, however more often than not it just feels like an attempt to make more money of the original. The latter unfortunately was the case here. Part of me hopes the series will go back to its usual level of depth with the sequels, so I might still pick them up when my library gets them. I retain my faith in Philip Pullman as an author, and I’d love to see what else he can do with this world. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a good start for me. Find this book on Goodreads

Genre: "horror" Published: Scribner, October 2018 My rating: 2/5 stars ”Everything leads to this, he thought. To this elevation. If it’s how dying feels, everyone should be glad to go.” Elevation is the latest novella by famous horror author Stephen King, and was unfortunately a grave disappointment to me. It tells the story of Scott Carey, your typical goodie-two-shoes-guy next-door, who is afflicted with a mysterious condition. Although he doesn't look any different, he has steadily and progressively been losing weight. Moreover, he weights the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are, and everything he picks up seems to instantly loose its weight too. We follow him over the course of months in which the condition changes not only his life, but also that of the other people in his small town. The reason for my rating can be pretty much summed up in two questions: 1. Why did this have to be released as separate (20 euro!) novel? 2. Who on Gods green earth decided this book belonged in the horror genre? Let’s start with the first question, as it’s the one that brought my rating down the most. Elevation is, based on both length and depth, barely more than a short story/novella. If I had read it as such, it would probably have gotten 3 stars from me. Not a bad read, just nothing special. The characters are quite stereotypical and one dimensional, and the story has only one interesting hook (the weight loss mystery) to go off. Although this “hook” was what kept me reading until the end, it wasn’t enough to keep my engaged for over 100 pages. (view spoiler) I enjoyed the vibe and the weirdness of the story, and I would have loved to see this in a bundle with other, similar stories by Stephen King. On its own however, I don’t see how this story justifies a 20 euro full release. My second question is one that has been asked by many others before me, following the Goodreads Choice Awards, where Elevation took home the title of “Best Horror of 2018”. The problem is: this book is about as far away from a horror story as you can get. It’s actually closer to a feelgood story, a little too sweet and clichéd to my taste. I can’t blame the Goodreads team though, as this book is being marketed, labeled and sold as a “horror novella” everywhere, most likely just because Stephen Kings name is on it. From a marketing perspective, this makes perfect sense: “horror-novel by Stephen King” is going to sell more copies than “surrealist feel-good short story by Stephen King”. From a customer-satisfaction standpoint, it doesn’t make sense, as you are setting the wrong people up to buy this book. People who will inevitably be disappointed, based on their expectations, just as I was. If you go into this with the right expectations (a non-scary feelgood story, written by an author who happens to also write creepy horror novels), you might enjoy this one. The story is nothing special in my opinion, but it’s far from bad. The cover is an absolute stunner though, and will for sure draw some eyes. (Especially when your library puts it on upside down, but as you may have seen, that’s a different story…) Find this book on Goodreads

What better way to open the new year, than with a booktag that was meant just for that. Originally created by Bookables, the New Year’s Booktag seemed like a great way to share some of my 2019 reading-plans with you. If you’d like to do this tag, consider yourself tagged: I’d love to hear your answers for these questions as well. How many books are you planning to read in 2019? In 2018 I set myself an honest challenge of 50 books, but ended up destroying that goal by reading a ridiculous 100. Although I love the idea of challenging yourself to read more and more each year, I won’t try to best that. Instead I’ll keep my goal at 50 book, as it’s the perfect amount for me to be able to reach comfortably, without being intimidated by it. I contemplated whether I actually wanted to set a reading goal, that is measured in a number of books at all this year. Reading is primarily my hobby, and I the last thing I’d want to do is make it feel like a chore. I’m perfectionistic to a fault and instead of feeling obligated to reach an arbitrary numbers-goal, I want to focus on enjoying the journey towards it. Name 5 books you didn’t get to this year, but want to make a priority in 2019? - The Muse of Nightmares – Laini Taylor - The Book of Strange new Things – Michel Faber - Bridges of Clay – Marcus Zusak - A Conspiracy of Stars – Olivia A. Cole - The Hero of Ages – Brandon Sanderson What kind of books do you want to read more of in the next year? A second reason for keeping my reading goal reasonable is that I’m hoping to read some more big books this year. In 2018 I’ve noticed I tend to be intimidated by books that are 600 pages or over, and put off reading them because of that. I really want to challenge myself to get over this intimidation, as some of my most anticipated books are bigger ones. Additionally, I’d like to get back into reading fantasy a little more in 2019. Whilst it’s one of my favorite genres, I didn’t read as much of it in 2018 as I’m used to. As fantasy novels tend to be on the larger side, these two goals compliment each other nicely. Are non-book related goals for 2019? As many of you know, I’m a medical student, currently doing my residencies. My primary goal for next year is to continue doing the best I can in all of them, and continue working towards my mastersdegree. Outside of work, I’d love to make an effort to continue freeing up time to spent with family and friends. I hope to make a lot of new memories in 2019, and I’d love for them to be included in them. What’s a book you’ve had forever, that you still need to read? The book, that has currently been on my Goodreads-TBR the longest is the first in a series I’ve been wanting to read for years: The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch. I’ve read the first book, The Lies of Locke Lamora, quite some time ago, and would have to reread it in order to continue. I remember very much enjoying book one, although I struggled to get into it at first, and have heard amazing things about the series as a whole. I don’t know why I haven’t started this series (again), but would love to do so in 2019. All this being said, there is one message I want to stress over any other: in this time of goalsetting and feeling like you always have to be working towards bigger and better things, I think we can all benefit from taking a break from time to time. As cliché as it sounds; stop and smell the roses for a while. In the end it’s the journey that counts even more than the destination. This is something I personally want to keep in mind throughout this year, both personally, professionally, but also in my reading. I wish you all the best for the new year and hope to see you back soon. Until then: smell those roses (or in this case: book pages...?) and happy reading! Love Renée

Tonight, the sky will be ablaze with fireworks as we celebrate the start of the new year. Even though I’m personally too much of a chicken to play with fireworks, I thought I’d create a tag with questions based on the subject. I won’t tag anyone in particular, as I don’t want to put pressure on other people. If you’d like to do this tag, please feel free to do so! I’d love for you to include a link to my website as the creator. Without further ado, let’s get into the questions: 1. Sparklers: the one that’s suitable for all ages. A childhood favorite that is great for adults as well. For me, this would be His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I’ve read this trilogy as a child multiple times and absolutely loved it (the first book in particular). Some of my most treasured childhood memories are reading this book together with my mum, and talking about it. Upon rereading the trilogy as an adult, my love for it was only strengthened, and not only for nostalgia reason. There are some themes in this book that went over my head as a child, and only sank in upon reread. It’s a book I’d recommend to any reader, age 7-8 or up. 2. Firecrackers: the one that makes a whole lot of noise, with little to show for it. An overhyped book I’ve mentioned a couple books in my most disappointing of 2018 list, so I’ll pick one that I haven’t talked about yet. Although by no means a bad book, there was a book that was so hyped this year that I feel no work could have lived up to all that noise. That book was Children of Blood and Bone. Let me get this straight: I’m all for diverse literature and I love that Tomi Adeyemi got a lot of attention for writing something that differed from the standards in YA fantasy. Unfortunately however, apart from having an all black cast, I have to say that this was one of the most “standard” YA fantasies I’ve read in recent years. Plot, characters and writing were far from bad, but pretty mediocre. I was an okay read, but compared to all the hype it got, I have to be honest and say it let me down a bit. 3. Comet: the one that shoots straight for the sky. The best debut you read this year Although I was trying not to repeat too many answers from my other posts this week, there is no way that this would be any other book than The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan. One of the best books I’ve read this year period, and by far the best debut. Honorable mention to Daisy Johnsons Everything Under. If you enjoy literary fiction, with beautiful, lyrical writing, you have to give that one a chance as well. 4. Smoke bomb: the one that blew smoke in your face A plot that messed with your head The Wayward Pines series by Blake Crouch. Blake Crouch is a master of misdirection and suspense. His novel Dark Matter is one of my favorite thrillers, and made me interested in picking up his previous series Wayward Pines. Although the plot sounds very generic (Cop with amnesia after a violent accident, who tries to figure out what’s actually happening in the small town he has landed in), it takes some turns that I truly didn’t see coming. This series, including its twist can be very hit-or-miss and to be honest: after reading the final book it took me a while to figure out where on the spectrum it landed for me. I’d be lying however, if I said I wasn’t surprised by it. 5. Chrysanthemum: an absolute visual spectacle. The best book to movie adaptation you’ve watched this year. I’ve seen a few strong book to movie adaptations this year, but one stood out head and shoulders above all. Annihilation, loosely based on the book by Jeff Vandermeer has to be my movie of the year. It’s a very polarizing movie, just like the book: some people will love it, others will absolutely hate it. In this case, I am 100% in the first category. The word “adaptations” should be used loosely in this regard: the Netflix original movie is more “inspired” by the book, than directly adapted from it. Even the title “Annihilation” has a completely different meaning in the book than it does in the movie. What it does manage to keep however, is the core themes and, unique “feel” and the alien almost synesthetic quality the book has. It’s bizarre and almost inexplainable, which matches the themes of the film perfectly. Annihilation is a movie that got under my skin in many ways. The core themes and present just got to me, and although it technically isn’t a horror-movie perse, it has one of the most disturbing scenes I’ve ever seen in years. Beware of this before going in: if you’re easily creeped out, this might not be the film for you. I’m aware it’s a controversial pick and not everybody will love this movie. If you want to be on the safer side; Love Simon is an excellent adaptation that came out this year, that I feel almost everybody who’s read the book will enjoy. Annihilation however has to be the movie with the most impact, that will stay with me for the longest. 6. Peony: the prettiest one to look at. The most beautiful cover of the year. 2018 was an incredible year for bookcovers. Publishers have really been stepping up their game if you ask me, and I’d love for both them and the original cover artists to get a little more recognition for this. One of the people behind some of my favorite book covers is David Mann, Art Director of Bloomsbury UK. The coverdesign gallery of this website will be linked here. This year, Mann delivered again, creating my favorite cover of 2018: the UK Bloomsbury edition of Circe. Stunning cover, stunning map on the inside, and most importantly: stunning story on the inside. Honorable mentions go to some beautifully designed YA and middlegrade books that I unfortunately haven’t read yet: And the Ocean was Our sky by Patrick Ness, Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton (UK version) and State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury. 7. Dragons Egg: a fantasy read you loved this year My favorite fantasy of the year that went above and beyond all the rest goes to The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Honorable mentions to The Nightcircus by Erin Morgenstern (which was a good upon reread as it was the first time), Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor and The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan, which all deserved their the full 5 stars they got. 8. Weeping willow: a book that made you cry I’m not a big book-cryer, and can only name 3 books ever that have made adult me cry. This year, there were no books that had me physically shedding tears, although a few got me close. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi is a stunning cancer-memoir that had me extremely close to tears. The aforementioned The Gracekeepers and The Astonishing Color of After were really pushing their luck as well. 9. Starting the new year with a bang: the first book you plan on reading in 2019. The first book I read in 2019 will probably be the one I’m currently reading: La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust 1) by Philip Pullman. I mentioned in the first question of this tag how much I loved His Dark Materials; The Book of Dust is Pullmans prequel (or as he likes to call it: “equel”) to that trilogy. I’m really hoping it will be as magical as the original trilogy is to me. If it can live up to that, I truly couldn’t imagine a better start to 2019 when it comes to books. I wish you all a very happy New Year’s Eve and a wonderful start to your 2019. Please practice firework safety (it always stresses me out a little this time of year), and I hope to see you all back in 2019! Love Renée

We’ve seen my most disappointing books and my favorite 2018 releases. Today we’ll continue the positivity with my favorite kind of list to read or watch around this time: My Top 10 Books of 2018. At the moment of writing this post, I’ve read exactly 100 books this year, the vast majority of which I enjoyed. You can imagine my struggle to narrow this list down to only 10 entries, which is why I established a few rules to make it easier myself: This list contains Fiction only (i.e. no non-fiction, poetry or short-story collections) and no rereads. Non Fiction and Poetry have their own Top 5, that can be found here. I tried to put them in order, but if you ask me again tomorrow, chances are some may have switched places. Links to my review, as well as the books Goodreads-page will be provided for each. Now without further ado, let’s get into my Top 10: 10. Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng Little Fires Everywhere is the second novel by Celeste Ng, and the second one I gave 5 stars to. A beautiful homage to mother-daughter relationships, that is as moving as it is raw and honest. It was a book gripped me from beginning to end and stayed with me for the entire year. I have still to write a full review about it, but kept thinking how much I would have loved to have read this with my mother. A very beautiful reading experience, and a very deserving nr. 10 entry on this list. 9. Everything Under – Daisy Johnson Everything Under is Daisy Johnsons 2018 debut, and made it to nr. 4 of my Best Releases of 2018 list. It’s a literary fiction (emphasis on the “literary” part) with themes of memories, language, childhood fears and family bonds, drenched in a deep and dark atmosphere. The writing is some of the best that I came across this year, and realizing this was a debut blows my mind to be frank. Daisy Johnson is an author to keep on your radar: I’m sure there are some great works to come from her in the future. Link to my review 8. The Lightkeepers – Abby Geni The Lightkeepers is probably my most surprising read of the year, that I can only describe as “nature writing at its best”. It’s a beautiful literary fiction/mystery story about the experiences of a young nature-photographer over the year she spends on the desolate Farallon Islands. It combines vivid descriptions of the eerie landscape of the islands and the oppressive and uncaring atmosphere it carries with it, with the inner world of our protagonist. If you are a fan of nature-writing, literary fiction or are in general looking for an autumn read that isn’t scary but does have that “eerie atmosphere”: this is the one for you! Link to my review 7. The Tidal Zone – Sarah Moss The Tidal Zone is one of the most intimate, yet impactful books I’ve read this year. We follow a family as they try to pick up life, after a rare medical event almost claims the life of their daughter Mirriam. Although Mirriam survives without any physical damage, the ordeal flips their entire world upside down with the realization that it could all have ended right then and there. The beauty of this story is its core of un-coated truth and realism. I read a lot of books about losing health or loved ones to disease, yet this book is unlike many I’ve read. It offers a perspective that is extremely real, but often overlooked and underrepresented. Although for Mirriam and her parents everything “ended well”, the impact of what has happened is not over… Link to my review 6. Circe – Madeline Miller The second book to be featured on both my Best 2018 Releases, as well as this list, Circe is a retelling of the life story of the mythological character from Greek mythology. I’ve talked about it yesterday, so I won’t go to deep into the story. Suffice to say it’s a fantastic read that does justice to the characters and magical feeling from the original myths. Because it’s somewhere on the boarder of fantasy and literary fiction, I think this is one that readers of many different tastes can enjoy, so I’d recommend it to almost anyone out there. Link to my review 5. Strange the Dreamer – Laini Taylor Coming in at number 5: this one needs little introduction. I’m pretty sure everybody who’s been in the book-community anytime in the past 2 years has heard of this one. Strange the Dreamer is the first book in Laini Taylors second fantasy series by the same name, and tells the story of Lazlo Strange, a librarian living a quiet life who has a deep rooted fascination for a long lost city named Weep. One day, he get’s the opportunity of his lifetime, as a group of researchers and adventurers sets out in search of this lost city, and invite him to come along as their expert. If you’ve read anything by Laini Taylor, you know she has a way with words like no others. Her gorgeous writing style immediately transported me into her beautifully crafted world, and I had a hard time putting the book down after I had begun. Additionally I loved the characters. Two of them I won’t mention for spoiler-reasons, but sweet and sensitive Lazlo for one, is one of my favorite male characters of all time. There is only one YA-book that made it higher on my list of favorites this year, so if this is your genre: please give this one a try! Link to my review 4. The Astonishing Color of After – Emily X.R. Pan Which brings me to my highest nominated YA-read of the year, and also one I’ve mentioned on yesterdays list as well. The Astonishing Color of After is Emily X.R. Pans magical realism debut about a girl who travels back to her Taiwanese roots after her mother has committed suicide. Clearly this book is a heavy hitter, and comes with a large content-warnings of mental-health and suicide. If you are comfortable reading about these topics however, you cannot miss out on this book. As someone with up close experiences of depression, suicide and the loss of a parent, I have to say this is one of the best books on the topic I’ve ever read. Gorgeously written, balanced and full of emotion. Link to my (temporary) Goodreads review 3. Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel Station Eleven is a post-apocalyptic novel like you’ve never read one before, and although I was expecting to like it, I couldn’t have anticipated to be as floored by it as I was. The novel takes a left turn from all the sensationalist action and focus on plot that most novels in the genre do, and instead focusses fully on the characters that inhabit this destroyed world. The result is a stunning and beautifully written novel about humanity and resilience in the face of adversity, that is simultaneously mournful, yet filled with hope. Even months after finishing, just looking at this book on my shelf brings back that exact feeling I had whilst reading it. Again; I have still to write a review for it, as I struggle to put my thoughts to paper. If you’ve read this book I’d love to talk to you about it. If you haven’t, I’d strongly recommend you give it a chance; I think there is truly enough in this book for anyone to find something to love. 2. The Name of the Wind – Patrick Rothfuss Last year, my favorite list was quite dominated by fantasy books. This year, as you can see, they are in the minority on this list, and I blame part of that on this one. I read The Name of the Wind at the very beginning of 2018, and it completely set a new standard for all fantasy, that honestly was extremely hard to meet. The Name of the Wind is as close to a perfect fantasy as you can get in my opinion: the story leans of some tropes you’ve seen before, but is still completely unique in its execution. The characters are fascinating, flawed and to some extent not what they seem. The worldbuilding and magic are incredibly in depth: after finishing this novel it felt like I’d physically taken a trip to this world, based on how real it felt. Finally the writing is exquisite; lyrical and funny, but never over the top. The Name of the Wind is a staple in modern fantasy, and for good reason. I’ll now join the party of millions of fans who are anxiously awaiting book three. Link to my review So what could possibly top “the perfect fantasy”…? Honestly, very little. Except for a book that was about as perfectly written, but carried a great deal of personal meaning to me. That book was: 1. The Gloaming – Kirsty Logan I’ve talked quite a lot about this book over the past few months; too much even, if you ask me. The Gloaming is a book that shouldn’t be talked about, but experienced for yourself. I’ll be the first to say that because of the emotional connection I felt to the story, I might not be the most objective observer. However, I still think this book deserves so much more love than it got. If I had to pick 1 favorite reading experience of the year it would be The Gloaming, and if I had to pick an author of the year it would be Kirsty Logan. As I mentioned yesterday: read the description on Goodreads. If you like what you read there, do yourself a favor and give it a try. Even for the writing alone it’s worth it in my opinion. Link to my review

New releases: for us reading-fanatics, they can simultaneously be the highlights of our year, as well as the bane of our existence. Every time you manage to make a good dent in your TBR-pile, a bunch of new releases show up, leading to that cute little pile becoming a monstrous mountain that you feel you’ll never be able to conquer. The numbers don’t lie: in 2018 over 2.6 million books were published worldwide (yes, I’ve looked that up, my source is linked down below). I’ve read a measly 15 of them. Some of them were bound to be good, others to be bad, and I’d love to share the former category with you. Because I couldn’t decide between a top 5 and a top 10, I’ve landed organically in the middle, leading to My Top 8 Releases of 2018. 8. Wild Blue Wonder – Carlie Sorosiak I’m going to start ánd finish this list with books that are criminally underrated in my opinion. Coming in first is Wild Blue Wonder: a beautiful and criminally underrated YA contemporary with a touch of magical realism, about grief, family, friendship and forgiveness. Set against the backdrop of a closed summer camp, in the middle of winter, we follow Quinn, who has always believed the camp her parents owned to be a magical place. This all changed last summer, after a tragic accident takes the life of one of the campers, who was a close friend of hers. Through a dual timeline, we watch Quinn struggle to come to terms with the events, as well as find out exactly what took place that summer. Wild Blue Wonder was beautiful, touching and atmospheric read, and I honestly don’t understand why it flew so under the radar for most people. It absolutely has some flaws (see my Goodreads Review for more), hence why it’s quite far down the list. However, if you are in the market for a good YA contemporary, I would absolutely recommend it. 7. Melmoth – Sarah Perry From the author of The Essex Serpent, Melmoth is a work of literary fiction, inspired gothic literature. Helen Franklin is an English translator, who happens upon a mysterious file, containing letters and diary entries from different periods of history. Not only do all of them share themes of guilt, exile and redemption, they also share the presence of an ominous creature, old as the numbering of days and straight from the depths of occult folklore: Melmoth the Witness. Through the eyes of both Helen and the multiple letter-writers (from different times in history), we find out more about this being. Who is Melmoth? What is her purpose? Is she a product of folktales, or maybe something more… The gothic style of this novel is both its strong suit, as well as its downfall. It’s very skillfully done and provides the book with a unique atmosphere, but can also make the reader feel somewhat disconnected from the story. Although it wasn’t the most enjoyable read I came across this year, it is an incredibly skillful one. If you enjoy gothic literature, this is one to read just for the sake of that skill. It also makes for the perfect atmospheric read during the darker months: I read it around Halloween and couldn’t have timed it better. You can find my full review here. 6. The Poppy War – R.F Kuang When Rin, a teenage girl from the peasant province is faced with the choice of being married off, or participating in the dangerous trials to apply for the most prestigious military school in the country, she is determined: she will become the best warrior the country has ever seen. Motivated by the dark events of her past, Rin embarks on a journey that encompasses combat, strategy, mysticism, enemies and allies, long dead Gods and forgotten powers. A journey that might not just change her life, but the course of history as well. When I heard “Chinese inspired fantasy with school setting that has the ability to combine magic with the true dark nature of war” I was sold about this book, and it didn’t disappoint. Although I have to admit that there were some plotlines that I had issues with, the overall book was a solid 4 star-read, that I really enjoyed. If you want a fantasy series that reads like YA, but without the sugarcoating and the romance: this one is for you. 5. I am, I am, I am – Maggie O’Farrell As the lone non-fiction book in this top 8, I am, I am, I am by Maggie O’Farrell immediately stands out, and fully has the right to do so. In this extremely original memoir, O’Farrell tells the stories of the seventeen times she came close to death in one way or another. The collection as a whole is so well put together; the stories are balanced and beautifully formulated, without sensationalizing any of the situations. Even though it has been 6 months since I read this, I still spontaneously think about some of these stories from time to time. In addition: the book is visually stunning to look at, both outside and inside. Each chapter focuses on a bodypart that was central to the experience, and is illustrated with a little anatomical ink drawing of that particular bodypart, which the medic in me especially loved. Nr. 5 of my favorite releases of 2018, but Nr. 1 on my list of non-fiction. 4. Everything Under – Daisy Johnson Everything Under made it to the shortlist for the Man Booker Awards 2018, and was in my opinion, the best one I read of the bunch. It’s the type of book that’s hard to describe, especially when you try to steer clear of spoilers. Suffice to say it’s literary fiction (emphasis on the “literary” part) with themes of memories, language, childhood fears and family bonds. It’s lined with elements of original folklore and fairytale, which underline the dark undertones this novel has. If you want to know more about the book, you can read my review, or read the description on Goodreads, although I would warn you to beware of spoilers, as some details are given away in the marketing that I would have loved to find out for myself. If you don’t like the type of book that is highly literary and written in lush and metaphorical language, this may not be for you. It’s a book I, especially as a non-native English speaker, has to work pretty hard for. In the end however, I think this is a brilliant piece of literary fiction, with one of the most distinct atmospheres I came across. If you are a fan of the genre, I highly, highly recommend it. 3. Circe – Madeline Miller Circe was a book that I was anticipating as much as I was dreading it, and it completely blew me away. As the title and author suggest, it’s a retelling of the life story of the ancient Greek half-goddess Circe. She is featured as a side character in many a myth, but never quite gets a full story of her own, so this novel is composed of fragments of well known myths, combined with Millers interpretation of events and characters. You can read in my review why I dreaded this book, but I have to say that in the end, Miller did full justice to all the characters, and brought them more to life than even the original stories ever could. Not only has she managed to capture the feel of the world of Greek mythology perfectly (that blend of mysterious, fairytale-like quality and brutal reality), she also wrote Circe to be my favorite female character of this entire reading year. This book came very close to perfection, save for a few tiny flaws, and is very deserving of the number three spot. If you haven’t read this one yet: do yourself a favor and pick it up! 2. The Astonishing Color of After – Emily X.R. Pan “Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird.” That is the opening line of the synopsis of The Astonishing Color of After, and the opening line to one of my most emotional reads of the year, the flew straight into my all-time favorite list. This YA, magical realism about grief, depression, hope and family heritage is a true masterpiece to me. As someone who has experience the death of a parent, suicide and depression close by, I can say that this is one of my favorite books on the topic. It’s one that’s balanced to perfection: just the right blend of emotions, the right amount of lyrical writing, the right amount of magical combined with harsh reality. Although it briefly made it onto the New York Bestseller list, it didn’t get nearly as much exposure as it deserves. Even though this isn’t nr. 1 on my list: it is the book that I would recommend everybody to read, if I had to pick just one. Of course, judge for yourself if you are in a good place to read about this subject matter. If you are however: it doesn’t get much better than this if you ask me. 1. The Gloaming – Kirsty Logan My number one 2018-release may be a bit of a surprise, as I suspect many of you haven’t read, or even heard of this book at all. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post: this one is criminally underrated. The Gloaming, is one of those books that went directly for my heart and soul, seemingly bypassing the part of my brain that is able to formulate a decent review or even summary about it. If you want to read more about it, I do have a review up here. For now: there are two things you should know: - it’s by the same author as one of my all-time favorite books The Gracekeepers, and technically listed as a sequel to that. This is not the case however: both books are supposedly set in the same world, but you can read both independently and in any order. - The synopsis does a very good job of explaining the style and “feel” of this book. If you love what you read here, you’ll most likely love what you’ll find inside. If the magical-realism-tone isn’t for you, you may want to give the book a pass as well. For me, the experience of reading The Gloaming was about as magical yet melancholic as the island the story is set on. I loved the characters, I loved the setting, and I especially loved the reoccurring, emotional motif of the sea. Although I recognize this might not be everybody’s cup of tea, I couldn’t bring myself to give my nr. 1 spot to any other book. This was an instant favorite, and will be an all-time favorite. Of that I’m sure... That concludes day 2 of my end-of-the-years series. I hope you found at least one more book to add to your ever growing TBR. Tomorrow I’ll be counting down my Top 10 Favorite Reads of 2018, both new releases as well as backlist books. Until then, happy reading! Love Renée

December is my favorite month to be in the bookish community, for one reason only: the end of the year lists. I love nothing more here than to read through than people’s lists of best, worst, most anticipated, most surprising etc. books of the year. Starting of my own little list-series, continuing daily until the New Year, I present to you my most disappointing books of 2018. 2018 was all round an amazing reading year for me, so this list is the shortest of them all. I no particular order: my top 5 most disappointing reads of 2018. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid I’m usually very okay with giving my opinion, even if this opinion is an unpopular one. For the time I’ve been on Goodreads, this was the first time that I actually hesitated to post a review, because of how much my opinion would be in the minority. It’s still the one on this list I’m most nervous about, so I want to get it out of the way first. This book probably needs little introduction: an aged Hollywood icon from the fifties tells her life story to a young reporter, disclosing everything. From her controversial career to her 7 marriages, and which one of them was the actual love of her life. Nothing about this novel is particularly bad, it just really wasn’t for me. I really encourage you to read my full review, as I think I do a better job of explaining why there, than I can in this quick format here. In short however: it was predictable, none of the characters (apart from Evelyn herself) felt developed to me, it includes some of my “pet-peeve-twists” and most importantly: it’s just really not my genre. This was sold to me to be “literary fiction” or “woman’s fiction/chicklit plus”, but in reality I didn’t get the “plus-part”. I’m not a big fan of chicklit, and generally a book in that genre needs to have a major “plus” to be in my favorites; this one didn’t have that for me. Truthwitch – Susan Dennard I was really excited for this, and it let me down so hard. I’m a student on a budget, with limited shelfspace, so I only buy books new that I’m really excited for, and expect to really love: this was one of them. I had heard so many rave reviews, the premise sounded so interesting and I was really hoping that this would be a new favorite fantasy-series. Alas, it was none of that. The plot was very standard, the instalove… *ahum* excuse me “romance” was cringy and whilst one of the main characters is interesting enough, the other one was downright insufferable to me. The world and magic system were amazing in concept, but I would have loved for them to be a little more developed. In addition, there is só much action, yet at the same time nothing of plot-significance actually seems to happen. I’ve never actually written a full review for this at the time, but I promise I will at some point. Suffice to say: most disappointing YA-fantasy of the year for me. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho If this list had been “most annoying books of the year”, The Alchemist would have been the nr.1 entry. Whereas for the other 4 books on this list, I can understand why they are so popular, I just cannot get behind the cult-following that this novel(la) has. Very oversimplified writing combined with, the unsubtle preaching of quasi-wisdom that I on top of all this do not agree with made this very deserving of a place on this list for me. My full review can be found either here or on my Goodreads. Crossroads of Canopy – Thoraia Dyer Similarly to nr. 3: if this list had been “worst books of 2018”, this would have been a top runner. The main reason I picked this one up, other than the stunning cover-art, was the world it takes place in. Crossroads of Canopy follows the journey of a girl in a civilization set in the treetops of a giant and ancient forest. The world features a very “biology-based” cast-system based on sunlight: the lucky few that are born high up in the treetops get the most light exposure and are the most affluent. Lower down, where the canopy of leaves blocks out the sun more and more, the lower casts scramble for all the light they can get. The world is ruled by gods and goddesses that reincarnate into human bodies every generation, and our story begins when our protagonist is chosen to become a bodyguard for one of them. Unfortunately, this book is about none of that. It’s about sex mainly… Specifically our protagonist thinking about sex in the most uncomfortable and cringy way. As I wrote in my review: I cannot remember ever, as an adult, feeling so uncomfortable reading sex scenes as I did here. Ever… In addition, the writing was forced and the characters insufferable. It was truly frustrating to me to see so much potential, such an interesting worlds and so many great ideas never coming to fruition in this one. If any of you have any recommendations for fantasy reads set in a similar type of world that are any good, I’d love to hear from you. The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman ´Have you ever read a book where you were so sure it would be a 5 star, that when you finished it and it wasn’t, you go into complete denial and convince yourself you have somehow read it wrong...? That is me with this book.” That was my reading-update after finishing this book for the first time. Even though I said this list wasn’t in order, I did save my most disappointing read for last. Although The Ocean at The End of the Lane is, in my opinion, the best book on this list, the gap between my expectation and reality was the greatest, leading to the deepest feeling of disappointment. In short, we follow a middle-aged man who returns to his childhood home, for a funeral. Whilst walking through the familiar streets, he begins to remember the darker memories from his childhood. Fact and childhood fantasy seem to blend together, as we go on a journey, almost literally, down memory lane. Based on this synopsis and everything I’d heard, was truly expecting this to be a new favorite and when it wasn’t, my brain actually couldn’t handle that for a while. I didn’t review it. In fact, I read the entire thing over a second time, as I was convinced I was “wrong” somehow. My problems however remained: the story felt disconnected, there was too much “shock-for-the-sake-of-shock” imagery and most importantly our main character wasn’t developed enough for me to connect to him. For a story that (possibly) takes place largely in this characters mind, that’s something I could not forgive. Just like nr. 4 on this list: if you have any recommendations similar to this, I’d love to hear from you. That concludes my Most Disappointing Books of 2018 list. I hope you enjoyed this list more than I did the books on it... Check back in tomorrow to see my best 2018 releases. Until then: happy reading! Love Renée

Genre: Literary fiction Published: Harper Collins, first published 1988 My Rating: 1/5 stars CAUSE OF DEATH: Multimorbidity (a.k.a.: there's a lot wrong with this one...) CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: Part of this is expectations vs. reality, part is just that I plainly disliked the entirety of this book. This is by far the most disappointing book I have read this year, thusfar. The Alchemist was sold to me as a metaphorical parable, written by a talented author that teaches you valuable life lessons you can carry with you for life. I agree with pretty much none of that. Firstly, I feel it is a bit of a stretch to call this book "metaphorical". This would indicate that their is a story that in itself makes sense, but carries a deeper meaning. While technically this is what the Alchemist tries to do, I feel it fails miserably. The story itself is completely pointless and serves no other purpose than to hammer in the message that Coelho wants to tell. What is that message you ask? "Follow your heart and don't doubt yourself" There... I saved you 150 pages. Oh and maybe "it is the journey that counts". Wisdom you find on tiles in public bathrooms basicly; I did not have to read this book. Secondly, the way this was brought across was not good. I have never read anything else by Paulo Coelho, so I will not go as far as to doubt he is a talented author, but nothing about the alchemist convinced me of that fact. The writing and basicly the entire book are extremely simple. In a way it reminded me of my middlegrade writing assessments, that I now cringe to read. Short, stocky sentences, sometimes throwing in a "lyrical word" like "the Alchemist" (which the guy is not) and "your personal Legend" just to sound interesting. Same with the story: short and lineair, with nothing actually interesting about it. Yet even though the story is so simple, Coelho still seems to underestimate the reader, by not trusting them to pick up on the "subliminal" message. Every couple of pages he literally spells it out and shoves it in your face, which starts to become really annoying after the fifth time. I don't understand the thoughtprocess behind this. If you are going to just tell us that obviously, skip the story and get it over with. This book could have been condensed down to a single page, and nothing would have been lost. Thirdly, I did not find any lifechanging wisdoms in this book. Like I said; the only wisdoms that it contains are the ones you find on bathroomtiles. Thanks for kicking in that wide open door sir... On a separate note, I feel these wisdoms, especially in our modern society can be extremely problematic and even inconsiderate to some. I feel like many problems could be solved if people simply used their brains over their hearts sometimes and actually took the time to doubt their own ideas and values. The extention of "if you want it hard enough, you will reach your dreams", is that people who fail at something did not try hard enough. This is just not true; life is not that simple and it is an insult to anyone who has encountered failure on their path to believe it is. However; that is obviously a personal opinion. PREVENTABLE DEATH? Unfortunately: no. For me, there was no saving this book. I only give one-star reviews to books that I actively hate while reading, and books that I feel propagate messages that I cannot agree with at all. This did both. I wish I could say any different...

As some of you may already know; I’m not the biggest Christmas-fan out there. For this reason, what better Christmas-post to write than the Grinch-booktag. The original tag was created by Sam from Thoughts On Tomes, a booktuber I personally love to follow and admire a great deal. I have altered some of the questions slightly, to fit my taste a bit more, but the original tag will be linked below as well. 1. Half the lights in the Christmastree are burned out: a series that started out good, but went downhill. The most egregious example in my own mind of this happening was a german series I read years ago called Das Tal by Krystyna Kuhn. It was a YA-thriller/mystery series that started out so suspenseful: it had a great setting, interesting and mysterious characters and a plot that really had me left with so many questions I needed answers for. The second and third book (to a lesser extend) continued this trend and my anticipation for the sequels to come out was actually rising each time. Until halfway through book 3/in book 4 I realized something: all these new mysteries and questions were being brought up, but none of them were getting answered… this only got worse until the “ending” which was one of the worst I’ve ever come across. Looking back on this series, it rests in my mind of a perfect example of “discovery-writing-gone-wrong”: an author who had a great premise in mind, started writing but had no idea how to end her story. Biggest disappointment of my teenage reading-years. A second and more well-known example would be Sylvain Neuvels Themis Files. I loved book one, liked book 2, and found book 3 to be quite “meh”. With so much set-up, the pay-off and conclusion could do little else than disappoint. 2. Annoying aunt Sally won’t leave you alone: a book you didn’t enjoy, but everybody else does, so it never seems to go away. This one isn’t going to be a surprise to anyone who knows me: anything by Sarah J Maas. I’ve read three books by her and hated all three with a passion. I realize she has written two of the most highly rated and most beloved series out there, but I guess her work is just really not for me. 3. Your pets keep knocking over the Christmas decorations: a character that keeps messing up everything for everybody else. Side note: I secretly love watching pets destroy the Christmas decorations… Videos of cats climbing Christmas trees or knocking all the decorations off the shelves are my guilty pleasure this time of year, and my dog actually used to own a chew-toy shaped like Santa... For that reason I wanted to think of a character that messes stuff up, but doesn’t do so in a way that ruins the book for me, which was quite a challenge. I ultimately settled on Akiva from Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Half of the relationship problems in this book could be solved by Karou and Akiva simply talking to eachother, and Akiva’s refusal to do so just messes stuff up for everybody involved. Although this can be an annoyance that ruins a book for me, the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series has so much else going for it that I still loved it. The other plotlines, the worldbuilding, the great characters of Karou, Suzanna and Mick, and Laini Taylors magical writing style make it worth putting up with Akiva’s pigheadedness. 4. You hear your parents putting out the Christmas-gifts and learn that Santa isn’t real: a book you were spoiled for. Spoilerwarning for: the Harry Potter series (including Fantastic Beasts) and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I’m usually pretty good at avoiding spoilers, but there seems to be a trend where I’m spoiled for every major plotline involving Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series. I was spoiled for most of what gets revealed in book 5, I was definitely spoiled (in detail!) for his death and most recently I was spoiled for the ending of Fantastic Beasts- The Crimes of Grindlewald, regarding the retcon about Dumbledores family. Not sure why, but I’m pretty sure there is a hex on me and this character… Another case where I was spoiled, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book to much was Never Let Me Go, where dumb me accidentally saw the movie before realizing it was based on a book. The power of the book is in not knowing it’s set in a dystopian world when you go into it, and I definitely was aware of that from page one. It didn’t stop me from enjoying it even more than the movie, though. It possibly even intensified my experience with it, picking up on all the little crumbs of evidence the author leaves for the reader along the way. Proof of the fact that a book can still become a new favorite, even if you’re spoiled for it. 5. Cold Cold Christmas: a character you should care for, but you just don’t. Both main characters in The Fault in Our Stars… Yes, I’ve said it: I couldn’t care less about them. The Fault in Our Stars is one of my most hated books of all time, for very specific reasons. I’ve been planning on writing an indepth review of it for ages, but just haven’t gotten to it to this day. Once I do, you’ll be the first to see it here, but until then: I don’t care for any of the characters, nor what happens in the end. I wish I could say I was sorry, but in true Grinch-fashion, in this case I’m just not. 6. That scratchy, homemade sweaters: a book you own but aren’t motivated to read. I’m happy to say I don’t have an answer for this. I’m a student on a budget, living in a space with limited shelf-space, so I’m quite good at deciding what books I really want to buy and which ones I don’t. I’d love to have my own extensive personal home-library, but I think there is an argument to be made for quality over quantity. I make an effort to keep my shelves so that they bring me happiness to look at and I love/am excited for every single book on them. If I own a book that I didn’t end up liking, I’ll be sure to regift it to someone who will enjoy it, or sell it to a secondhand bookstore. I’m also lucky enough to have a great library nearby, which helps bring down the number of books I need to buy. 7. Grandma got run over by a reindeer: a character death you are still not over. I’ll try to keep this part spoilerfree, so in very vague terms: the one that happens at the end of The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. Even though I sort of saw it coming long ahead, I was in complete denial over the course of the entire book. I freaking loved that character, and I’m still not over it. Also: any dog-death in any book or movie ever. I don’t care who you are, what you’ve written, but if you kill of the dog we are done. It’s pretty much my one weakness when it comes to books. I realize it’s probably petty, but my heart simply can’t handle doggy-deaths. 8. The malls are overly crowded with holiday shoppers: a series that has too many books in it and should have ended sooner. I recently talked about this in my post-mortem of The Language of Thorns: I don’t like it when a series goes on to receive spin-off after spin-off, especially short-story collections or novellas that add nothing to the main story or world. In some cases, like Cassandra Clares Shadowhunter series or James Dashners Maze Runner series, I don’t particularly mind, because I don’t care too much for the main series either. In other cases, where I love the main series, I do resent the authors/publishers for using them as cash-cows. Language of Thorns was an example of such: I like the Grisha verse and love the Six of Crows, and I don’t think these series have too many books in them at all. I just don’t think it needed a shortstory collection, for any other reason than to make the publishers more money. The same goes, unfortunately, for J.K. Rowlings Wizarding world: the original 7 books were great. I didn’t need Tales of Beedle the Bard etc., and to me, it takes away from the magic of the world, rather than adding to it. 9. The Grinch: a main character you hate. Some of these I’ve mentioned before, so I’ll go over them quickly: Most obvious offenders: Hazel and Augustus from The Fault in Our Stars, Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass and Scarlett from Caraval (girl needs to stop whining and use her brain). I don’t have too many from books I’ve read this year, but if I had to pick one I’d say Safi from Truthwitch. I realize she was supposed to be sassy and brave, but she came across as selfish, impulsive and stupid and just got on my nerves all the time. More generally: I seem to have a low tolerance for YA-heroines that constantly feel the need to show their strength by being acting brash and putting others down. My bookish-Christmas wish would be for YA-authors to give us more diversity in strength among our characters, both mentally as well as physically. We’ve made some strides in the right direction but for sure have a long way to go. That concludes me being an online-Grinch for the year: I shall now continue my antics and spread the Christmasblues among my family and friends. I’m only kidding guys (or am I…?) I you’re celebrating the Holidays, I wish you a very merry Christmas/belated Chanukah/mid-winter Solstice/whatever you’re celebrating, and I hope you have great time with family and loved ones and ( receive some nice bookish gifts…) If you aren’t celebrating for whatever reason, a happy Tuesday regardless! I hope to see you back later this week for my End of the Year lists… Link to Sam's channel Link Sam's Original videos

Genre: poetry Published: Faber and Faber, 2010 originally published 1965 My rating: 5/5 stars, all-time favorite "I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root: It is what you fear. I do not fear it: I have been there..." Sylvia Plath has been, and probably always will be, a poet whom words hits me harder than many others’ ever will. Many of the poems in this collection are very familiar to me: I’ve shed tears over them, adored them, resented them, analyzed them to death and absorbed their every message in my heart over the course of years now. However, this was my first time reading this collection as a whole, as opposed to fragmented pieces over time. My experience with the entire collection was simultaneously very familiar and yet a little different. I got to revisit some of my old favorites, which still haven’t lost their magic over me. I’d love to explain why I love each and every one of them, and what they mean to me, however, I’m choosing to only mention some of them briefly. Most poetry is best experienced “blind” yourself, and if you are interested in reading some analyses, there are many out there that do a way better job than I ever could, so I’d much rather direct any of you who are interested there, than do a butch-job myself. Some of my favorites included in this collection, however, are: - Lady Lazarus (possibly Plath’s most famous poem, and one of my all-time favorite poems) - The Moon and the Yew-tree (again: one of my all-time favorite poems) - Elm - Daddy - Paralytic - Edge (most likely the last poem Plath ever wrote before her death) All of these are amazing poems by themselves, but reading the collection as a whole did in a way help me understand a bit more about Sylvia Plath as a person, which helps you understand her work better. Although the collection isn’t organized chronologically, I couldn’t help but paint a picture of some of her major life events whilst reading, which added an extra layer to her work. Would I recommend it? Absolutely and whole heartedly… Not just to anyone interested in poetry, but to anyone interested in these topics as well. I’m fairly sure I don’t have to explain what these topics are, but just in case you aren’t familiar with Plaths work: check the spoilerwarning on my goodreads or do your own research online. Please, decide for yourself if you’re comfortable reading about these topics at the current place you may be in. Add this book on Goodreads

We’ve reached the third and final part of this miniseries, in which I discuss some great book to movie adaptations. In part 1 we looked at movies that were as good as their book counterpart and in part 2 I gave my opinion on movies that were better than the books. Part 3 is all about the best (screen)play to screen adaptations. Again; in order to qualify for this list, I must have read both the screenplay and have seen the movie or play. This is why some of the obvious ones (like Shakespeare) might be missing: although I have read parts of those plays in my English classes, I’ve never read the full thing in the original language. This was also the hardest list to compile, as scripts and screenplay can be quite a challenge to read. Even if you don’t read the scripts themselves though, I’d absolutely recommend you check out the musicals, plays or films: all are more than worth a watch. Hamilton (2015) script by Lin-Manuel Miranda This one probably needs the least introduction, purely based on the insane hype it has gotten since it’s Broadway release. All I can add to this is: this was a joy to watch, and an equally great joy to listen to the audiobook of the screenplay. Such a smart and original play, that tackles some important themes in such a delightfully fun and endearing way. This play has an incredible fandom behind it, and for good reason. Don’t take my word for it: just listen to the music, read the script and judge for yourself. August Osage County (2013) script by Tracy Letts In my opinion, August Osage County is one of the most underrated plays of the past few year, and one of my favorites of all time. It tells the intimate, yet completely tense story of three generations of an Oklahoman family coming together after the disappearance of the family patriarch Beverley. I’ve had the pleasure of performing this play myself a few years ago in the role of Jean, the 15-year old, rebellious teenager who has to watch her entire family escalate into madness over the course of the play. Whilst reading the script I was continuously amazed by the strength depth of character and their interactions that this story contains. The 2013 filmadaptation captures these characters perfectly with an extremely strong cast, including Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in the lead roles, and Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin and Chris Cooper in supporting roles. If you’re looking for a strong family drama, or just want to see some incredible acting: this film is a must-see. If you take one recommendation from this list, I’d love for it to be this one. Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolff (1966) script by Edward Albee “you are cordially invited to George and Martha’s, for an evening of fun and games…” By now, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is a classic. The movie adaptation may be a bit dated (black and white, and a little longer than your typical Hollywood feature), but it has completely stood the test of time in my opinion. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf focusses on two couples and one night, in which the four play an intense psychological game. It adheres to the classical rule of “unity of place, time and action”, has only 4 characters, and focusses on words more than actions, but is far from boring to watch or read. It’s an absolute marvel of dialogue; smart, snide and packed to the brim with deeper layers. Watching the character interactions unfold is like watching verbal and psychological warfare going on. Martha’s harsh words spray across the room like bullets, while George waits his turn and occasionally fires a snipe-shot back, right where it hurts the most. Honey and Nick are caught in the crossfire, each escalating in their own way as a result. The script contains so much depth despite its small scope, that it’s no surprise it has been called one of the best plays of all time. It can be a little hard to get into, but an absolute classic and must-see for anyone who loves theater. The fact that the 1966 adaptation stars incredible actors Elizabeth Taylor (Martha), Richard Burton (George), Sandy Dennis (Honey) and George Segal (Nick) doesn’t hurt either. Les Miserables (2012) script by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, based on novel by Victor Hugo Technically this is cheating: I have not read the full novel, only the musical script as I played in it myself. It is however, a very good play that I doubt needs much introduction. Although the script in itself is good, I feel Les Miserable is a musical that can be very hit or miss. I’ve seen adaptations that I really didn’t enjoy, but also ones that were among my favorites. The 2012 film adaptation has a bit of both especially with regards to the performances. Whilst I cringed at times at the stiff acting and forced vocal performances of Russel Crow, Anne Hattaway, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne really stole the show here. Last but not least: I can’t tease you guys with the announcement of going to see Fantastic Beasts 2 without following up on it. So as a bonus entry: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them & Crimes of Grindelwald (2016-2018) script by J. K. Rowling I typically don’t like spin-off series, and didn’t really fall in love with the movie script of Fantastic Beasts when I read it. However, once I was in the movie theater for that first movie, the opening credits rolled and that all too familiar “Hedwigs-theme” played over the Warnerbross logo, my cold heart thawed and I was sold. I can’t possibly be objective about these movies, as they contain so many of my favorite things: the Wizarding World, adorable creatures and Eddie Redmayne playing one of the sweetest and most sensitive male protagonists portrayed in Hollywood productions for a long time. I can’t stress how much I love that last part, and hope that other creators take inspiration from this. Unfortunately, as most of you will know by now, part two contains a retcon pertaining to Dumbledores history, and I’m not okay with it. Kind of ruined the ending for me, but what can you do… In the end I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a great night watching it. I guess I’m invested in this world, the characters and the story now, and watching a Harry Potter universe film will always feel a little special to me. Retcons and all, I’m looking forwards to part three, even if it’s just to get that little, hypocritical hint of nostalgia. I just can’t help myself… That concludes my three-part book-to-movie-adaptations that don’t suck series. I hope you enjoyed, and I’d love to hear back from you: what are your favorite movies based on a book? See you soon, and happy reading!

Post Mortem: A thourough investigation of a book after its passing. May be used to help determine cause and manner of death, and prevent repeat events in the future. Subject: The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo (fairytale collection) Primary Cause of Death: franchise-fatigue Complicating Factors: mediocrity I’m going to be extremely critical in this post, perhaps to the point where some of you might deem it unfair to the book. Not because I hate it or that I hate Leigh Bardugo; in fact I love her and I think she is one of the most talented YA-authors currently working. I don’t think this book is on the same level as her other work though, and I feel it’s only fair to express so. I was hesitant to read Language of Thorns from the start, as I generally don’t like this type of spin-off book, or the trend it represents. J.K. Rowlings Tales of Beedle the Bard, Cassandra Clares’ Tales of the Shadow Hunters Academy , plenty of authors like James Dashner and Sarah J Maas releasing novella’s “0.5 and 0.6” in a series… To me, it is always an indication of a downward spiral by the name of franchise fatigue. Let me get this straight: if your bookseries could genuinely benefit from a spin-off novella or shortstory collection, by all means: go ahead. If this is a quick way for your publisher to make additional money of a popular series: please keep your integrity and say no. There is nothing “wrong” with Language of Thorns other than that is was nothing special. 6 retold fairytales, as the characters from the Grisha-verse would have heard them growing up. At least; that was the idea. In reality, I didn’t see the connection between the Grisha-verse and some of the stories; they would have made just as much sense set in another world than they would here. What I love about fairytales is how much they can tell about the culture they stem from. Usually, they are stories told to teach values or morals that are important to that culture and way of living. These six stories don’t (all) have that trait. They were mostly adaptations of European folk-tales like I’ve heard them many times before, and had little to do with the Grisha culture all together. The final story “When Water Sang Fire” comes the closest, and therefore was the one I enjoyed most. Even though it’s clearly strongly inspired by the original Little Mermaid, it takes some turns that are befitting of the harsh magic system of the Grisha, and offers an origin story for one of the types of magic. I would have liked the other stories to do something similar. It might not be the worst thing, if the stories were enjoyable enough on my own. I can’t help feeling that the only reason this collection was received so well, was because of the “Leigh Bardugo-Grisha-brand” that was slapped on it. Ask yourself the following question, in all honesty: if this collection had been published by an unknown (perhaps debut) author, would you have loved it the same? For me, I doubt it would have even been published if this were the case. The stories are just too average among the oversaturated marked of fairytales and retellings. Preventable death: yes Could this at any point have been saved? Yes. In a way it actually was, by none other than the illustrations by Sara Kipin. Each story is beautifully framed by a boarder of illustrations that pertain to the story, starting of simple and getting gradually more integrate and detailed as the story furthers, to end in a gorgeous full page illustration. They are far more than just a gimmick and really add to the stories. Dear publishers, more of this please! The use of this format is the reason I don’t regret reading this book, and the single reason I added a full star to my original rating of 2 stars. I truly think it’s one of the most visually stunning books I’ve read this year and I hope publishers take inspiration from this. A beautiful package however, does not excuse lackluster content. I really hope Leigh Bardugo doesn’t become a one-trick-pony with her Grisha-Verse, milking the francize to death. My hopes are high for her new release for 2019: I’m absolutely sure Leigh will find her way out of this temporary grave. Final conclusion: hopeful for the future Find this book on Goodreads

Welcome back to part 2 of my "Book-to-movie adaptations that don't suck"series. Today we come to the touchy bit, where I talk about movies I loved even more than their book-counter parts. Before you guys sharpen your pitchforks and come for me, remember that in most of these cases I like both, but just prefer some aspects of the movie more than the book. Without further delay, let’s get into 6 movies that were better than the book. The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) Just like my list of yesterday, I’d like to start out with perhaps the most obvious item: The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although I enjoyed reading the books by Tolkien and see how they played a foundational role to all modern fantasy to follow, I think they have quite a few problems in their original format. Tolkiens style was longwinded even for his time, and frankly hasn’t aged too well. Although his world is wonderful and deserves all the page time it gets, his extensive descriptions of meadows, hills and expositional history can really pull the reader away from the story. The movies circumvent this problem, by combining both action, characters and beautiful scenery in every shot, hereby negating the need to slow down the story to show off the worldbuilding. Peter Jackson, rightfully so, won several Oscars for his directing and cinematography, which really bring the world of Middle Earth to life. In my case, even more so than the books ever did. Besides the fact that they bring the world to life, I love the movies for their sheer craftmanship as well. I love reading behind-the-scenes articles on the making of the Lord of the Rings. For example about the use of scale-doubles and multiple scale models of the same, to simulate the height differences between the hobbits and humans. Or about the way the locations were created using a combination of real world geography, set dressing and after effects. It’s one thing for Tolkien to imagine this world in his mind, but it’s another for Peter Jackson to bring it to life in the “real world”. I think in this case, both deserve equal respect. Matilda (1996) Another all-time favorite movie that perfectly captured the magic of its literary counterpart is the movie Matilda. It’s also the first movie I enjoyed even more than the book, despite both being all-time favorites. The brilliant performance from young actress Mara Wilson, the lovely messages of found family and self-empowerment in a smart young girl, and even the changes for the positive that were made from book to movie, make this one of the best adaptations I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. Despite the fact that it’s perhaps an “older” movie, if you haven’t seen this one yet, please do yourself a favor and give it a watch. Cloud Atlas (2012) Cloud Atlas was an incredibly ambitious book, that in some ways may have bit of more than it could chew. It received almost equal amounts of praise and frustration from critics and I can agree with both parties. Although the concept and its message were incredible, the execution left some to be desired. Without spoiling the plot of the novel, it follows six seemingly separate stories, set in different places and timelines around the world. It’s strength lies in the connections it draws between these stories, and the narrative it constructs with these connections. However, these connections are often so small that the reader can easily misunderstand them or even miss them completely. The movie adds a visual aspect to these connections by casting the same actors in different roles throughout the several storylines. Each set of characters that is portrayed by the same actor is connected and shares a story-arc and motivation, and essentially lives out the same storyline in a different timeline, under different circumstances. All this is present in the book as well, but the visual of the same actor playing both roles helps link the pieces in your mind. This is definitely not going to be everybodys cup of tea. Some people will think it’s smart, other will call it pretentious. All in all neither the book or movie are perfect, but in this case I think the story and the message the author was going for simply translate better to a visual adaptation than to a textbased one. Dexter (2006-2013) Last and perhaps most extreme on my list: the Showtime-tv show Dexter. I very vividly remember the first time I came across the trailer of this show following a vigilante-serial killer with a heart of gold, and being extremely disturbed and intrigued at the same time. Still one of the most effective title sequences ever produced (please look it up on Youtube if you don’t know what I’m talking about), it drew me in from the start. I fell in love with the adventures of Dexter (wonderfully portrayed by Michael C Hall) and his foul-mouthed sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) and bought the complete boxset on DVD. Despite the first six seasons being great, the last two let me down, leading me with a bad “series-hangover”. It was only then when I picked up the novels, and realized they were very little like the series, and not in a good way for me. Where the series focusses much on the characters and offers some great dark humor for comic release, the books focus more on a supernatural aspect that felt quite out of place for me in the context of the series. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend the books personally, the series still remains in my top five of all tv-shows I’ve seen. I do recommend you stop after season 5 or 6: stuff goes down hill from there, and it still hurts me a little… Shutter Island (2010) The movie Shutter Island had some incredibly suspenseful material work with, but manages to rise above and beyond anything the book could do. Although I enjoyed the book just fine, the movie is one of my favorite films of all time, and actually blew my mind even after more than one re-watch. The best way to go into this psychological thriller is completely blind, so I can’t talk about many of the concrete things I loved about the movie without spoiling the story. The main reason I like it better than the book is the addition of visual clues and brilliant attention to detail that was put into the cinematography. This is one of those thrillers where you won’t see the twist coming, but after it happens you want to hit yourself in the face for missing all the brilliant foreshadowing. I personally love picking up on little clues like this, and Shutter Island is one of those movies that just gets all those details right. Like for the Haunting of Hill House, I’d love to go into some of those little clues and motifs, but other people have already done this better than I ever could. Links to those will be provided at the bottom of this post. Sherlock Holmes The last entry on today’s list is a bit of a bonus one, as it’s technically not just a single adaptation. If I’m completely honest, I’ve read and enjoyed the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, but never completely fell in love with them. Although I loved the characters, their dynamic and the stories on their own, the writing style can be somewhat formulaic and uninspired, in my opinion, which kept it from being a favorite. However, this cannot be said for the many (loose) adaptations that followed. Not only did I realize whilst making this list that “Sherlock Holmes” is quite the buzzword for me (I’ll read or watch basically anything even remotely associated with it), but also that my two all-time favorite tv-shows are based on this one classic. The first being, of course, the 2010 BBC-series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Given the incredible popularity of this show, I don’t think this needs much introduction or explanation. If you haven’t seen this yet: what are you waiting for. It’s available on DVD and many streaming services, including Netflix and definitely worth a watch. Secondly, there is my no.1 favorite tv-show of all time, and guilty pleasure: House Md… “Wait”, I hear you say. “House isn’t a Sherlock adaptation!” Technically it’s not, but it is without a doubt Sherlock inspired. Even producer David Shore had admitted so, and if you look for it, the parallels are quite clear. Both House and Holmes are brilliant puzzlers and “detectives” in their own field. Both have anti-social and boarder line sociopathic personalities, but get away with it due to their extraordinary talent and intellect. Both abuse drugs of some sort. Both have a best friend (Watson/Wilson) that is way sweeter than they deserve… Do I need to carry on? Anyhow, it’s those Sherlock-inspired characteristics, combined with cynical humor and medical mysteries that hits all my buttons and gives it the special place in my heart it has to this day. Even though, again, I like to pretend that season 7 and 8 never happened… An honorable mention goes to the TV-show Elementary (2012), a modern day re-imagining of the tales of Sherlock Holmes, and the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Both, although not as good as the previous two shows in my opinion, are very enjoyable and worth watching. I’d love to hear from you guys if there are any movies you like better than their book-counter parts. Talk to me on my Goodreads via the link below, or subscribe to my website to write to me directly. I’ll see you again tomorrow for part three, all about scripts and screenplay adaptations. Spoiler alert: I’ll also let you know how I liked the new Fantastic Beasts movie, if you’re interested. Find me on Goodreads Link to a short, concise analysis of Shutter Island, as mentioned https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVsXVzSse8I

No matter how wildly our opinions on certain books may vary, there seems to be one conviction that unites all booklovers: the movie is almost never as good as the book. In probably 99% of cases, I agree with this opinion, but there is that one percent of adaptations that just hits the nail on the head. It’s that single percent that makes us keep adding movies to our Netflix to-watch list, buy that DVD, or walk into the cinema filled with hope. Tomorrow night, I’ll be seeing Fantastic Beasts 2, with friends in the cinema, hoping it falls in that single percent. In honor of my anticipation, I decided to pay homage to 15 book-to-screen adaptations that didn’t suck. Part one will and include movies and tv-shows that were as good as the book. In part two (to be uploaded tomorrow), I’ll go one step further by listing 5 movies/shows that I enjoyed more than their book-counterpart. In part three, I’ll list some of my favorite adaptations of plays or scripts to the big screen. Let's start of with part one: Movies as good as their book-counterpart. Harry Potter series (2001-2011) Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first. Like for most people of my generation, both the Harry Potter books as well as the movies were a part of my childhood, and as such they carry a fair bit of nostalgia with them. Although I still love the books a little more than the movies, this is quite a close call for me. What makes this adaptation so great is how much it captures the magical and cozy feeling of the books. Although some differences do exist between the books and the movies (most prominently the characters of Ron, Ginny and many others, the omission of plotlines like the marauders, and personally my biggest gripe: the ending scene with Voldemort), for the majority the adaptations feel true to source. The Harry Potter movies are a staple Christmas-watch for me and allow me to consume the magic of the wizarding world in a shorter time that if I had to reread all the books. The Martian (2015) I can be pretty brief about this one: The Martian is one of my all-time favorite books, mainly because of its tone, its smart humor and its incredible main character. I was both excited and scared to see how this would translate, and luckily wasn’t disappointed. The Martian is a very true adaptation of the book, keeping not just the plot and characters intact, but also the lighthearted tone and humor. The main appeal of the book is Mark Watney as a character, and this hasn’t changed in the adaptation. Like Mark in the book, Matt Damon “carries” the movie with his charisma, humor and personality, and I couldn’t have wished for a better portrayal of one of my favorite male characters in fiction. The Descendants (2011) The Descendants, in both book and movie form, seemed to have flown under the radar for many people. Unfortunately so in my opinion, as I personally enjoyed both a lot. The story of The Descendants is set against the background of beautiful Hawaii, and told through the voice of Matt King. His wife is left comatose after a severe boating accident, with only a small chance of ever waking up again. Whilst trying to cope with this loss and doing the best he can as a now single parent to his two daughters Scottie and Alex, he is also confronted with a big financial and moral dilemma regarding a piece of land his family inherited. The story is the perfect tragi-comedy: it’s heartbreakingly sad one moment and hilariously relatable in the next. The three main characters (Matt and his daughters Scottie and Alex) are very real and come to life on the page. All these aspects are present in the movie as well: beautiful Hawaiian scenery, emotional yet funny story and a strong cast of characters (most notably George Clooney as Matt). I’ve seen this one twice in cinema upon release as an indication of how much I loved it the first time round. The last two entries on this list are a bit different from the previous ones, and might surprise some of you. The first three adaptations were “true adaptations”, translating the book as closely as possible to a new medium. These last entries represent the complete opposite of the spectrum; adaptations so loose you could almost call them “interpretations” or re-imaginings of the original. I admit, this is always hit or miss for me; usually miss. In these two cases, I loved both the movie/series as well as the book separately, even though you could argue they have little to do with each other. Coincidentally, both are Netflix originals. Annihilation (2018) Anyone who has read Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer can probably relate to my surprise of the movie announcement back at the beginning of 2018. How was anyone going to translate a book that leaves so much to the interpretation and imagination of the reader to the big screen? What I loved about the novel Annihilation was its portrayal of an experience that you cannot describe or completely understand. It’s a very personal thing to me, and you can read a little more of this in my review. In a way, it’s not the story that makes it one of my favorite books, but a kind of visceral feeling it brings across. A feeling that is very different from a visual experience, which is why I frankly didn’t think it would translate well to a movie. I was wrong. The movie Annihilation throws the plot of the book almost completely out of the window, but manages to convey the exact feeling I loved the book for. Even the director himself says that the movie is only “inspired” by the novel, only keeping the core themes and emotional charge the same. Even the title “Annihilation” has a completely different meaning in the book than it does in the movie. In my opinion, both should be seen as completely separate entities: you don’t even have to like one to enjoy the other. In my case, both the book and the movie are in my top 10 of all time. Beware though: whilst the movie isn’t a full blown horror movie, it can be really scary. I don’t scare too easily but this movie has one of the most unnerving scenes I’ve experienced in a long time. (for those of you who’ve seen it: the bear-scene) The Haunting of Hill House (2018) Last on the list is the newest Netflix Original series: The Haunting of Hill House. Like Annihilation, this is not an adaptation so much as an “inspiration”. I was nervous about this one, fearing that the profit-seeking Netflix producers would abandon the psychological suspense of the book, in favor of jump-scares and CGI-ghosts. They didn’t… Okay maybe a little, but this still is one of the best horror series I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. The Netflix series does not follow the same characters or storyline as the book, instead focusing on a family of 7 that moves into Hill House. The 5 children are named after the original book characters (Nell, Luke and Theo) with the addition of Shirley and Steven, in an homage to two fairly obvious horror-authors. The series is set over the course of two timelines, both following a major loss in the family, possibly brought on by Hill House. Although very different from the book, the series shares the psychological roots of the hauntings and does to beautifully. What I loved about the series most was its portrayal of grief through its characters and their experiences in the house. I was blown away as I figured out each of their arcs, and the fact that they all represent a stage of the classical grieving process (denial, anger, bargaining depression, acceptance). If you want to read or hear more about this, there are plenty of analysis of the show out there. I will link some of my favorites below for those interested. Again: even if you haven’t read the book yet, this show can be enjoyed as a completely separate entity, although you may miss some references to the original. Both come with my highest recommendations. If you enjoyed this list, or are just curious to see what movies I think are BETTER than their book-counterparts: check back in tomorrow for part two, or follow me on Goodreads Links to articles mentioned Haunting of Hill House, stages of grief https://www.tvinsider.com/728507/haunting-of-hill-house-stages-of-grief-siblings/ Haunting of Hill House, analysis of ghosts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch21Gzdp-DA&t=738s

Genre: Non Fiction/Memoir Published: Free Press, November 2012 My Rating: 3.5/5 stars In spring 2009, Susannah Cahalans life gets flipped upside down, as she is struck by a series of seemingly inexplicable symptoms. Between psychosis, wild mood swings, seizures and many a negative test, doctors can’t seem to agree on a diagnosis. In Brain on fire, Susannah documents the joined search of her parents and doctors to solve this real life medical mystery, in order to save their daughter and patient. Rating memoirs is and will always be tricky, as they are accounts of such personal experiences that it feels almost for me as an outsider to slap a rating on it. Susannah Cahalan did an incredible job of recording her experiences, and those of her parents, over the course of her “month of madness”. From personal experience I can say that it takes a lot of courage to talk openly about your own medical history and experiences, especially if it’s about a disease that is rare or easily misunderstood. I can only imagine how much more bravery it would take to talk about highly stigmatized symptoms like psychosis, which she unfortunately encountered. Revisiting these experiences is challenging enough. Putting them out in the open for people to potentially judge is incredibly brave, and I feel like I’d be amiss not to mention this in my review. My personal experience with this memoir was a little mixed. With regard to the content: I loved it. As a medical student aspiring to become an immunologist, this is exactly the kind of case that fascinates me to no end. I loved to read about it from the patients point of view, but also really enjoyed the scientific and medical explanations (which I see many people mentioning something they disliked). It was the way in which the story was told, that tempered my enthusiasm a bit. Cahalan has a background in popular journalism, and this really shows in her writing style. It’s that typical “popular tabloid writing”: simple and accessible, yet trying to be witty, and often prone to sensationalize the content just a bit too much. It’s a passionate pet peeve of mine, and this type of writing (in Dutch even more so than in English) can actually ruin my enjoyment of a book. In some aspects, it did here as well. This style of writing just doesn’t feel suited for the subject matter at hand. I do however realize this is mostly me picking up on a personal pet peeve, and many of you won’t particularly mind. As to whether or not I’d recommend the book to others: yes, I probably would. If you are interested in medical science or even if you enjoy shows like Mystery-diagnosis, or House MD; this is a fascinating read. It’s purely my dislike of the writing style that keeps me from rating it higher, but ultimately this is a matter of taste and many readers may not have the same problem I did. Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: Non fiction, investigative journalism Published: Chronical Books, October 2013 My rating: 4/5 stars In February of 1959, a group of young but experienced hikers embarked on a track through the Ural mountains in Russia, never to return. Over the months that follow, their bodies are located one by one, painting a confusing and horrifying picture of the events that affected the group. A frenzied escape from the safety of their camp wearing little more than underwear, curious evidence like clothes emitting radiation and injuries that seem to defy explanation… All of this has made this case the subject of much speculation over the years. Theories range from accidents to foul play, from Soviet soldiers to Russian Yeti’s, and from secret weapons testing to extraterrestrials. In Dead Mountain; the untold true story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident , investigative journalist Donnie Eichar sets out to explore all theories and find the truth among the speculation. Investigative true crime can be a tricky genre; these are real events, with real people, who often still have real (living) relatives. To me, treating the case and people at hand with the due respect is always one of the first things I look for in books like this. I’m happy to say that Donnie Eichar handles this very well. People come before sensationalism in this book. Quite literally the books opens with introducing us in depth to the people in the group. I really did appreciate this. The hikers become real people to the reader, not just faceless puppets in a sensational mystery. Although some of this information may be a little too much for some readers (this really depends on taste), I enjoyed this part and I think it shows how dedicated Eichar is as an investigator. He has talked to the people involved, and thoroughly did his research. This also applies to his investigation of the theories, and the final conclusion he comes to. Eichar addresses many of the popular theories with an open mind and argues why he feels they are more or less likely. Afterwards he presents his own (well researched!) theory, which in my opinion is the most plausible yet. This is not a definitive plea for his case: in the end the reader is left to draw their own conclusions, which can feel a little unsatisfying. Then again: what other way can you feel about a case that will probably never be definitively solved. My biggest criticism of the book was the pacing. As mentioned: the start goes very in depth on all the hikers backstories, and although interesting, is quite slow. There were moment here where I found myself a little bored, especially around the (first) description of the group embarking on their trip. This was in stark contrast to the final chapters on the theories. Some of those were quite short and fast. I would have liked a little more depth here, possibly at the expense of some of the earlier parts. It’s 2018 as I’m writing this review, and in all honesty: all theories described in this novel can be found with a quick google search. It really is the story of the people and the in depth explanation where this book shines. If you are mildly curious and just want a quick glance of this case, this book may be to in depth and you might be satisfied just by reading some articles. If you know a little about it and (like me) were fascinated by what you learned, this book might be for you. Add this book on Goodreads

December is only three days away, which means for many people, their favorite time of the year is approaching. I’d love to say I’m one of them, but to be honest I can’t say I am. On a scale of “Christmas-elf” to “Grinch” I’m sorry to say that I’m a lot closer to the latter… For me and my family, Christmas is associated with some very sad memories that always put a shadow over the festivities. This means my seasonal TBR may not be your typical one perse. Part of me does crave the “warm Christmas spirit”, yet part of me doesn’t want anything to do with it. This means my reading during this time of year is often a little schizophrenic (in the most literal sense, meaning having a split mind). On the one hand I reach for books that offer me some escape, and have that warm feeling to combat the cold outside. This usually means much fantasy. For example: two years ago, I binge-reread Harry Potter book 1-5, like any basic-book-bitch. On the other hand, I sometimes want to embrace that cold, and reach for hard hitting books if they reflect my mood. For example, last year I spent part of Christmas day crying over When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, like an absolute grinch. Both are equally valued memories to me, and my TBR will reflect both of these moods, as I’m not quite sure yet in what mood I’ll be this year. I realize that this list is way to big for me to finish in just the Holidays, which means not all of them will get read this year. Some of them may carry over into January, but especially around the Holidays, I don’t want to force myself to read anything I’m not in the mood for. Some of them may get shelfed for later. Without further a due, let’s get into 10 books on my Holiday-TBR: 5 warm-spirited ones, and 5 less than festive ones to satisfy my inner Grinch. ​ ​ Christmas level: Happy Santa 1. The Bear and The Nightingale – Katherine Arden I’ve had this book on my TBR for a long time, but always put it off until wintertime. It’s fairytale-like, Russian inspired fantasy with some darker undertones, set against a beautiful winter décor. I can’t think of a book I want to read more right now, so I’m 99% positive that this will get read in December. 2. Strange the Dreamer & The Muse of Nightmares – Laini Taylor The Muse of Nightmares was one of my most anticipated books of 2018, and yet I still don’t own, or have read it yet. Strange the Dreamer was one of my favorite books of its year, and always seemed like a perfect “warm holiday book” to me. My plans for the coming Christmas are therefore to reread Strange the Dreamer, and continue straight on into The Muse of Nightmares, as a little Christmas gift to myself. 3. His Dark Materials trilogy – Philip Pullman This trilogy is a fall-back title I always have on hand on my shelves. It’s also linked to some of my most beautiful childhood Christmas memories with my mum. Whenever I feel down over the winter period I know this trilogy is there for me, and this year I feel I might need its warm polar-bear-hug in my life. If this doesn’t satisfy my craving for this world, I might also pick up the prequel/equal to this trilogy, The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman. 4. A Portable Shelter – Kirsty Logan Short story collections are another holiday favorite for me. I could have filled another list entirely with collections I’d love to read over the holidays, yet this collection by one of my all-time favorite authors will take priority this year. 5. A Wise Man’s Fear – Patrick Rothfuss So… I’ve been putting this book off ever since I finished The Name of The Wind, mostly because I wanted to savor it for a special time as I know I’ll love this, but also because book three still doesn’t even have a release date and it’s killing me. Still, it is the type of book that is perfectly suited for a holiday period, where I have a bit more time to read and completely immerse myself in this world. If I can contain myself, I might save this one a little longer, but again: I’m not going to force myself too much this time of year, so I might cave and pick it up. Christmas level: The Grinch 1. Het Beste wat we Hebben – Griet Op de Beek I started reading this Dutch novel a month ago, but stopped because, due to personal circumstances, it hit a little too hard at that time. A very dark novel about dysfunctional family relations, grudges, saying goodbye, and continuing life after trauma. As a favorite of a very close family member of mine who passed away recently, I cannot yet say if I’m up for reading this one yet. However, if not now, than later, as this is a book I’m determined to read at some point in my life. 2. Everything Happens For a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved – Kate Bowler Picking up a cancer-memoir around Christmas time may seem like a weird choice, yet because of my personal experiences surrounding this time of the year, I’ve discovered I find this very therapeutic. Like When Breath Becomes Air last year, and Healing with Words and The Emperor of All Maladies before that, this years memoir will be Everything Happens For a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved. To be frank, I haven’t heard too much about this one, yet the title had me intrigued from the first time I saw it. I truly hope my experience with this one continues the trend of loving memoirs around this time of year. 3. The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying – Nina Riggs So… yeah… Same story pretty much. If one cancer-memoir isn’t enough: I got a second one ready… This one I’ve heard a little more about, and it came highly recommended by some of my friends on both Goodreads as in real life. Again, this is one I’ll definitely read at some point in my life, even if I don’t get to it right now. 4. The Great Alone – Kristin Hannah You guys have probably checked out by now; this girl is mental. Who reads a book titled “The Great Alone” at Christmas time…?!? I swear, it wasn’t the title that made me put this on the list, although my inner cynic kind of loves it. No, I actually have had this book on my TBR for some time, but just haven’t found the right moment to pick it up yet. The Alaskan cold setting, heavier themes and Kirstin Hannah’s beautiful writing style however, might make this a perfect holiday-read for me when I’m not in the mood for sappiness. 5. Bridget Jones Diary – Helen Fielding This will be a bit of a bonus item: I’m not expecting to read this necessarily, but again: my inner cynic loves the idea of reading this over Christmas. The Bridget Jones movie has been a guilty pleasure for me for years and I have ever since planned on reading the books one day. Again: I’m not quite expecting it to happen this Christmas, but let’s be honest: this would be the perfect time for it. No matter what category you fall into: I hope you enjoy your holiday season. So in advance: Merry Christmas, A Happy New Year and most of all: Happy Reading!

Genre: Classic Horror Published: Penguin Classics, 1962 My Rating: 3.5 stars “Fate intervened. Some of us, that day, she led inexorably through the gates of death. Some of us, innocent and unsuspecting, took, unwillingly, that one last step to oblivion. Some of us took very little sugar.” We have always lived in the Castle has Shirley Jacksons signature style all over it. A small cast of unusual and mentally unstable characters, who’ve experience a disturbing event, set against the background of an isolated home, with a possible hint of the supernatural. The story focusses on what remain of the Blackwood family, after the mysterious poisoning of the sugar bowl at dinner ends the lives of 4 of the 7 family members, several years ago. Ever since the remaining three family members have been living in elective isolation from the rest of the village, who mistrust, accuse, ridicule but also fear them. Constance, the eldest sister, is basically an emotional wreck after being accused, but later acquitted of the murders. She suffers from agoraphobia and doesn’t leave the house anymore. She now desperately tries to create her own little paradise in the same house that has witnessed all this tragedy. Uncle Julian, who survived the ordeal because he only takes very little sugar, is left both mentally and physically damaged by the poisoning. Wheelchair bound, often forgetful and disorganized, he spends his time obsessively recounting and documenting the affair, leaving no room for anything else in his life. Lastly, eighteen year old sister Merricat seems frozen in her emotional development from the moment of the tragedy. As our narrator, she often reads like a twelve-year-old, with her ways of childlike silliness, magical thinking and a quite limited and self-centered view of the world. The characters, as in any Shirley Jackson work, are the biggest strength of the novel. All of them are wonderfully quirky, without being so out there that they become too unrelatable. All of them have a unique type of insanity, and the way Jackson portrays this is both harrowing, upsetting, interesting and funny at the same time. I also (again) loved Shirley Jacksons writing style, combining darker themes with quirkiness and black humor. However, this wasn’t my favorite book by her. I couldn’t help but draw parallels between We have always lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House, and felt the former fell a little short on some of these comparisons. For example: the atmosphere and feeling of isolation in Haunting of Hill House was spot on in my opinion. We have Always lived in the Castle started off strong in this regard, but lost that feeling towards the end. Also, purely based on personal taste, I didn’t connect to the characters as much as I did in Haunting of Hill House. This is however, a book that I can see myself thinking about a few months from now. These weird characters, their messed up coping mechanisms and even the almost delusional happiness they create for themselves in the end are something that may occupy my mind for a long time. Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: YA contemporary Published: Simon Pulse, January 2016 My Rating: 4.5/5 stars “If you knew the world was going to end, but you had the power to stop it, would you?” “Yes.” “Why?” “Because Jesse believed that life wasn’t worth living, and I refuse to prove him right.” Life is bullshit This is the statement that Henry opens We are the Ants with, and in many ways I can’t blame him for thinking so. Life has not been going easy on him. At school, he tries to navigate his way through severe bullying and abuse from classmates, whilst also exploring his feelings for a new boy in school Diego. At home, things aren’t much easier. His brother has gotten his girlfriend pregnant, and has no idea how to deal with the prospect of being a dad. His grandma is suffering from the onset of dementia, and his overworked and addict mother just needs him to “be okay” to keep herself from breaking. Throughout this all his life is still being heavily affected by the grief he feels over his ex-boyfriends recent suicide. It’s safe to say: Henry is not okay. It was this “alien-plot-line-part” of the description that put me off the book for so long. I realize this is a very personal opinion, but I’m generally not interested in sci-fi about anthropomorphic aliens visiting earth. We are the Ants however, is nothing like that, so if like me you’re discouraged by this plotline: don’t be. Likewise, if you’re just interested in a book about aliens, this may not be the one for you. It’s very much a heavy YA-contemporary novel, with a very minor supernatural plotline. In my opinion it’s so minor that it technically could have been scrapped in editing, without changing the core of the novel too much. From this perspective, We are the Ants is a wonderful book. It’s main two selling points, for me were the writing style and the portrayal of the characters and their emotions. The writing style could be a hit or miss for some: Henry is very cynical and nihilistic view of the world, that sometimes comes across as crude. I personally loved his dark jokes, and thought they did a great job of lifting the mood of this novel, but I can very well see how they may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, even if you don’t enjoy our narrators tone at times, I think most people will be able to enjoy the poignancy and wisdom in some of the writing. This novel is one of the most quotable I’ve read this year, and has depleted my sticky-tabs-collection significantly. The writing style perfectly supports the characters, especially our teenage ones. Many adult authors who write about teenagers, seem to either underestimate or overestimate them. Hutchinson strikes the perfect balance here: he includes the full complexity of Henry’s grief and feelings for his ex-boyfriend, and the fear of falling in love again with Diego that this brings with it. His characters deal with the same emotional impact this would have on an adult. However, he also recognizes the sense of melodrama that teenagers can have. How a failed math-test or making an awkward remark in front of the class can seem like the end of the world. It’s that balance between very major events, and minor ones that balances the book out and makes it very representative of themes teenagers can deal with. At a certain point there is a little lag in the story’s pacing (about 1/3 to halfway through). Here Henry’s internal monologue can be repetitive and even whiney at times. Whilst this is understandable, considering the circumstances he’s in, it’s not a joy to read. A second aspect about hit internal thought that annoyed me a little was his frequent mention of a certain male body-part. I was never a teenage boy myself, but seriously: do you guys really think about your penis every 5 minutes…? That has to be annoying… Last (pretty minor) piece of criticism: Dear Mr. Hutchinson and editor, please don’t ever use google translate as a reliable source of translation again. There are a few German sentences in there, which just aren’t correct ("Ich hab dich so sehr, Papa verpasst", seriously…?!?). It may seem like a minor mistake but it’s so avoidable that really can’t accept this in a traditionally published novel. Nitpicks aside: I think this is a great novel for both teenagers, as well as adults. If you are okay with the heavier themes mentioned in my review*, this is definitely a recommend from me! "Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe, or we are not. Both are equally terrifying..." - Arthur C Clarke *For a contentwarninglist, see the spoilersection below my Goodreads review

Genre: Poetry Published: Self-published, february 2018 My Rating: 4/5 stars Love is falling upwards... It was by pure chance that this little poetry collection came on my path, but I’m very happy that it did at this very moment in time. It was the stunning cover and the title that drew me in and the first poem that plunged me into the depth of its tiny fraction of a sea of emotions. Into Oblivion is a collection with love at its core. Not necessarily ”falling in love”, or even just romantic love, nor the kind of puppy love that leaves butterflies in your stomach. This collection, to me, spoke about the deeper kind of love. The kind that is reserved for only a very select few that feel like vital elements of your universe. The kind that makes you feel equal parts happy and desperate, safe and fearful, filled to the brim and empty; Containing infinities… Chloe Frayne translates these feelings into beautiful metaphors onto the pages, and despite sometimes “stating the obvious” or becoming a little too sentimental for my taste, she hits the nail on the head quite some times in this collection. Based on those sections, this could have been a 5-star read for me. Unfortunately, my rating is brought down a little by the middle part of the collection, that didn’t quite have the seem impact on me. I realize I can be quite iffy about poetry, especially modern poetry. I either love it with all my heart, or it does nothing for me at all. While the former was the case for the first and last chapter, the latter was the case for the part in the middle. Into Oblivion is divided into 5 parts: 3,2,1…, Atmosphere, Kármán, the Company of Stars and Oblivion. 3,2,1 and Oblivion were by far my favorites and easy five stars. Atmosphere and Kármán felt a little less profound and a little more sentimental and were therefore disappointing to me, in comparison. Despite this, like I mentioned, I was extremely happy that this book found its way to my library by chance. I hope it’ll do the same for more poetry-lovers in the future, as it would be a true shame for this beautiful piece of writing to get lost in its own little oblivion. Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology Published: Bloomsbury UK, April 2018 My Rating: 4.75/5 stars Going into Circe, I was equal parts over-the-moon-excited and nervous. I love Greek and Roman mythology. I read the kiddieproof-versions (for all you Dutchies: the ones by Simone Kramer) with my mom and did a lot of research in my free time. I took six years of Greek and Latin and took a minor in ancient literature in university. Out of all the mythological characters, Circe was the subject of a large project I did in highschool, so I did a lot of research and am very familiar and in a way attached to her story. What interested me about her, was that she is always a secondary character, appearing in several myths, yet she never gets to tell her own story fully. This book could go one of two ways: give Circe the story she deserved and steal my heart, or be the biggest disappointment of the year. It could be a great exploration of an underappreciated characters life, or a cheesy retelling of the lovestory between her and Odysseus. I am happy to say it was the former. There were two things this book absolutely had to nail: the character of Circe and the “feel of mythology”. It succeeds in both. First of all, Madeline Miller does a phenomenal job of giving Circe a distinct, strong and frankly quite relatable voice. She is the daughter of a God and a Naiad, not quite Goddess, not quite mortal or Titan. She says it herself: “When I was born, the word for what I was did not exist.” This utter loneliness and yet the power to stand on your own resonates throughout the entire book. We follow Circe over the course of her entire life, and her character-arc over this time is beautifully executed. We see so much growth, yet so much consistence in her character. This consistency is the second thing that is highly commendable about this book. Unlike the story of Achilles and Patroclus, the story of Circe in ancient mythology is not a linear one. She makes appearances in random other myths and we don’t see her in between these brief moments. Madeline Miller has succeeded in weaving these loose myths together into a single compelling narrative, that is consistent within itself, even though the source material sometimes is not. Her writingstyle preserves the sense of reading an ancient myth. The scenery, the atmosphere and the themes felt right. Please don’t ask me to objectively explain why, but it was vivid enough that I could almost smell the herbs, see the shores of Aeaea and feel the Greek sun on my face. That combined with the familiar characters making appearances just gave me such a great feeling of nostalgia, while still bringing me a new experience. I have one small gripes that make me rate it 4.75 stars instead of 5. First of all, there is a significant drop in pacing around ¾ into the book, that quite hindered my enjoyment for a moment. It starts to drag and compared to the rest of the book and in my opinion could have been edited down a bit. It was just a unnecessary thorn in the paw of a lion, as the rest of the story was so great and I wish this would have been picked up in editing. Despite this minor flaw, this is an amazing book, that I'd 100% recommend. Circe, as portrayed in this novel, currently stands as one of my favorite female characters in literature, and I can see myself revisiting this book many more times for both her as well as the magical world contained in it's pages. Editors note: the physical copy of this book is by far one of the prettiest things on my shelf. Not only are the copper dustjacket and naked hardback stunning, but the map included on the inside is a true piece of art that wouldn't misstand framed on a wall! Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: Classic horror Published: Penguin Classics, 2013 originally published: 1959 My Rating: 4/5 stars “No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.” The Haunting of Hill House is a great example of what I love in classic horror. It’s subtle, atmospheric and more unsettling in a psychological sense than a supernatural one. The story opens with dr. Montague, a scholar interested in the truth behind the paranormal activities that have been reported in a remote house. In order to facilitate his research of the place, he invites three strangers to stay with him at Hill House over the summer: spontaneous and lighthearted Theodora, young heir to the house Luke and protagonist Eleanor, a woman with a haunted past and previous experience with poltergeist activity. Hill House is bathed in a mysterious and unfriendly atmosphere. Architecture that doesn’t seem to make sense, strange noises at night and a neurotic housekeeper who refuses to sway from her patterns or stay in the house past dusk… None of this however, is the source of the real horror in Hill House. The real secrets and the real fears might not be hidden in the dark rooms and labyrinthian corridors of Hill House, but in the corners of the mind of its inhabitants. As mentioned, Eleanor is a troubled and mentally fragile woman, haunted by the drawn out death of her mother and the subsequent impact that had on her life. She is also an unreliable narrator which forms the bases of much of the sense of insecurity in the novel. It’s the ghosts of her past, her character and the unfurling dynamics with the other characters (in particular with Theodora) that bring the story to life and really kept me at the edge of my seat. Jacksons writing style is perfectly suited to bringing across the isolated and unsettling atmosphere of Hill House, but also adds some much needed sass and subtly dry humor into the mix. The entire experience was perfectly brought to life in the audiobook narrated by David Warner. The only critique I have as far as the writing’s concerned is the repetitious nature of some of the chapters, as well as many sentences, which was at times a little too much for me. You could also argue that the beginning is fairly slow; although the atmosphere had me captivated from the start, it took until about the halfway mark for the story to do the same. On the other hand, this slow and atmospheric build up is something I’m used to in many classics, and it didn’t stop me from immersing myself in the story, like sinking in a warm bath of words. The Haunting of Hill House may be a slow burn, but it’s a staple in classic horror for good reasons. I can wholeheartedly recommend it, especially in audiobook form. Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: Fantasy, YA Published: HarperCollins, April 2015 My Rating: 4.5/5 stars This book is definitely a polarizing read; you either love it or you hate it. Personally, I am on the "love-it-side" of the spectrum. I don't know how to explain this book to you in a way that would do it justice, but i spoke to me in a way that only so many books do. Minor spoiler-alert for some of the narrative and writingstyle. The highlights; - Originality. This is the biggest plus about this book for me. Magonia is a story you have never read before. It is not "just another dystopian", "just another chosen-one fantasy", or even "just another retelling". I can only read so many new interpretations of the same old fairytales and myths, but Maria Dahvana Headley choose a myth that I have never heard before to base her story on, and I love it. I even read up on the myths and folktales she based this on, and I am telling you; she did a phenomenal job. With a million books out there, writing something completely unique is a true accomplishment, and Maria Dahvana Headely pulled it off perfectly - Aza. I loved her voice. She is cynical, snarky, vulnerable and overall just REAL. I know many people criticize her for being ungrateful, but the girl is literally choking on air all the time. She is 16 and dying; give her a break. I loved how she is not a "heroin" like many other protagonists from "sicklit", in the sense that she is not stoically, battling her illness and dying bravely while quoting famous philosophers (*cough* Hazel). I am sorry to burst your bubble, but this is not how most sick teenagers are; trust me I have been one. Aza felt real to me; she responds to her situation in ways that make sense and I loved seeing the story from here side. - The meaning. Now this is debatable and that is what I love about it. You can ask yourself "what really happened here". Is she really boarding a sky-sailing ship, or is all of this a hallucination brought on by her oxygen-deprived brain while she is dying. There is no clear answer, so the readers can decide for themselves. Personally I loved how it all COULD be a hallucination and I choose to believe it is, especially because of the parallels that were drawn between her illness and the world of Magonia. Her brain is using clues from a subject she spend researching in her last weeks, to make sense of the complete non-sense of her body shutting down. This is often what does happen in near-death hallucinations. The bird scratching her lung, being the actual crackling of her lungs as they slowly shut down. Her incorporating people from the actual world (like the redheaded ambulance driver) in Magonia. Even the Magonians (including herself) having blue skin; literally cyanosis. Honestly; I do not know if you are supposed to interpret it this way, but that is the beauty of art. Everybody finds an explanation to make it meaningful to them and this is what makes me love it. The downsides - The writing style (at times) I had mixed feelings about the writing style; at times I loved it. For example I flew through it and I loved the way Aza’s voice was written. Personally though I am not a fan of the sort of “experimental poetry-style layout of some of the writing. Writing some words in weird configurations to make them more meaningful like H O M E O M M O E M O H (actual example from the book) I am sorry; this is just not my thing, and I feel like the book could have done without. It is not present everywhere though, and if you are like me and are not a fan, you can easily sort of read around it. - The ending Like I said; I loved how you could interpret this book in different ways. In a way, this continued into the ending; not everything is explained (is it real or not?) but the book does hint towards one explanation. Personally I would have liked if she had gone more towards one end of the spectrum; either leaving it all up to the reader, or explaining everything better. Not going halfway like she did. I see how there would be people who have a problem with either one of these, but for me; I would have liked to interpret a little more for myself. For the same reason I will NOT be picking up the sequel. I feel one of the main appeals for this story was the mystery and a sequel will most likely ruin that for me. Also, if felt this story is complete the way it was and did not need a sequel. Reading the sequel will probably only make me love the first book less. Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: Literary Fiction, dystopian Published: William Heinemann, march 2016 My Rating: 3.5/5 stars The simplest way of describing my experience with this book woud probably be: "mixed". At times it was incredible, at others I felt such disconnect that I struggled to get through it. This will probably be a longwinded review, so bear with me. This book and I were off to a great start. Not only has it been blessed with one of the most stunning covers I have held in my hands this year, the novel starts off on a very strong prologue, with the characters staring at a phenomenon in the sky known as “Parhelia”; an optical illusion where two mirror images of the sun seem to be present besides the real one. Not only is this already a very powerful image, it perfectly sets the scene, the atmosphere and introduces the characters. In a way; the prologue reads like a miniature summary of what is to come in the rest of the book. It’s extremely memorable and I truly expected to be in for a 5-star read. My excitement soon tempered however, as a came across some problems. I will go into them, before I go into the positive. Some of the minor problems I had include the following: - Lack of quotationmarks. I realize this is a very petty issue, but it really annoyed me. At times I was very confused as to what was internal or external dialogue, let alone who was speaking. I don’t understand why the author would chose not to include them. Maybe it was meant as an artistic choice, but I don’t see how the book benefited from this. - Dylans “grief storyline”. I’m a sucker for good grief stories, but I did not feel it with this one. The author doesn’t pass up on opportunities to tell us that he is grieving. The problem is she doesn’t show us. There was no emotional connection for me, and it came to a point where I was tired of hearing her repeat it. - Speaking of repeating: repetition. As I said: some of the images, such as the Parhelia, in this book are very visually powerful. The problem is that they are mentioned multiple times, to the point where they lose their power. For example: if I hear one more time that Constance is “polishing the moon” I may throw a fit. Seriously though: it’s a shame, as if they were used less frequently it would have been much more potent. The biggest problem however can be summarized in one question: Why has the world ended again? I kept on asking myself this during the reading process. Both from an internal (within worldbuilding) as from an external (from a writing perspective) it didn’t make the most sense. From an internal logic point of view, there are some inconsistencies in the worldbuilding. E.g. where are these people getting their food/fresh water/fuel from if all has supposedly frozen to death? Why has ice molten to the point that people are falling trough it, even though it’s -20 degrees outside. I can almost hear you thinking: that’s not the point of the book. It’s about the people! And I agree. Which brings me to my argument why it doesn’t make sense from a writing point of view that the world has ended. In my opinion, the books weaknesses lie exclusively in the postapocalyptic part. If you were to take this setting out entirely, you are left with a solid coming of age novel with a portrayal of a transgender character that I found very strong. In its heart it is just that: a contemporary coming of age novel, and I would have loved to read it as such. In my opinion the post-apocalyptic setting didn’t add anything, and merely took the attention away from the very strong core of the book. I would like to stress again that this strong core is absolutely there! The writingstyle is superb (Jenni Fagan is a poet and it shows), the characters are interesting and their interactions were a joy to read. As a coming of age story, it’s original and could have been a 4+ star read, and I do feel a little bad for rating it lower. I see how the book could have benefitted from the setting, but the execution left some to be desired, for the reasons I mentioned above. Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: Magical Realism, YA Published: Kathy Dawson Books, june 2017 My Rating: 3/5 stars Here is the thing; i read this book twice in a few days. The first time I did not enjoy it; it did not grab my attention, leading to me missing important clues to understanding the story. When I got close to the end I was so confused that I decided to start all over, in order to understand it better. The fact that I even took the time to read it a second time says enough about how much the premise intrigued me, but the fact that I had to read it twice to understand it probably does not speak well for the story itself. The second time things fell into place and I could appreciate the build up and intertwining that Moira Fowley-Doyle did in this book. This leaves me torn on the rating to give to this book; the first around I would have given it a 2 star-rating, the second time probably a 4. Middling it out; I think this was a 3 to 3,5 star read for me all in all. The Highlights; - the premise! Like I said; i was so intrigued by the premise that I actually took the effort of reading this book twice to get it. - the atmosphere. This read to me like a "fall-read" (even though it takes place in summer, oops). It is very atmospheric and has a mysterious, witchy vibe to it. The mysterious spellbook, the lists of lost and found items and the characters having their own family stories give this book a very "something-is-boiling-under-the-surface-feel". - the family-dynamics. Not a lot of YA books include good family dynamics lately. The spellbook absolutely did nail this. This book deals with themes like alcohol-abuse, death, guilt and the bond between sisters. - the LGBTQ+ representation. This book features straight, lesbian and bisexual relationships in a way that is very natural and non-heavy handed. In my opinion: this is the best way to write LGBTQ+ rep. and I very much appreciate it for this. The Downsides; - there are a lot of characters. The story is told from 3 different perspectives, which in my opinion sounded quite alike most of the time. All 3 characters have their own different friendgroup, which makes for a lot of characters, right from the start, that I had trouble distinguishing between. - the story can be pretty confusing the first time around. It starts of with the three narrative points, seemingly having no overlap with each other. Only about 200 pages in you start to see where these intertwine. The main point that makes it confusing was the fact that (SPOILER!!) the three storylines don't take place in the same time period. I am usually pretty good at picking up these kind of things in advance, but I was confused by this one. - You will not get "full closure" with this book. This story does not wrap itself up in a nice bow and there will be unanswered questions in the end. There is no explanation for the magic (if there actually was magic to begin with) and not all personal questions the characters have are answered. Personally I liked this; in life, not all questions are answered. But I do see how this could be an issue for some people. All in all, I don't recommend this book to everyone, but if the premise intrigues you and you are willing to put in some effort reading it; definitely go for it! Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: Literary Fiction, Dystopian Published: HarperCollins, November 2017 My Rating: 2.5/5 stars “We are so brief. A one-day dandelion. A seedpod skittering across the ice. We are a feather falling from the wing of a bird. I don’t know why it is given to us to be so mortal and to feel so much. It is a cruel trick, and glorious.” Despite the ironclad premise and themes, this novel unfortunately fell a little short for me. It reminded me of the handmaids tale, but unfortunately not in the best way. The elements that hindered my enjoyment of the handmaids tale were present in this book even more, whereas it lacked the stronger parts that the handmaids tale does have. What intrigued me most about this book was the premise, the world and the philosophical questions that this may avoke. However, I was disappointed to see that the world was not explored to the extend I would have liked to see. Without spoiling the story; there is a large focus on the protagonists personal experiences of her pregnancy, and less on the world around her. One of the major premise points of the book is the devolution of species around the world, however, we see very little of that in the story. The book is divided into three parts. The first part focuses largely on the relationship the protagonist has with her adoptive mother and her biological mother. In itself this was fine, however, at times I felt the story really did not need the dystopian setting during the first 100 pages. The second part is where the true dystopia kicks off. This was when the story begins to become more suspenseful and fastpaced, but also where the lack of worldbuilding started to really bother me. So many aspects where left unexplored: how did the world get to this, what problems does it create (other than extinction in the longrun) and what would it mean to the people experiencing this massive change. Sure, they talk about how they miss roasted chicken, but the big picture is never talked about. The premise would have been very suitable to ask some interesting moral questions, however, the moral in this story was depicted very black and white. To me, this felt like a missed opportunity. I will not discuss the third part in detail to avoid any spoilers. All in all, it was not a bad book, but a disappointment to me personally. Perhaps if I had went in with different expectations I would have liked it better. The author and I were just interested in different aspects of this world, so it was not the best match. Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: Historical Fiction (Young Adult) Published: Philomel Books , February 2016 My Rating: 4/5 stars "War had bled color from everything, leaving nothing but a storm of gray." This i one of those rare books that I changed my rating on after reading it for the second time. I gave it 3 stars the first time, giving it 4 stars now; mostly because I simply can find little fault in it the second time. Not only did the things that stopped me from enjoying then, not bother me so much now, I also found new appreciation for the way it brings to light a tragedy that is overlooked in many a history book. I still understand my own 3-star rating the first time round, and I have to say: this book will not be for everyone. Critiques I hear often are "it is slow" and "it feels distant/clinical". I will address both shortly, as I agree with both, but also feel like both are appropriate in the context of the themes. The story indeed is slow to get started. If you are only interested in the "boat-journey to safety", as it says in the synopsis, this book is probably not the best for you. It not only takes about 300 pages for the characters to even get a glimpse of the sea, but more importantly, I would argue that anything that happens before that is the more important part of the story. This part is very character-driven, and getting to know them and their motivations is the journey in itself. Reading this book the second time around, I was more invested in the characters, which made the emotional payoff in the end even greater. The other critique I hear often is that the story is somewhat clinical and distant from the awful events that happened in the war. Especially when describing the greater horrible tragedies that happen in the end. On my second read, this became one of my favorite parts of the story as it felt so realistic to me. We see the war from the eyes of 4 characters and when they speak about their personal experiences and history, we see their emotions and feel their pain with them. Although at times I would have loved a little more character development over the course of the story, all protagonists are distinct and very realistic. Importantly: they are very realistic as children and teenagers. It brings an extra layer to the very adult experiences they have to face and is often quite harrowing to read. This to me, shows that Sepetys is very capable of bringing the emotion across, and makes me believe that her clinical description of the later events is intentional. I think this would be the realistic way, in which the characters saw those events. Some tragedies and experiences are too horrible for your mind to comprehend right away. One of the ways your brain deals with this is dissociation; you feel detached from what happens and block out all emotion. Like it is a movie you are watching, and you are simply a passive observer to the horrors before you. Your mind creates an artificial distance from the situation. A survival-mode to prevent you from going insane. If you have ever seen people directly after a horrible tragedy, some of them are not crying and screaming yet; they are unable to do anything but sit and stare. The realization comes (sometimes years) later, when their minds are done "surviving". This was how I interpreted these "clinical" sections. The emotion, much as for the characters, came later for me, and was even more impactful for it. To demonstrate how emotional of a read this was to me: I almost DNFed this book twice, not because it was bad, but because it depresses me in a way. It didn't give me the relief of a good cry, but left me with a sinking feeling in my stomach and this feeling of "Weltschmertz". It was hard for me to finish it, but honestly, that is the way a book about war should made you feel. The ability to provoke such emotion in me as a reader is a testamony to the skill of Sepetes as an author. I think her prose, although at times simple, is beautiful and some of her metaphors are downright gorgeous. I have to give it to Sepetys that out of the many WWII stories I've read and heard, this is one that has stayed (and will stay) with me for a long time. Add this book on Goodreads.

Genre: Novella, Fantasy Published: Dragonsteel, October 2014 My Rating: 5/5 stars Sandersons usual epicness, but compressed to bite sized format. To start off this post, I'd like to ask an open question to Brandon Sanderson: Dear mr Sanderson, can we please have a full length novel version of this? Please…? If that would be too much of an inconvenience, a multiple part series would be fine as well. Full epic maybe…? Regardless of the format, I need more of this please. I don’t have much intelligent thought to share on this book. Despite the fact that he is one of my favorite authors, I had never read a novella by Brandon Sanderson and I am happy to say that it did not disappoint. Everything I love about his novels, I loved about this too. In so few pages, Sanderson creates a rich world, set on an island archipelago (inspired by Polynesia or the Philippines perhaps?), so vividly that I felt like I was actually there. The magic system is unique and original as always (also featured in the Stormlight Archive, which takes place in the same world). The plot, although short, contains more than meets the eye upon first glance… My one criticism, as you can gather from my question above, is that it was too short. Not only do I not want to exit this world yet, I would also love for Dusk and Vathi to get more page time and more development. Both seem like such interesting characters, but in the short amount of time, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that we only got a glimpse of their depth of character. My request for more doesn’t stem from feeling like the story wasn’t complete: the novella can definitely stand on its own and is well structured. Nothing is missing. It stems from the feeling that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg, despite the fact that the rest of it is absolutely present in Brandon Sandersons mind. I personally would love to burrow down and discover more of this. Find this book on Goodreads

Genre: Novella, Fantasy Published: Gollancz, October 2014 My Rating: 3/5 stars This is a strange little book. Strange as its protagonist: broken and beautiful. The book starts off with a foreword from the author that starts with the following sentence: "you might not want to buy this book (...) I think it's only fair to warn you that this is a bit of a strange story. It doesn't do a lot of the things a classic story is supposed to do. And if you're looking for a continuation of Kvothe's storyline, you're not going to find it here. All of this is true. He continues: If you'd like to learn more about Auri, this book has a lot to offer. If you love words and mysteries and secrets. If you're curious about the Underthing and alchemy. If you want to know more about the hidden turnings of my world... Well then this might be for you All of that is even more true... Frankly I feel it may have been a mistake to label this as "Kingkiller Chronicles 2.5", because it has little to do with the series, other than sharing a world and involving a character from it. That being said, I did enjoy the experience of reading this. What it lacks in plot, it makes up for in atmosphere, and for some reason for me it was quite filled with emotion. The first part made me very warm and fuzzy: I loved Auri as a character from the King Killer Chronicals and loved to see more of her world. However, during the book, I gradually started to feel more melancholic and sort of "homesick". I can’t quite describe it properly, so this is the best I can do. Auri as a person is utterly and irrepairably broken and this novella explores her way to try to live in a world that does not welcome her. It's difficult to recommend this book to anyone particular, as it is so different. If you enjoyed that strange little foreword and are willing to apporach this with an open mind: it's absolutely worth your time. If you just want a direct continuation of The Kingkiller Chronicals: skip this one and (painfully) wait for book 3. Find this book on Goodreads

Genre: Young Adult, Mental Health Published: Harper Collins, April 2015 No Rating "Dead kids are put on pedestals, but mentally ill kids get hidden under the rug.” Challenger Deep is a very unique novel about sinking to the depth of mental illness, and finding you way back to the surface. It is one of only two books this year where I’ve abstained from putting a star rating on it, despite having very clear thoughts about it. This was deliberate for two reasons: Firstly, I know that some people will not read full reviews, and just browse the star ratings. This is perfectly fine, but in this case I think it would give the wrong impression, so I’d rather people read my words, instead of just look at a crude one-to-five number. Secondly, and more importantly: rating a book will inevitably lead to comparisons to other books. Due to the extremely personal nature of this novel, I feel that wouldn’t be appropriate here. Neal Schusterman made a name for himself as a talented fantasy author with his Arc of a Scythe series. This is nothing like that. It’s braver, more personal and more intimate than any of his other work, and its one that perhaps is best enjoyed with a little background information. Challenger Deep is an exploration of schizophrenia from the inside out, where the authors personal connection to the story he tells is palpable. Shusterman’s very familiar with this disease, as one of his good friends, as well as his son suffer from it. In many ways, I don’t think this book would have been the same if this wasn’t the case, and in this lies much of its beauty. One of the greatest things about this novel was the level of passion and compassion on the authors part. Both our protagonist Caden, as well as the author on a more meta-level, are trying to make sense of their situation and form the chaos of their reality in a coherent narrative. Watching this struggle (on page and outside) hit hard for me as a reader, especially knowing how rooted this was in real life. I can only imagine how emotional, but only therapeutic this must have been to write for Schusterman, but also to read for his family and by extension: readers in similar situations. The personal nature of this novel also means this won’t be for everybody. Good representation of such a personal experience as mental illness will always be different in the eyes of every individual who reads this. While this novel will resonate with some people and their personal experiences, others will have different ones and feel disconnected. Personally, there were various moments where I felt disconnected from the story. The novel is written in a somewhat jumpy, sometimes almost incoherent style which can be very confusing to the reader. Whilst this style very skillfully mirrors the typical manner of thoughts of someone during a schizophrenic episode, it was often a bit alienating to me, and made it hard to connect to the characters. In an interesting and almost ironic twist, the form of thinking and telling, stands in the way of the content at times. (I say ironic, as this is often also the case in communicating with a patient with schizophrenia). I can’t be sure if this was a deliberate choice on the authors part or not, but for me, it did hinder my connection to the story a little. The same incoherence could be argued for the structure: the novel doesn’t have a traditional clear beginning, middle and end. Instead it just seems to wave and flow. Again: I’m not sure I can fault it for that though. It certainly isn’t like most other books, possibly because is wasn’t written with the primary goal of publication in mind. Which brings me back full circle to the fact that I can’t rate this novel like others: it simply feels to personal. From the compassion towards all characters, to the authors note, to the inclusion of drawings by Schustermans son (which arguably only a father can love)… Challenger Deep is packed to the brim with beautiful symbolism, hope and confusion, warmth and fear but most importantly: a lot of fatherly love. Although it may not be perfect on a technical level, Challenger Deep is a story that is still often on my mind, even months after finishing it. Add this book on Goodreads

Genre: Magical Realism Published: Tin House Books, july 2018, first published november 2004 My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars "If one word can mean so many things at the same time, than I don’t see why I can’t” Magical realism with a focus on the ocean. A cold coastal town, inhabited by damaged people. A girl who flees from her grief in the belief that she is a mermaid. This book, thematically, should have been an easy sell for me. The premise sounded right up my alley, the cover is one of the most beautiful ones I’ve seen in a long time and all in all this novel has a level of “strangeness” surrounding it, that has the effect of a sirencall on me. Strange however, was also the feeling I was left with after finishing this novel. I enjoyed many of the individual elements of the novel, but as a whole, there was a level of incoherence that prevented me from immersing myself fully. The setting is atmospheric and definitely carries the feeling of isolation and “displacement” that it’s going for, yet it didn’t feel like a real place to me. There is quite little description of the place, and what there was felt too dry to invoke much imagery in my mind. While not a problem on its own, for a genre like magical realism that relies heavily on atmosphere, I would have liked to see more of this. The characters are interesting on their own as well. Our protagonist is very much an unreliable narrator, with a murky mind an damaged heart. She lost her father to the seas and has since then been drawn to the water, feeling displaced in her current place in the world. The one thing that seems to bind her to the land is her love for an equally damaged war-veteran, over 10 years her senior, who is reluctant to requite her love. It’s part fairytale, part very real tragedy. Despite how beautiful it was in theory, it missed the emotional mark for me. I didn’t feel it, so to speak. Disconnect plays a big part in the narrative and themes of this story, yet it’s also the feeling that prevented me from enjoying it to the fullest. I felt disconnected from the story, and the story-elements felt disconnected from another. As is often the case with debuts, the author has a lot of talent, and a lot of great ideas, yet isn’t experienced enough to tie it all together technically. I have to say: I hate criticizing it for this reason. The novel is clearly very emotional, and written with great passion by the author, but it was the technical flaws that prevented it from converting that emotion to me. The Seas is still very much worth a read in my opinion, but for a book with the potential of being a new favorite, and being a Orange-prize nominee, I can’t help but feel a little let down. Find this book on Goodreads

Genre: Literary Fiction Published: Counterpoint, january 2017 My Rating: 5/5 stars There is something utterly terrifying, yet strangely alluring to being in complete and desolate isolation… If this is a thought that is familiar, or even just sounds interesting to you: do yourself a great favor and pick this book up. I sat on this review for a while, as I struggle to put into words why I loved this so much. It’s easier for me to nitpick at flaws and go from there, but this book is so damn near perfection (especially for a debut!!), that I find myself at a loss of words. The Lightkeepers is a novel about the unforgiving, bleak- and callousness of nature, in the broadest sense. Not just the nature that surrounds us, but also the human nature inside the protagonists. We follow Miranda, a thirty-something old nature-photographer, as she embarks on a yearlong residency at the treacherous and rocky archipelago of the Farallon Islands. Isolated from the rest of the world, with only a handful of fellow scientists and nature-observers, Miranda sets out to document true nature through her camera, without interfering, but soon discovers much about herself and her fellow islanders in the process. Setting plays a very large role in The Lightkeepers, to the point where the islands themselves are almost characters in their own right. Geni does a fantastic job of combining and paralleling the nature writing elements with character development. The harsh weather and grim conditions seem to erode not only the rocks, but also the layers of our characters away, to reveal their bare-bone emotions, motivations and the truth behind the narratives they have created for their own life. The novel is divided in four major sections, based on four seasons (sharkseason, birdseason, whaleseason and sealseason), and the transition of each season parallels a development of plot and character as well. The cyclical nature of the seasons, is also mirrored in Miranda’s internal conflicts, most prominently the grief over losing her mother at a young age. It’s not your typical “gloomy-setting-for-gloomy-character-story”, but a well-timed combination of two dynamic units. I was so blown away by how much this all makes sense, that I may have even over-analyzed this a little, so I will spare you the details, as it’ll go into gushing territory. To sum up most of my gushery for this novel: - a haunting and dynamic setting that both terrified, and intrigued me at the same time. It’s been a long time since I pictured a books background so vividly. - character dynamics that felt as real and claustrophobic as I’d imagine the situation to be. - excellent portrayal of themes such as grief, isolation, denial and more in our protagonist. - prose that is beautiful on its own, but binds it all together to one of the best reads of this year for me. If I had to name a point of criticism, it would be that the plot is fairly simple. The Lightkeepers is somewhat set up as a mystery-novel, but in my opinion it doesn’t succeed in the “mystery aspects”, as much as it does in everything else. To me, the events surrounding the mysterious and possibly accidental death, were a little to obvious, and the inevitable conclusion didn’t surprise me. For a mystery-novel this might be detrimental, but for the way I read the story, it felt right. It made sense in the context of the story, and was in line with the characters, which was why I still enjoyed the ending. In my opinion, the plot, in all its arguable simplicity, was executed to near perfection, and I enjoyed every page of it. I feel this review hasn’t even done justice to half of the things I loved about it. Please read it for yourself: this one comes with my highest recommendations, especially around this gloomy time of year. . Find this book on Goodreads Note: If you are sensitive to some topics, please do your research regarding trigger warnings on this book. I don’t want to include them in my review, as some are heavy plotspoilers. If you are worried about this, please look into this elsewhere, or ask me. I may include a “spoilersection” just for this if need be