Summer Book Haul Part 2

Hi, everyone! Today I was upload the second part to my very expansive summer book haul. The Internet was working surprisingly fast and the video uploaded in less than an hour, which is something I've never had happen before, even at my home. I have six parts to this book haul so I'll be uploaded these often. I'm hoping to start filming again- I just have to find the motivation! It's really hard to convince myself to film in a dorm where people can walk by and hear me talking to nothing. LOL But I'm going to definitely make videos more often in my second semester if I have the time.
You can watch part one in my book haul here.

 

The Books:

 

Eleven more books featured in my summer book haul, totaling up to 21 so far! 

Have you read any of these books? If so, let me know what you thought about them down in the comments!

Mini Reviews: Two Books I Read Two Summers Ago

Reasons why I'm a bad reviewer- it takes me forever to write reviews for books I've read unless I'm on a deadline. I'm horrible. I've tried to get better, but my reading to writing ratios has always been unbalanced. These two books have sat in my archive to review since June 2014. I honestly planned to write an in depth review at the time, but the more I would like at these two novels the less I seemed to have to say. These aren't the type of novels that stick with me or warrant having an in depth review for. I'm trying to also get better at knowing which books I should review in depth and which I should be quick and concise about...Hopefully I'll get better! So here are two books that I've dusted off my shelves to review (surprisingly I don't own either of these books for my shelves and don't plan on it).

Letting Ana Go by Anonymous

1.5 stars

Ana is a good girl and she feels as though she’s not good enough for the perfect façade her family presents to the public. The one thing Ana knows she can control is her eating. Ana is spiraling, but she’s not eating it’s the best she’s felt in a long time. I remember loving Go Ask Alice in middle school; it’s one of the books that I consider to be a part of my childhood favorites. When I saw the this was free on Simon Pulse It I jumped to read it (that’s how long ago it’s been- there isn’t even a Simon Pulse It, now it’s called Riveted) and I instantly disliked Ana. Ana is my biggest problem with this novel and that isn’t a good thing when the novel is a diary. At first, Ana is a normal girl with good, healthy eating habits- until Ana’s best friend and her “perfect” mom make a comment about Ana losing a little more weight. She starves herself because her friend said it would be FUN. This is a horrible example of eating habits and disorders to display to younger audiences. Naturally, she runs all the time even though she has no fuel in her body- goes to rehab- then collapses and dies- the typical “anonymous” storyline. I’m sorry but this a pile of crap and after two year of ruminating on this it’s one of those novels I forget about, but once I remember it I’m angry. It left a bad taste in my mouth. These type of storylines make it seem like eating disorders have no chance of recovery and overcoming the problem; using death to display tragedy after multiple failed rehabilitation or attempts at intervention is not a positive message to send to younger readers. Also Ana was a completely judgmental twat to her mom and it only fueled my dislike for her and this “novel”.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 2

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 1

Villain Scale: 2 (very disappointed with the depiction of eating disorders)

Character Scale: 1

Plotastic Scale: 1

Overall, I suggest skipping over this one. It’s a newer anonymous novel so I don’t consider it to be a classic or necessary for your angsty teen reads (there’s better stuff out there). I suggest Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson instead because it’s a beautiful novel that portrays eating disorders in a stark, gut-wrenching story that has stayed with me since my middle school years.

Cover Thoughts: Typical anonymous cover with half a face in the dark. Bleh. 

 

 

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Narrated by Emma Galvin

3 stars

Tandy’s parents are murdered Malcolm and Maud are suddenly gone and she was the last to see them alive. Tandy her three siblings are the prime suspects behind their parents’ mysterious murder and she’s not the most reliable person in the world when it comes to knowing what she has done. Malcom and Maud were perfectionists and they always asked for more, did someone in the family crack under the pressure or did something more sinister lurk behind her parents’ lives. I listened to the audiobook of this novel, which probably enhanced my overall enjoyment of the novel. Tandy is an unreliable narrator, she’s evasive and talks about how she’ll just “save that for later”, which if I had read I would’ve called her out on her BS as being an overdramatic brat, but listening to a possible psychopath narrate is incredibly entertaining. If I had read that she personally considers herself to be unreliable, I would’ve probably read on to see if she was crazy or not, but as much as I don’t like James Patterson* this formula for the novel worked. Either way I would’ve kept reading. Tandy is a very unsettling narrator and that’s one of this novels strong suits. It made listening a fun experience. I still stand by her being a psychopath and I’m going to stand by her being a female Norman Bates. I don’t plan on continuing with this series because I don’t support this propaganda in literature, but it was a fun listening experience.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 3

Kick-Butt Heroine: 3

The Villain- 2 (what a cop out)

Character Scale: 3

Audiobook Narrator: 3.5

Plotastic Scale: 3

Side Note: I personally don’t like James Patterson because he has turned novels into a market for cash grabbing. He’s the reason why people choose to read books not even written by the person promised. Patterson doesn’t write his own material- I picture him to be more of a business mogul showing and presenting ideas to the publishers and then someone writing those ideas for him. It’s unsettling and I personally don’t support it. I’ve never purchased a novel by Patterson and I don’t plan to. (I downloaded this for free from Sync Audibook in the summer.)


Cover Thoughts: UGLY.

 

What are your thoughts on in depth and mini reviews? Which do you prefer? Have you read any of these novels; if so, what were your thoughts? Let me know down below in the comments! 

Dealing with College and Blogging+ a Review

Hey everyone! I know it's been a while and you are probably wondering who I am and why I've popped up in your feed since it's been so long. I'm sorry that I haven't been around on the Internet lately. I don't comment on posts, read a lot of reviews, or even write anything that isn't required for school. Today though I had a few minutes to spare and wanted to do something personal. I love blogging, writing, and sharing my passion for books... its just I'm trying to find a balance to squeeze into college life. I'm on my universities color guard so I've been practicing constantly since band camp in mid-August and I'm juggling having six classes and keeping up with homework. I'm managing as best as I can. I hope none of you have forgotten me completely because I do plan on stopping by when I have the time.:) Here's a review I wrote today! Sadly it was an impromptu DNF, but it's my first review in forever!

 Who Killed Kurt Cobain?: The Story of Boddah by Nicolas Otero
DNF

I'm incredibly fascinated by theories that surround Kurt Cobain's mysterious death. When I saw this graphic novel was available on Netgalley, I instantly jumped on the opportunity to pick this one up. Sadly, this novel is not for me.


When it comes to graphic novels the biggest thing for me is the art. I want to absolutely love and worship the art. The art should make me want to blow it up and hang it on my walls, but in this novel's case the art made me want to slam my laptop shut and stop looking at it. It's grainy, unclear, the faces are misshapen and not proportional to the human body. There's also one page dedicated solely to sexual positions of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. I get that Nirvana and Cobain are symbols for the punk era, but I honestly don't want to see 101 Sex Positions.


Art Scale: 0

The writing itself felt unattached and dissociated. I couldn't find any reason to keep reading the story because I didn't care about the story or where the story was going. I was unimpressed and unwilling to waste my precious time.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 0

Overall, I recommend this graphic novel for hardcore fans of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana because I'm sure that they will be able to appreciate this story much more than I did.


Cover Thoughts: The cover isn't horrible, but it should've been a hint that the artwork wasn't great.

Thank you, Netgalley and IDW Publishing for providing with me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

So, are any of you in college? Do you have any tips for juggling school and blogging as a college student? Let me know down below in the comments!