Book to Movie Adaptations

While I enjoy a well done book to movie adaptation, there’s no denying that the books are always better. Furthermore, there have been SO MANY terrible book to movie adaptations that it makes me wonder why they decided to waste their time and money. Below are all the books turned into movies that I have both read and seen (theres many that I’ve either just read or just seen, but I choose not to include those because obviously I have no way to compare the two!) This is basically my opinions on the adaptations, and if they’re worth watching!

The Hunger Games– It’s pretty common knowledge that this was a great adaptation of the novels that remained truthful to the book. I was so excited that they only made minor changes and stayed true to the story line of the book, making it a true adaptation. Every adaptation should be this well done! Definitely worth watching for everyone, especially lovers of the books.

Harry Potter– Absolute classic. Probably the best done adaptation in my opinion (despite the annoying glitch that was Harry not actually having his mothers eyes which was really really annoying). If you haven’t already seen them, but honestly what rock do you live under if you haven’t, go read the books and enjoy seeing them come to life in these wonderful films.

The Chronicles of Narnia– This series was very weirdly done. First of all they skipped the first book and the third book opting instead to only adapt the second and fourth books, which I somewhat understand, but still find weird. Luckily this is another adaptation that stays truthful to the books for the most part, but I honestly just recommend reading these books and maybe just watching the first movie!

Percy Jackson– This movie is hands down THE WORST book to movie adaptation in the history of adaptations. The amount of hatred I have in my heart for this loathsome movie is unquenchable. If you know what’s good for you, read the books and avoid the movie like the plague.

The 5th Wave– This adaptation was a shit show, not as bad as Percy Jackson, but in the same realm. I was especially upset because it had so much potential in the beginning, but it quickly went down hill and I have no idea how people who didn’t read the book had any idea what was going on. Personally I really enjoyed the book and recommend it, but I wouldn’t waste your time on the movie.

Me Before You– While I didn’t absolutely love this book because of the subject matter, I really enjoyed how different it was and how it explored topics that most books don’t. I though this movie remained very faithful to the book, and the casting was perfect. Honestly, I may have enjoyed the movie slightly more than the book. If I could go back, I’d still read the book, but I wouldn’t say it should be #1 on your tbr list.

Shadow hunters (TV show)– I watched the first season, and then gave up because I couldn’t stand this awful adaptation. While it kept the essence of the  book, kinda, it was just too much of a hot mess with a terrible script, awful special effects and weird af “plot twists” that I’d say you’re safer just enjoying these books and not bothering with the series. Maybe I would have liked it if I haven’t read the books, but these do not blend well together.

City of Bones– This movie tried so so hard to be good and honestly failed epically. It just didn’t work for me and as with the other adaptation of this book, I’d say just stick to reading the books.

Twilight– Ah the infamous Twilight. Personally, as someone who read the books and enjoyed them in my middle school days (though probably wouldn’t enjoy them as much now) I really enjoyed these movies. They stayed faithful to the book and it was fun to watch everything I had read about come to life. I’d say unless you are young and naive, don’t bother with either of these, but if you’re interested go for it because I really enjoyed my time with this series.

Ella Enchanted– So I read this book/watched the movie a million years ago and I really enjoyed both. I grew up on Ella Enchanted and have a special place for it in my heart, but I really enjoyed how in the book we are able to really explore her world and get so many details about her life that aren’t included in the movie. While the movie’s pretty different from the book, I’m not mad at it (maybe because I watched it first). 10/10 recommend both!

Holes– Who doesn’t love this movie! The book is basically the same story just takes longer and goes more into the characters heads. If you enjoy this movie, you’ll like the book, I just remember it being kinda slow at times.

The Help– I really really love this movie and I really enjoyed the book as well. The book had some added details as per usual and I highly recommend reading it. Both worth your time to enjoy.

Ink heart– I honestly read/watching this way to long ago to really write much here. Honestly watch/read it for yourself and form your own opinion. I seem to remember really liking them.

Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children– This is another one of those where they changed the story line a lot in the movie, especially the ending, but I actually understood why they did it. Now that’s not to say I liked it, but I honestly didn’t really enjoy the book that much either, so I wasn’t too invested. That being said, a lot of people love the book so I’d say give it a chance but honestly I wouldn’t waste your money on the movie.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Like, comment and follow,

Dani

My Dream Bookstore Trips

These are the top 15 bookstores I would love to visit (in order). The stores on this list made it because they’re gorgeous and/or unique and interesting!

10. Shakespeare and Co., Paris

9. Libreria Acqua Alta, Venice

8. Ler Devagar, Lisbon, Portugal

7. Cafebreria El Pendulo, Mexico City, Mexico

6. Selexyz Bookstore, Maastricht, Holland

5. Baldwin’s Book Barn, West Chester, Pennsylvania

4. Barter Books, England

3. The Last Bookstore, LA

2. Livraria Lello, Porto, Portugal

1. Librería El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Thanks for reading 🙂 you can follow me on the bottom of the home page!

Love,

Dani

Laptop Case

I have gone two laptops now, almost 5 years, having a caseless laptop, so I’m very excited that I FINALLY got a case for my laptop. Of course I had to make my case book themed, so I decided to do it through the laptop case sticker trend that’s big right now. This post basically explains each of the stickers that make up my laptop case. Confession: I’ve had them for a couple months but I’m just now getting around to this post so some of the stickers are a little beat up!

So this sticker is the centerpiece of my laptop and I thought it would perfectly tie together all my stickers and kinda set the theme for my laptop case. I bought this at The Strand bookstore in NYC and I’m obsessed with this quote.

This sticker is a tribute to The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. It’s Tessa’s clockwork angel and I bought it on Red Bubble. This also was just kinda my nod to all of Cassandra Clare’s book because they were so important to my teenage years, they were the books that got me super invested in Fantasy again and I quickly became obsessed with both of her series!

This sticker is obviously from the bible and is also from Red Bubble. My faith is really important to me so I though it was important to have a bible quote on my laptop just to remind me each day to pray and devote time to God.

This quote on this sticker is from Jane Eyre and it’s my absolute favorite quote. This book was really important to me because it’s the first classic novel that I genuinely enjoyed and I read it during one of my favorite classes, senior year AP English. This class was so important to me because it’s the reason I have decided to become an English major in college! Also I’m obsessed with cats so the cat outline was perfect. (Red Bubble)

I also got this sticker while in NYC at The Strand, and I obviously got it because I’m a proud Slytherin! Harry Potter was an important book for me and so many others, and it’s amazing because almost everyone has read them or at least seen the movies, so it really brings people together (especially at William and Mary).

So this was also from Red Bubble and it’s Game of Throne’s themed! Confession I haven’t actually read the books, but I’ve been watching the TV show and am currently on Season 5 and loving it.

This sticker is from (you guessed it) Red Bubble and it’s an image of Aslan from Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia are such a special series for me because I grew up having my mom read them to me and they were one of those books that helped jump start my love of reading. I also really appreciate now that I’m old the biblical analogies and the greater message of this story. Definitely a series I want to reread soon.

I know this stickers looking a little sketchy but it is what it is. This one’s from Red Bubble but it was originally square shaped. Something about the aesthetic wasn’t doing it for me, so I cut it into an octagon which I wish had been a little more even but I’m a fan of my decision regardless. This is from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas, and it’s one of my favorite series of all time! This sticker pertains specifically to the second book and it’s one of those iconic images that only people from the fandom would recognize 😉

Big surprise another SJM book sticker, but she’s one of my favorite authors. This is from her Throne of Glass series that I have been reading for the past 5 years, so it has been a really integral part of my high school/college years and honestly has helped shape me as a person. (I’m not saying I wanna be Celaena Sardothian, but I wouldn’t complain). This stickers from Red Bubble.

Lastly, (sorry I know it’s kinda blurry) I have this cute little sticker of Belle that I actually got in one of my book boxes. Belle has always been the Disney princess that I have identified with the most, so she was the perfect finishing touch to my laptop case. (Side note: Get pumped for the Live Action Beauty and the Beast move it’s gonna be lit)!

Here’s a final picture of my laptop case!

Follow my blog for updates when I post, see y’all next week 

 Dani

Red Bubble Website

Why I love Sarah J Maas

Young Adult Genre

September Book Box

Most Anticipate Releases

So as an avid fantasy reader, most of the books I enjoy reading are series. Unfortunately, this means I often have to wait a year for each new book in a series. This post is about the books that are coming out at the end of this year (November/December), and next year (January/February) that I am most looking forward to!

Heartless- November 8th

This is Marissa Meyer, author of The Lunar Chronicles, newest book and it’s a standalone retelling of the Queen of Hearts. I’m excited to read it (I bought it the day it came out) because I really enjoyed Marissa’s other series and her way of reinventing classic fairytales!

 

Tales From The Shadowhunter Academy- November 15th

So I’ve had Lady Midnight for forever and have wanted to read it, but I wanted to wait to read this book first because I heard there are spoilers and that it’s important for the plot of the new series to read this book. However, it was only released as a bunch of online stories originally and I didn’t want to pay individually for each story because that was hella expensive. So I’m hopefully going to read this book and then Lady Midnight very soon.

 

Scrappy Little Nobody- November 15th

I have actually already read this book by this point, and I really enjoyed it. I was looking forward to it because Anna Kendrick is super cute and feisty and I knew her book would be hilarious. It was so interesting getting an inside look at her life, the girl has done some incredible stuff, and I was able to get a sighed copy so that’s super cool.

 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Script- November 19th

Ok so who wasn’t So FrEaKiNg ExCiTeD for this movie to come out! I saw it the other day and loved it, though it was somewhat confusing at times. I hoping that by reading this book, maybe the movie will be a little clearer. I will definitely be seeing this movie again asap!

 

Crystal Storm- December 13th

This is the 5th book in the Falling Kingdoms series which I marathoned last year and ever since have been anxiously awaiting this book. Funny enough, while I didn’t initially like the first book, by the end of the second I was hooked and by the end of the fourth I was in love. SSSOOOO I’m very excited for this book!

 

Wayfarer- January 3rd

So confession, I haven’t actually read Passenger, the first book in this duology (I think?) but I’ve heard nothing but good things about it so I’m excited to read both. Also, the author Alexandra Bracken is coming to Blue Willow in January so I want to read her books and then go to her signing 🙂 (She also wrote The Darkest Minds series of which I have read the first book)

 

Windwitch- January 10th

So I read the first book in this series and it had great potential so I’m glad to see how this story develops. This series is also written by my favorite author’s (Sarah J Maas) best friend so that makes it that’s always exciting.

 

Carve The Mark- January 17th

This is Veronica Roth’s (best know for her Divergent series) new book and this cover is gorgeous. I’m interested to see how this book is and how she has grown as a writer since the Divergent trilogy. This book is also science fiction, so it will be interesting to see how she handles a new genre.

 

The Kings Cage- February 7th

So this is the third book in the Red Queen trilogy and I’m SO EXCITED for it! The previous two books were great and the second book left off with a big cliff hanger, so I can’t wait to see how everything wraps up.

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Bookish Pet Peeves

So as a reader, there are many many things over the years that have come to drive me crazy regarding the book world. While I have more bookish pet peeves than this, and I don’t really talk too much about actual plot issues that bug me in this post (maybe a later post idk?), these are the biggest ones!

Cover Changes:

Cover changes for an entire series are fine, that doesn’t bother me too much UNLESS THEY CHANGE THEM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SERIES. If you change the covers half way through, then my books won’t match, and then my entire book shelf is ruined. I would honestly rather a series continue to have ugly covers than changing to pretty covers half way through.

Stickers:

These are just so frustrating, especially when they don’t come off easily and leave a gross sticky residue. Can we all just agree upon a better system to advertise things on books! Also, don’t even get me started about the “fake stickers” that look like stickers, but when you go to peel them off, they are printed onto the book. WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT’S A GOOD IDEA!!!

Genre Hating:

I don’t think I will ever stop ranting about this one. It’s just so ridiculous that you think its ok to make me feel bad for reading what I want to read. If I’m too old to be reading young adult books, then you’re too old to be judging people what what they love. Like seriously what is this middle school? Why are you hating on me? I’m not bothering you! Just be nice about it, you don’t have to read it or even think it sounds interesting, but understand that I love it so pipe. the. fuck. down.

TV Show/Movie covers:

I just don’t understand why this is necessary. Isn’t that the point of the stickers? Especially with adaptations always being so different from the actual books themselves, it’s honestly offensive. I worry about the kind of person that would go to buy a book and pick the adaptations illustrations cover over the legit cover. It’s just wrong.

Responsibilities when you just wanna read:

Tbh this is just the struggle of my life. Most of the time I get stuck in the hole of not having immediate responsibilities for .5 seconds, so I pick up a book, and then suddenly it’s 3 days later and I’m failing all my classes (yes I’m being dramatic but you get the point). Nothing is more heartbreaking that putting a book down because you have to do homework or go to some mandatory event or sleep (lol what is that?). Can’t wait for winter break when I can get away with reading for an entire day and not have it mess up my entire schedule (one more month).

Being Uncomfortable:

It’s surprisingly difficult to get comfortable while reading. I don’t know if it’s just me, but the number of times I change positions while I’m reading is getting out of control. Especially in college because I don’t have the bed setup I finally perfected at home.

Spoilers:

THERE IS HONESTLY NOTHING WORSE, THIS IS MY NUMBER 1 PET PEEVE. This is especially an issue when you’re like me and lots of your social media revolves around books. During the first month Empire of Storms was out, I couldn’t go on Instagram, Tumblr or Pinterest without narrowly missing a million spoilers. However, there is nothing worse than when someone you though was your friend spoils a book for you. It feels like a knife right through the heart and my trust in you becomes seriously jeopardized. Just don’t do it people. Don’t spoil things for others (of course I know accidents happen, just do your very very best!)

People who hurt my books:

First of all, I buy most of my books with my own money that I have worked hard to get and secondly, as a book collector the appearance of my books is important for the aesthetic of my shelves. So if I loan you one of my books, that thing becomes your freaking baby. I put a lot of trust in people when I give them one of my precious well loved treasures, so just realize that I expect you to take amazing care of my book. Yes, I understand accidents happen, and I’m not unreasonable. If you ruin someones book you should return the ruined book along with a new copy of the book. It’s just the right thing to do. Then after that, don’t assume I will loan you another book, I most likely no longer trust you.

Most Movie/TV Adaptations:

If I had a dollars for the number of times I said “that’s not what happened in the book” I could buy myself my own personal bookstore. That being said, I don’t hate book adaptations. I think it can be really fun to watch well loved book characters come to life on screen, but DON’T CHANGE THE ENTIRE FUCKING STORY IF YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT (at you Percy Jackson). For example, Hunger Games and Harry Potter were both wonderful book to movie adaptations and I thoroughly enjoyed them, those are fine. But for so so many adaptations they just deviate way too far from the original plot/characters and completely lose what made the book so special (at you City of Bones/Shadowhunters). It’s not hard, if you’re going to adapt a book, do it right, and make sure you have the freaking budget for it!

Being Interrupted:

I absolutely hate when people interrupt me when I’m in the middle of a book. If I’m reading, leave me alone. Sometimes, I’m cool with putting my book down and having a conversation, so if I start the conversation that’s fine, or if it’s a really quick question no worries. But please don’t try to have a conversation with me when I’m in the middle of a book, if I wanted to talk, I wouldn’t be reading.

When people say reading is dumb:

These fuckers are the literal worst.

No epilogue:

If I take the time to read the many books that come in a series and go through an emotional journey with a character I WANT TO KNOW THAT EVERYTHING IS FUCKING OK. Is that too much to ask? I don’t think so. I just want to see the months/years later when everyones a happy family and all the shit they were working on throughout the book is all working out. I know that it’s not necessarily “realistic” and some authors love to leave books in suspense of the future BUT IF I WANTED SUSPENSE I’D READ A MYSTERY BOOK. Or they want their books to be like in real life where everything doesn’t just become perfect after a major problem is solved BUT IF I WANTED REAL LIFE I’D READ CONTEMPORARY OR I’D JUST PUT DOWN THE FUCKING BOOK! Just give me the damn happy af ending and we won’t have any problems.

Over descriptive Blurbs:

Few things are more frustrating than when the back of a book ruins the entire plot of the story. If I wanted to know everything that happened, I would just read the damn book! I’m always so worried going into blurbs that they will contain spoilers which is ridiculous. (See spoilers rant) Publishers need to work on giving away the general feel and premise of a book, without giving out too much information, please and thank you.

Not labeling book series numbers:

Sometimes I forget which book is which in a series and I just wish every series had the books numbered on the spines or at least the front. Sometimes this is an issue when organizing my bookshelves, but this is mostly an issue when I’m shopping for books in a series. When I go to a bookstore to buy the first book or the next book in a series, it shouldn’t take five minutes for me to figure out which book I’m trying to buy. Almost every book lover has gone through the struggle of accidentally buying the wrong book in a series and it’s just so frustrating.

The evil sentence:

I’ve talked about this before (see rules of fantasy post) but this is just something that has become progressively more annoying. The evil sentence is some version of “(s)he let out the breath they didn’t know they were holding in”. While this sentence itself isn’t inherently annoying, the fact that it’s used sssooo much in literature has just become ridiculous. Authors, it’s time to stop, you’re done, it’s over, let it die.

Vague Sex Scene:

Oh young adult. While I love you, this is just a little silly. Like I’m not asking for Fifty Shades of Gray or anything here, I just think after reading a sex scene I should know that I just read a sex scene. Like, I get being vague about sex scenes because they need to be appropriate for audiences, but I have read sex scenes before and then not realized till pages later that they had gone any farther than making out. Moral of the story: when writing a sex scene, you don’t have to get too descriptive, but it should be clear that they had sex. I think its ridiculous that this pet peeve is even necessary.

Waiting for pre-ordered books:

You would think I would have learned this lesson by now, but the odds of getting a pre-ordered book in before the next time I can get to a bookstore are like 1/10. So then I have to go to the store and suffer as I see the book mocking me while I’m waiting for it to come in the mail. *Sigh*

When book store are missing a book in the series:

Book stores should just always have at least one of each book in a series at all times. This is your job. You are a bookstore. This is especially annoying if the store has every single book in a series EXCEPT THE ONE YOU WANT! Story of my life…

However, that being said, reading is a wonderful, magical thing so ya…

or two, or three…

Thanks for reading, please follow my blog for more book related content!

Being friends with a Book Nerd

The Rules of Fantasy

Tag: Totally should’ve

So this tag was floating around book tube and I decided I wanted to do my own, but in blog post format! So enjoy…

Totally should’ve gotten a sequel

Soundless. Now I don’t necessarily want a sequel for this book as much as I wish that this book had been developed into a series. I thought this book had an interesting enough premise, but the actual story fell short of my expectations. Trying to condense a fantasy into one short book, as I expected, really doesn’t work . The fantasy element of the story had a very “deus ex machine” vibe, where it just came out of nowhere and magically fixed all the problems in the story. I think if this story had multiple books the characters could have been better flushed out, the story could have had a more interesting arc and the ending could have been developed so much better.

Totally should have had a spin off series

The Hunger Games. I really would have loved to see a spin off series of the hunger games. I think it would be so cool to revisit some of the old hunger games, such as Haymitch’s or Finnicks to see exactly how they occurred. While the games in the hunger games are horrific in theory, learning about them and the way the players adapt and fight to survive is always extremely interesting.

An author who totally should write more books

Cassandra Clare. Ok ya I know she has written a shit ton of books and continues to write books, however, I want to read a book by her in a new world. I love the entire shadowhunters world she has written so much, but as an older reader now I’d like to see her play around with the new adult genre (Sarah J Maas style). I love her writing and stories so I feel like I would LOVE a series in the same style but tailored to a just slightly older age group!

A character who totally should’ve ended up with someone else

*Spoiler* Katniss. So contrary to popular opinion, while I was reading the hunger games I honestly shipped Katniss with Gale until the end. In retrospect, and probably if I reread the books I might now ship her with Peeta, which I did during the movies, but in middle school when I read this I was Team Gale! I know, I know, I’m crazy.

Totally should’ve ended differently

The Wrath and The Dawn. The ending of this book was so disappointing. I really enjoyed the first book, thought I noticed some obvious plot issues, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt thinking they would fix it with the second book. But…they didn’t, it honestly just got worse 😦 I go more into depth with this in my review/discussion which I will link right here: The Wrath and the Dawn Review/Discussion

Totally should’ve been a movie

Every Last Word. I think the way this book is written, along with the plot itself, would lend really well to a movie. It is also a novel that brings up an important conversation of mental health and I think it would be really potent and relevant as a movie.

Totally should’ve had a TV show

The Selection. This series was perfectly set up to become a TV show (and I think it was optioned as one at some point) because it’s basically the bachelor but for a prince. The story would translate well onto a TV style format and it would be really cool to see these characters come to life. I see TV as a big guilty pleasure and so since this book it my guilty pleasure, it seemed fitting.

Totally should’ve had only one point of view (kinda)

A Court of Mist and Fury. Ok I can explain! I honestly really enjoy multiple point of views so I’m going to kinda reverse this one. I wish we could have the point of view of Rhysand during A Court of Mist and Fury. Now I don’t want a Rhys pov in ACOMAF a) because it would be too long and b)because it is important for the story and the plot twists to not know what Rhys is thinking, but I would love to get a version of the book told from Rhysand’s point of view. (Please please please SJM)

Totally should have a cover change

The Winners Curse. But honestly so many books! So I picked this book because this is one of my favorite series, but the covers are so generic and don’t relate well to the awesome story inside. Pretty girl in a ball gown, really, that’s the best y’all could do? And I don’t even want to talk about the other version of the covers because they are just as bad, if not worse.

Totally should’ve kept the original covers

The Mortal Instruments. This is just one example of when they changed the cover of these books to match the TV show/movie and I CAN’T STAND IT. There are new covers that I do like and this doesn’t refer to those, it just refers to the terrible TV show/movie covers. Just don’t…please just put that stupid little sticker (that I will peel off immediately) that says “soon to be/now a major motion picture”.
Totally should’ve stopped at book one

Divergent. If you know, you know. This series just really went down hill fast. Especially the last book, which I didn’t only dislike for ~you know what~ (which I’m still deciding how I feel about), I just felt like it was just poorly written. Each new book in a series is supposed to be better than the last, and this series just got progressively worst.

So those are all my thoughts and opinions, comment below what you think. Also, follow my blog if you don’t already!

October Book Box

Hey y’all so I just got my October book box (it’s literally the 31st so they kinda pushed the October thing, but hey at least I got it) and I’m excited to show y’all what I got! So this one, personally, wasn’t as good as last months because the items applied less to me, but I still really liked everything I got and was pleasantly surprised to get a hardcover this month. Also sorry I’ve been kinda behind on blogging this months, life’s been a little crazy, but I’ll be on top of it soon because fall/winter break is coming!

So here’s the bad boy himself; I always get so excited when I go to the post office for a package and see them bring me my little blue box 🙂

So I didn’t get this pic last month because I got ahead of myself and opened my box before I though to take pictures for my blog. So here’s how the box looks immediately after you open it, the little mini magazine lives on top and all the goodies are underneath!

This is how it looks without the magazine on top.

So here’s  close-up of the mini magazine. The theme this month was doppelgängers and honestly, I had trouble for a couple items figuring out how they applied to the theme, so this magazine helped clear up some of my confusion! To see what all is included in one of these magazine see the link at the bottom of the post to my last book box blog.

So first item was this polyjuice potion which made me happy/sad. Happy because I love candles, but sad because we can’t burn then in dorm rooms. I’m excited to take this candle home over break so I can burn it! It smells kinda citrusy, more specifically lime (I’m pretty sure) and I really like the smell though I weirdly feel like it perfectly matches polyjuice potion which is odd because that’s supposed to taste awful (Idk y’all…).

Next I got these out of print book socks, which is wonderful because I LOVE socks so much. I’ve never read The Count of Monty Cristo, but the mini-magazine let me know that there’s some doppelgänger stuff going on in the story, so that makes sense. You can’t tell in the picture, but at the bottom of one of the socks it says “free dante”, whatever that means. Also I’m sure the tallies mean something, but again I haven’t read the story so until I do I’m just going to enjoy having another pair of socks to wear!

Next I got this Narnia tea which I’m really really excited about. The flavor (as you can see in the picture) is Turkish delight brew with magical rose + cream cocoa and I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

So I also got this Dr. Who pin, and since I haven’t seen this series, this may get gifted to someone who likes Dr. Who. It’s cute but I have no use for it.

So last but not least of the main items, is this roll and read thingy. It’s pretty self explanatory, but you’re supposed to roll a pair of dice and whatever number you get, you pick your next book to fit the little square. I may use it, I may not!

So onto the book, the main reason for this wonderful box. Here it is wrapped up all pretty.

And here’s a zoom up of the pretty little butterfly charm on the book.

So here’s the beautiful (hardcover) book itself! This is actually a book I’ve been wanting to buy, but just haven’t gotten around to getting, so I’m glad I got it in this box. This story is told from two points of view, with Gemma’s story on one side, and Lyra’s on the other. While there are many ways to read this book, I’ve decided to read it by reading one chapter at a time of each side.

So along with the book came the quest card (as usual)

And a pretty bookmark!

So that’s all for the October box. Again sorry I’ve been slacking on posting recently, but I have quite a few posts lines up in these next few weeks so keep your eyes opened for those. Also if you haven’t already, follow my blog by subscribing through email at the bottom of the home page.

September Book Box

September Book Box

So my mother told me if I finished my gold award she would let me subscribe to a book box (of a reasonable price) for the year (this is also a substitution for college care packages). I did my research and subscribed to Nerdy Bookworm (Something like $30-40 a month) and after this first box I am EXTREMELY satisfied! The packages normally arrive around the end of the month and they will release a box’s theme 2 months in advance (November’s is Magical Creatures). Honestly, y’all I went back and looked at the past boxes and it broke my heart I signed up after they went out because they are amazing, go check them out (especially July- Book Boyfriends)!

http://www.nerdybookwormbox.com

Here’s  the website description of their boxes:

Nerdy Bookworm Box is dedicated to bringing you the very best of science fiction and fantasy, and we strive to select a diverse range of reads, including both YA and crossover novels. Some of our past book choices have included This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab and The Witch’s Kiss by Katharine and Elizabeth Corr. We work with many incredible small businesses in the United Kingdom to bring you unique and exclusive handcrafted bookish goodies, such as candles, tote bags, bookmarks, and more.

So ya, pretty cool and I wanted to share with y’all what I got in my September box:

I was very excited to pick up this beauty from the post office. The theme was Queens and so I knew I was going to love it.

The first thing item I want talk all about is the mini-magazine that comes with the box. It goes in depth about the enclosed book and the author, along with explaining some of the items, giving reading recommendations, and an exclusive sampler of a book! (This isn’t even everything so I’ll post a pic of the table of contents). In the magazine ‘Welcome’ it said “if you’re a fan of the Throne of Glass series, this is the box for you”, so needless to say I was so freaking excited to dig in!

So first I’ll start with the book and the items that go along with it!

Here’s the book wrapped up all pretty.

So this is the book “Three Dark Crowns”.

Plot: In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions. But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

*Thank Amazon*

So ya it seems really interesting, right up my alley, so I’m excited to check it out! Fun fact: The author said she was inspired by real life Queen Bee’s who similarly fight to the death to become queen!

Here’s the little charm that came on the book, you can see it in the “wrapped book” picture.

I thought this was just a pretty little card with a quote from the book but, plot twist, it’s actually a post card! So if you want me to write you a letter with it, hit me up!

In each book box they include a bookmark with art inspired by the book of the month, ready to expand my bookmark collection.

This guy has the same art as the bookmark and the cover of the mini-magazine. It’s actually a “Quest Card” (tbh see thumb it’s not as big as it looks) that allows you to access exclusive interactive content for Three Dark Crowns. So that’s all for the book of the month, the rest was just queen themed!

This beauty is a Khaleesi Mini-Poster that will definitely be going up on my wall. I’m currently finishing Season 3 right now and I LOVE Daenerys.

Here’s my TOG fix 🙂 This Candle is from Meraki Candles and it smells AMAZING! We can’t burn candles in our dorm so I’m storing this guy to take it home during Thanksgiving break.

I can’t wait to use this cute little tote bag on my next b&n run, it’s even my favorite color (of course the color of royalty).

Queen of heart notebook. Idk what I will end up using it for, but it’s really cute.

My first Funko Pop! It’s Anna from Frozen (duh) and I found a place for her to live on my desk, but she keeps falling over so I may have to move her. TBD!

ALSO WITH THE FUNKO POP DISNEY PRINCESS STICKERS! I’m not sure where I will put these, but I’m so pumped about these cuties.

So that’s everything, as you can see I got some really quality items and they were all PERFECT for me. I 10/10 recommend signing up for this book box subscription, it will not disappoint.

And now I will leave you with the works of J.K. Rowling:

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Being friends with a Book Nerd

Yes, us book nerds do understand we aren’t always the easiest people to be friends with. However, you know you love us and can always depend on us for a 10pm run to Barnes and Noble or to talk you through those heart breaking plot twists! So, you’re welcome 😉

Though we do love you, you must understand that books will always be first for us. The sooner you accept this the happier you will be.

Do not, under any circumstances, make any comments that sound something like “they’re characters in a book, they don’t exist”. First of all, wrong…second, these characters are some of our best friends, we will defend them with our entire hearts (just like we would do for you) so insulting them is just not a good idea. Just hold our hands, tell us it will all be ok and that we will find true love someday like the OTP’s in our books.

No, there really is no such thing as too many books. So most likely, the more of a book nerd your friend is, the more books they have. That being said, no matter how many books we collect (yes, it’s a valid collection just like baseball cards or coins or whatever) we will notice if you move one of books. Everything has been perfectly organized (most likely hours were spent determining where each book belongs) so if you take a book off our shelves, PUT IT BACK WHERE YOU GO IT. It’s really not that hard.

Yes, we realize sometimes when we bug you about reading our books it can get annoying, but just remember it comes 110% from a place of love. We want you to go through the beautiful experience we went through and talk about the wonder that is reading with you. Also, there’s a big space on our bookshelf that is driving us CRAZY!!!

If you wanna end your friendship with us real fast, just spoil the book we are reading. Easy as pie.

No, the movie isn’t better than the book. There is nothing you can say, no example you can provide, that will prove otherwise. Also, please don’t say you’re a “big fan” of Harry Potter if you don’t even know who Peeves is.

Sometimes we just wanna spend the entire day reading or we are in the middle of an amazing book and really don’t want to go out. Please please please don’t give us a hard time about this. Everyone is different, has different interests, respect that this is something we love to do and honestly prefer to most other activities. If you really wanna hang, come bring a book to our house and read with us, there is nothing we would love better. ❤

If you wanna make our day just ask us for a book recommendation. We spend so much time reading books, often across many genres, that we are probably your best bet (if we really are friends) for finding your perfect book. Just be prepared for you life to be ruined by whatever book we have selected for you. Even if you don’t think you’ll like it, consider giving it a chance, you never know! That being said, if we do pick out a book for you and you don’t like it, please be respectful. You don’t have to love it, but respect that we do and this book probably has a very special place in our hearts. You can be honest with us, just please don’t insult our baby (and just TRY really hard to finish the book please).

If you hurt our books, we will hurt you. Loaning you one of our precious babies was probably a big deal for us, so please just take care of them. We buy these with our own money (and books can be pretty expensive) so if we loan you our books for free, have the decency to return it how you borrowed it, or replace it if you accidentally ruin it.

If anyone makes a negative comment to us about reading, just prepare yourself for a 3 hour rant later. We have been dealing with this shit our entire lives and have a lot of harbored resentment built up. Then, as we rant, just smile and tell us we are right and “of course they are a dumbass loser who’s opinions are irrelevant” because we just need to be reminded that we aren’t crazy. (Even though we know we totally are)

Speaking of crazy, yes we know our obsession with our books may not be totally healthy but hey at least we’re not heroin addicts. I mean seriously, there are worse things we could be doing…

Lastly, we find no greater joy they watching someone blossom into a reader. Helping someone find that *perfect* book is our mission in life. So please, if you love one of our books, feel free to tell us and then get ready to discuss it with us for hours on end because this is what we LIVE FOR!!!

 

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