A September Throwback

10/21/2017

Another month has passed (+ the next one is almost over, too, I don't think I'm not going to write any more monthly throwbacks but just a semester/season-throwback, maybe. I'll think about it some more), my semester has just started (5 weeks ago – feels more like 5 months already), I'm in constant stress, I should be sleeping right now (actually, when I started writing this blogpost I should have been sleeping, meanwhile a couple of weeks have passed – I really have a lot to do – and now it's Saturday morning and I can be as wide awake as I please), I haven't really managed to read (m)any books last month, this will be fun. *Cue just a minimal amount of screeching.* (intensify that screeching just a little bit because my first exam is next week)

The good news is: I managed to read a book within these first two weeks of the semester (again, it has been 5 weeks and I've managed to read 2.5 books so far but that's probably going to increase quite a bit because I have to read sooo much for one of my courses, hence, I have an excuse to read-not-study – at least as soon as my first exam is over) and it wasn't a particularly gripping one at that. Which means I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to read between 2 to 4 books each month, which is a prospect I'm rather happy with.

(If you've been around during my last semester and are now wondering how I managed to read about 10 books a month before and am now doubting whether I can manage 4, well … it's kind of a long story but, basically, last semester I had just signed out of my old minor – art history – and hadn't signed up for a new one, yet, and was just completing all of my two-semester modules for my major – English – without taking any further modules, whereas now I've not only started a new minor – biology, which is soo much work – but have also signed up for quite a few English modules. tl;dr I have a lot of work to do.)

But, let's not waste any more time and get into the actual monthly throwback. I'm not going to state my favorites/biggest disappointments as I usually like to do because there's not enough material to work with but I'll write a little bit about each individual book, which I usually don't really do, to compensate.

In total I've read 5 books and one manga, and I've listened to one audiobook. Which makes for about 2'258 pages or 75 pages a day which, really, isn't bad at all just unusally little compared to previous months.

The Unbound (The Archived #2) by Victoria Schwab (4.5 stars)

The Unbound was pretty fantastic. The atmosphere was great, the characters development was great, and the themes it touches upon were executed brilliantly. I immediately got lost within it's pages and I really wish I could read the third book of this series. If you haven't heard of The Archived series yet, I'd really recommend checking it out!
Tokyo Ghoul #5 by Sui Ishida (2 stars)

This one took a downturn for me. I enjoyed the first four books but the fifth one seemed so over the top and almost random. The characters are so weird and aren't developed at all, the action seemed unnecessarily violent without redeeming qualities (I don't care about violence as long as it's used in a meaningful way). And, generally, I'm not all too motivated to continue on with this series (although I'm going to, I already have the next three books lying around here. It's a manga and the series isn't that long, I might as well go one for a while and maybe even finish it).
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) by J.R.R Tolkien (5 stars)

There isn't much I can say about this. I've listened to the audiobook, I love Lord of the Rings obviously I'm going to give it 5 stars.
And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga) by Kiersten White (4 stars)

This book was great and right up my alley. It was dark and violent and the characters were fantastic, the writing was beautiful and it asks a lot of questions no one really wants to answer. It felt a little tedious at times but that might be my own fault because I expected something different from the book. I'd definitely recommend it!
The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson (3.5 stars)

Eh? I've come to realize that I might just not really be a Morgam Matson kind of person. I didn't really enjoy Since You've Been Gone (and my interest in it has dwindled even more in the time that has passed since I've read it) and, although I liked The Unexpected Everything better it kind of just slipped out of my mind, just as Since You've Been Gone. It was sweet, I was kind of disappointed with the ending but that's just me.
Selection (Selection #1) by Kiera Cass (2 stars)

This book I didn't expect much from – which is good because I got what I expected. It's a really fast read and it's pretty stupid. Therefore, it's perfect for all those times when you're stressed out and just want something very simple to occupy your mind and keep you busy for a couple of hours. The next time I feel like that, I'll read the next book but I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.
Talk Talk by T.C. Boyle (2.5 stars)

This one was disappointing because I've liked everything else by Boyle that I've read. But Talk Talk just didn't hold up to anything it, apparently, wanted to be. It wasn't intense, it wasn't even exciting at all, and it was stretched out way too much. I liked certain aspects of it but, generally, I really wasn't a fan.