So hard to decide. DNF- Did Not Finish. That is a very difficult thing to do for me. I sometimes set a book down for a while and then pick it back up a bit later simply because I tend to read multiple things at once. So at times, it becomes a struggle to find time to read them all.  Other times I just feel the urgent need to pick something else, I do love to follow my set TBR's but sometimes it is impossible to ignore the craving for a certain book and I just follow my hunches like that.  This month I struggled to complete my set TBR and yet I added several extra ones XD  Not sure why I keep doing that. So in the hurry to get to the complete list and write the reviews and such but oooh ooh oooh boy, there was just one book that definitely was not for me. There were two, but for one of them even if I did feel like putting it down since the first few chapters, I continued to push through with it until it was completed. So by the time this second book arrived I was already f

Author: E.B. White  Genre: Fiction, Children's Classic Original publication date: October 1952 Book description: Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter. Thoughts: This is a heartwarming story with a flourishing unlikely friendship between a spider and a pig, much stronger than what it was between a girl and the pig.  This story surprised me, it was not like I expected, I really thought the whole thing would be between the girl and her pig. I had not read this story nor did I see the movie, it was a wonderful experience. Charlotte proved to be the best soul in that story, loving, helpful and the best friend anyone could ask for. It shows also a lot of reality, just because it was for chil

Author: Diana Wynne Jones Series: Howl's moving castle #1 Genre: Children's Fantasy Original Publication date: April 1986 Book description: Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye. Thoughts: The story should have been a quick nice read. I was not feeling it, Sophie seemed to be the type of girl who I should really like. She is the oldest girl in her family and has a very l

Author: Patrick Ness Genre: Magical Realism Original publication date: May 2011 Book description:  An unflinching, darkly funny, and deeply moving story of a boy, his seriously ill mother, and an unexpected monstrous visitor. At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. Thoughts: So we have a boy Connor who is having a difficult time for several reasons. He feels isolated at school mainly because people do no treat him the same after his schoolmates found out about his mother's illness. He faces bullying, but everything is very different on his mind. Connor has closed off his mind a

Author: Helen Hoang Genre: Romance Publication date: June 2018 Book description:  Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases — a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old. It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice — with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan — from foreplay to more-than-missionary position... Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind

Author: Stephen King Genre: Sci-Fi, Historical Publication date: November 2011 Book description:  Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away...but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke... Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history i

Author: Patrick Ness Genre: Magical Realism Original publication date: May 2011 Book description:  Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Patrick Ness takes the final idea of the late, award-winning writer Siobhan Dowd and weaves an extraordinary and heartbreaking tale of mischief, healing and above all, the courage it takes to survive. Thoughts: Hard to describe. It is a touching story as you can imagine either from the idea of the movie, from the description or from other book-related media Booktube, Bookstagram, Book related blogs etc.  This was still very different. Conor was facing issues mainly because due to his mother's illness he was closing

Author: Livia Blackburne  Series: The Midnight thief #1 Genre: Fantasy Original publication date: July 2014 Book description:   Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs. But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull. Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease. When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize tha

Author: Robin Sloan  Genre: Mystery Publication date: October 2012 Book description:  The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, but after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything; instead, they "check out" large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele's behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends, but when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore's secrets extend far beyond its walls. Thoughts: IT was a slow-moving story. There is very little plot storyline, or at least it did not feel as it was at the forefront. There is a plot has a few sprinkles of the overall mystery that turned out to be no

Author: Louis Sachar Genre: Fiction, Children's Contemporary Original publication date: May 1983 Book description: Nobody understands why Angeline is so smart. She could read the first time she picked up a book, she can play the piano without ever having had a lesson, and she even knows what the weather is going to be. But being smart is causing Angeline nothing but trouble. The mean kids in school call her a freak, her teacher finds her troublesome, and even her own father doesn't know what to do with an eight-year-old girl who seems to be a genius. Angeline doesn't want to be either a genius or a freak. She just wants the chance to be herself and be happy. But it's only when she makes friends with a boy the kids call "Goon" and the teacher they call "Mr. Bone" that Angeline gets that chance. Thoughts: It is a quick read. We have a beautiful relationship between a father and a little girl. They have issues, but not due to lack of love, on

The next installment of the year-long challenge for next year. YA Fantsy Sci-fi Bloodwitch, Susan Dennard Finale, Stephanie Garber Reber, Marie Lu Four dead queens, Astrid Scholte Wayward son, Rainbow Rowell The toll, Neil Shusterman King of scars, Leigh Bardugo Defy me, Tahereh Mafi Sorcery of thorns, Margaret Rogerson Supernova, Marissa Meyer Wilder girls, Rory Power Queen of air and darkness, Cassandra Clare The wicked king, Holly Black Aurora rising, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff A curse so dark and lonely, Brigid Kemmerer Children & Middle Grade The bridge hme, Padma Venkatraman New kid, Jerry Craft School of good and evil, Soman Chainani Guts, Raina Telgemeier Dragon Pearl, Yoon Ha Lee Shouting at the rain, Lynda Mullaly Hunt Dairy of an awesome friendly kid, Rowley Jefferson Journal Aru Shah and the song of death, Roshani Chokshi The unteachables, Gordon Korman Tunnel of bones, Victoria Schwab To night owls from dogfish, holly Goldberg Sloan & Meg Wolitzier

Author: Tiffany Haddish Genre: Nonfiction Original publication date: December 2017 Book description:  Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn’t beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money—as the paid school mascot and in-demand Bar Mitzvah hype woman—to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend. None of that worked (and she’s still single), but it allowed Tiffany to imagine a place for herself where she could do something she loved for a living: comedy. Tiffany can’t avoid being funny—it’s just who she is, whether she’s plotting shocking, jaw-dropping revenge on an ex-boyfriend or learning how to handle her newfound fame despite still having a broke person’s mind-set. Finally poised to become a household name,

Again since I spent too much time before taking the pictures my lovely list of books to read has already been reduced to the finalists but I will still do my original challenge idea.  Being honest I will probably not go through with it but oh well. Non-fiction The Witches are coming, Lindy west Stay Sexy & Dnon’t get murdered, Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark Parkland, Dave Cullen Talking to Strangers, Malcom Gladwell American predator, Maureen Callahan Trick mirror, Jia Telentino Everything is f*cked a book about hope, Mark Manson The moment of lift, Melinda Gates The collected Schizophrenias, Esme Weifun Wang Maybe you should talk to someone, Lori Gottlieb Girl stop apologizing, Rachel Hollis Catch and kill, Ronan Farrow She said, Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey Three women, Lisa Taddeo Furious hours, Casey Cep Poetry Magical Negro peoms, Morgan Parker A fortune for disaster, Hanif Abdurraqib The truth about magic, Atticus Shout, Laurie Halse Anderson Lord o

Author: Hans Christian Andersen Genre: Short stories, Fantasy, Fairy Tales Original publication date: January 1844 Book description: The Snow Queen is a story about the strength and endurance of childhood friendship. Gerda's search for her playmate Kay–who was abducted by the Snow Queen and taken to her frozen palace Thoughts: It has a bunch of stories really. It begins with the two friends growing apart due to a shard of ice that fills little Kay's heart.  The adventures are pretty much all experienced by Greta, she is a lovely girl and wonderful friend.  The stories are very short and some are more interesting than others like it happens with most of the short stories collections I experience.  But it is an enjoyable ad quick read. This book was picked from Scribd simply because it fits the them of Believathon, even if I did not choose it for any prompt when I built my initial TBR. So I picked a book I could finish quickly and move on my way as I have be

So after a little miscalculation on timing, now I will continue to get down the books for each category for the Good Reads Choice awards before those lists are no longer available.  So as this is only the plan for next year we will have to divide the categories per season or per quarters and have to do a check-in every few months in order to be able to complete the list.  Moving on: Romance The girl he used to know, Tracey Garvis Grave The friend zone, Abby Jimenez The savior, JR Ward The bride test, Helen Hoang The wedding party, Jasmine guillory Well met, jen DeLuca Things you save in a fire, Katherine center Pretty reckless, Lj She Meet cute, Helena Hunting The kiss thief, Lj Shen Red, white & Royal blue, Casey McQuiston The unhoneymooners, Christina Lauren Verity, Colleen hoover Ayesha at last, Uzma Jalaluddin The Flatshare beth o’leary Sci-Fi The deep, Rivers Solomon The taught if fortunate, Becky chambers Tiamat’s wrath, James SA Corey The tes

Author: Daniel Turnike Genre: Fantasy Book description: Felix Featherstone has to leave the classroom—a lot. He has anger issues. But wouldn’t you if you spent your whole life being made to feel that everything was your fault—including the death of your mother? He is also a Sagacitor. In other words, he has lived on this planet many times before. Not that he knows it. Not until he receives a note in his exercise book, that is, inviting him to travel to Old Souls’ Land. Thoughts: It was an interesting story, the idea was something I had not seen very often, the souls coming back and getting to know their past lives, that sound super interesting.  IT does focus a lot on children's issues: *Controlling their temper and listen to adults even when they think they are not listening to them *Having a difficult father, very abusive in a way. But also having a loving grandparent who can be relied on. *People blaming him for things he is not guilty of. IT has a lot of revelations