Reading Slumps

I haven't posted anything in what feels like forever. 

This is because I haven't read anything for almost 2 weeks now. For some people, thats not a big deal. I get it, it's all relative. For me however, this sucks. I find myself in what we like to call a 'Reading Slump' all too often but I usually find my way back out pretty quickly. But not this time. Nope.

In my defence, i've been kind of busy. I started university again and started working. It's also been 'freshers' for the last two weeks at my university, so I've been going out a fair amount as well. But I'm not going to lie to you guys, I have had time to read ... I just haven't been reading. 

I've tried reading books I've already read and loved to get me out, but I just can't seem to get into anything. It's so frustrating when all you want to do is read, but whatever you pick up just doesn't seem to cut it.

So I thought I'd look to this blog for help, I mean, it is a book blog after all.

How do you guys get out of reading slumps? Any tips? HELP ME!

HARRY POTTER SPIN-OFF MOVIES?!

 WE ARE GETTING NEW MOVIES. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. 

Warner Bros. announced on 12th September 2013 that J.K. Rowling would be making her screenwriting debut with 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', the first in a new film series which is part of their expanded creative partnership with J.K. Rowling. The films will be inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook of the same name, and will feature the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander.

“It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts', realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.

As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.

Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.

I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”

(Taken from JK rowling's official facebook page)

When I first heard about it I hadn't seen the article, so I was kind of like:

But once I'd read it I was more like:

and then:

and then:

This has made me ridiculously happy. I didn't see this coming, and I'm so so excited! The best part I think for me will be that since it's a movie series thats not adapted from the books, I'm going to enjoy it so much more, maybe even more than Harry Potter, just because I won't have to get annoyed at parts they may have skipped or changed!

I have to admit, if i had known a new movie was coming that was set in this world, I would have hoped for a Marauders Prequel, and to be honest I still hope for it...it would just be perfect *sigh*. I'm still incredibly happy though, I honestly thought JK Rowling was done with this world for a long time, so it's amazing that she has found something that she loves and wants to share with us again. 

What do you guys think? Are you excited? Or would you prefer something else?

xx

REVIEW: THRONE OF GLASS BY SARAH J. MAAS

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined. (Summary via goodreads)


Note: This review will be spoiler free.

I've heard so much about this book recently, so when I saw it in the library I thought I'd pick it up. And I'm so glad I did! I could barely put this down, I literally had to force myself to stop reading and go to work. I didn't expect to get so hooked so quickly but the story really does get going straight away, and it's extremely fast-paced. I really love Fantasy books, and I haven't read a YA one in a while, so it was nice to read a fantasy book that wasn't completely life ruining (ahem, George R.R Martin ;))

I really loved Caleana immediately, I always love strong female characters but I mostly just loved how sarcastic and witty she was, despite what she'd been through. In my opinion she was the perfect balance of capable and talented but she also had her fair share of flaws.

I'm not usually a fan of love triangles, in fact I usually avoid them at all costs, but in this one I didn't mind. The love triangle develops extremely slowly, and its not really a main issue in the novel, just one that is touched upon. Although I'm sure it will become more of a big storyline in the future books. I usually have a preferences in love triangles too, but again, with this one I don't. I liked Caleanas scenes with both Chaol and Dorian, so I can't wait to see how that pans out in the next book, which I can't wait to get my hands on!

I'm curious to see where the storyline will go now, as there are 5 more books in the series. If you haven't read this one yet, definitely give it a go! It might surprise you.

REVIEW: READY PLAYER ONE BY ERNEST CLINE

It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. 

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. 

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle. Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.  (summary via Goodreads)

Note: This review will be spoiler free.

I think this may just be the best thing I've read all year.

I only heard about Ready Player One really recently, my cousin mentioned it to me and said that he loved it, which struck me as weird immediately because he barely reads as he prefers gaming! Now I've read it myself, I totally get it. It's geek heaven.

Although this story is set in the future, it has a heavy 80s theme throughout and there are so many references to songs, movies and games of that decade. Obviously I'm way too young to have grown up in the 80s, but it's always been a decade I know a fair amount about. A lot of my favourite films are 80s films, and my dad is stuck in the 80s when it comes to music taste, so I knew enough to pick up on most of the references that were dropped in this book. I felt like if I didn't understand all of the references, I would of still enjoyed it so don't shy away from this book if you feel like you don't know anything about the 80s! If anything I feel like this book would be the cause of my obsession with the 80s if I wasn't already.

Usually I'm not big on books that are predominantly description and don't have that much dialogue, but with this book I didn't mind because I was just so interested in how this virtual reality worked. I absolutely loved the concept of being able to escape reality in this virtual world called OASIS. However, it slightly scared me since the way technology is advancing these days the idea doesn't really even seem that ridiculous. I really loved the idea of having a virtual alter ego though, and it was really fun to compare online characters to their real life personas. The characters were so great in this, although I wasn't overly keen on Wade at first, he surprised me and I ended up really loving him. Speaking of love, I think I may have fallen in love with Art3mis, she was just so likeable for me. I'm actually really sad I don't get to read about them again! That being said, I am glad that it isn't a series. I feel like too many books are made into series unnecessarily. 

Also just for fun, I found this out when I was looking up the authors website: The whole plot is basically based around finding an easter egg in a game, and Ernest Cline planted an easter egg in the book and offered the first person to solve it a Delorean (as in, the car in Back To The Future). Seriously, I think he may just be the coolest author just for that.

If you're into gaming, technology or the 80s (or all of these things) and you haven't read this yet, you need to do it now.